--- title: How to Switch Dental Bookkeepers Without Losing a Month description: Switching bookkeepers mid-year does not have to cost you a month of books. The handoff checklist, the timing, and what to get before you leave. image: https://reciprocityaccounting.com/hubfs/blog-images/post_237.png --- [Skip to content](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog/switch-dental-bookkeepers#main-content) [![](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/logo-horizontal-transparent.png?width=1298&height=290&name=logo-horizontal-transparent.png)Homepage](https://reciprocityaccounting.com) - [Services](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/services) - [Pricing](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/pricing) - [FAQ](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/faq) - [Blog](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog) - [About](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/about) [Book a Discovery Call](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/contact) - [Services](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/services) - [Pricing](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/pricing) - [FAQ](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/faq) - [Blog](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog) - [About](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/about) [Book a Discovery Call](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/contact) ![Reciprocity Accounting card: Switch Bookkeepers Without Losing a Month, a How To post.](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog-images/post_237.png?width=1200&height=630&name=post_237.png) How To # How to Switch Dental Bookkeepers Without Losing a Month of Books ![Greg Hudnall](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/49dbd5c12b604f92786349ba17b92e2c) Greg Hudnall November 3, 2026 How To  ·  6 min read Switch at a month-end your current bookkeeper has already closed, take control of the accounting file before you revoke anyone, and have the new firm start from the old firm's final reconciliations. A month goes missing in a bookkeeper switch when there is a gap between the old firm's last close and the new firm's first one, and each side assumes the other has it. Close the gap with a cut-off date both firms agree to in writing, the accounting file and every login in your name before anyone is removed, and a written list of what the outgoing bookkeeper hands over. ## When to Switch: Timing Around Month-End and Year-End The cleanest cut-off is the first day of a month, after your current bookkeeper has closed the month before. In practice that means telling them early in the month that the month just ended is their last, and letting them finish it. The new bookkeeper then starts with the current month and has a closed, reconciled month behind them to build from. Avoid a cut-off in the middle of a month. Two firms working the same month means two sets of judgment calls on the same transactions and nobody owning the reconciliation. Year-end needs one more decision. W-2s and 1099-NEC forms for 2026 are due February 1, 2027, because January 31 falls on a Sunday and the IRS moves a weekend due date to the next business day ([W-2 instructions](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/iw2w3), [1099-NEC instructions](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1099mec)). If you are switching near the turn of the year, put in writing who closes December, who prepares the 1099s, and who answers your tax preparer's questions about 2026. Our [year-end close checklist](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog/dental-practice-year-end-bookkeeping) lists what that close should include. You do not need to wait for January. Any month-end works once the prior month is closed. ## What to Get From Your Current Bookkeeper Ask for these before their last month is finished, while they are still being paid to answer questions. | Item | Why you need it | | --- | --- | | Accounting file access, with you as primary admin | Everything else depends on it | | Final bank, card and loan reconciliations through the cut-off month | The new firm starts from balances that tie to the bank statements | | Last production, collections and deposits tie-out at the cut-off | Shows your practice software and the bank agreed when the old firm stopped | | Year-to-date P&L and balance sheet at the cut-off | The starting point the new firm ties to | | Open items list | Uncoded transactions and unanswered questions, so nothing sits in suspense with no owner | | Accounts receivable and payable detail at the cut-off | The balances behind the balance sheet | | Fixed asset and loan schedules | Depreciation and interest that have to continue correctly | | Payroll reports and your payroll provider contact | To keep payroll in the books matched to what was paid | | Last year's tax return and any year-end entries your tax preparer had them book | So the books and the return still agree | | Notes on recurring entries, bank rules and unusual treatment | The judgment calls that never appear in a report | Bank rules, recurring journal entries and the way owner draws were coded stay invisible until they break. Get those notes in writing before the last month closes. Keep your own copy of the history, too. The IRS tells businesses to "keep records for 3 years" when none of the longer periods apply and to "keep employment tax records for at least 4 years after the date that the tax becomes due or is paid, whichever is later" ([IRS, How long should I keep records](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/how-long-should-i-keep-records)). The obligation is yours, so keep a copy in a system you control. ## Access to Transfer and Revoke Take control of the file before you remove anyone from it. Start with the accounting file. In QuickBooks Online, the primary admin is "the main person who has access to every part of a QuickBooks account" ([Intuit](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/primary-administrator/change-primary-admin-user-quickbooks-online/L9TU91iOk_US_en_US)), and if your bookkeeper set up the file, that person may be them. Intuit warns accountants directly that "your firm being the primary admin can cause unforeseen and wide-reaching issues in the client account" ([Intuit](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/manage-client/transfer-primary-admin-access-back-quickbooks/L4vCcWCAw_US_en_US)). Have the role transferred to you before anything else. Intuit only allows the transfer to someone who is already a company admin, so you may need to be made an admin first. Check who pays for the subscription. Some firms bill a client's QuickBooks through their own Intuit discount