How to switch bookkeepers with a clear handover
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Agree a cutoff month, confirm who owns the accounting subscription and get the last completed reports. Each filing needs a named person responsible for it.
Download the checklist · text file
Choose the handover month
Ask the current bookkeeper which months are complete and which still have open questions. Agree who records transactions through the cutoff and who starts the next period. Avoid two people editing the same months without a shared plan.
Switching provider does not automatically require switching software. Orbis works in QuickBooks Online, Xero and Sage 50. A migration is a separate decision with its own scope, especially if you need historical reports or integrations to continue working.
Request a handover pack
Keep control of your accounting file
Confirm which business-controlled email address owns the subscription and how records can be exported. Use the software’s authorized user or accountant invitation process. Each person should use their own login. Do not email a password or put it in an enquiry form.
After the incoming bookkeeper confirms access and the handover is complete, review permissions for the outgoing provider. Coordinate any remaining work before removing access. A report export is useful, but it does not always contain the attachments and history in the original file.
Assign every outstanding filing
List each filing period, its status and who will submit it. Include payroll and sales-tax work where applicable. A new monthly engagement should not leave both providers assuming the other person will finish a previous return.
Check the opening balances
The first month should start from agreed balances. If the last reconciliation does not match the statement, we identify the difference before building another month on top. Correcting existing errors can require separately quoted cleanup work.
Do I have to change accounting software to change bookkeeper?
No. Orbis works in QuickBooks Online, Xero and Sage 50, so switching provider and switching software are separate decisions. A migration has its own scope, particularly if historical reports or integrations need to keep working.
What should I ask my current bookkeeper for?
The last completed profit and loss and balance sheet, the trial balance and reconciliation reports at the cutoff, unpaid invoices and bills, copies of submitted returns with a list of upcoming ones, any open questions, and confirmation of who owns the software subscription.
When is the best time to switch?
At a month end that is fully reconciled, and ideally at a period end for any filing you have. What matters more than the calendar is that both providers agree the cutoff, so the same months are not being edited by two people.
What if my current bookkeeper owns the software subscription?
Confirm which email address owns it and how records can be exported before anything else. Ownership should sit with a business-controlled address. A report export is useful but does not always carry the attachments and history the original file holds.
Want this handled for you
This is the work we do for clients every month. Tell us what you sell and where your books stand, and a written plan and a fixed monthly price follow within one business day.