Handing Over to an Agency Bookkeeping Firm: What to Prepare
Author: Junanda ConsultingReviewed by: Junanda Service Team2026-09-19
Changing agency bookkeeping firms, or moving from agency bookkeeping back to an in-house finance team, is essentially the transfer of a company's financial memory from one team to another in full. Handled well, accounting continuity is assured and the boundary of responsibility is clear. Handled carelessly, the usual outcome is a state of affairs in which the books do not reconcile, the documents cannot be found, and the problems cannot be explained.
The most effective tool for this job is a structured handover checklist, supported by a handover form signed by both parties. It is advisable to group the materials into five categories: corporate and licence documents, tax documents, accounting records, banking documents, and other items. Each is set out below.
1. Corporate and Licence Documents
- The original and copy of the business licence (photocopies or scanned copies, depending on the scope of the handover);
- the articles of association and all subsequent amendments to them;
- the account-opening approval document, or the basic deposit account information form;
- seals: the company seal, the finance seal, the invoice seal and the legal representative's name seal. Note that whether the physical seals are transferred must be made explicit in the agreement; in most cases only the seal use records and a statement on custody of the seals are transferred;
- photocopies of the various licences and qualification certificates;
- shareholders' identity documents and documents relating to capital contributions.
2. Tax Documents
Tax documents are the core of the handover. Missing any one of them may prevent the incoming firm from carrying out its filing work properly.
| Item |
Notes |
| Electronic tax bureau account and password |
Includes the filing account and the binding of tax-handling personnel; the password should be changed and the binding re-established immediately after the handover |
| Tax control devices or the media for fully digitalised e-invoices |
The tax control disk or USB key and its password, and the login and authorisation arrangements for fully digitalised e-invoices |
| Historical returns |
Value-added tax, corporate income tax, individual income tax, surcharges and other returns for each period |
| Tax payment vouchers |
The payment vouchers or electronic tax payment records corresponding to the returns |
| Tax registration and tax type determination information |
The tax types currently determined, the tax rates and the filing deadlines |
| Tax preference filing materials |
The preferences already enjoyed, and the corresponding filing or record-keeping materials |
| Invoice data |
The position on invoices collected, used and held, the list of invoices issued, and the records of credit notes and voided invoices |
| Records of tax matter handling |
Such as export tax rebates and cross-region tax matter reports |
3. Accounting Records
Accounting records are about whether the books can be carried forward.
- Books of account: the general ledger, the various subsidiary ledgers, the bank deposit journal and the cash journal;
- Trial balance: the trial balance as at the handover cut-off date, which is the baseline for setting up the accounts going forward;
- Financial statements: the balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement and other statements for each period;
- Accounting vouchers and source documents: bound into volumes by period, with the quantity and voucher numbering complete and continuous;
- Fixed asset register and intangible asset schedule: including original cost, accumulated depreciation or amortisation, net book value and the status of use;
- Receivables/payables ageing schedule: item-by-item details of accounts receivable, accounts payable, advances received, prepayments and other receivables and payables, with particular attention to shareholder balances and related-party balances;
- Inventory and cost records: where applicable, stocktake sheets and cost accounting notes;
- Notes on unprocessed matters: such as provisional entries, invoices still to be obtained, and income still to be confirmed.
4. Banking, Social Insurance and Other Documents
Banking
- Security tokens and online banking media: the number of items, their identification numbers, the transfer of passwords and the responsibility for custody;
- Bank statements: statements for the handover cut-off month and all preceding months;
- Bank reconciliation statements and outstanding reconciling items: long-outstanding items must be explained separately;
- Account schedule: the account-opening bank, account number, purpose and status of every account opened;
- Instruments: blank cheques, stubs of issued instruments and similar.
Social insurance and housing fund
- Account numbers, passwords, the list of participating staff, contribution bases and contribution records.
Other items
- Contract records: a list and the texts of major contracts currently being performed;
- Corporate registry records: documents from each previous change registration, and annual report records;
- Accounting software: the name of the software, the account, the data backup files and the backup method;
- Financial policies and process documents: the reimbursement policy, the schedule of approval authority and similar.
5. Written Confirmation, Allocation of Responsibility and the Handover Form
This step is the one most often omitted, and yet it matters most. The handover form should make the following points explicit:
- Handover cut-off date: use the end of a particular month as the dividing line, making clear that the previous firm is responsible for the accounts up to that point and the incoming firm from that point onwards. The cut-off date should be chosen after the filing deadline and at a point when the accounting work is complete, so as to avoid handing over mid-process.
