What to request when taking over bookkeeping from a previous accountant

What should a successor accountant request from the prior firm?

Request the client's records by system, file location and year, not just the last closed ledger. A good handoff list names every system the client uses, how far back each goes, who administers it, and what the prior firm still holds, so the successor team can rebuild a full picture of the books and nothing is lost in the changeover.

That same list is useful for one more reason. It shows how deep the client's records are, which is the starting point for a preliminary data licensing fit screen. The client, not the prior firm and not the successor, controls its records and decides whether to explore a license.

Handoff request checklist by area

Send the checklist to the client's authorized contact and copy the prior firm only with the client's written consent. Which of these items the prior firm must hand over depends on the engagement letter and state rules, so confirm that before you ask.

Ledger and close

• Trial balances and general ledger detail for every year the client wants available, with the earliest year noted.
• Bank, credit card and loan reconciliations for open periods.
• Closing checklists, adjusting entries and the support for recurring journals.
• Fixed asset, depreciation and prepaid schedules.

Subledgers and sub-systems

• AR and AP aging, vendor and customer lists, and the tool each is kept in.
• Payroll provider reports and the provider's name and account administrator.
• Expense, billing and inventory tools, with admin contact for each.
• Any integration that posts into the ledger, such as a CRM or ticketing platform.

Tax and compliance files

• Filed returns and notices for open years, and the state accounts where the client files.
• Sales tax and payroll tax filing calendars.
• Lender and covenant reporting history.

Access and control

• Admin credentials move to a named client owner, not the prior firm.
• A list of every user with access to the books, including former staff.
• Backup and export routines, and who last ran a full export.

How do you capture fit signals without touching records?

Add four metadata columns to the system inventory you already build in onboarding. These columns describe records; they do not contain them.

The data asset register template gives the same fields in a reusable layout, and a company is a candidate only if it has 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded).

Who controls the records during a transition?

The client does. A prior firm may hold working papers or copies of files, but the business data in the client's systems belongs to the client, and the client alone can authorize any use of it.

That has two practical consequences for a successor team. First, never ask the prior firm to export or describe records for a licensing purpose; the successor's handoff request is about continuity of the books. Second, do not mention licensing to the prior firm at all unless the client asks you to. Rules on records retention and return vary by state and by engagement terms. Confirm them with your own counsel or state board. For CPAs, the AICPA Code's commissions and referral fees rule is a separate question before any reward. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.

Transition timeline for a successor CAS team

What to say once the inventory exists

Keep the pitch to the owner or authorized sponsor. Do not describe what the records contain.

Red flags during a handoff

• The prior firm still controls admin access and will not release it.
• Data belongs to the client's own customers and there is no consent to license it.
• Mainly consumer personal data or medical records with no licensing basis.
• Archives were already deleted or a trustee controls the assets.
• The company is under 50 full-time employees at peak.

Next step

Successor teams that carry out many transitions can add a licensing screen to the onboarding they already run. Start with the fractional CFO partner overview and the guide to CAS growth at large accounting firms. Revenue and budget reviews give natural follow-up moments, such as the revenue leakage audit and the budget assumptions log, and the ERP cleansing checklist covers what not to purge during a migration. Use the company fit checker for a preliminary, non-binding screen, then register as a partner.

The partner earns 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, up to $100,000 cumulative per referred company, and it becomes payable only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee. Rewards are not guaranteed, and the reward is never deducted from what the company receives.