“I only hear from them once a year”
The accounts turn up ten months after the year they describe, with a bill. Nothing in them could have changed a decision, because every decision was already made.
Switching your accountant to Buzz
One form from you, one letter from us to your old accountant, and your records, your HMRC authorisations and your software move over without you chasing anyone. Any time of year.
What the switch involves
- You accept the quote. That is your part.
- We write to your old accountant
- We chase until the records arrive
- HMRC agent authorisation handled
- Software set up or taken over
- Free — the switch costs nothing
Six reasons we hear, almost word for word
Almost nobody switches accountant because the arithmetic was wrong. They switch because of one of these.
“Nobody answers”
Three emails and a fortnight for something that needed ten minutes. Most people do not leave over the work; they leave over the silence.
“I never know what it will cost”
A bill that arrives after the work, priced on time you cannot see, with extras you did not know were extras.
“I found out too late”
A tax bill in January that could have been planned for in June. Or a penalty for something nobody flagged.
“I do not understand what they send me”
A set of statutory accounts is written to satisfy Companies House. If nobody sits down and tells you what it says, it may as well be in another language.
“It is all still on paper”
A carrier bag once a year, when Making Tax Digital is going to require digital records from April 2026 anyway.
Score the accountant you have before you move
Most owners have no way of telling whether their accountant is any good, because they have nothing to compare against. Our free scorecard is eighteen questions across the six things an accountant is paid to do, and it takes about four minutes.
It comes back with a score for each area and the things to ask your current accountant about the ones that came out low. If they answer those well, stay where you are. That is cheaper and less disruptive than moving, and the scorecard says so when it applies.
The five worries that hold people another year
Most owners who are unhappy stay another year, and it is nearly always one of these five that holds them.
- “I will have to have an awkward conversation”
- You will not. A one-line email saying you are moving is enough, and plenty of people do not even send that until afterwards. We write the formal letter, ask for the records and do the chasing. Accountants change firms all the time and your old one has done this before.
- “They might refuse to hand my records over”
- Your own records are yours, and the professional bodies require firms to cooperate with a clearance request. A firm can hold its own working papers while its final bill is unpaid, so settle that to avoid a delay. If a firm goes quiet we keep chasing, and most of what is needed can be rebuilt from HMRC and Companies House anyway.
- “Something will get missed in between”
- Every open filing gets a name against it in writing before anything moves, so there is no window where both firms think the other one has it. That exchange is the whole point of professional clearance.
- “It will cost me to move”
- The switch itself is free: the letters, the HMRC authorisations and the software set-up are part of joining. The only thing ever quoted separately is catch-up bookkeeping where the books are behind, and you see that figure before anyone starts.
- “I have left it too late this year”
- Rarely true. Tell us the deadline and we will tell you honestly whether it is cheaper to let your old accountant finish that year. Sometimes the answer is yes, and we will say so.
Three steps, and you only do the first one
- 1Get your quote and accept it online
The instant quote shows your monthly fee on the page and sends the full proposal to your inbox. Accept it there and your onboarding opens in the portal, with the short list of what we need from you. If you would rather talk first, book a call.
- 2We write to your old accountant
You give us their name and email. We send the professional clearance letter and ask for the handover pack: your last accounts and tax computations, the trial balance, the fixed asset register, and the payroll and VAT records. Then we chase until it arrives. You do not have to have the awkward conversation.
- 3We take over with HMRC and set you up
You authorise us as your agent through HMRC's online service, using a link and the steps we send you. We set up FreeAgent or Xero, or take over the one you already use, connect the bank feeds, open your portal and app, and agree the monthly rhythm. From there your named accountant runs it.
What we promise during the switch
One named person
Your accountant runs the switch and is the person you speak to, from the first email to the first month-end.
You never chase
We chase your old accountant, we chase HMRC, and we tell you where things are without being asked.
Nothing double-filed, nothing missed
Before anything is filed we confirm who is doing what with your old accountant, in writing.
These are the same commitments every client can hold us to. They are written down on our promise page.
When to switch
Just after a year end is filed
The cleanest point. Your old accountant finishes the year they started and we take the new one from day one.
The start of a VAT quarter or payroll month
Bookkeeping and payroll transfer most simply at a period end, with year-to-date figures carried across.
Right now, if you are unhappy
A switch mid-year is normal. We agree with your old accountant which of us finishes the open work, and tell you which is cheaper for you.