- Material schedule and number of copies: list each item with its name, period and number of copies or files, for both parties to check and sign.
- Schedule of outstanding issues: set out the known unprocessed matters clearly — for example, a balance with a counterparty that has been outstanding for a long time, an invoice not yet obtained, or a preference not yet filed — together with a recommendation on how to deal with each.
- Explanation of items not transferred: where materials genuinely cannot be transferred, state the reason and the time by which they will be supplied.
- Signatures and date of both parties: signed by the person handing over, the person receiving, and the responsible person of the enterprise, in two counterparts.
| No. |
Category |
Item |
Period / scope |
Copies or files |
Handover status |
Notes |
| 1 |
Corporate |
Scanned copy of the business licence copy |
Currently valid |
|
Handed over / not handed over |
|
| 2 |
Corporate |
Articles of association and amendments |
All |
|
Handed over / not handed over |
|
| 3 |
Tax |
Electronic tax bureau account |
Current |
|
Handed over / not handed over |
Password must be changed after handover |
| 4 |
Tax |
Tax control device / fully digitalised e-invoice media |
Current |
|
Handed over / not handed over |
|
| 5 |
Tax |
Historical returns |
Up to the cut-off date |
|
Handed over / not handed over |
|
| 6 |
Tax |
Tax payment vouchers |
Up to the cut-off date |
|
Handed over / not handed over |
|
| 7 |
Accounting |
General ledger and subsidiary ledgers |
Up to the cut-off date |
|
Handed over / not handed over |
|
| 8 |
Accounting |
Trial balance |
Cut-off date |
|
Handed over / not handed over |
|
| 9 |
Accounting |
Accounting vouchers and source documents |
Up to the cut-off date |
|
Handed over / not handed over |
|
| 10 |
Accounting |
Fixed asset register |
Cut-off date |
|
Handed over / not handed over |
|
| 11 |
Accounting |
Receivables/payables ageing schedule |
Cut-off date |
|
Handed over / not handed over |
|
| 12 |
Banking |
Security tokens and online banking media |
Current |
|
Handed over / not handed over |
|
| 13 |
Banking |
Bank statements |
Up to the cut-off date |
|
Handed over / not handed over |
|
| 14 |
Banking |
List of outstanding reconciling items |
Cut-off date |
|
Handed over / not handed over |
|
| 15 |
Other |
Social insurance and housing fund accounts |
Current |
|
Handed over / not handed over |
|
| 16 |
Other |
Contract records schedule |
Currently valid |
|
Handed over / not handed over |
|
| 17 |
Other |
Accounting software and data backups |
Up to the cut-off date |
|
Handed over / not handed over |
|
Person handing over: __________ Person receiving: __________ Responsible person of the enterprise: __________ Date: __________
6. What to Do in the First Month After Handover
- Check the trial balance as at the handover cut-off date against the bank statements, and confirm that the balances agree;
- check the receivables/payables ageing schedule against contracts, invoices and receipts so that the records corroborate one another;
- check whether the data already filed is consistent with the books, and confirm that no tax type has been missed;
- change all account passwords, and re-establish the binding of the tax-handling personnel and the social insurance administrator;
- print and file the handover form and the schedule of outstanding issues, and designate a person to follow up on the outstanding items;
- establish a new rhythm for delivering materials, setting out which materials are due by which date each month.
Common Pitfalls
- Pitfall one: transferring the materials without reconciling the figures. If balances and statements are not checked, later differences cannot be traced back.
- Pitfall two: not recording a cut-off date. When problems arise, each side passes the blame to the other and responsibility cannot be established.
- Pitfall three: not changing passwords after the handover. This creates data and operational risk; passwords should be changed and bindings re-established immediately.
- Pitfall four: explaining outstanding issues orally. They must be put on a written schedule, with a recommended treatment and a named person responsible for follow-up.
- Pitfall five: scheduling the handover in the middle of a filing period. This makes missed or duplicate filings likely; choose a point at which the accounting work is complete.
This article is general business information prepared by Junanda Consulting. Specific policy positions, tax rates, deadlines and procedural requirements are subject to the latest official versions issued by the competent authorities. To understand how these requirements apply to your business, please contact Junanda Consulting for further information and support.