How to hand your tax preparer a clean file after changing bookkeepers mid-year
After changing bookkeepers mid-year, give your tax preparer one file for the whole year: the cutover date, the old provider's reports up to it, the new books from it, a tie-out showing they meet that day, and all 12 months of bank statements. The preparer then works from one continuous year.
Here is how to build that file, step by step. It applies to anyone who left Bench or any other provider during a year that has not been filed yet.
What should a tax preparer get after you change bookkeepers?
Seven things, in this order. The steps below build each one.
Step 1: Write down the cutover date
One line at the top: the old provider kept the books through this date, the new one from the day after. If it was mid-month, say who did that month.
Step 2: Collect the old provider's reports to the cutover
The profit and loss from January 1 to the cutover date, and the balance sheet on the cutover date. If you can, add a transaction list for those months, so the preparer can look up a vendor without asking you.
Step 3: Get the new books' reports from the cutover
The profit and loss from the day after the cutover to December 31, and the year-end balance sheet.
How do you show the old and new books meet?
Step 4: Build the tie-out table
This is the step most people skip, and it is the one the preparer cares about. On the cutover date, every balance on the old provider's balance sheet should equal the opening balance in the new books. A short table does it:
| Account | Old books, Jun 30 | New opening, Jul 1 | Difference | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business checking | 18,420.55 | 18,420.55 | 0.00 | Check #1043 for 550.00 uncleared, carried forward |
| Savings | 25,000.00 | 25,000.00 | 0.00 | |
| Business credit card | (2,316.40) | (2,316.40) | 0.00 | |
| Equipment loan | (14,800.00) | (14,800.00) | 0.00 |
Fictional figures. Any difference needs a line explaining it, such as a check that had not cleared yet.
If the new bookkeeper tied each bank and card balance to the statement on that date, include their note on it.
The tie-out table is one page, and it answers the question every preparer has about a mid-year switch: did anything fall through the gap?
Which other documents belong in the file?
Step 5: Add the bank statements
Every bank, card and loan statement, January to December, as PDFs from the bank. The preparer may never open them, but if a number looks wrong, they are the first thing anyone checks.
Step 6: Flag anything unresolved
A transfer you can't explain. An account the old provider never had statements for. A month around the switch where something may have been recorded twice. Write it down in plain words. A short list of open items saves a long email thread in March.
Step 7: Line up the two profit and loss reports
Some preparers want one combined report for the year. If the two providers used different account names, match them first: the old "Software subscriptions" and the new "Software" are the same line.
What if you left Bench at the end of 2024?
Bench's notice of December 27, 2024 suggested customers file a six-month IRS extension. If you did, keep the extension paperwork with this file. It explains the dates if anyone asks later.
Key takeaways
- Give the preparer one file for the whole year, with the cutover date written at the top.
- The tie-out table is the core: old closing balance equals new opening balance, with every difference explained.
- Include all 12 months of bank, card and loan statements as PDFs from the bank.
- Write open items down in plain words instead of leaving them for the preparer to find.
FAQ
Does my tax preparer need both bookkeepers' reports?
Yes, for the year of the switch. The old provider's reports cover January to the cutover, and the new books cover the rest of the year.
What if the old and new balances don't match?
Each difference needs an explanation, usually an uncleared check or deposit. A difference with nothing behind it means the last months the old provider closed need checking before the return is prepared.
Should I send bank statements from the bank or from the old bookkeeper?
From the bank. They are the original record, and the bank keeps them whatever happens to a bookkeeping provider.
The full move off Bench, including what to download before you go and which months to re-check, is at https://www.zerabooks.com/alternatives/bench.
Disclosure: I'm the founder of ZeraBooks. ZeraBooks sets up opening balances from your old provider's reports and proves each month against your statements as part of its bookkeeping service, from $150 a month in U.S. dollars, priced after a free call. We don't file tax returns; we hand your preparer the file above.
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