plan. When a firm removes a client from that plan, Intuit says the client starts paying for the subscription and has "read-only access to their QuickBooks company until they update their billing info," with no impact on the data ([Intuit](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/manage-client/manage-wholesale-discount-plan-wholesale-discount/L13MoEwj6_US_en_US)). Nothing is lost, but nobody can post to the file until billing is in your name, and Intuit notes your rate will not be the discounted one the firm paid. Settle it before the cut-off, not the week the new firm starts. Then revoke. A primary admin or company admin can delete an accountant user, and Intuit says the accountant "is immediately removed and can no longer access your company file" ([Intuit](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/accountant-access/remove-accountant-user/L2WxFaS9M_US_en_US)). Remove the old firm once its final reconciliations arrive. The new firm can be invited as its own user as soon as you hold the primary admin role. Lock the months the old firm closed. QuickBooks Online lets you set a closing date so that "you can't edit any transactions before the closing date" without a warning or password ([Intuit](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/close-books/close-books-quickbooks-online/L59LelyPM_US_en_US)). Set it at the cut-off and choose the password option, so nobody can change those months without the password. The audit log shows the date of each change, the user who made it and the original transaction details ([Intuit](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/audit-log/use-audit-log-quickbooks-online/L2WoVnW6I_US_en_US)). Outside the accounting file, list every other place the outgoing bookkeeper can sign in: bank and card portals, the payroll provider, bill pay, shared document folders and your practice software. Remove them from each one. If they hold an IRS tax information authorization (Form 8821) or a power of attorney (Form 2848), the IRS instructions say to write "REVOKE" across the top, add a current signature and date, and send it to the IRS ([Form 8821 instructions](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i8821), [Form 2848 instructions](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i2848)). Patient information needs its own step. A bookkeeper who could see your practice software, or who received reports with patient names on them, was handling protected health information, which is why a HIPAA-covered practice should have a [business associate agreement](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog/dental-bookkeeper-hipaa-baa) with them. Federal rules require that agreement to have them, at termination, "if feasible, return or destroy all protected health information" they still hold, and to keep protecting anything they cannot return ([45 CFR 164.504(e)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/section-164.504)). Ask for that in writing. We are bookkeepers, not lawyers, and this is not legal advice. ## The First Close With the New Firm Before the new bookkeeper posts anything, they should review the old firm's final reconciliations and tie their opening balances to them. If the cash balance on the books at the cut-off does not match the bank statement, that is a question for the outgoing firm, and it is easiest to get answered while they are still replying to your email. Expect the first month to take longer than the ones after it. The new firm is learning your vendors, your payroll, your deposit patterns and your practice software reports. Ask before you sign [what date the first package will arrive](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog/dental-bookkeeper-monthly-deliverables), and whether the close date in the agreement applies from month one. A new firm may also restructure the books, for example moving you to a [standardized dental chart of accounts](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog/dental-practice-standardized-chart-of-accounts) or [switching to accrual reporting](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog/dental-practice-switch-accrual-quickbooks). Ask how last year's numbers will be mapped to the new structure, so this year's months can still be compared with last year's. *P.S.* [*Reciprocity Accounting*](https://reciprocityaccounting.com) *closes dental practice books by the 10th of every month, so you always know which month is finished.* [*See how we can help your practice.*](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/contact) ## Frequently Asked Questions ### When is the best time to switch dental bookkeepers? At the start of a month, after your current bookkeeper has closed the month before. Avoid a mid-month cut-off, and if you are switching near year-end, agree in writing who closes December and prepares the 1099s. ### What should I get from my old bookkeeper before they go? Final reconciliations for every account through the cut-off, a year-to-date P&L and balance sheet, an open items list, receivable and payable detail, fixed asset and loan schedules, payroll reports, the production and collections tie-out, last year's tax return and any year-end entries from your preparer, and notes on recurring entries and bank rules. ### What if my bookkeeper set up my QuickBooks file? Check who is primary admin and who pays the subscription. Have the primary admin role transferred to you first. If the firm pays through its own Intuit plan, Intuit says your data is unaffected when you leave the plan, but the file is read-only until you update billing. ### How long does switching bookkeepers take? The handoff itself usually takes a few weeks, longer if earlier months were never reconciled. Time the cut-off so the outgoing firm closes its last month and the new firm runs the next one. ### Does my old bookkeeper have to delete my patients' information? Your business associate agreement should require them to return or destroy protected health information at termination where feasible, and to keep protecting anything they cannot. Ask for written confirmation. **Related reading:** - [How to Choose a Dental Bookkeeper: 12 Questions to Ask Before You Hire](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog/how-to-choose-dental-bookkeeper) - [What Dental Practice Owners Should Know About Outsourcing Their Bookkeeping](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog/outsourced-dental-bookkeeping) - [Why Your Dental Practice Books Should Be Closed by the 10th of Every Month](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog/dental-books-monthly-close-deadline) ## Share this post [mailto:https%3A%2F%2Freciprocityaccounting.com%2Fblog%2Fswitch-dental-bookkeepers](mailto:https%3A%2F%2Freciprocityaccounting.com%2Fblog%2Fswitch-dental-bookkeepers) ## Keep