Changing bookkeepers should be boring. Done well, your BAS still lodges on time and your staff's super lands when it should. Nobody loses a receipt.
Businesses switch for plenty of good reasons: growth, a bookkeeper retiring, slow turnaround, or wanting someone who knows your industry. None of that needs to be dramatic. What matters is a clear handover process, because your bookkeeper holds keys you might have forgotten about.
This guide covers what should happen, in order, so you know what to ask for and what to watch for. It reflects the rules as at October 2026, including the Payday Super changes that started on 1 July 2026.
1. Before you give notice
Do your homework first, so the exit is on your terms rather than a scramble.
- Re-read your engagement letter. Look for the notice period and any exit or handover fee. Your bookkeeper is in business too, remember, so they've probably tried to protect their own income.
- Settle or agree outstanding fees. We all like our money. Keep it civil and get everything paid.
- Confirm who owns the software subscription. If your Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks file sits on your bookkeeper's partner plan, it may need to be moved into your name. Ask before you announce the change. I really dislike bookkeepers owning your software. It's yours, for this reason and a few more.
- Check your new bookkeeper is registered. Anyone charging a fee for BAS, GST or payroll reporting work must be a registered BAS or tax agent. Search their name on the Tax Practitioners Board's public register and note their registered agent number, because you'll need it later.
- Pick your timing. Avoid switching in the fortnight before a BAS is due, or across 30 June. The cleanest point is just after a BAS lodges, with the quarter reconciled and signed off.
Then give notice in writing. Keep it short and professional: the end date, plus what you need handed over and who to send it to.
2. What your outgoing bookkeeper should do
A registered BAS agent is bound by the Code of Professional Conduct, regulated by the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB). Those duties don't stop the day you leave.
- Finish or clearly hand off work in progress. Any BAS, IAS or STP finalisation they started should be either completed or documented so the new bookkeeper can pick it up.
- Keep records of the work they did for you. The Code requires registered agents to keep proper records of the services they provide to current and former clients, and to hold them for at least five years after the service is complete. It applies from 1 July 2025 for practices with 100 or fewer employees (that's most bookkeepers) and from 1 January 2025 for larger ones (TPB guidance). They should be able to explain what was lodged and why.
- Keep your information confidential. They can't use or share your data after the engagement ends, except as the law allows.
- Act professionally, including toward the next person. A short handover call with your new bookkeeper is normal good practice.
3. The handover pack: what you should receive
Ask for these in writing, with a date. A good bookkeeper will often have a handover template ready.
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Bank reconciliations up to the last completed month or quarter | Proves the books balance at the point of handover |
| Copies of lodged BAS and IAS, with workpapers | Shows how each label was calculated, including any adjustments |
| A list of anything unreconciled, suspended or queried | Stops issues quietly rolling into the new bookkeeper's first BAS |
| Aged receivables and payables at the handover date | Lets you chase debtors and pay suppliers without gaps |
| Payroll summary: employees, pay rates, leave balances, last pay run | Lets the new bookkeeper run the next pay without guessing |
| Super payment history since 1 July 2026 | Confirms each payday's super reached the funds on time |
| STP status and any finalisation still due | Your employees rely on this for their tax returns |
| Recurring transactions, bank rules and tracking categories | Keeps your repeating bills and reporting working the way you set them up |
| Correspondence with the ATO, including payment plans or audits | No surprises in your ATO account |
Most of this already lives in your accounting file, so you're really just asking for a tidy summary as a courtesy.
4. Software, bank feeds, payroll and super
This is where most of the real risk sits, so treat it as its own step.
Your accounting file. You should own the subscription, be the file's primary owner or subscriber, and hold the admin login. If the file sits on the old bookkeeper's partner plan, ask them to transfer billing to you. Then remove their user access and check that any connected apps (receipt capture, inventory, payment tools) are linked to your accounts, not theirs.
Bank access. If the old bookkeeper had view or payment access in your internet banking, revoke it with your bank on the handover date.
Payroll and STP. Make sure the payroll software stays connected to the ATO for Single Touch Payroll under your business.
Super under Payday Super. Since 1 July 2026, super must reach each employee's fund within 7 business days of payday, rather than quarterly. A missed pay run during a handover can now trigger the super guarantee charge within days (see the ATO's Payday Super page). The ATO's free Small Business Superannuation Clearing House also closed permanently on 1 July 2026, so confirm which payment method you now use: payroll software, a commercial clearing house, or your super fund's service. Whoever runs payroll in the changeover fortnight must be agreed, by name.
5. ATO access: nominate the new agent, remove the old one
Your new bookkeeper can't see your ATO accounts until you authorise them. This is a deliberate anti-fraud step.
Companies, trusts, partnerships and other non-individual ABN holders must nominate the new agent themselves in Online services for business before the agent can add them as a client. Your agent can't do the nomination for you, though they can talk you through it (ATO guide):
- Log in to Online services for business with your myID.
