The Advantages of Leveraging Managed IT Services for Accounting Firms
It’s the busiest time of year and your accounting team is working tirelessly when your system crashes hours before the deadline.
For months your software has been overdue for an update, but you haven’t had the time, and today your luck has run out. Frantic troubleshooting snowballs into timely submission challenges followed by serious consequences if you don’t get things back in order quickly.
If this is a nightmare you want to avoid, outsourcing talent for your technology needs may be the solution for your accounting company.
An IT managed services provider (MSP) specializing in accounting understands the nuanced needs, objectives, and challenges your business faces daily.
In this article, we explore how leveraging managed IT services for accounting firms can significantly reduce time spent worrying and empower you with the platform you need to outperform your competition.
Table of Contents
- What IT Services Can a Managed IT Provider Offer to Accounting Firms?
- Specific IRS Technology and Security Requirements for Accounting Firms
- Why Are Managed IT Services for Accounting Firms Important?
- 7 Benefits of IT Managed Services for Accounting Firms
- Fixed Fee IT: Providing Personalized Managed IT Services for Accounting Firms
What IT Services Can a Managed IT Provider Offer to Accounting Firms?
When it comes to having specialized needs from a managed IT services provider, accounting firms cannot fall into a one-size-fits-all IT pigeonhole.
Supporting an accounting firm requires services deeper than the traditional IT support and services model that’s so often based on a “break/fix” cycle.
A managed IT services provider for accounting firms can tailor services to fit your small business’s needs including:
- Network and system monitoring
- Security management
- System setup
- Server maintenance
- Software and hardware updates and upgrades
- Back-up recovery
- Analytics
- Communications systems; and
- Cyber security and compliance
Be it during tax season or the end of the fiscal year, accounting firms experience intense spurts of hectic periods where IT downtime is not an option.
A good managed IT provider understands your business inside and out, prepares for your high season, and proactively monitors and maintains your infrastructure to ensure your technology is running at optimal performance.
At Fixed Fee IT we specialize in IT support for accounting firms. Our BHelped package for accounting services is tailored to meet the unique needs of your firm. We offer everything your small business needs to stay secure, compliant, and successful.
Contact us today to find out more.
Specific IRS Technology and Security Requirements for Accounting Firms
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Security Summit partners require accounting and tax firms to protect sensitive information by putting in place a Written Information Security Plan (WISP).
A WISP helps identify actions that should be taken in case of a security incident, data loss, or theft.
A robust WISP serves as a proactive line of defense, helping organizations identify vulnerabilities and establish measures to mitigate potential risks.
The WISP ensures adequate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards are in place for your business to protect personally identifiable information. The IRS also requires proper documentation of the WISP and the safeguards outlined therein.
Why Are Managed IT Services for Accounting Firms Important?
The time required to maintain systems and security can slash your accounting firm’s efficiency and productivity. Your accounting organization’s time is billable, which means cutting down on time wasted on IT can directly benefit your bottom line.
Trusting the right managed IT services provider can help your accounting team save manpower to devote to providing your clients top-notch consulting.
Managed IT services for accounting firms can help optimize your firm’s technology while safeguarding your business’s data, time, and reputation.
7 Benefits of IT Managed Services for Accounting Firms
#1: Reduction in Operational Costs
Sourcing, hiring, and retaining high-level staff to manage your IT can cost you time and money.
In-house IT staff can tend to lean toward reactionary solutions, waiting until an issue arises that needs resolution, resulting in more downtime while they work to fix the problem.
The right IT MSP for accounting firms will look for inefficiencies in your infrastructure and implement IT strategies that can reduce your operational costs and improve your profit margins.
With Fixed Fee IT, it’s all in the name.
Our managed IT services take into consideration your accounting software, integration, support, and maintenance needs and combine them all into one monthly fee. We consolidate our services down into one predictable fee schedule because you deserve IT support that is reliable, responsive, and makes your life easier.
#2: Ensure Adherence to Regulatory and Industry Standards
Accounting and CPA industries are subject to some of the most stringent and time-consuming compliance regulations and standards. That’s why it is imperative for accounting IT managed services to operate under the highest security standards.
Before you hand over your company’s reputation to anyone, look for an IT MSP for accounting firms that holds a SOC 2® certification.
This certification evaluates a service provider’s internal controls and systems related to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy of data according to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Trust Service Criteria (formerly the Trust Service Principles).