A month, most of which needs nothing from you
- 1Day one
You accept the quote. Onboarding opens in your portal with a short list, and the identity checks take a few minutes on your phone.
- 2Within two working days
The professional clearance letter goes to your old accountant and the HMRC agent authorisation links come to you.
- 3Week one
Software set up or taken over, bank feeds connected, your portal and app live. You can start photographing receipts immediately, before any records have arrived.
- 4Weeks two to four
The handover pack comes back and is reviewed. Most firms respond inside a fortnight; where one does not, we chase and keep you told.
- 5First month end
Your first reconciled month, and the call with your named accountant about what it shows. From here it is a rhythm rather than a project.
Six things, if you have them
Nothing on this list stops us starting. Where you do not have a document or a reference we get it from your old accountant, HMRC or Companies House. The identity checks are the only item that has to come from you, and they take a few minutes on your phone.
- Your last set of accounts and tax return, if you have copies
- Your Unique Taxpayer Reference, and for a company its number and Companies House authentication code
- VAT number and PAYE references, where you have them
- The login for any bookkeeping software you already use
- Your old accountant's name and email address
- Photo ID and proof of address for the identity checks every accountant must do under the Money Laundering Regulations
What happens around the software
Every accountant has a portal now. What decides it is somebody who notices a number is wrong, is accountable for a deadline, and is already there when you need management accounts or coaching.
What it is like afterwards
Most people who switch to Buzz were not badly served so much as rarely served: an accountant who appeared at the year end with a bill and a set of accounts describing a year that had already happened. The difference afterwards is rhythm. Your books are kept up to date every month, your portal shows the tax building up and what to set aside, your deadlines are tracked and filed, and there is a named person who replies within one working day.
Two ways the relationship goes further
Plenty of businesses need the accounts filed properly and nothing more, and we will tell you when that is you. Where the business has outgrown that, these are the two routes, and both run on the same figures and the same people rather than starting a new relationship.
Buzz Business Pulse
You stop running the business on the bank balance. An annual budget, a rolling twelve-month cashflow forecast, management accounts monthly or quarterly, and actual against budget every time, so any gap shows up as a number. Then the part that matters: a meeting where a person who knows your numbers goes through what they say and what to do about it, and you leave with written actions and dates. How Business Pulse runs
An outsourced finance team
Growth creates finance work long before it can justify a finance department. A Finance Manager does the weekly bookkeeping, payroll and VAT. A Financial Controller also invoices customers, pays suppliers and sends a monthly board pack. A Finance Director adds the annual plan, the forecast and a quarterly board meeting. Move up a level as the business grows. How the finance team works
Questions people ask before they switch
Will there be a gap where nobody is looking after me?
No. Your old accountant remains responsible for anything they have agreed to finish, and we are responsible from the date on your proposal. The two are agreed in writing during the clearance exchange, so every filing has a name against it.
Do I have to tell my old accountant myself?
You should let them know you are leaving, and a short email is enough. We send the formal clearance letter and request your records; most firms respond within a couple of weeks.
Can my old accountant refuse to hand over my records?
Your own records belong to you and the professional bodies require accountants to cooperate with a clearance request. A firm can hold back its own working papers while its final bill is unpaid, so settle that bill to avoid a delay. If a firm goes quiet, we keep chasing and we can rebuild most of what is needed from HMRC and Companies House.
What if my accounts are due soon?
We look at the deadline and the state of the books and tell you the cheaper option: your old accountant finishing that year, or Buzz taking it on. Catch-up work is quoted before it starts, never added to the monthly fee afterwards.
Does HMRC need to know?
Yes, and it is done online. You authorise Buzz as your agent for each tax through HMRC's digital handshake; we send you the link. Your old accountant's authority ends when you or they remove it.
Can I keep my software?
Yes. We work in FreeAgent and Xero. If you are on something else we will tell you honestly whether it is worth moving, and if it is, we do the migration with the history intact.
How does payroll move?
At a pay period end. We take the year-to-date figures for each employee and the pension scheme details, so payslips, P60s and the HMRC submissions carry on without a break.
What does switching cost?
Nothing. The switch, the letters, the HMRC set-up and the software set-up are part of joining. The only thing ever quoted separately is catch-up bookkeeping where the books are behind, and you will see that figure before we start.
Accreditations & Partnerships
