- Changing accountants takes one email and one signature from you.
- You can switch at any point in the year, deadlines aside.
- The best time to move is just after a set of accounts is filed.
Changing accountants in the UK takes one signature from you and very little else. You appoint the new firm, sign their engagement letter, and they write to your outgoing accountant for professional clearance, which asks for your records and confirms there is no professional reason not to act. Your only direct task is telling the old firm you are leaving. You can switch at any point in the year, though it is usually cleanest just after a set of accounts has been filed rather than in the weeks before a deadline.
If you have decided to move, most of the work sits with the incoming firm. Good accounting handled by in-house qualified accountants means the handover is run for you, not handed to you. That is the part most people worry about and the part they end up doing least of.
The rest of this guide walks through the sequence, the timing that keeps you clear of a missed filing, and the short list of things that are genuinely yours to do.
How do you change accountants?
You appoint the new accountant first. You sign their engagement letter, they send a professional clearance letter to your current accountant, your records transfer, and you confirm to the old firm that you are leaving. That is the whole shape of it.
The order matters more than the effort. Nothing goes to your old accountant until you have chosen the new one, so there is no awkward gap where you are between firms with nobody holding your filings.
Your side of it is one email and one signature. The clearance request, the records chase, and the handover of software access are all run by the firm taking you on.
Can you switch accountants mid-year?
Yes, at any point. There is no rule that ties a switch to your year end, your VAT quarter, or the anniversary of anything.
What people are really asking is whether a mid-year move causes a problem with HMRC or Companies House. It does not. Your filing obligations stay exactly the same; only the person preparing them changes.
The one thing worth checking before you give notice is whether a filing falls during the changeover. That is a timing question, not a reason to wait.
When in the year is the best time to move?
The cleanest moment is just after a set of accounts has been filed, not in the weeks before a deadline. Once your annual accounts and Company Tax Return are in, there is a natural gap before the next cycle starts, and the new firm can pick you up without a live deadline hanging over the handover.
It helps to know which dates you are working around. For a private limited company, annual accounts are due at Companies House nine months after your financial year end, and your Corporation Tax is due nine months and one day after the accounting period ends, with the Company Tax Return itself due twelve months after period end. Your confirmation statement is due within 14 days of your review date.
Take a company with a 31 March year end. Accounts are due at Companies House by 31 December, Corporation Tax by 1 January, and the return by the following 31 March. The quiet window to switch is January to March, once the December and January dates are behind you.
If a deadline is close, you do not have to wait months. You give notice, and the incoming firm confirms which filings fall inside the handover and makes sure they are covered. The point is to know the dates, not to fear them.
| Obligation | Deadline | Example: 31 March year end |
|---|---|---|
| Annual accounts to Companies House | 9 months after year end | 31 December |
| Corporation Tax payment to HMRC | 9 months and 1 day after period end | 1 January |
| Company Tax Return (CT600) to HMRC | 12 months after period end | 31 March (following year) |
| Confirmation statement to Companies House | Within 14 days of your review date | Review date + 14 days |
What is a professional clearance letter?
Professional clearance is the letter your new accountant sends to your old one when they take you on. It does two jobs: it asks the outgoing firm to hand over your records and information, and it asks whether there is any professional reason the new firm should not act for you.
You do not write it and you do not send it. The incoming accountant does, usually within days of you signing their engagement letter. Your only involvement is a short authority note or email telling the old firm they can release your information, because data protection stops them handing your records to a third party without your say-so.
The outgoing accountant is expected to reply within a reasonable time and pass over the information the new firm needs to carry on. If they are slow, the new firm chases them. This is routine between accountants and happens quietly in the background while you get on with running the business.
What you actually have to do
Here is the honest list of what falls to you, and it is short:
- Choose the new firm and sign their engagement letter.
- Send a brief note to your old accountant confirming you are leaving and authorising them to release your records.
- Settle any outstanding invoices with the old firm so nothing holds up the handover.
Everything else, the clearance letter, the records request, the software access, the check on what is filed and what is due, is done by the accountant taking you on. If you find yourself doing more than the three things above, the new firm is not pulling its weight.
What records should transfer from your old accountant?
The handover should bring across everything the new firm needs to carry on without gaps. For a limited company that means the opening balances carried over from your old accountant, so the new set of accounts starts from the right position.
