What Is IT Support for Accounting Firms? What does it mean to your firm?

What exactly are technical people referring to when they talk about IT Support? What’s the difference between IT Support for Accounting Firms and just standard IT support?

I have a business associate that is a very well-respected consultant to small and medium sized businesses. The other day he and I were talking about technology and its impact on businesses and specifically business owners.

People have long said that technology can be a competitive advantage but the trend he noted is that technology and its complexity is changing so fast and there’s so many choices that it’s putting business owners at a disadvantage. What he specifically said was that “the rate at which technology comes at them (business owners) and their inability to absorb it puts them in a very disadvantageous position.”

With the ever increasing rate of complexity and choices, IT Support for accounting firms is not something that can be done on a part time basis and is far too important to be taken lightly. Each choice can have a long term affect – either positive or negative on the business.

So, with that in mind, it’s clear that IT support is needed.

But what exactly does that mean?

The Definition of IT Support:

It may seem obvious, but it’s helpful to define our terms to start. So, when we say IT support, what do we mean?

Let’s start with the first half of the phrase. “IT,” an acronym for “information technology,” was first noted by Merriam-Webster in 1978. It’s lost some of its specificity over the years, but, originally, information technology was “the technology involving the development, maintenance, and use of computer systems, software, and networks for the processing and distribution of data.”

The definition on Wikipedia defines IT as: “Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to store, retrieve, transmit, and manipulate data^[1] or information. IT is typically used within the context of business operations as opposed to personal or entertainment technologies.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_technology

Of course, today, the clarifying prefix “information” can seem redundant, since pretty much anything you can plug in (or charge wireless, for that matter) can be connected to the internet. If it’s collecting or sharing data, it’s IT.

The second half of the phrase is the word support, which in our case (and according to Wikipedia) means: Technical support (often shortened to tech support) refers to services like (IT Support for accounting practices or tax, finance, or other small businesses) that entities provide to users of technology products or services.

Taken at its most basic level, then, IT support for accounting firms is consultants with both a solid technical foundation, but that also understand the impact technology will have on the business, and have the heart of a teacher to guide the business owner through complex choices in simple clear terms, all while keeping the clients best interests at heart. Or, to be more precise: “technical and business guidance provided by honest and ethical technology experts.”

In a practical business context, it’s a team or department associated with an organization that provides services like:

• IT Consulting
• Cybersecurity
• Managed Services
• Virtual Desktops for Accounting Firms
• Backup and Disaster Recovery Solutions
• Web Sites
• Phone systems

So, that’s IT support.

Need Help with Your IT Support for accounting firms?

At Alavanca Systems we’ve found that business owners are often overwhelmed with the choices available, and don’t want to get in the weeds of the technology itself.

Our simple and proven process allows us to learn your business, your goals, the specific challenges you face, and then apply the right technology to help you leverage opportunities and GROW your business.

If you’re looking to improve your technology with support you can trust, let’s talk.