Who should own the accounting software account?

A bookkeeping provider may pay for the accounting subscription, obtain partner pricing, or manage setup. None of those arrangements should leave the company unable to access its own accounting records when the engagement ends. Discuss subscription billing, administrator rights, and data access as separate questions.

Ask who is the primary administrator, which company-controlled email receives recovery messages, and what happens if the provider stops paying for the software. The precise transfer process depends on the platform and subscription arrangement, so verify it before agreeing to a provider-managed account.

At least one authorized person within the company should understand how to recover access without depending on a particular contractor. Use business-controlled contact details where the platform allows them and protect administrator accounts with strong authentication.

Do not create a shared login that everyone uses. Named accounts make it easier to remove access when someone leaves and to understand who changed a transaction. Store recovery material through the company's approved security process rather than in an onboarding email thread.

Bookkeeping access and payment authority are different. Review whether the proposed role can add users, change bank details, initiate payments, or export sensitive information. Some platforms combine capabilities, so the business may need additional approval controls rather than assuming every permission can be separated perfectly.

Revisit access when the scope changes. A provider hired only to review reports should not automatically retain the permissions it needed during an earlier migration. Confirm which integrations use separate credentials and who is responsible for maintaining those connections.

Request a sample export of the general ledger, trial balance, chart of accounts, and reconciliation reports. Check whether attachments and supporting schedules can also be retrieved. A downloadable profit and loss statement alone will not let another accountant reconstruct why a balance exists.

For an illustrative test, choose a recent supplier invoice and verify that its accounting entry, payment reference, and supporting document can all be located from company-controlled access. The test is small enough to perform before signing and specific enough to reveal a missing archive.

Document any subscription transfer fee, notice period, data-delivery timetable, and support needed from the outgoing provider. Ask how records remain accessible if the company changes accounting software instead of transferring the existing subscription.

When an engagement ends, confirm the new administrator can log in and that the exports are usable before removing the old team. Then review users, connected applications, and recovery contacts together. The handover is finished when access and the underlying records are both under the company's control.