# For accountants working on client books

Canonical: https://taxmo.co.uk/accounting-software-for-accountants-uk
Last updated: 2026-04-25

The problem with client bookkeeping is rarely the software. It is arriving at the year end to find figures nobody can explain and a chart of accounts invented from scratch.

## A chart you already recognise

The default chart follows conventional UK nominal ranges: fixed assets low, then current assets, liabilities, capital, income, cost of sales and overheads. You are not learning a bespoke numbering scheme before you can read the trial balance.

## Books that prove themselves

Double entry throughout, journals that cannot be saved unbalanced, and a trial balance that shows immediately if anything is one-sided. Closed years are locked, so a client cannot post into a period you have already signed off without deliberately reopening it, which is recorded.

## You can see who did what

Every posting, deletion, opening balance and year-end close is on the activity log with the actor recorded. Work you do on a client's behalf is marked as such on their log too, which is better for both of you than an argument about who changed a figure.

## Common questions

### How do I get access to a client's books?

Through the accountant portal, with the client granting access. Everything you do is recorded on their activity log and flagged as done on their behalf, so the trail is unambiguous.

### Can I export to my own systems?

Yes. The trial balance exports to CSV, and the API provides read access with a scoped key. Fields are quoted and formula-leading characters are neutralised, so an export cannot execute when you open it.

### Can I stop a client changing a signed-off year?

Closing the year locks it. Postings, deletions and opening balance changes are all refused for a closed year, and reopening is a deliberate, recorded act rather than something that happens by accident.

## Related pages

- [Bookkeeping software that produces real books](https://taxmo.co.uk/bookkeeping-software-uk)
- [Accounting software for UK limited companies](https://taxmo.co.uk/limited-company-accounting-software)
- [Switching software without losing your history](https://taxmo.co.uk/switch-accounting-software)

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This page explains how UK rules work rather than quoting thresholds, rates or allowances, which are indexed or reset at fiscal events. Check current amounts on GOV.UK.