IT Support for Accounting Firms
Staff need reliable access to practice software, workpapers and client files, and an IT fault can interrupt a deadline as well as the working day. Exodesk provides accounting IT support for accounting and bookkeeping practices across New Zealand.
Our Christchurch and Dunedin teams help manage devices, connectivity, Microsoft 365, application access, client file sharing and recovery, with the scope and software vendor responsibilities agreed for your firm.
Supporting New Zealand businesses since 1989
What does accounting IT support cover?
Accounting IT support looks after the environment your practice works in: devices, connectivity, Microsoft 365, access to practice and workpaper applications, client file exchange and recovery, with responsibilities recorded for each provider.
Practice management, workpaper, tax and ledger applications have their own features and support terms. We identify where each one runs, how staff reach it and who handles a fault, so a sign-in problem, a slow workpaper file or a failed client upload goes to the right people.
Exodesk has supported New Zealand businesses since 1989. Today, our Christchurch and Dunedin teams support businesses nationwide, with support hours and any site attendance agreed for each practice.
Support around the way your practice works
IT support for accountants starts with the systems staff use every day and the work that cannot stop when something goes wrong.
Practice software access
Access to practice management, workpaper, tax and ledger applications, whether they run locally, on a hosted server or as a cloud service.
File exchange
An approved way to send and receive client documents, set up with the right permissions and recipient checks.
Staff access
Accounts, multi-factor authentication and access changes when people join, change roles or leave the practice.
Planned changes are scheduled around your filing dates and working hours where practical. Work outside the ongoing scope, such as an office move or an application migration, is quoted separately.
Working alongside your practice software
Your firm may use Xero, MYOB, tax applications, practice management software and separate workpaper tools. We record where each runs, how staff access it and who is responsible for keeping it working.
Our accounting IT support covers the IT environment, and we coordinate with your software vendors. Product functionality and specialist application work remain with the appropriate provider unless included in the scope. Your practice remains responsible for tax and professional advice.
Where records need to move between applications, our business software integration service checks the available interfaces, licences, mapped fields and exception handling. Integration can reduce re-entry, but it does not correct errors in the source data, so ownership and reconciliation are agreed first.
Manage access, client file exchange and recovery
Client information needs suitable access controls and a sharing method staff can use consistently. Accounting IT support helps put the practice’s decisions into operation; the practice sets retention requirements and professional obligations.
- Role-based access. Access follows each person’s role, including legitimate reviewer and administrator access, and is reviewed when people join, move or leave.
- Client file sharing. An authenticated portal or shared folder can reduce attachment handling, but it still needs correct client permissions, folder separation and recipient checks. For messages, our guide to email encryption explains when protected email suits an exchange.
- Logging. Audit logs show recorded activity, not proof of every action. We check which events are captured, how they are attributed and how long they are kept under your licences.
- Retention. Retention rules are set by record type and purpose. IRD requires relevant tax records to be kept for at least seven tax years, and records stored offshore, including in cloud services, need approval held by you or the provider.
- Recovery. We agree backup scope, recovery priorities and checks, which may include managed servers and files and our Microsoft 365 backup service. For vendor-hosted applications we confirm the provider’s recovery arrangements, because an export is not automatically a complete backup.
Financial records are personal information where they identify an individual. IT controls support the practice’s privacy duties rather than certifying compliance, and our NZ Privacy Act guide covers the wider obligations.
Prepare for the periods that matter to your firm
Deadline pressure varies with client work, balance dates and filing arrangements, so we work from your practice’s calendar rather than a generic busy season.
Before a demanding period, we can check performance, connectivity, storage and remote access within the agreed scope, and schedule planned changes away from your deadlines. We investigate where a slowdown occurs: improving a device or connection may help access to a hosted application, while limits within the vendor’s service need to be addressed with that provider.
We identify hosted application dependencies so your team knows who to contact, what can be changed locally and what has to wait for the vendor. The EOFY IT checklist covers year-end checks that suit many practices.