reading ### [![Reciprocity Accounting card: Marketing at 5%: Spend or Volume?, a Problems post.](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog-images/post_224.png?width=1200&height=630&name=post_224.png) Problems Dental Marketing at 5%: Spend Problem or Volume Problem?](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog/dental-marketing-spend-volume-problem) ### [![Reciprocity Accounting card: What an Empty Chair Costs per Hour, a Cost post.](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog-images/post_223.png?width=1200&height=630&name=post_223.png) Cost What an Empty Dental Chair Costs You per Hour](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog/dental-empty-chair-cost-per-hour) | ![Reciprocity Accounting](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/hubfs/logo_horizontal_dark_transparent.png) Accounting built for dental practices. Books closed by the 10th. **Guaranteed**. Reciprocity Accounting LLC 6809 Main St #37, Cincinnati, OH 45244 [(833) 538-5551](tel:+18335385551)  ·  [info@reciprocityaccounting.com](mailto:info@reciprocityaccounting.com) | | Resources [Services](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/services) [Pricing](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/pricing) [FAQ](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/faq) [Dashboard](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/dashboard) [Benchmark Scorecard](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/benchmark-scorecard) | Company [About](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/about) [Blog](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog) [Contact](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/contact) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | © 2026 Reciprocity Accounting. All rights reserved.    [Privacy Notice](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/privacy-notice)    [Terms of Service](https://reciprocityaccounting.com/terms-of-service) Reciprocity Accounting LLC is not a CPA firm and does not provide audit, review, compilation, or attest services. Our services are bookkeeping, financial reporting, and business advisory in nature. Tax services, when applicable, are provided by licensed third-party professionals. | | | | ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Greg Hudnall", "url" : "https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog/author/greg-hudnall" }, "datePublished" : "2026-11-03T13:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "How to Switch Dental Bookkeepers Without Losing a Month", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog/switch-dental-bookkeepers", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://reciprocityaccounting.com/hubfs/logo-horizontal-transparent.png" }, "name" : "Reciprocity Accounting" } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://reciprocityaccounting.com/#organization", "@type" : [ "Organization", "AccountingService" ], "address" : { "@type" : "PostalAddress", "addressCountry" : "US", "addressLocality" : "Cincinnati", "addressRegion" : "OH", "postalCode" : "45244", "streetAddress" : "6809 Main St #37" }, "areaServed" : [ { "@type" : "State", "name" : "Ohio" }, { "@type" : "Country", "name" : "United States" } ], "description" : "Dental-specific bookkeeping and tax for dental practice owners. Monthly books closed by the 10th, guaranteed, with clear financial reporting built for dentists.", "email" : "info@reciprocityaccounting.com", "founder" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Greg Hudnall" }, "image" : "https://reciprocityaccounting.com/hubfs/reciprocity_horizontal_full.png", "knowsAbout" : [ "Dental bookkeeping", "Dental practice accounting", "Dental tax preparation", "Production and collections reporting", "Dental practice overhead benchmarks" ], "legalName" : "Reciprocity Accounting LLC", "logo" : "https://reciprocityaccounting.com/hubfs/reciprocity_horizontal_full.png", "name" : "Reciprocity Accounting", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.linkedin.com/company/reciprocity-accounting" ], "telephone" : "+1-833-538-5551", "url" : "https://reciprocityaccounting.com" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog/switch-dental-bookkeepers", "@type" : "WebPage", "dateModified" : "2026-11-05T14:43:01Z", "datePublished" : "2026-11-03T13:00:00Z", "inLanguage" : "en-US", "isPartOf" : { "@id" : "https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog", "@type" : "Blog" }, "name" : "How to Switch Dental Bookkeepers Without Losing a Month", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : "https://reciprocityaccounting.com/hubfs/reciprocity_horizontal_full.png", "name" : "Reciprocity Accounting", "url" : "https://reciprocityaccounting.com" }, "url" : "https://reciprocityaccounting.com/blog/switch-dental-bookkeepers" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "FAQPage", "mainEntity" : [ { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "At the start of a month, after your current bookkeeper has closed the month before. Avoid a mid-month cut-off, and if you are switching near year-end, agree in writing who closes December and prepares the 1099s." }, "name" : "When is the best time to switch dental bookkeepers?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Final reconciliations for every account through the cut-off, a year-to-date P&L and balance sheet, an open items list, receivable and payable detail, fixed asset and loan schedules, payroll reports, the production and collections tie-out, last year's tax return and any year-end entries from your preparer, and notes on recurring entries and bank rules." }, "name" : "What should I get from my old bookkeeper before they go?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Check who is primary admin and who pays the subscription. Have the primary admin role transferred to you first. If the firm pays through its own Intuit plan, Intuit says your data is unaffected when you leave the plan, but the file is read-only until you update billing." }, "name" : "What if my bookkeeper set up my QuickBooks file?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "The handoff itself usually takes a few weeks, longer if earlier months were never reconciled. Time the cut-off so the outgoing firm closes its last month and the new firm runs the next one." }, "name" : "How long does switching bookkeepers take?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Your business associate agreement should require them to return or destroy protected health information at termination where feasible, and to keep protecting anything they cannot. Ask for written confirmation." }, "name" : "Does my old bookkeeper have to delete my patients' information?" } ] } ```