Changing Your Small Business Accountant: A 6-Step Guide
Short answer: to change your small business Accountant, pick a switch date just after a VAT and PAYE month is filed, sign with the new Accountant first, and give them written permission to contact your current one. Then collect the handover pack, move SARS eFiling access and Xero to the new team, and give notice under your current agreement. Done in that order, a switch usually takes two to four weeks and no VAT201 or EMP201 is missed.
Changing Accountants feels risky because SARS dates keep running while you switch. The trick is to plan the handover around those dates; see our list of SARS tax deadlines.
Step 1: pick your switch date
Good time to switch | Why |
|---|---|
Just after a VAT201 and EMP201 are filed | The next returns are a month away |
Just after your financial year-end | The new team prepares the full year from the start |
Before the year-end work starts | Financial statements and the ITR14 stay with one team |
Not in a deadline week | Avoid 23 October, 22 January and 26 February |
Step 2: read your current agreement
Check the notice period, what is owed and what happens to work in progress. Your accounting records belong to your business, so you are entitled to them. Settle or agree any open invoices early, so the handover is not held up.
Step 3: appoint the new Accountant first
Sign the new engagement letter and provide the FICA documents before you give notice. Professional codes for Accountants expect the new Accountant to contact the previous one, with your written permission, to ask whether there is any professional reason not to take you on and to request what they need. Give that permission at the start; it is a normal courtesy and it speeds things up.
Step 4: collect the handover pack
Item | Why the new team needs it |
|---|---|
Xero access or your ledger and trial balance | The starting point for the books |
Last financial statements and ITR14s | Opening balances and history |
VAT201s, EMP201s and EMP501s for the past year | To carry on the returns without gaps |
SARS correspondence and open queries | So nothing is left unanswered |
Provisional tax (IRP6) workings | For the next payment |
CIPC documents and beneficial ownership records | For the annual return |
Payroll records and employee files | For payslips, UIF and IRP5s |
Loan account and fixed asset schedules | For the year-end |
Step 5: move SARS eFiling access
The new tax practitioner adds your business to their eFiling portfolio and requests the tax types they will manage. You then authorise the request on eFiling with a one-time PIN, which gives them access. From your own eFiling profile you can also remove the previous practitioner's access once the handover is complete.
Step 6: move Xero and close off
Your data stays in your own Xero organisation; only access and billing change. Invite the new Accountant as an adviser user, transfer the subscription to their practice if that is part of the agreement, and remove the old firm's users once the handover pack is in. If your business is a close corporation, file the change of accounting officer at CIPC on a CK2A form with the new accounting officer's written consent.
An example. A guesthouse (Pty) Ltd decides on 1 October 2026 to switch, and files its September EMP201 and VAT201 as usual. In week one it signs with the new Accountant and gives permission to contact the old one. In week two the handover pack arrives and the new team gets Xero access. In week three the owner authorises the eFiling request with a one-time PIN. The new team then files the October EMP201 by 6 November 2026 and the next VAT201 when it falls due. No return is missed.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to change Accountants?
Usually two to four weeks, depending on how quickly the handover pack and access come through.
Do I need my old Accountant's permission to change?
No. You decide who your Accountant is. The new Accountant asks your permission to contact the previous one as a professional courtesy.
Who owns my accounting records?
Your business does. Ask for your records, ledgers and returns as part of the handover.
How does a new tax practitioner get access to my eFiling?
They request the tax types on eFiling and you authorise the request with a one-time PIN.
Will I lose my data if I move my Xero subscription?
No. Your data stays in your Xero organisation; only the users and the billing change.
Related guides
Switching to our team
We handle the handover for you, from the permission letter and handover pack to eFiling and Xero. Our team keeps your bookkeeping, VAT, payroll and tax up to date in Xero for one monthly fee: 1% of your business turnover, from R79 a month excluding VAT. See Accounting & Bookkeeping or book a free meeting.
Sources: SARS: How to add clients to your tax practitioner's portfolio on eFiling; CIPC Notice 15 of 2023: requirements for accounting officer appointments.
This article is general information, current at October 2026. It is not advice for your specific situation.
