Bookkeeper handover checklist

Access

Everything should be in your name, not theirs.

• Accounting software: admin login and subscription ownership
• Bank and credit-card feeds: which accounts, and who connected them
• Payroll provider: admin access
• CRA: your business number, program accounts, and who is authorized to represent you
• Any other portals they log into for youProvincial accounts, vendor and supplier portals, receipt apps.

Calendar

When each thing is due.

• Sales tax filing frequency and the next due date
• Payroll remittance schedule and the next due date
• Fiscal year-end, and who prepares the return
• Year-end slips you issue, and when

Records

Where everything is.

• Where receipts, statements, and source documents are kept
• Past returns and assessments
• Recurring entries, accruals, and anything they do by hand each month

Open items

In writing, before they go.

• Anything late, unfiled, or under review
• Amounts owing to or from CRA
• Who else they deal with for you: your accountant, bank, payroll contact

General guidance, not tax advice. Confirm filing requirements for your business with CRA or your accountant.