Year-End IT Prep for Accounting Firms: Don't Wait Until January

If you run an accounting firm, November and early December are your calm before the storm. Tax season starts in January and runs through April. By the time you're in the thick of it, there's no time to fix IT problems properly.

That means now, right now in mid-November, is when you need to do your IT prep. Not in late December when everyone's on vacation. Not in January when you're already slammed. Now.

Here's what needs attention before year-end.

Software Updates and Patches

Your tax preparation software, practice management system, and Windows itself all need to be current before January hits.

Tax Software

Most tax software vendors release their 2016 tax year versions in November or December. You need to:

• Verify you've ordered the 2016 version
• Install it on all workstations that need it
• Test it with sample returns to make sure everything works
• Verify integrations with your practice management software
• Make sure all staff know about any interface changes

Don't wait until a client shows up with their tax documents in January to discover your software isn't ready.

Windows and Office Updates

Get all Windows updates installed now. Same with Microsoft Office updates. During tax season you won't want to deal with update disruptions or reboot requirements.

That said, don't install updates blindly. Test them on one workstation first, make sure nothing breaks, then roll out to the rest of your systems.

Practice Management Software

If your practice management or billing software has pending updates, evaluate them now. Figure out if the updates are worth applying or if you're better off staying on your current stable version through tax season.

Hardware Check

The middle of tax season is the worst time to have hardware fail. Check your hardware health now while you have time to address issues.

Servers

• Check hard drive health (SMART status, no warning signs)
• Verify backups are completing successfully
• Test that you can actually restore from backups
• Clean dust out of servers (overheating kills hardware)
• Check server event logs for errors or warnings

If your server is more than five years old, seriously consider replacing it before tax season. The cost of a new server is less than the cost of emergency replacement in February.

Workstations

• Hard drives showing any signs of failure? Replace them now.
• Memory errors? Add or replace RAM now.
• Computers running slowly? Clean them up or replace them.
• Any workstations still on Windows XP or Vista? Retire them now.

You want every workstation rock-solid before January.

Network Equipment

• Routers, switches, and firewalls all current on firmware?
• Wireless access points working reliably?
• Any network dead spots or slow areas that need attention?

Backup and Disaster Recovery

Tax season generates a ton of important data that absolutely cannot be lost. Your backup system needs to be bulletproof.

Verify Backups Work

Don't just check that backups are running. Actually restore some files from backup to verify they're good. Do this monthly through tax season.

Expand Backup Storage

Tax season data volume is much higher than normal. Make sure your backup storage can handle the increased load. If you're close to capacity now, you'll be over capacity in February.

Test Recovery Time

How long does it take to restore your tax software database from backup? What about your practice management system? Document these times so you know what to expect if you need emergency recovery.

Offsite Backups

Make absolutely sure you have recent backups stored offsite (cloud backup or drives rotated to a safe deposit box). If your office burns down, you need to be able to restore client data.

Security Hardening

Tax season is prime time for cyber attacks targeting accounting firms. Attackers know you have valuable financial data and that you're under time pressure (making you more likely to pay ransom).

Email Security

Most attacks start with phishing emails. Make sure your email filtering is current and configured properly. Consider adding additional anti-phishing protection if you don't already have it.

Staff Training

Before tax season starts, do a quick security awareness refresher with your team. Cover:

• How to spot phishing emails
• Never opening unexpected attachments
• Verifying unusual requests through a second channel
• Who to notify if something seems suspicious

Fifteen minutes now can prevent thousands of dollars in damages later.

Access Controls

Review who has access to what systems. Seasonal staff shouldn't have more access than they need. Former employees' accounts should be disabled. Contractor access should be limited and monitored.

Remote Access

If your firm allows remote work (and many do during tax season), make sure remote access is secured properly:

• Require strong passwords
• Enable multi-factor authentication if possible
• Use VPN for remote access, not just remote desktop
• Limit remote access to specific IP addresses if feasible

Client Portal and File Sharing

If you use a client portal for secure document exchange, make sure it's ready:

• Portal software is current
• Storage capacity is adequate for tax season volume
• All features work correctly
• Client instructions are clear and up to date
• Support contact information is correct

Test the portal from a client's perspective. Try uploading and downloading files. Make sure the experience is smooth.

Staffing and Support

IT Support Availability

Talk to your IT support company now about their availability during tax season. Make sure they know you'll need faster response times January through April. Confirm their escalation procedures for urgent issues.

If you do your own IT support, make sure you have vendor contacts readily available for when something breaks.

Seasonal Staff Onboarding

If you hire seasonal staff for tax season, plan their IT onboarding now:

• What systems do they need access to?
• How will accounts be provisioned?
• What security training do they need?
• Who's responsible for setting up their workstations?

Don't wait until they show up in January to figure this out.

Documentation

Make sure you have current documentation for critical systems:

• Software license keys and activation information
• Login credentials (stored securely)
• Vendor support contact information
• Network configuration details
• Backup and recovery procedures

If something breaks in February and you need emergency support, good documentation makes recovery much faster.

Create a Contingency Plan

What happens if your server dies in the middle of tax season? What if ransomware encrypts your files? What if the internet goes down for a day?

You need contingency plans for these scenarios. The plans don't have to be elaborate, but you should know:

• Who to call for help
• Where your backups are
• How to operate in degraded mode if necessary
• How to communicate with clients if systems are down

The Bottom Line

Tax season puts enormous stress on your firm's IT systems. The time to prepare is now, in November and early December, when you have breathing room to address issues properly.

Don't wait until January when you're buried in returns. Don't wait until something breaks in February when you're desperate. Do the prep work now.

If you need help with any of this, or if you want an objective assessment of your firm's IT readiness for tax season, we can help. We've been working with Arizona accounting firms since 1991, and we know exactly what breaks during tax season and how to prevent it.

The busiest four months of your year are coming. Make sure your IT systems are ready.