When to switch accountants, and how to change accountants without losing your history
You can leave any time of year, you own your records, and the handoff is smaller than most owners expect. Here is what it actually involves.
The short answer
You are not locked in. There is no contract term in most accounting relationships, no calendar rule that says you must wait for year end, and no requirement to explain yourself. Your books, your general ledger, your filed returns and your depreciation schedules belong to you.
In practice a move takes two things: a request for your records, and a transfer of your accounting file. For QuickBooks Online that transfer is a change of accountant user, which takes minutes and keeps every transaction, reconciliation and attachment where it is.
When it is actually worth moving
Being annoyed with your accountant is not the same as needing a different one. These are the reasons that hold up.
You only hear from them in April
A return filed on time is the floor. If nobody told you what the numbers meant while you could still act on them, you are paying for compliance and getting nothing else.
Your tax bill keeps surprising you
Surprise is a planning failure, not a math failure. If no one set money aside with you through the year, the April number was always going to land badly.
Nobody can explain your own books
If you ask why a number moved and the answer takes a week, the books are being produced rather than understood. That gets expensive in decisions, not fees.
What to ask your current accountant for
Ask in writing, and ask for these specifically. Vague requests get vague responses.
- ✓ Your general ledger and trial balance for the current and prior year
- ✓ Filed copies of every return, federal and state
- ✓ Your depreciation schedule, which is the one people forget and the one that hurts to rebuild
- ✓ Payroll filings and any sales tax returns
- ✓ Accountant user access to your QuickBooks file, or the file itself
Under AICPA professional standards, a member is required to return your own records when you ask, even where there is a fee dispute. Work product the firm created can be treated differently, which is exactly why you ask for the list above by name rather than asking for "everything".
The timing question
Mid-year is usually easiest. Nothing is due, both firms have capacity, and a new firm has months to find and fix anything before it matters on a return.
The worst time is late February through April 15. Everyone is at capacity, and a rushed handoff in filing season is how depreciation schedules go missing and elections get overlooked.
If you are reading this in March and you are unhappy, the usual answer is to let them finish the return you have already paid for, then move in May with the whole year ahead of you.
Switching to us: steps, timeline and documents.
Four steps: a free 30-minute call, a look at your file, one fixed quote, then you request your records from your current firm, we help with the wording, and we pick up where they left off. No judgment about how far behind you are. Years behind is normal, and the goal is the same every time: bank-ready, tax-ready books you can trust.
Typical timeline. The free 30-minute call is first. Our review of your file takes about a week from the day you give us access. You then get one fixed quote with its own timeline, because how long a rebuild takes depends on how many months need work. Nothing starts until you approve the number.
Documents to have ready
- ✓ Read-only access to your QuickBooks Online file, if you have one
- ✓ Bank and credit card statements for every month that needs work
- ✓ Loan statements and any lines of credit
- ✓ Payout reports from Shopify, Stripe, Square, Airbnb or other platforms you sell through
- ✓ Payroll reports, if you run payroll
- ✓ Your last filed business and personal tax returns
- ✓ A list of contractors you paid, for 1099s
Missing some of these is fine. Tell us what you have and we will work out the rest together.
Moving your bookkeeping at the same time
Plenty of owners move the tax work first and leave the bookkeeping where it is. That usually recreates the problem, because the return is only as good as the books behind it, and a firm that did not keep the books spends the first month of every year reconstructing them.
Moving both together is generally less work than moving either alone. The same handoff request covers both, the file transfers once, and the firm preparing your return is the firm that watched the year happen.
Answers before you ask.
Can I change accountants in the middle of the year?
Yes. There is no rule that ties you to a firm for a calendar or fiscal year. Mid-year is often the easiest time, because nothing is due and both firms have room to do the handoff properly. The hardest time to move is March, when everyone is buried.
Do I lose my history if I leave?
No. Your books and your records are yours. A QuickBooks Online file transfers by changing the accountant user, which takes minutes and keeps every transaction, reconciliation and attachment intact. Your prior-year returns are yours as well.
What am I entitled to ask my current accountant for?
Your books, your filed returns, your depreciation schedules, and your general ledger. Under AICPA standards a member must return your own records on request, even if there is a fee dispute. Work product they created may be treated differently, which is why the specific list matters.
Do I have to tell my current accountant why I am leaving?
No. A short note saying you are moving your accounting and asking where to send the transfer request is enough. You do not owe an explanation, and most of the awkwardness people expect never happens.
What is the procedure for changing accountants?
Ask your current accountant in writing for your general ledger and trial balance, filed returns, depreciation schedule, and payroll and sales tax filings. Then move your QuickBooks Online file by changing the accountant user, which keeps every transaction, reconciliation and attachment. Mid-year is usually the easiest time; late February through April 15 is the hardest.
Is it worth switching if my returns have been filed on time?
On time is the floor, not the service. The question is whether anyone told you what the numbers meant before the year closed, when you could still do something about them. If the only contact you have is a return in April, you are paying for compliance and getting nothing else.
Do I have to pay for a review before you take me on?
No. It starts with a free 30-minute call with a CPA. We look at your books before we quote one flat monthly fee, and if your books need a cleanup first, that is quoted on its own before any work starts. We no longer sell a paid diagnostic review.
Not sure whether the problem is your accountant or your books?
A free 30-minute call is the easiest place to start: tell us where things really stand and a CPA will tell you honestly what switching would involve. No pitch deck, no obligation.
Rather not book? Email brooks@smokymountaincpas.com. Brooks answers every one.