Don’t you hate feeling you’re locked into working with a company that no longer suits your needs, or simply isn’t performing to the high standards you (rightly) demand of them?
Here at Tax Agility, we believe our quality of services and the professionalism and experience of our accountants should speak for themselves. For this reason, we don’t charge our clients transfer or termination fees should they wish to stop working with us. We’re sorry to see you go, but we respect your decision with grace; and without putting you out of pocket.
If you’re a self-employed contractor, or a small to medium-sized (SME) business owner, and you’re considering changing your accountant (whether to Tax Agility or any other experienced accountancy firm) below we’ve detailed three easy steps to doing exactly that:
1) Look For a New Accountant
Obvious point, but you have to find an accountant you believe you’ll be happy with and appoint them to act as your new accountant before retiring the services of your current accountant.
There are many reasons why you may wish to switch accountants, from you being unhappy with what you have to pay (you’ve seen it quoted cheaper elsewhere) to your business growing in size and, therefore, outgrowing the capacity of your current accountancy firm.
Once you’re happy your new accountant meets all your needs, taking into account quality of services, experience of staff, and, of course, how much they’ll charge, you should as a matter of courtesy contact your current accountant telling them you’re retiring their services and giving them permission to transfer your documents to your new accountants when they get in touch.
2) Have Your New Accountant Contact Your Old Accountant
It’s a matter of routine and professional ethics for your new accountant to immediately, upon your approval, contact your old accountant to confirm that they will be taking over your account, and to ask if they have any reason to believe they shouldn’t accept the role.
Your new accountant will request all documentation that your old accountants hold for you, alongside any other paperwork or information your old accountants believe will be useful in helping your new accountants take over.
3) Allow Your Documents to Transfer
The speed in which your documents transfer from your old accountant to your new accountant depends on how cooperative your old accountants are to the change. Here at Tax Agility we make transferring our clients’ documents a priority should you wish to leave us, but unfortunately this isn’t always the case with other accountancy firms.
If a dispute arises where your old accountant is suggesting you owe them a fee that you believe you don’t owe, or have already paid, your old accountant may be uncooperative when it comes to transferring your takeover documents and paperwork in a timely manner.
If this occurs you should seek to file a complaint with their professional body to help enable a speedy transfer of your documents. But fear not; in most circumstances your old accountant will act in a professional manner and cooperate fully with your new accountant’s requests.
Looking to Change Your Accountant?
To speak with a professional, experienced accountant to discuss transferring your accountancy needs over to us here at Tax Agility, contact us today on 020 8780 2349 or get in touch with us via our contact page to arrange a complimentary, no-obligation meeting.
This blog is a general summary. It should not replace professional advice tailored to your specific circumstance.