Switching accountants

Can I switch in the middle of the year?

Yes. You do not have to wait until 1 January. Do check the agreement with your current bookkeeper: it says how much notice you have to give. Usually that is one month.

The most practical moment is just after a VAT return has been filed. Then there is a clear end point and nobody has to search halfway through a quarter.

Your records belong to you

Your bookkeeper keeps your documents, but they remain yours. By law (article 52(4) of the Dutch General Tax Act) you must keep your records for seven years. That duty lies with you, not with your firm.

So always ask for all the documents, not just a PDF of the last annual accounts. This is what you need:

• the books (general ledger) for this year and last year
• the last annual accounts and the tax balance sheet
• the VAT and income tax returns that were filed
• the depreciation overview for your business assets
• unpaid invoices, from customers and to suppliers
• letters to and from the tax authorities

How we take over

You tell us from which date we take over. We send you a list of what we need, and we check that everything is right: the opening balance, the returns already filed and any corrections still open.

If we find a mistake in an earlier year, we tell you and explain what you can do. You decide.

The switch itself costs you nothing. You only pay from the month we do the work.