IT support for accounting firms
IT support for accounting and CPA firms, planned around tax season.
Managed IT for Canadian accounting and tax practices: help desk, devices, Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, security and backup, with seasonal staff and client-file separation handled properly.
- Seasonal staff set up and removed cleanly
- Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace
- Security and backup on the Managed plan
- Scope published line by line
What changes in an accounting practice
Where the pressure concentrates in an accounting firm.
Filing deadlines change what counts as urgent and who needs reliable remote access.
Seasonal capacity
Temporary staff, extended hours and remote work spike around filing deadlines and need fast, correctly scoped access.
Seasonal accounts are ready before the start date, then removed with a record when the season ends.
Client data separation
Each client’s files and working papers need clear ownership boundaries, especially when several preparers touch one engagement.
Folder permissions follow the engagement, and every change is recorded.
Deadline-aware change control
Non-urgent updates and changes are scheduled outside peak filing windows unless the firm asks otherwise.
You name the peak windows; planned work is sequenced around them.
Client file exchange
Client documents arrive by email, shared links and client portals, and each path can be used for impersonation.
Filtering, domain authentication and a second-channel check for any banking change.
Full coverage
Everything an accounting firm’s IT needs, with one provider.
19 service areas in four groups, each framed for an accounting practice. Areas marked as projects are quoted separately.
Everyday support
Help desk, people and devices
IT help desk and user support
Sign-in, email, shared-folder and printing problems handled from the return or file the person was working on.
Both plansNew hires and departures
Seasonal staff and new hires set up before their start date; access removed and recorded when the season or the job ends.
Both plansDevices
Preparer and reviewer laptops supported remotely in both plans; on Managed, they are also monitored, patched and protected.
Both plansVendor coordination
Tax-preparation, document-management and client-portal vendors coordinated as tracked dependencies.
Both plans
Security and continuity
Protection, access and backup
Security essentials
Multi-factor enforced, separate admin accounts, encryption checked and endpoint protection, kept current season after season.
Managed planEmail security
Filtering tuned against impersonation, SPF, DKIM and DMARC on the firm’s domain, and banking-change requests confirmed through a second channel.
Managed planIdentity and access
Multi-factor enforced and sign-in settings kept current; folder permissions tied to engagements and roles.
Managed planBackup and recovery
Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace client files and mailboxes backed up, with restores on request.
Managed planPatching and monitoring
Automated operating-system and application patching, scheduled outside peak filing windows unless you ask otherwise.
Managed plan
Platforms and infrastructure
Cloud, network and phones
Microsoft 365 administration
Licensing, shared mailboxes and permission changes handled as staff join, leave or move between engagements.
Both plansGoogle Workspace administration
Users, Gmail, calendars, shared drives and sharing permissions, for firms that run on Google.
Both plansNetwork, Wi-Fi and remote access
Office firewall, Wi-Fi and remote access managed remotely, with a separate guest network.
Managed planCloud and server migration
Retire an aging file server or move practice software to the cloud, planned outside filing peaks.
Quoted separatelyBusiness phones and VoIP
Reception routing, voicemail to email and after-hours routing adjusted for the busy season.
Quoted separately
Planning and projects
Budget, compliance and change
IT planning and budget
Renewals, licence costs and laptop replacements planned before tax season arrives.
Managed planHardware and software licensing
Hardware and licences are purchased separately. On Managed, the quarterly review reconciles licences against active staff, so seasonal seats are released rather than renewed.
Quoted separatelyOffice moves and IT projects
Office moves and new-system rollouts scheduled outside filing peaks, with vendors, dates and owners aligned.
Quoted separatelyLaw 25 and PIPEDA readiness
Technical groundwork for a Law 25 or PIPEDA review: where client information lives, who can reach it, and the evidence your advisor asks for.
Managed planSwitching IT providers
Take over from the firm’s current provider, with ownership and admin access confirmed first.
Platforms we work in
- Microsoft 365
- Google Workspace
- Windows
- macOS
- iOS and Android
- Business Wi-Fi and firewalls
A list of what we administer, not vendor partnerships.
Security
The controls insurers and clients ask accounting firms about, kept as routine.
Client confidentiality and banking information make accounting firms a target for impersonation. These are the habits the work keeps up. On the Managed plan, these controls are in place and kept current; Essential includes multi-factor setup.
Security in the Managed plan
Each item links to how it is done.
