There's no rule that you have to wait for your year-end or the end of the tax year. You can move accountants whenever you like, including mid-year, and a good new accountant will pick things up cleanly from wherever they are. The only thing worth checking first is your current engagement letter for any notice period or work in progress.
Once you appoint a new accountant, they write to your old one — a standard professional clearance letter — asking for the information they need and confirming there's no professional reason not to act. You don't have to have an uncomfortable conversation or chase anything; it's a routine handover that happens between the two firms.
A general accountant can file a tax return. A dental accountant knows the things that quietly cost dentists money: reconciling NHS pension superannuation that's been deducted on stale estimates, handling associate agreements and the self-employment that goes with them, the expenses that are legitimately claimable in dentistry, and the tax around buying and selling a practice. If you're switching, switch to someone who does this all day — otherwise you've moved for nothing. See who we help: associates, practice owners and hygienists & therapists.
The switch itself is usually a matter of days once you've said go — the clearance letter, the HMRC re-authorisation and the software handover run in parallel. You'll typically be fully moved across well inside a couple of weeks, without any gap in your affairs being looked after.
Switching is quick, you don't handle the awkward bit, and it can happen whenever suits you. The only real question is whether your current accountant genuinely understands dentistry — and if you're reading this, you probably already know the answer. Have a no-pressure chat and we'll walk you through it.
Deadlines coming up, rule changes that affect dentists, and one number worth checking — once a month, no spam.
No — it's mostly handled for you. You appoint the new firm, they send a professional clearance letter to your old accountant and manage the handover of records and HMRC authorisation. The main thing you do is let your current accountant know you're moving.
Yes. There's no need to wait for your year-end or the tax year-end — you can move at any time and the new accountant picks things up from where they are. Just check your current engagement letter for any notice period.
No. Agent authorisation is simply re-registered to your new accountant, and your tax references stay the same. Handled properly there's no gap in your affairs being managed.
Because dentistry has specifics a generalist routinely misses — NHS pension superannuation reconciliation, associate self-employment, dental-specific expenses and the tax around buying or selling a practice. That specialist knowledge is usually where the switch pays for itself.
A free, no-obligation conversation about your situation — associate, principal, buying or selling. If we can't add value, we'll say so.
One short email a month: deadlines coming up, rule changes that affect dentists, and one number worth checking in your practice. No spam, unsubscribe any time.