Guides
The relationship with your accountant shouldn't be a mystery, and neither should leaving one. Switching is a routine, professional process: the new accountant requests clearance, information is handed over, and your filings carry on uninterrupted. No awkward conversation required.
These guides explain what happens after you accept a quote, how the handover between accountants works, how long a switch usually takes and what affects it, and the signs that it's time to move. If you're weighing up a change, the questions to ask before changing accountants is a good place to start.
Start here
Switching accountants is a routine, well-worn process: appoint the new firm, tell the old one, let professional clearance and the records handover run, and update the authorities so the new firm can act for you. The new accountant does most of the work. The owner's job is choosing well, timing sensibly and settling up cleanly.
Read the full guideNo fixed period applies to switching accountants. The honest answer is that it depends on how quickly the outgoing firm responds, how complex your affairs are, and how fast you turn around signatures. Each stage is individually short; delays come from waiting on third parties, not from the process itself.
Accepting a quote starts a defined onboarding sequence: an engagement letter to sign, identity verification the firm is legally required to complete, gathering your records and prior-year information, authorising the firm with HMRC, and a setup conversation that turns the quote into a working relationship.
How switching accountants actually works, what professional clearance means, and the questions to ask a new firm so nothing is missed in the move.
Change accountants when the relationship repeatedly fails on service, communication or capability, not over a single bad week. The reliable triggers are chronic slow responses, deadline scrambles, advice that never arrives, and a firm your business has outgrown. Persistent unease deserves action; isolated incidents deserve a conversation first.
Tell us what you need and we’ll send a clear, fixed-fee quote, usually within one working day.