- Multi-factor sign-in enforced for every user
- Separate administrator accounts
- Automated operating-system and common-application patching
- Managed endpoint protection, licence included
- Device encryption checked
- Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace backup, restores on request
- Email-protection settings, SPF, DKIM and DMARC kept current
- Office firewall, Wi-Fi and remote access managed
Penetration testing, formal technology audits and incident response are specialist work, scoped separately.
Security essentialsWho decides what
We run the IT. The firm keeps its professional judgment.
Tax advice and professional-body requirements stay with the firm and its advisors; the technology around them is ours to run.
We handle
- Help desk, devices and accounts for preparers, reviewers and staff
- Seasonal access set up and removed on the dates you give
- Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace administration
- On Managed: patching, endpoint protection, backup and the security baseline
- Coordination with tax, document and client-portal vendors
The firm and its advisors decide
- Tax and accounting advice
- Professional-body technology and confidentiality rules
- Who may open each client’s files
- Peak dates and extended working hours
Scoped separately
- Extended-hours support during tax season
- Practice-management platform migrations
- Formal technology audits
- Office moves and server retirements
Pricing
What a firm of 14 would pay each month.
Essential: help desk and administration. Managed: adds monitoring, security and backup. Per user, per month, in Canadian dollars, before taxes; the estimator starts at 14 people as an example.
Worked example
- 14 × $59$826a month on Essential
- 14 × $89$1,246a month on Managed
Before taxes. Projects, hardware and licences are quoted separately.
Essential$59 CAD / user / month
- Unlimited remote support, business hours
- Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace administration
- Arrivals, departures and devices
- Vendors and documentation
Managed$89 CAD / user / month
- Everything in Essential
- Monitoring and automated patching
- Endpoint protection and backup
- Security baseline and office network
- Quarterly review, priority, Law 25 support
Estimate your monthly cost
Estimate onlyCAD / month
14 × $59$9,912 a year
Minimum 5 users billed per month: the estimate counts 5.
The monthly price is the number of covered users (each person with a work account), with a minimum of 5, multiplied by the per-user price.
| People | Essential$59 per user | Managed$89 per user |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | $295 | $445 |
| 10 | $590 | $890 |
| 15 | $885 | $1,335 |
| 25 | $1,475 | $2,225 |
| 50 | $2,950 | $4,450 |
Essential at $59: help desk and administration. Managed at $89: adds monitoring, security and backup.
Getting started
How we start with an accounting firm.
A first call, a plan chosen from the published scope, then a review of the environment before anything changes.
First call
How your IT is set up, what keeps interrupting preparers and staff, which plan fits, and what would be a separate project.
Plan chosen
Essential or Managed, from the published scope; anything that would be a project is named and quoted in writing, separately.
Environment review
Devices, accounts, client-folder permissions, platforms and vendors documented as they actually exist, before anything changes.
Steady care
Recurring friction and access gaps are handled first; larger improvements are proposed as projects.
Bring this to the first call
Simple facts. No passwords, recovery codes or client data.
- Number of preparers and seasonal staff
- Practice-management and tax software in use
- Client-file separation and permission structure
- Peak filing windows to schedule around
- Remote-access needs during peak season
Questions
What accounting firms ask before they switch.
Short, specific answers. Anything not covered here is a good first question for the call.
Ask yours in the form belowHow do you handle seasonal staff?
Accounts, devices and folder access are prepared before the start date from a request that names the role, the approver and the systems needed. When the season ends, access is removed and the removal is recorded, so no seasonal account lingers.
Will updates disrupt tax season?
Non-urgent updates and changes are scheduled outside the peak windows you name, unless you ask otherwise. Anything that cannot wait is explained in plain language before it happens.
Do you work with our tax and practice software?
We coordinate with tax-preparation, document-management and client-portal vendors as tracked dependencies: one person keeps the issue moving and confirms the fix with the person affected. Tell us which software you use, and we confirm before you start how it fits your scope.
Is extended-hours support during tax season included?
Extended-hours support during tax season is scoped separately, so it is planned rather than assumed. Bring your peak windows and working hours to the first call.
How are client files kept separate?
Each client’s files and working papers get clear ownership boundaries: permissions follow the engagement and role, changes are tied to an approval, and access is reviewed after role changes and departures.
Do you work with Google Workspace as well as Microsoft 365?
Yes. Both plans include Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace administration: users, mailboxes, groups, shared drives and sites, licence assignment, multi-factor setup and sign-in recovery. The Managed plan also backs it up.
Tell us about your firm.
Your team size, the systems you rely on, and the first thing you want handled. A few sentences is plenty.