- Go to Profile, then Agent details, and choose Add under Agent nominations.
- Search for the new bookkeeper's registered agent number and select them.
- Tell your bookkeeper you've done it. The ATO does not notify them, and they have 28 days to add you before the nomination expires. If they need longer, you can extend it within those 28 days. Once it's expired, you start again.
Sole traders aren't part of this nomination process, so ask your new bookkeeper how they'll link you. If you get stuck, or can't set up myID on a smart device, the ATO's business line (13 28 66) can help you nominate.
Once the new agent is linked, make sure the old bookkeeper's access to your ATO accounts is removed, so only current advisers can act for you. Do the same anywhere else they had access: ASIC, your super fund's employer portal, workers' compensation and your payroll provider.
6. What your new bookkeeper should do in the first 30 days
A good incoming bookkeeper checks the starting point before picking up where the last one stopped.
- Send you an engagement letter setting out scope, fees, turnaround and who does what.
- Confirm your identity and the business's details, and check the agent link with the ATO.
- Review the opening position: bank reconciliations, GST coding, payroll setup and your ATO integrated client account balance.
- Compare the books to what was lodged. Last quarter's BAS should match the file. Differences get investigated, not ignored.
- Run a test pay run or shadow the first live one, confirming super is sent in time for the 7-business-day deadline.
- Give you a short written findings list: what's clean, what needs fixing, and any errors that may need an amended BAS.
If they find mistakes in past work, they should explain the options plainly. Most of it is fixable, and correcting errors voluntarily generally puts you in a better position with the ATO than waiting for it to find them.
7. Red flags, and what to do if things go wrong
Plenty of handovers go fine. These are the signs yours isn't one of them:
- Your old bookkeeper refuses to hand over logins or remove themselves from your software.
- They say the file "belongs" to them, or demand a large unexplained exit fee.
- Months of unreconciled transactions, or a BAS that doesn't match the books.
- Super or PAYG withholding that was calculated but never actually paid.
- Your new bookkeeper can't show you a registered agent number.
If you hit a wall, escalate in steps:
- Put it in writing. List exactly what you need and by when. Calm and specific works best.
- Pay any undisputed fees to remove the most common reason for delay.
- Take back control directly. As the subscriber and account holder, you can usually contact your software provider and bank to regain access and remove users.
- Lodge a complaint with the TPB if a registered agent isn't meeting their Code obligations. Complaints are made online at tpb.gov.au/complaints. The TPB won't settle a fee dispute for you, that's a commercial matter.
- Get legal advice for genuine fee disputes or where a lien is being used to hold records you need.
If a BAS or super deadline is at risk, tell the ATO early. It is far more flexible before a due date than after it.
Quick checklist
- Engagement letter reviewed for notice period, fees and lien clause
- Outstanding invoices paid or disputed in writing
- New bookkeeper confirmed on the TPB register; agent number noted
- Switch timed just after a BAS lodgement, not before one
- Written notice given to the old bookkeeper
- Handover pack received and checked
- Software subscription and admin login in your name
- Old bookkeeper removed from software, bank and other portals
- Payroll owner agreed for the changeover; super paid within 7 business days
- New agent nominated with the ATO and added within 28 days
- Old agent's ATO access removed
- New bookkeeper's findings list received within 30 days
Quick FAQs
Can my old bookkeeper keep my records until I pay them?
Only in limited circumstances. A lien has to relate to specific property they hold and the unpaid fees for that property, and the TPB recommends agents get legal advice before claiming one. If your file sits in software you own, there's nothing for them to hold. Put your request in writing and get legal advice if it stalls.
How long does my new bookkeeper have to accept the ATO nomination?
28 days from when you submit it. They aren't notified automatically, so tell them straight away. If they need longer, you can extend it for another 28 days during that window. If it expires, you submit a fresh one.
When is the best time to change bookkeepers?
Straight after a BAS has been lodged, with the quarter reconciled and signed off. Skip the fortnight before a BAS is due, and the turn of the financial year on 30 June.
Do I need to tell the ATO when I change bookkeepers?
If you're a company, trust, partnership or other non-individual ABN holder, yes. You nominate the new agent yourself in Online services for business. Sole traders aren't part of that nomination process, so ask your new bookkeeper how they'll link you.
Switching is your right, so do it properly
Own your software, control your logins, time the switch around your BAS and payroll cycle, and get everything in writing. Done right, your staff, your suppliers and the ATO won't notice a thing.
If you're the one taking over a file and want a second set of eyes on it before you trust it, that's what I do.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Speak to a registered tax or BAS agent about your situation.
Sources
TPB: Obligation to keep proper client records
TPB: Claiming a lien over client property
ATO: How to nominate your registered agent
ATO: About Payday Super
ATO: The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House is closing
TPB: Complaints