The usual records to expect are:
- The trial balance and the last set of filed accounts.
- Corporation Tax computations and the most recent CT600.
- VAT records and returns, if you are registered.
- Payroll records and PAYE details, if you run a payroll.
- Transferring your Xero access or whatever bookkeeping software you use.
If you run payroll or file VAT, the software and login handover matters as much as the paperwork, because a gap there is what causes a missed submission. A good accountant for a limited company will confirm each of these is in hand before your first filing under them, rather than discovering a gap at the deadline.
What can go wrong, and how to avoid it?
Most switches are uneventful. The three things that occasionally snag are worth knowing so you can head them off.
The first is a fee dispute. An outgoing accountant can hold up the handover if you owe them money, so clear any final invoice before you give notice and it stops being a lever.
The second is a slow clearance response. If the old firm drags its feet, the new firm keeps chasing, and in the meantime it can rebuild your position from filed accounts and your own records rather than waiting on the old accountant. It slows things, it does not stop them.
The third is the deadline that falls during the handover. This is the one that actually matters, because the penalties for a late filing are automatic and land whether or not you were mid-switch. Confirm with the incoming firm which filings fall inside the changeover, and agree in writing who is responsible for each one before you give notice.
What to ask before you sign with a new accountant?
The switch trigger in most cases is not price. It is poor communication and being left exposed, so the questions that matter are about responsiveness and clarity, not fee structure. Ask how quickly they reply, who your actual point of contact is, and what is included as standard rather than billed as an extra.
Worth asking before you sign:
- How quickly do you respond to a query, and is that a commitment or a hope?
- Who is my named contact, and do I deal with them or a rota?
- What is included in the fee, and what is charged separately?
- Do you review the numbers yourselves, and how do I see what has been checked?
- Do I need a bookkeeper as well, or does your service cover it?
Cost still matters, and it is fair to understand what a limited company accountant costs before you commit. Put it after the service questions, not before them, because a cheap accountant you cannot reach is the reason many people are switching in the first place.
How Sleek helps with changing accountants
Switching accountants is mostly a question of who runs the handover and who watches the deadlines while it happens. Sleek runs it for you: records requested, Xero access moved across, and the filings that fall during the changeover confirmed before you give notice.
Before you give notice, have someone confirm which filings land inside the handover window so nothing slips between the two firms.
Ready to hand your accounts to a firm that runs the switch?
FAQs on how to change accountants
Do I have to tell my old accountant why I am leaving?
No. You need to tell them you are leaving and authorise them to release your records, but you do not owe them a reason. A short, polite note is enough, and most firms deal with it professionally.
Can my old accountant refuse to hand over my records?
They cannot withhold your own records, such as your bookkeeping data and documents you supplied. They can decline to release their own working papers until an outstanding bill is paid, which is why clearing any final invoice first keeps the handover clean.
What happens if I owe my old accountant money?
An unpaid invoice can hold up the handover, because the outgoing firm may exercise a lien over the working papers it produced. Settle the bill before you give notice and this stops being an issue. Your primary records must still be released regardless.
How long does switching accountants take?
Most of the process runs in the background over a few weeks, driven by how quickly the old firm responds to clearance. Your own part, signing and sending one authority note, takes an afternoon. The rest happens without you having to chase it.
Will I have to pay twice for the same year?
Usually not. Firms normally divide the year’s work at a sensible handover point, so you pay the old firm for what it completed and the new firm for what it takes on. Agree where that line falls before you sign so there is no overlap.
Do you handle the transfer, or do I?
The incoming accountant handles it. They send the clearance letter, request your records, transfer software access, and confirm what is filed and what is due. Your involvement is signing the engagement letter and authorising the release of your information.
Can I switch accountants if my accounts are overdue?
Yes, and it is often the reason people move. Tell the new firm what is outstanding at the first conversation so they can prioritise it. Switching does not reset a deadline, but a responsive firm can bring an overdue filing up to date faster than one that left it to slip.
Does switching accountants trigger an HMRC review?
No. Changing accountants is routine and does not prompt an HMRC enquiry. HMRC does not treat a change of agent as a red flag; enquiries are driven by the figures in your filings, not by who prepared them.