Fixed Fee IT is one of the few SOC 2®-compliant IT service providers in Portland.
Our procedures are rigorously assessed to exceed security and privacy standards, providing third-party audited proof that you can trust your IT with us.
#3: IT Experts Available On-Demand With 24/7 Support
Your industry advances quickly with updated forms and information that can change in just hours and you need technology that can keep pace.
Partnering with an IT MSP that specializes in accounting means your IT experts are on demand with an awareness of your business and support exactly when you need it. Systems are continuously monitored 24/7 to ensure security and identify any red flags before they become an issue.
Seamless IT support from Fixed Fee IT can equip your team with an around-the-clock experienced help desk that responds as soon as an issue arises.
Fast response times mean you don’t lose access to the tools and resources you need to keep your business running smoothly.
#4: Improved Cyber-Security
According to the Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell, cyber attacks are the foremost risk to the global financial system.
As cyber threats grow more sophisticated and happen more often, it’s imperative to employ robust countermeasures within your cyber-security arsenal to protect your accounting firm’s sensitive data.
A 2021 global risk management survey cited cyberattacks and data breaches as the biggest risks that organizations face across every surveyed sector and for all job roles, including CFOs and CEOs.
SOC 2®-compliant IT managed services providers have the tools to build an impenetrable IT defense system requiring multi-step authentication, data back-up, disaster recovery plans, personnel security awareness training, and more to guarantee the security of the sensitive client financial data entrusted to your company.
Each component must be carefully planned, enacted, monitored, and maintained to proactively prevent a breach of security.
With SOC 2® proven and audited cyber security and compliance, Fixed Fee IT can be a powerful secret weapon to beef up your security and ensure your information remains private.
#5: Reduction in Daily Technology Issues and Interruptions
Industry updates can happen overnight or outside of normal business hours, but during peak times like tax or corporation filing season, your accounting firm may be working around the clock to meet tight deadlines.
The right IT MSP will keep your technology updates current while keeping a watchful eye on your cyber security to avoid roadblocks and issues that may cause interruptions in service.
Reoccurring issues can be resolved and reduced with an IT partner that quickly locates the root of the issue, ultimately reducing downtime and increasing employee productivity.
At Fixed Fee IT, we don’t just stay aware of common issues with updates to accounting technology to keep your firm ahead of any potential problems.
We partner with your team to identify peak periods and plan for any significant technology changes to avoid downtime during your busiest season. Our “solutions lock” approach lets us forecast and perform preventative maintenance before you reach your peak season so you can focus on your deadlines.
#6: Incorporate New Technology With Support and Guidance
Implementing new technology can be challenging. Even your current accounting tools will eventually require an update that can change the way your entire system operates.
Upgrading to new software or hardware can be intimidating, even to your in-house IT technicians.
The experts at a managed IT service provider can ease the transition by handling all the tedious technical details and training your staff to get them up to speed as quickly as possible.
From cloud migration to process automation, Fixed Fee IT can provide highly specialized IT support for accounting firms to streamline processes that can improve efficiency and productivity.
#7: Proactive — Rather Than Reactive — IT Maintenance and Management
When it comes to IT maintenance and management, it’s not enough to fortify your system’s security.
Software updates and patches are released regularly, yet businesses often find themselves behind on implementation, leaving them unnecessarily exposed to cybercrime.
According to a recent report, 57% of data breaches could have been prevented by installing an available patch. Proactive maintenance by a managed services provider can safeguard your system and ensure your software is properly maintained.
Fixed Fee IT: Providing Personalized Managed IT Services for Accounting Firms
Your IT MSP should be more than a knowledgeable technology resource.
At Fixed Fee IT, we understand CPAs and partner with you to help connect technology with your company objectives.
In addition to pinpointing your company’s IT infrastructure and challenges, our specialized accounting IT experts work with your leadership team to gather a deeper understanding of your business goals and corporate model to identify the best technology solutions and maximize the accounting software you use daily.
The BHelped accounting service package from Fixed Fee IT proactively approaches IT support to forecast and resolve IT issues quickly. This will minimize downtime and service interruptions, helping your accounting firm meet crucial business initiatives.
Fixed Fee IT has served accounting small and midsize businesses for over 26 years. Contact us today to find out how we can help you stay protected and productive.
