IT Support for AccountantsIT support for accountants who would rather not be the IT department.
Accountancy practices run on confidential client data, deadlines that do not move and a stack of software that has to work on the 31st of January. We run the IT for practices of 5 to 150 people: Microsoft 365 configured so client data is actually protected, the practice software kept patched and backed up, and a helpdesk staffed by engineers who know what a tax deadline looks like.
Who this is for
Independent practices and small firms with one or more partners, a mix of office and home working, practice software such as Xero, Sage, QuickBooks, IRIS, TaxCalc, CCH or Digita, and nobody whose actual job is IT. Usually 5 to 150 staff, often with an existing IT company that has not been reviewed in years.
What accountants are actually protecting
A practice holds payroll, bank details, tax returns, company accounts and personal financial information for every client it has. It is the most attractive target a criminal can find in a town, and the attacks are not sophisticated: a convincing phishing email to a junior at month end, a password reused from a breached site, a laptop left on a train with the client folder synced to it.
ICAEW's guidance for members is blunt about it: practices are expected to have multi-factor authentication, patched systems, backups and staff training in place, and to be able to show it. The ICO expects the same under UK GDPR, and your professional indemnity insurer increasingly asks the same questions at renewal. None of this is exotic. Most of it is included in the Microsoft 365 Business Premium licence many practices already pay for and have never switched on.
Source: Cyber security resources for accountants (ICAEW), Advice for small organisations (ICO), Small Business Guide (NCSC)
Making Tax Digital and the software stack
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax starts in April 2026 for sole traders and landlords with income over £50,000, with the threshold dropping in the following years. For a practice that means more clients on cloud bookkeeping software, more integrations, more logins and more places client data lives. The IT question is not which software, it is whether the identities behind all those logins are protected, whether the data is backed up outside the vendor, and whether a leaver's access is closed the day they leave.
We support practices on Xero, Sage, QuickBooks, FreeAgent, IRIS, TaxCalc, CCH, Digita and BrightPay, both the cloud versions and the ones still installed on a server in the office. Where a server is still needed we keep it patched, backed up and off the internet; where it is not, we plan the move to the cloud so the next year end is the last one that depends on a box under a desk.
Deadline season
January, the end of each VAT quarter and the run-up to payroll year end are the times a practice cannot afford a system to be down. We schedule patching and changes around the practice calendar rather than the other way round, agree a change freeze for the weeks that matter, and make sure the helpdesk knows which clients are in a deadline period so a ticket from them is handled as the emergency it is.
Backup is tested, not assumed. A practice's files and Microsoft 365 data are backed up outside Microsoft, and we restore a sample every quarter and show you the result, because the only backup that matters is the one that restores on 30 January.
Home working, client portals and the audit trail
Most practices now have staff working from home at least part of the week. Intune manages every laptop wherever it is, so client data is only on encrypted, compliant devices and a lost laptop is a wipe rather than a breach notification. Conditional Access means a stolen password alone does not open a mailbox. Sensitivity labels keep client working papers inside the firm, and retention policies and litigation hold give you the audit trail a regulator or a tribunal expects.
Client portals and e-signature tools sit alongside this. We do not sell them, but we make sure the identities behind them are protected with the same multi-factor authentication as everything else.
What is included
Helpdesk and monitoring
Unlimited support answered by an engineer, every device monitored and patched, with changes scheduled around the practice calendar and a change freeze in deadline weeks.
Microsoft 365 set up for confidentiality
Business Premium with multi-factor authentication for everyone, Conditional Access, sensitivity labels for client working papers, retention and litigation hold, and Defender for Office 365 tuned for invoice and payment fraud.
Device management
Every laptop and phone enrolled in Intune, encrypted, compliant and wipeable, including staff who work from home.
Practice software
Xero, Sage, QuickBooks, IRIS, TaxCalc, CCH, Digita, BrightPay and the rest kept patched, their integrations working, and any remaining server maintained or retired.
Backup, tested
Microsoft 365, server and practice data backed up outside the vendor, kept in the UK, restores tested every quarter with the result shown to you.
Evidence for insurers and regulators
Cyber Essentials certification, and the documentation to answer an insurer's renewal questionnaire or an ICAEW or ACCA practice assurance visit in an afternoon.
Joiners and leavers
New starters set up before their first day, leavers' access closed the same day, with a record of both.
What is not included, and why
- The practice software licences themselves. You buy those from the vendor; we make sure they work and are protected.
- Audit of your clients' systems. We look after the practice; if a client needs IT support, we are happy to talk to them separately.
- Teams Phone and connectivity are separate services, priced on the Teams Phone and broadband pages.
What it costs
Managed IT support for accountancy practices is from £35 per user per month, with security monitoring, device management and Microsoft 365 backup included. Microsoft 365 Business Premium licences are £16.90 per user per month at Microsoft's UK price. Onboarding, any server work and Cyber Essentials certification are quoted as fixed projects after a discovery call, so the number reflects your practice rather than a price list.
How it starts
- 1Free IT Health CheckA short online check that benchmarks your security and business risk and tells you where you stand.
- 2Discovery callAn engineer, not a salesperson. What you have, what is broken, what it would cost to fix, in writing.
- 3OnboardingEverything moves across on a plan, with no gap in cover and nothing lost.
Questions people ask before signing
Our IT company has looked after us for ten years. Why change?
Loyalty is a fair reason to stay, and we will say so if the set-up is sound. The free IT Health Check tells you in twenty minutes whether multi-factor authentication is enforced for everyone, whether devices are managed and encrypted, and whether the backup has ever been restored. If all three are in place, keep them. In our experience at least one is not.
Do you understand accountancy software?
We support practices on Xero, Sage, QuickBooks, FreeAgent, IRIS, TaxCalc, CCH, Digita and BrightPay, including the desktop versions still running on servers. We are not accountants and will not pretend to be, but we know how those systems are installed, backed up, integrated and broken.
Can you help us answer our PI insurer's cyber questionnaire?
Yes. The questions are the same every year: MFA, patching, backup, device encryption, training and usually Cyber Essentials. We put those in place as standard, draft the answers with you and keep the evidence so renewal is an afternoon, not a week.
What happens in January if something breaks?
It is treated as the emergency it is. We know which clients are in deadline periods, we freeze changes in the weeks that matter, and the helpdesk is staffed by engineers rather than a ticket queue. Monitoring runs around the clock and fixes a lot of problems before anyone notices.
Our staff work from home. Is client data safe on their laptops?
Only if the laptops are managed. Intune encrypts every device, enforces a compliant configuration, and lets us wipe company data from a lost or stolen laptop remotely. Conditional Access means company data only opens on managed devices. That is included in Business Premium and in our managed support.
Do we still need a server?
Usually not, and if you still have one it is usually only for one piece of desktop software. We keep it patched, backed up and off the internet until it can be retired, and plan the move to the cloud version at a quiet point in the year rather than in January.
How much does IT support cost for an accountancy practice?
From £35 per user per month with security and backup included, plus Microsoft 365 licences at Microsoft's price. A ten-person practice on Business Premium is therefore around £520 a month before any project work, and we quote exact figures after a discovery call.