Switching to OFS
Switching accountants is easier than staying with the wrong one
Many businesses put off changing their accountant because the change itself feels risky. It shouldn’t be. Here is exactly how a switch to OFS works, what we need, and how we make sure nothing falls between the old arrangement and the new one.
Time to switch?
If two of these sound familiar, it is time.
- Your books are weeks or months behind, and nobody can say when they will be current
- You get a trial balance, not a monthly report you can make decisions with
- GST notices or mismatches keep arriving, and nobody explains why
- Everything depends on one person, and you are dreading their resignation
- You are paying for accounting and still doing the chasing yourself
How a switch works
Four steps, and you make one introduction.
-
Step 1
Scope and fixed fee
A short call, a look at your books and volumes, and a written scope with a fixed monthly fee. If there is a backlog, the clean-up is quoted separately so you can see exactly what it costs.
-
Step 2
Handover
We work from a checklist of what we need from you and your current accountant — the latest trial balance, ledgers, open items and filing history. You make one introduction; we handle the rest politely and professionally.
-
Step 3
A parallel month
Where it helps, we run one close alongside your current arrangement, so nothing is dropped between the old process and the new one.
-
Step 4
First close
The first month closed, reconciled and reported by us. For a business with reasonably current books, this is two to four weeks from signed scope.
From your first regular month, delivery is covered by our delivery guarantee. The onboarding itself is excluded from it, because how long it takes depends on the state of the books we inherit.
What the handover needs
A short list, most of which your current accountant can send in an afternoon. We never ask for banking passwords, and we hold no authority to move money.
Books behind? That is often why people switch. We scope the backlog as a one-time clean-up, tell you honestly how big it is, and only start the monthly retainer once you are current.
- Access to your accounting file (Tally, Zoho Books or QuickBooks), on a user you create
- The latest trial balance and the last year’s financial statements
- Bank statements from the last reconciled date
- GST and TDS filing history, and any open notices
- Lists of open items: unpaid bills, unallocated receipts, pending credit notes
Switching — questions we get asked
How long does it take to switch accountants?
For a business with reasonably current books, two to four weeks from a signed scope to the first month we close end to end. If there is a backlog, the clean-up sets the timeline, and we give you the date up front.
Will switching disrupt our GST or TDS filings?
It shouldn’t. We map the filing calendar during handover and agree who files what for the transition month, so no return falls between two providers. Due dates are tracked from the first day.
Do we have to tell our current accountant?
Yes, eventually — a clean handover needs their co-operation. But you can talk to us first, confidentially, and decide once you have a scope and a fee in front of you.
Do we have to change our CA?
No. OFS is not a firm of chartered accountants and does no CA-reserved work, so your CA keeps your audit, income tax and any representation. CAs generally welcome receiving reconciled books earlier in the year.
What if we want to leave OFS later?
There is no lock-in. Because we work inside your own software licence, your books are already yours and already where they should be; leaving needs no data export.
Serving businesses across India
Talk to us before you decide.
A confidential 30-minute call: we look at where your books are today and tell you what a switch would involve and cost. No obligation, and your current accountant needn’t know until you choose.
Delivered within 24 working hours, or next month is on us. 24 working hours from the moment we have your complete data. The clock runs Monday to Saturday and pauses on Sundays and public holidays. Terms