- Your books and documents belong to the company, not to the accountant. The accounting entity — your s.r.o. — is the one legally required to retain them: 10 years for the financial statements, 5 years for accounting documents and books (§ 31(2) of Act No. 563/1991 Coll.). You can ask for them back at any time, even if the relationship ended badly.
- The cleanest moment to move is the end of a month, a quarter, or the financial year. The middle of an open VAT period is the worst.
- You do not report a change of accountant to anyone. The tax office, ČSSZ, and your health insurer do not record who keeps your books. Only the power of attorney matters: it takes effect towards the tax administrator the moment it is lodged with them, and lodging a new one terminates the previous one within its scope (§ 27(2) and § 28(4) of the Tax Code).
- Before you sign anything, confirm that every return and VAT control statement for closed periods was actually filed. The late-filing penalty only arises once the delay exceeds 5 working days; it then runs at 0.05 % of the assessed tax per day of delay, capped at 5 % of the tax and at CZK 300,000 overall (§ 250 of the Tax Code).
Responsibility for this page rests with Ganado International s.r.o., company ID 19322119 (ARES registry entry). It is general information as of the update date, not tax advice on your specific case.
What to ask for and hand over
A handover is more than an export from the accounting software. The new accountant needs the documents and the data to carry on without rebuilding your history from scratch. Ask for all of this:
General ledger and journal
An export of the accounting journal, general ledger, and trial balance for the whole current year, ideally for the last closed year as well, in whatever format the software produces (XML, XLSX, or PDF).
Tax returns and VAT control statements
Copies of every filed VAT return, VAT control statement (kontrolní hlášení), EC sales list, and corporate income tax return for at least the last three tax periods, plus proof of filing and any correspondence with the tax office.
Unposted and open documents
Every issued and received invoice, cash receipt, and bank statement that is not posted yet, plus the list of open receivables and payables as of the handover date.
Payroll records
Payslips, pension-insurance records, social-security and health-insurance registrations and deregistrations for employees, and any employment agreements. This applies to the director (jednatel) too, if they are paid a fee.
Access and powers of attorney
Access to the datová schránka (data box), or at least who administers it. Then banking access so balances can be reconciled, and a list of every power of attorney granted towards the tax office, ČSSZ, and the health insurer. Only one representative may act in the same matter, so lodging the new power of attorney terminates the old one within its scope; an older, wider-scope authorisation has to be revoked explicitly (§ 28(4) and § 29(1) of the Tax Code).
Annual financial statements
Financial statements (balance sheet, profit and loss, notes) for the last closed years, and confirmation that they were filed in the Collection of Deeds (sbírka listin) of the Commercial Register. You can check that filing yourself in the public register and Collection of Deeds — no need to wait for the accountant.
When to make the switch
The handover date decides how much extra work the new accountant does purely to find their way around a half-finished period.
End of a calendar month
Simplest for a company without VAT or on a monthly VAT period. The month is closed, posted, and handed over as one piece, so the new accountant does not start halfway through it.
End of a quarter
For VAT payers on a quarterly period. The outgoing accountant files the quarterly return and the new one takes over a clean period.
End of the financial (calendar) year
The cleanest option for an s.r.o. Whoever kept the books all year finishes the annual statements and the tax return, and the new accountant starts on 1 January with closed history. Get in touch 1–2 months before year-end.
Immediate switch (urgent situation)
If your accountant has stopped responding, walked away, or a deadline is close, there is no waiting for the ideal moment. The first step is finding out what has and has not been filed; the normal handover comes after that.
When to move, by VAT regime
The right handover date follows your tax period and whether you have employees. Find your row:
| Your situation | Cleanest handover date |
|---|---|
| Not VAT-registered, documents only now and then | End of a calendar month. The month closes and is handed over as one piece, so the new accountant does not start halfway through it. |
| VAT payer on a monthly period | End of the month, but only after that month's VAT return and control statement are filed. A company files the control statement within 25 days of month end and that deadline cannot be extended (§ 101e of the VAT Act). |
| VAT payer on a quarterly period | End of the quarter. The outgoing accountant files the quarterly return and the new one takes over a closed period. |
| You have employees, or a director drawing a fee | End of the month, so one provider handles payroll, contributions and reporting for the whole month. A payroll month split between two providers is the most common source of corrections. |
| A deadline is close, or your accountant has gone quiet | Do not wait for the ideal date. The first step is finding out what has and has not been filed; the handover itself comes after that. |
| You want the cleanest option and have time | End of the calendar year. Whoever kept the books all year finishes the statements and the return. Get in touch 1–2 months ahead. |
If you are not sure which row is yours, send us your VAT regime and employee count and we will propose the date.
Who has to be told about the switch, and what actually needs doing
You do not report a change of accounting firm to anyone. The tax office, the Czech Social Security Administration (ČSSZ), and your health insurer do not record who prepares a company's books. An accountant is a service provider, not an entity that registers anywhere on the company's behalf.
What does need doing is representation. A power of attorney takes effect towards the tax administrator the moment it is lodged with them, not on the day you sign it (§ 27(2) of the Tax Code). Lodging the new accountant's authorisation terminates the previous one within the new one's scope, and only one representative may act in the same matter (§ 28(4) and § 29(1)). If the old authorisation was wider, revoke it explicitly and copy the outgoing accountant.
One trap specific to VAT: a VAT payer or identified person with an activated data box may only appoint a representative for service of documents who also has a data box created by law (§ 98a of the VAT Act). This gets overlooked in a hurried switch.