How accounting IT support is set up
Each arrangement starts with your users, locations, applications and the problems that interrupt work today.
Review
Record users, locations, devices, applications, client file exchange, current providers and recurring problems.
Agree the scope
Confirm the supported systems, vendor responsibilities, support hours, urgent escalation, recovery priorities and separately quoted work.
Hand over
Confirm administrator access, multi-factor authentication, backups and vendor contacts, with changes scheduled around your deadlines.
Support and review
Handle requests within the agreed scope and review access, recovery and vendor arrangements before demanding periods.
Changes are scheduled, tested and handed over with clear ownership. Faults that cross between Exodesk’s IT work and a vendor’s product follow the escalation path agreed in the scope.
What affects the cost of accounting IT support?
Cost depends on users, locations, applications, the current environment, recovery and the support hours required. Response and recovery terms are made clear in the proposal before you commit.
- Ongoing support. Users, devices, locations and support hours within the agreed scope.
- Projects. Office moves, application migrations and new file sharing setups, quoted separately.
- Licences and vendor charges. Microsoft 365, backup and application licences, shown separately from Exodesk’s work.
- Terms. Inclusions, exclusions, GST and the term, set out in the quote.
The overall support agreement is described on our managed IT services page. Measure interruptions and recovery performance over time rather than relying on an assumed return.
Accounting IT support questions
What does IT support for accounting firms cover?
It can cover devices, connectivity, Microsoft 365, application access, client file sharing, staff access changes and recovery. Exodesk agrees the scope for your practice, including which systems we manage and where a software vendor remains responsible.
Can you support Xero, MYOB and workpaper software?
We support the IT environment and access arrangements around the applications your firm uses, within the agreed scope. We coordinate with the vendor when an issue concerns its product. Specialist product functionality and tax questions need the appropriate application provider or adviser.
Can you help us prepare for filing deadlines?
Yes. We work from your actual deadline calendar and can check performance, access and recovery arrangements before demanding periods. We agree change windows and escalation contacts, while vendor outages and limits outside the managed environment still need their own response arrangements.
Is a client portal safer than emailing attachments?
An authenticated portal can reduce attachment handling and make access easier to manage, but it still needs correct client permissions and recipient checks. Protected email may suit some exchanges, and we help configure the approved method. No sharing tool removes every risk, and control over downloaded copies depends on the file protection and settings in use.
Does IT support make our practice Privacy Act compliant?
IT support can help implement access, security, retention and recovery controls, but it does not by itself establish compliance. Your practice remains responsible for its privacy and professional obligations, with specialist advice where needed. Retention requirements should be agreed for the relevant record types.
Do you back up our practice data?
The proposal identifies what is backed up, by whom and how recovery is checked. Exodesk offers Microsoft 365 backup, while other files and systems depend on the scope, and vendor-hosted applications need a check of the provider arrangements. Confirm exclusions, retention and recovery priorities before relying on a backup.
What happens if a problem occurs outside support hours?
Your support agreement sets out coverage hours, urgent escalation and any available after-hours arrangements. We agree these against the working calendar of your firm before support starts, including any response targets and the systems covered.
How much does accounting IT support cost?
It depends on the users, sites, applications, current environment and support required. We scope the work and set out ongoing support separately from projects, licences and other provider charges. Tell us about the systems you use and the main interruptions so we can discuss a suitable arrangement.
Talk to us about your practice’s IT
Tell us your staff numbers, locations, main applications and what is interrupting work, and we can discuss the scope and next steps. Please leave client records and passwords out of your enquiry.
Discuss accounting IT support
Tell us your firm name, staff numbers, locations, main applications and the issue you want to discuss, and we will be in touch to arrange a time that suits.
Prefer to talk?
Christchurch
Level 1, 85 Riccarton Road
Christchurch 8011
03 343 3124
Dunedin
Level 3, Bartons Building
2 Stafford Street, Dunedin 9016
03 479 2941