Switching bookkeepers mid-year

You can switch bookkeepers mid-year without a mess, as long as you collect the right things before the old one leaves and pick a clean month to hand off.

Mid-year is fine

A lot of owners I talk to stay with a bookkeeper they're unhappy with because they think switching has to wait until January. It doesn't. The books don't care what month it is. What matters is that the handoff is clean, so the new bookkeeper knows exactly where the old one stopped and can trust what came before.

Waiting has a cost, too. If your current books are late or wrong, every month you wait is another month someone has to fix later, usually right when your CPA needs them.

What to collect before the old bookkeeper leaves

This is the part people skip, and it's the part that hurts later. Before you give notice, or right after, get these in hand.

• Admin access to your books, in your name, not theirs
• A full export of the books, including the general ledger for this year
• The last month they fully closed and reconciled, in writing
• Reconciliation reports for each bank and card account
• Bank and card statements they downloaded for this year
• Any notes on how they recorded membership dues, fees and refunds
• A list of open questions or transactions they couldn't sort out
• Any logins they set up on your behalf

The first item matters most. Your books belong to you. If the account was set up under the bookkeeper's login, ask them to make you the owner before they go. Getting that access later is harder than it should be.

The third item matters almost as much. You want them to name the last month they finished. Not the last month they touched, the last month they finished. That's where the new bookkeeper picks up.

How to pick a handoff month

Here's what I'd do. Pick a cutoff at the end of a month. The old bookkeeper owns everything through that month. The new one owns everything after it.

Then the new bookkeeper should check the old work before building on it. Do the reconciled balances match the bank statements? Is membership revenue recorded the same way every month? Are there transactions sitting in uncategorized or suspense, meaning a holding spot for things nobody sorted? If the checks pass, the new bookkeeper picks up from there. If they don't, you'll need to decide whether to fix the year so far or start clean from the cutoff. That depends on how bad it is and what your CPA needs at year end.

Membership revenue is worth a closer look. If your platform deposits money net of fees, refunds and failed payments, the old bookkeeper may have booked the net deposit as revenue. That understates your dues and hides your fees. If that's what happened, a switch is a good time to fix it going forward.

Tell your CPA

Let your CPA know you're switching and when the cutoff is. They'll want to know who's responsible for which months, and it's better they hear it from you now than find out at year end. If your old books need cleanup, your CPA can tell you what they need fixed before they file. How anything gets reported on your return is their call.

Keep the old bookkeeper on good terms if you can. You may have a question about something they did in March. A short, polite exit makes that easier.

What I'd do this week

Log into your books and check who the owner of the account is. If it isn't you, fix that first. Then make a list of every account the practice uses and see which statements you have. Those two steps make any switch easier, whether you switch now or later.

Common questions

Will switching mid-year cause problems at tax time?
Not if the handoff is clean and your CPA knows the cutoff month. Problems come from gaps or unreconciled months, not from the switch itself.

What if my old bookkeeper won't hand things over?
Start with what you can get on your own, like bank statements and access to your membership platform. Your books belong to you, so ask in writing for owner access and an export.

Should the new bookkeeper redo the whole year?
Only if the checks on the old work fail. If the reconciled months hold up, the new bookkeeper should pick up from the cutoff.