A business owner has had the same accountant for eleven years. She cannot get hold of him, the accounts arrive late every year, and she has no idea what she is paying for.
She stays. Not because she is happy, but because she assumes leaving involves a confrontation, a mess and a risk she does not want to take in March.
The decision she is actually making
Whether the disruption of moving is worse than another year of the same. Most of the time it is not, and the only reason she believes otherwise is that nobody has told her what moving involves.
When to move
A firm that does not respond, work that is consistently late, fees that are never explained, an adviser who has never suggested anything, or a business that has outgrown its accountant.
When to stay
A good relationship with one bad year, a firm that is genuinely fixing something, or a client whose real problem is their own records rather than their accountant.
When mid year is fine
Almost always. Waiting for a year end is a habit rather than a requirement, and a firm that explains this wins clients in the months when nobody else is looking.
Explain the steps plainly
Appoint the new firm, sign the authority, the new firm writes to the old one, records and information are transferred, and the new firm takes over. That is genuinely most of it.
Explain professional clearance
That the incoming firm writes to the outgoing one as a matter of professional courtesy, what it asks for and that it is routine. Clients imagine a confrontation and there is none.
Explain what the client has to do
Sign an engagement letter, provide identification and authorise the transfer. Usually under an hour of their time, which is the number that changes the decision.
Be honest about the friction
Occasionally an outgoing firm is slow, or fees are outstanding and must be settled first. Saying so is more credible than promising every transfer goes perfectly.
Explain what happens to the records
What transfers, what the client is entitled to, what the old firm keeps and what happens with software access, which is the same territory as software and handover questions when switching bookkeepers.
Explain the timing around deadlines
Whether a filing deadline is imminent, who is responsible for what and how a transfer mid cycle is handled. This is the legitimate worry and it deserves a proper answer.
Publish your onboarding process
What the first month looks like, what you will ask for and when. A clear process is reassuring to somebody leaving a firm that had none, which is the ground in onboarding checklists that stop endless document chasing.
Publish your fees
Fixed fees, what is included and how it is billed. Most people leaving an accountant cannot describe what they currently pay for, and clarity is the differentiator.
Answer the enquiry when it arrives
Late at night, after another unanswered email to the current firm, which is the moment described in switching accountants and the questions new clients ask and the interrupted attention in barbershops and the questions asked mid cut.
Getting started
Publish the switching process, what the client has to do and your fees, then capture enquiries at any hour. SpideyChat for accountants answers from your published pages, plans are on the pricing page, and the chatbot ROI calculator works through the numbers.