How do you change accounting firm?
There are three parts: the notice period in your old contract, the handover of material from your previous accountant, and checking the opening balances. The first is yours; the other two are ours.
The move, in order
Five stages. Only the first asks anything of you beyond the decision.
- 1Check the notice periodLook at your old contract for the length of notice. This is the one thing that can move the schedule by months, and the one thing we cannot do on your behalf.
- 2Agree the timingThe turn of the financial period is the easiest point to move, because the opening balances are already settled. Mid-period works too.
- 3We ask for the materialWe contact the previous accountant and ask for the bookkeeping material. You do not have to sit in the middle of it, and you do not explain the same thing twice.
- 4The opening balances are checkedThis is where a move fails, when it fails. We check the balances before the first month, so the first period does not begin by catching up.
- 5Fennoa credentials and the first monthWe open your Fennoa credentials and agree how material will reach us. You get a named accountant whose number you know, from the first month, not once the introductions are over.
When to move
At the turn of the period, if you have time. The opening balances then come from a finished set of financial statements rather than from mid-period entries, and the first month starts clean.
Mid-period, if you do not have time or do not want to wait. We go through the current year's entries first. It is work worth doing properly once, and we tell you the price before we start.
What changing costs
The bookkeeping costs what our price list says it costs: packages from €129 / mo (VAT 0 %), or hourly work at €86 an hour. The full price list.
Moving mid-period, the review of the current year is priced separately, because its size depends on the state the material is in. Ask for a quote. We do not charge for preparing one.
What we need from you
This much is enough to start. We ask the previous accountant for the rest.
- Last year's financial statements, if you have them. The opening balances are checked against them.
- The notice period in your old contract, or the contract itself, if you are not sure what it says.
- Your previous accountant's contact details, so we can ask for the material directly.
- Whether payroll is included, and roughly how many payslips a year it comes to. That affects the package more than anything else.
Tell us where you stand and we will time the move
A free conversation, about 30 minutes. We look at the notice period, agree when the handover happens and tell you the exact price. It commits you to nothing.
Frequently asked
- Can you change firm mid-period?
- Yes. We go through the current year's entries first, so that we know where we are continuing from. We tell you in advance what that comes to. It is not an invoice that arrives as a surprise afterwards.
- Do I have to get the material from my old accountant?
- No. We ask the previous accountant for the bookkeeping material and check the opening balances before the first month, so the first period does not begin by catching up.
- What if the previous firm will not hand the material over?
- The bookkeeping material is yours, not the firm's. In practice a delay is usually an unpaid invoice or a holiday rather than a dispute. Tell us early and we will time the move around it.
- How long does changing take?
- The actual work is days rather than weeks. The calendar is usually set by two things: the notice period in your contract, and how quickly the material arrives from the previous accountant.
Tell us what you need, and we will work out what it actually takes.
A free conversation, about 30 minutes: we go through document volumes, the number of people on the payroll and the services you need, and tell you the exact price. We do not charge for preparing a quote, and the conversation commits you to nothing.