IT Support for Houston CPA & Accounting Firms

The FTC Safeguards Rule (16 CFR Part 314) was significantly updated in 2023 and now applies to all 'financial institutions' including tax preparers, CPAs, and accounting firms that receive, maintain, or transmit nonpublic personal information of customers in the course of a financial activity. Compliance requires a written information security program (WISP), designated security officer, annual risk assessments, access controls, encryption, multi-factor authentication, employee training, and incident response planning. The FTC can impose civil penalties up to $100,000 per violation. xS IT builds and maintains FTC Safeguards compliance programs for Houston accounting firms.

QuickBooks Desktop in multi-user mode requires a properly configured server hosting the company files with adequate CPU, RAM, and fast storage. Common multi-user performance issues stem from underpowered servers, misconfigured file permissions, network bottlenecks, or conflicts from simultaneous data access. We assess and optimize your QuickBooks server infrastructure, configure proper user permissions, and implement file maintenance schedules (verify data, rebuild, condense) that prevent database corruption. For firms outgrowing QuickBooks Desktop, we manage migrations to QuickBooks Enterprise or QuickBooks Online.

Yes — we have experience with migrations between major tax platforms including Drake, Lacerte, ProConnect, UltraTax CS, CCH ProSystem fx, and CCH Axcess. These migrations are complex because they involve converting client data, prior year returns, and custom configurations. We work directly with the destination platform's migration team to execute the conversion, validate data integrity, and test all workflows before you're committed to the new platform. We recommend conducting these migrations during the summer when the risk of disruption is lowest.

This is the scenario every CPA fears most, and it's exactly why we take pre-season readiness so seriously. For managed clients, our backup and disaster recovery system means server failure results in failover to a cloud-based virtual server within 2–4 hours — not days. Your team continues working from their existing workstations with access to the recovered environment. We also provide a documented manual contingency plan (which software can be run locally on individual workstations, which can wait) so there's no panic about what to do while recovery is in progress. Call (832) 304-9748 the moment an issue starts.

Tax season phishing attacks targeting accounting firms have increased 300%+ since 2020. Attackers impersonate the IRS, state tax agencies, software vendors, and financial institutions to steal credentials and client data. Our email security platform uses AI to analyze every email — detecting impersonation attempts, malicious attachments (including password-protected documents), and malicious links before they reach staff inboxes. We also run quarterly phishing simulations using templates modeled on actual tax-season lures, with mandatory training for employees who click. This combination reduces successful phishing clicks by 90%+.

Yes — cloud-based tax platforms change the IT support model from server management to identity and access management. We ensure proper SSO configuration, MFA enforcement, conditional access policies that prevent access from unmanaged devices, and network bandwidth optimization that prevents cloud platform slowdowns during peak concurrent usage. We also manage browser compatibility issues, local client configurations, and integration between cloud tax software and local document management systems.

All xS IT technicians sign confidentiality agreements that specifically address client financial data. Remote support sessions use encrypted connections with full session logging. We never retain copies of client financial data. Access to systems containing client data is granted only as necessary to resolve the specific issue and is logged with timestamps. We are happy to execute a BAA (Business Associate Agreement) or data processing addendum appropriate to your firm's privacy obligations. Client data protection is not optional — it's the foundation of your practice's trustworthiness.

Yes — secure client portals are increasingly essential for CPA firms, both for compliance and client experience. We deploy and manage secure file exchange portals integrated with your document management system and email workflow. Common platforms include ShareFile, SharePoint with external sharing configured to compliance standards, and purpose-built client portals from your tax software vendor. We configure encryption for data at rest and in transit, access controls scoped per client, and audit logging of all document access and downloads.

Our annual pre-season audit (conducted each October) covers: hardware health checks for all servers and workstations (identifying failing drives before they fail), verification of all accounting software licenses and upcoming renewals, backup restore test (actually restoring data, not just checking that backup ran), remote access validation for all staff, security patch status review, and email security configuration review. You receive a written report with any findings and our recommendations for remediation before January. Think of it as your technology version of an oil change before a long road trip.

A typical 10-person CPA firm with a small server and 12–15 endpoints pays $1,500–$3,000/month for managed IT from xS — covering helpdesk, monitoring, endpoint security, patch management, backup management, FTC Safeguards documentation, and the annual pre-season audit. This compares to the cost of a single in-house IT hire ($75,000+ salary + benefits) who can't provide 24/7 coverage and likely lacks accounting software expertise. Call (832) 304-9748 for a firm-specific quote.