An accountancy practice doesn’t need IT support that works on an average Tuesday. It needs IT support that works in the last fortnight of January, when the whole practice is running flat out and a locked account or a failed laptop costs real fees.
That’s the test for any provider. Here is what IT support for an accountancy practice should cover, and the questions that reveal whether a provider can deliver it.
What makes accountancy different
Most IT support is sold on a generic service level. Accountancy practices have a pattern of risk that generic support doesn’t account for:
- Deadline peaks. The online Self Assessment deadline is 31 January (gov.uk), and client year-ends cluster through the year. Downtime at those points is far more expensive than downtime in August.
- A growing workload from Making Tax Digital. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax began on 6 April 2026 for people with qualifying income over £50,000. It extends to those over £30,000 from April 2027 and over £20,000 from April 2028 (gov.uk). More clients filing quarterly means more reliance on software, connections and data flows working every time.
- Practice and tax software. Whether it runs in the cloud or on-premises, it is the centre of the practice. Support has to cover it, or at least know how to work with the vendor.
- Client portals and file exchange. Clients send sensitive financial documents. How they get to you, and where they sit afterwards, matters.
- Seasonal and remote staff. Extra hands for the busy season need access quickly, and need it removed just as quickly afterwards.
- The data itself. A practice holds bank details, income figures and identity documents for every client. That makes it a target, and an attractive one.
The questions to ask a provider
Use these in any review of your current provider, or when choosing a new one:
- What changes in January? Ask how they handle peak periods. Do response times hold? Is there extra cover? Do they avoid scheduling disruptive updates in the weeks before a deadline?
- Do you know our practice software? They don’t need to be the vendor’s experts, but they should know how it’s hosted, how it’s backed up and who to call when it breaks.
- How do you handle joiners and leavers? Especially seasonal staff. How fast can someone be set up securely, and how reliably is their access removed when they leave?
- When did you last test a restore? Not “do you back up”, but when was a restore last tested, and how long did it take?
- What stops payment fraud through our email? Practices are prime targets for invoice and payment-redirection fraud. Ask about multi-factor authentication, impersonation protection and alerts for suspicious mailbox rules.
- Who holds the admin accounts? The practice should own its systems. Your provider should hold access on your behalf, not in place of you.
- What does a bad day look like? Ask them to walk through what happens if the practice is hit by ransomware on 20 January. Listen for a plan, not reassurance.
Red flags in the answers
Some answers should worry you:
- “We’ve never had a problem with that” in place of a tested process.
- No distinction between peak and quiet periods.
- Vagueness about who owns your admin accounts and your domain.
- Backups described, but no restore tests.
- Security treated as an optional extra rather than part of the service.
For a wider list, see our guide to red flags when choosing an IT support company.
Getting ready before the peak
If you’re reading this in the autumn, there’s still time to get ahead of January:
- Check that every account, especially partners’ and admins’, has multi-factor authentication.
- Confirm backups cover Microsoft 365 as well as your practice software, and test one restore.
- Make sure laptops are fully updated now, so updates aren’t forced on people mid-deadline.
- Set up and test access for any seasonal staff in advance.
- Agree with your provider how January will be handled, in writing.
Related: Managed IT support for professional firms
Find out where your IT stands
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