The company — and the director (jednatel) acting for it — is responsible for every filing, whoever physically prepared it. That is exactly why you confirm that nothing is missing for closed periods before signing a new engagement. That responsibility sits with the company, not with the accountant who is leaving.
What can go wrong, and how to check for it
Most trouble in an accountant switch comes not from bad faith but from an incomplete handover that nobody checked. These go wrong most often, and here is how to spot each one before a letter from the tax office arrives.
A return that was never filed, or filed late
Use the data box and the MOJE daně tax portal to confirm that VAT returns, VAT control statements, and income tax returns for closed periods were filed. Rely on the authority's own records, not on the outgoing accountant's word. A missed control statement costs CZK 1,000 if you file it late on your own initiative, CZK 10,000 once the tax office has issued a request, and CZK 50,000 if it is never filed (§ 101h of the VAT Act).
Missing or incomplete documents
Compare the number of documents in the books with your issued invoices and bank transactions for the same period. A gap means something was never posted or a source document is missing.
The bank does not match the books
The bank balance on the handover date has to match the balance in the accounting records. If it does not, find the difference now, not three months later.
Unclear payroll and insurance
Check that every actual employee, and the director if they are paid a fee, is registered with ČSSZ and the health insurer, and that contributions match the payslips.
The old power of attorney is still active
For any scope the new authorisation does not cover, the previous accounting firm can still act towards the authorities on the company's behalf. Ask the tax administrator for the list of authorisations on file and revoke whatever is left.
History lost to early disposal
The new accountant needs the closed years too, and the company — not the accountant — is the one required to retain them: 10 years for financial statements, 5 years for accounting documents and books (§ 31(2) of the Accounting Act). Failing to retain them carries a penalty of up to 3 % of total assets (§ 37a(1)(s) and (4)(b)).
What to check before you sign
Before a new accountant takes on your ongoing bookkeeping, the state of the file gets reviewed — the same review as in an accounting takeover for a Czech s.r.o.:
- the last filed VAT return and VAT control statement, and whether they match the MOJE daně record
- bank account balances against the books as of the handover date
- unposted documents, open receivables and payables
- payroll, plus registrations and deregistrations with ČSSZ and the health insurer — both have an 8-calendar-day window (ČSSZ)
- the last annual financial statement and whether it was filed in the Collection of Deeds
- any open request or query from the tax office
- the published bank account for payments for taxable supplies, if the company is VAT-registered (§ 96 and § 98 of the VAT Act)
What you send, what we do, when it is done
The whole move breaks into three steps, and it starts with one message from you.
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What you send
Your IČO, VAT regime (not registered, monthly or quarterly), number of employees, roughly how many documents a month, and one line on why you are switching. Attach an export from the accounting software or your last returns if you have them — not a requirement.
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What we do
We go through the documents you can reach and the last filings, separate ordinary monthly bookkeeping from any corrections to history, and price both. Then we propose the cleanest handover date and list what has to be finished by then.
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When it is done
You get a written reply with the next step and a price, usually within 1 business day. The handover date itself follows your tax period — for a quarterly VAT payer the nearest clean date can be weeks away, and we say so immediately, not after you sign.
Written reply, no call — usually within 1 business day.
What is billed separately
The monthly price covers ordinary bookkeeping. These items sit outside it and are billed separately:
| Payroll | from 490 CZK per employee per month | Payroll calculation, payslip and the agreed reporting to ČSSZ and the health insurer. This also applies to a director drawing a fee. |
|---|---|---|
| First employee and payroll setup | from 990 CZK | Registrations, opening data, workflow setup and the first calculation, according to the type of employment relationship. |
| Unprepared earlier periods and corrections | by scope, price confirmed up front | Posting unbooked months, supplementary returns and follow-up control statements. None of it starts without your written go-ahead. |
With continuous bookkeeping, the annual financial statements and the corporate income tax inputs are part of the monthly price. Individual tax or legal advice is not part of the service. Full rates are on the pricing page.
What the first month costs — every line shown
An example for a non-VAT s.r.o. with low activity moving from a previous accountant. Every figure comes from the same price list that applies to everyone else:
| Handover when agreed paid bookkeeping starts (one-off) | free |
|---|---|
| First month of bookkeeping — low-activity, non-VAT s.r.o. | 1,990 CZK |
| First payment, total | 1,990 CZK |
From the second month on it is 1,990 CZK. For a VAT-registered s.r.o. with a regular agenda the monthly figure is 7,900 CZK, and since the takeover is free the first payment is the same — 7,900 CZK. Annual statements are included in continuous bookkeeping; unprepared earlier periods are quoted separately and confirmed before we start.
How the handover works at Ganado
This follows our usual accounting takeover for a Czech s.r.o. We do not promise a fixed timeline up front, because it depends on the state the file arrives in.
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You tell us where things stand
Send your IČO, VAT regime, number of employees, roughly how many documents you have a month, and why you are switching (engagement ending, no communication, errors, price). A few lines are enough.
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We map the handover risk
We go through the documents you can reach, the last filings, and any open items. Ordinary monthly bookkeeping stays separate from corrections and backfilled history; those are priced on their own and confirmed with you first.
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We agree the cutover date
Based on your tax period we propose the cleanest handover point (end of month, quarter, or year) and write down what has to be finished by that date.
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We take over and watch the deadlines
We prepare the revocation of the old power of attorney and issue a new one where needed, and we agree how and when you send us documents. From then on, dealing with the authorities and tracking deadlines is our job.
Ask about a safe handover
Send your IČO, your current VAT regime, and one line on why you are switching. You get a written reply: the next step and an indicative takeover price.