Starting with a new accountant? Agree your first document handover

Agree the scope before filling the folder

Ask your accountant for a list of documents needed for the first handover. Name the business and period, and ask whether they also need an older archive. Purchase invoices may be only part of what they expect, so compare the files you have found with their requirements.

Agree the scope separately for each business. Also distinguish the first handover from future regular deliveries: an older archive may need a different arrangement from the monthly packages that follow.

For documents you are not sending now, add what happens next. You can arrange a separate handover for paper documents and explain that you are still downloading invoices from a supplier portal. If you do not yet know the scope of the older archive, leave that question open in the note. Your accountant can then see what to expect later and what still needs discussing.

Confirm the recipient, delivery method and formats

Agree who you will send the documents to and how: as email attachments, in a shared folder or through your accountant's system. If several people handle them, decide who will receive the first package and whom you should contact with questions.

Before converting or renaming files in bulk, find out which formats your accountant accepts. Also confirm how you will identify the business, period and later additions. If your accountant has their own folder names, use those. Otherwise, a simple label that you both understand is enough.

A folder name identifies the agreed package; it does not determine how your accountant will process the documents. Renaming a file does not change its contents either. For an unclear document, add an explanation and ask your accountant to assess it.

A completed example of a short agreement

You can record the agreed points as in the hypothetical example below. Studio Lípa is a fictional business, and the scope for September 2026 is illustrative, rather than a universal list of required documents. In your version, use the list confirmed by your accountant.

Put the note in an email and ask your accountant to confirm or correct it. Only their reply will show whether you both expect the same handover.

Let your accountant open a small sample

With the scope and delivery method agreed, prepare a small handover sample. Choose a typical document and, if useful, another type whose format you are unsure about. Use the same arrangement as for the full package and include only documents intended for this accountant.

Ask your accountant to confirm that they can open the link, read the files and understand their labels. For a shared folder, you need to check access from their side. If something does not work or they ask for a different arrangement, adjust the sample and have them open it again. Then prepare the rest in the same way.

Add the outcome to the agreement. A reply saying ‘I can open the folder and the names are fine’ confirms the delivery method. Agree a completeness check or document processing separately if you also expect confirmation of those.

Agree what happens with missing documents and corrections

Before the first package, agree where you will list missing or unclear items. The covering message should identify the document or purchase, explain what is being resolved and say who will take the next step. If you do not know when a document will arrive, say so. Your accountant can then tell you whether it makes sense to hand over the prepared part now.

Also divide up the search: you can ask the supplier for a copy because you know the purchase and can access their account; your accountant can clarify which document is needed. If problems recur with a particular portal, for example, add to the agreement where you will get the documents and whom you will notify when they are unavailable.

Confirm how additions and corrections will be labelled and announced. Your accountant may already be working with a downloaded copy, so do not silently replace a file in the folder. In your message, state what has been added or which document is changing, and refer to the original handover. Your accountant will assess how to process the correction.

When the agreement is ready to use

Prepare the first package according to the confirmed scope and the delivery method your accountant checked with the sample. You can agree the future monthly routine later. For remaining questions, however, write down who will resolve them so that you know whose reply you are waiting for.

Before sending, compare the package with the agreement: do its contents match the scope, have you listed exceptions, and does your accountant know which acknowledgement you expect? The related articles help with checking files and writing the covering message. If the accountant, delivery method or document scope later changes, update the note and have the change confirmed again.