As a modern accounting firm, you rely heavily on technology to keep operations running smoothly. Everything from managing your clients’ books to marketing your business can be done digitally these days.
Investing in reliable IT support is a must for tech-driven accounting firms. IT experts will help you maximize the technology you’re already using for the best possible results. Having an IT support team on board will also help prevent dangerous cyberattacks from compromising your systems.
Let’s take a closer look at the importance of IT support for accounting firms and how to choose the right IT solutions for your company.
Key Takeaways
- Accounting firms need a reliable IT strategy to protect sensitive client data, keep systems operating efficiently, and adhere to industry compliance standards.
- An IT support team will help your team troubleshoot technical problems and get systems back up and running in an emergency.
- Accounting firms will need to choose between hiring an in-house IT team or outsourcing to a managed service provider. Co-managed IT arrangements provide the best of both worlds.
How Can IT Support Help Your Accounting Firm?
Businesses in the accounting industry can implement IT support in many different ways. Here’s how IT support can help your accounting firm operate safely and efficiently.
Help Desk Support
Your accounting team members are finance whizzes, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re technology experts. And let’s face it, when it comes to technology, things go wrong unexpectedly.
This is where an IT help desk comes in. A help desk is a remote team of IT experts who are available 24/7 to troubleshoot problems. Employees can message or call the help desk if they have IT issues at work.
The help desk team will work with them to solve the problem quickly. With a help desk on hand, small IT challenges won’t compromise your team’s productivity.
On-Site and Emergency Support
Some IT problems are too big for a help desk to tackle remotely. This is why it’s important to have access to on-site IT experts when you need them. We can help resolve technical emergencies quickly and minimize system downtime.
On-site IT support teams can also help you install new hardware or software programs as your business grows.
We stay up-to-date with the latest accounting software programs and recommend new additions to your systems when necessary.
Bringing an IT team on-site is also a great opportunity for technical education. IT experts can provide hands-on tutorials for your team to help them master important new IT concepts.
Data Management and Cloud Solutions
Odds are your accounting firm handles large volumes of client data as part of your operations. IT support can help you keep this data organized and secure.
As your IT team, we will help you decide how to best store this data, whether it’s on-premise, using cloud services, or a combination of both.
Cloud computing services are a very popular data storage solution due to their convenience. Cloud computing providers store your data in secure offsite servers that you can access via the Internet.
This means that your entire team can access your systems regardless of where they are working or what device they are using. Remote CPA firms often choose cloud data storage for this reason.
Cybersecurity
Because accounting firms store so much valuable data, they are often targeted by cybercriminals.
Bots have become a particularly big threat to accounting firms as hackers can use them to identify vulnerabilities quickly. An IT support team will help protect you from cyber threats to keep both your customers and your accounting business safe.
Your IT team will do this by implementing security solutions like firewalls and anti-virus programs.
We’ll also provide system monitoring to identify potential vulnerabilities and help you respond right away to threats.
In addition to system monitoring, we take care to educate your team on cybersecurity best practices so that everyone knows (and remembers) how to keep their data safe.
Compliance
Accounting businesses need to remain compliant with industry regulations and best practices. An IT team can help ensure that your systems adhere to relevant compliance standards.
This includes integrating reporting practices into your operations, storing client data securely, and vetting external service partners.
Backup and Disaster Recovery
In the event that your systems are harmed in a cyberattack, natural disaster, or other adverse event, an IT team can help you.
Your IT services provider will help you with regular data backup and will develop a disaster recovery plan. This will help you get back up and running again quickly to prevent financial losses and damage to your reputation.
System Maintenance
Your IT infrastructure needs regular maintenance to keep it working properly. IT support services will create a maintenance schedule and perform regular checks.
If they identify any problems during maintenance checks, they will help you implement appropriate fixes right away to prevent things from escalating.
Software Updates
Regular software updates are essential to keeping your systems running smoothly and safely. Software developers release updates and patches to address security issues and functionality problems that they find in their programs.
Ideally, these updates should be installed as soon as they are available. Your IT team will help you schedule system updates at appropriate times and make sure they are executed smoothly.
Quarterly Business Reviews
Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) align technology with your long-term business goals.
By conducting QBRs, Tech Advisors provides immediate support while also helping clients plan for the future.
Tools like Lifecycle from Scalepad are important for gaining valuable insight into your business's IT infrastructure so that you can make informed decisions about future investments.
An outsourced IT company should not only fix problems as they arise but also act as a partner in guiding the technological direction of the business.
