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Send your details — we reply within one business day, by email, with a written fixed quote for everything you need. If it's a fit, we drive the whole switch. If it's not, you've still got an outside opinion.
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Surprise bills. Account managers reassigned every quarter. Calls that take three weeks to return. A new offshore bookkeeper every month. You don't need to renegotiate — you need a chartered accountant who actually answers. We do the entire handover for you. You sign two emails. Done.
Every director who switches to us comes from one (or more) of these patterns. If any of them feel familiar, it's not you — it's the model.
Quoted £500 a year. Bill landed at £1,200 because 'your accounts were complex'. You weren't told the complexity rate before the work started.
You've explained your business to three different people in 18 months. Each one needed catching up. Each handover dropped half the context.
You emailed a simple question. You got a holding email. Two weeks later, an associate replied. By then the deadline had moved.
Your bookkeeper is in Manila, Mumbai or Cape Town. They're capable — but they don't know UK VAT quirks or how Companies House actually works.
You wanted a sense-check on dividend timing or a director's loan. You got 'consult your tax adviser' — even though they are your tax adviser.
Cancelling means losing your Xero / Quickbooks subscription because they bundled it. You're hostage to keep paying for service you don't trust.
The whole process is governed by professional clearance rules. The new accountant requests records and authorisations from the old one. The old one is required to cooperate. You sign two emails. Most switches complete inside 14 days.
We look at your current setup together. What's working, what's not, what services you actually need. End of the call you have a fixed quote in writing. No commitment yet.
Plain English, fixed prices for every service you've agreed. No retainer. You can cancel any time with 30 days' notice.
This is the standard ICAEW / ACCA / CIMA process. Your old accountant is professionally obligated to release: trial balance, year-end accounts, tax returns, paye records, and a 'no professional reasons' clearance letter.
We draft it for you. It says: 'Thank you for your services. Please cooperate with BlackpeakCFO on the handover.' Done.
64-8 form for HMRC (we send the link, you click 'authorise' on the Gov.uk page). Companies House WebFiling authorisation code (we email it to you, you forward it back). Total time on your side: about 10 minutes.
Whether you stay on Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, or FreeAgent — we slot in. If you want to move platform, we migrate at no extra charge during onboarding.
From there, you're on our productised service. Fixed prices, one accountable CGMA, no more surprises.
| Aspect | Most online accountants | BlackpeakCFO |
|---|---|---|
| Who actually works on your books | Tier-1 support, often offshore | ACMA CGMA chartered — Stuart directly |
| Pricing model | Bundle + complexity upcharges | Fixed price per service, in writing |
| Reply time | 3–10 business days typical | 1 business day, every time |
| Account manager turnover | Reassigned every 6–12 months | One person. Stuart. Always. |
| Software lock-in | Bundled — leave and lose access | You own your Xero/QuickBooks/Sage |
| Strategic advice | Add-on at hourly rate | Included on retainer engagements |
| Cancellation | Annual contract, 30–90 day notice | Month-to-month, 30 days notice |
Professional clearance is governed by ICAEW, ACCA, and CIMA conduct rules. Your existing accountant is professionally obligated to release records and write a 'no professional reasons' clearance letter once any genuinely due fees are settled. In our experience the handover is administrative — the worst-case is a 1–2 week delay if they're slow to respond, not a refusal.
Settle anything legitimately invoiced first. They cannot withhold records over disputed fees — but they can over genuinely-owed ones. If you're disputing a bill, that's a separate matter and we can advise on the disengagement letter wording.
Yes. In fact most switches happen because someone is behind. We pick up where things stand, get everything filed (Companies House confirmation statement, micro-entity accounts, late VAT returns, etc.), and then put you on the ongoing service from a clean baseline.
Two to four weeks end-to-end. Days 1–2: discovery call, letter of engagement. Day 2–7: professional clearance and HMRC agent authorisation. Day 7–14: book handover and platform setup. By week 4 you're on the standard monthly service.
No. We work with Xero, QuickBooks Online, Sage Business Cloud, and FreeAgent. If you want to migrate platform we do it at no extra charge during onboarding — but it's never required.
Switching itself is free — we don't charge a handover fee. You pay only for the ongoing services you've agreed at the fixed published prices: confirmation statement £75/yr, micro-entity accounts £495/yr, MTD VAT £99/qtr, self-assessment £195/yr, monthly bookkeeping from £195/mo, fractional FD from £2,995/mo.
Send your details — we reply within one business day, by email, with a written fixed quote for everything you need. If it's a fit, we drive the whole switch. If it's not, you've still got an outside opinion.
Send My Details →