In-House vs. Outsourced IT Support
When implementing IT support, you’ll need to decide whether you want to hire an in-house team or outsource your IT operations to a managed service provider. Each of these options has pros and cons, so you’ll need to weigh your options and decide what makes the most sense for your needs.
Outsourced IT Support
For many growing accounting firms, outsourcing is the easiest and most affordable way to get the technical support that you need. Outsourcing involves hiring a third party to handle your company’s IT needs.
Here are some of the pros and cons of outsourcing IT support.
Pros
- Flexible and scalable: One of the biggest advantages of outsourcing to managed IT providers is that they are flexible. You can build your IT package based on the specific services you need. Outsourced services are also very easy to scale as your company grows.
- Time savings: Outsourcing your IT services will save your entire company time, so you can focus on providing top-notch accounting services for your clients.
- Cost-effective: Working with a third-party provider is a very cost-effective way to get the IT services you need. By outsourcing your IT support, you’ll only pay for the services you need. You can work with your provider to build a service package that fits your budget.
- Access to experts: Managed IT firms have experts and specialists on staff. Some firms even have staff members who are very familiar with accounting-specific technology and regulations. This means you’ll have the support you need to solve complex technical challenges.
Cons
- Slower response times: Because a managed services provider isn’t part of your staff, their response times might not be as fast as an in-house IT team. However, they’ll still make every effort possible to get back to you quickly, especially in the event of an emergency.
- Less customizable: With a managed IT provider, you may not be able to customize your systems quite as much as you would with an in-house team.
This is why at Tech Advisors we prioritize emergency services and ensure that your firm is always able to reach us – 24/7.
In-House IT Support
One option is to hire a full-time, in-house IT team for your firm. This option is popular among larger accounting firms that have more resources and need dedicated in-house support. Here are the pros and cons of hiring an in-house IT team.
Pros
- Dedicated support: An in-house IT team understands the ins and outs of your business. They’ll quickly become familiar with your accounting work and your company’s unique needs, so they can provide personalized support and strategy work.
- Fast response times: Since your in-house IT team is focused entirely on your business, they can respond right away when a problem arises.
Cons
- Expensive: Hiring an in-house IT team can be very expensive, since you’ll have to pay full-time salaries for each employee. The hiring process itself is also very expensive - the average cost per hire for tech jobs is approximately $4,700. Because of this, in-house IT teams are often cost-prohibitive for small-to-mid sized accounting firms.
- Time-intensive: Hiring, training, and monitoring an in-house IT team can be very time-consuming. This can take your team away from client work and other important revenue-generating activities.
- Lack of specialized expertise: Many IT professionals are generalists, rather than having advanced or specialized knowledge. This can make it difficult to handle complex IT needs, and can also make it very difficult to scale your operations as you grow. You may end up needing to outsource specific tasks anyway, which comes with added costs.
- Difficult to scale: Since hiring in-house IT personnel is time-consuming, this approach can be difficult to scale as you grow. It can take weeks to bring on a new IT staff member, which can hinder your natural growth.
What is Co-Managed IT Support?
Co-managed IT support is the perfect middle ground for accounting firms that already have some in-house IT staff, but still want the expertise of a managed services provider.
In a co-managed partnership, the in-house team handles day-to-day operations and troubleshooting, while the third-party managed service provider provides specialized services.
This approach is particularly popular for accounting firms that don’t have an in-house cybersecurity expert. Hiring a full-time cybersecurity expert can be very expensive, particularly for small, boutique accounting firms.
Co-managed IT support is a more cost-effective way to prevent cyberattacks and keep your valuable financial data safe.
With a co-managed approach, your in-house IT team will coordinate with your managed service providers on an as-needed basis to make sure that everyone is on the same page.
In addition to providing specialized support, the managed IT team can also take system monitoring and other repetitive tasks off your in-house team’s plate. This frees up more time for internal troubleshooting and system configuration.
How Tech Advisors Can Help You
Looking for IT support for your accounting firm? Tech Advisors is here to help. We take a client-focused approach to managed IT services, taking time to get to know your business model and your unique needs. This helps us find the right technology solutions for your business.
The Tech Advisors team is made up entirely of seasoned, experienced IT professionals, and we’ll build a comprehensive IT strategy for your accounting firm. We know how important responsiveness is, especially in an emergency, so we guarantee response times of one hour or less for emergencies.
We also offer network monitoring and other proactive services to prevent potential threats from escalating.
Ready to get started? Schedule a consultation today to see how Tech Advisors can support your accounting firm.
