No managing partner I have met sat down one year and decided against hiring an IT person. The decision never came up, because the job was never a full time job. Somewhere between eight and forty people, a firm needs technology handled competently and continuously, and needs roughly a fifth of a person to do it. You cannot hire a fifth of a person.
So the workgets absorbed. Usually by a partner, occasionally by an office manager, always by somebody whose actual role is something else.
The math that never quite works
A capableinternal technologist is a real salary, plus benefits, plus the assumption that they never take a vacation and never leave. For a firm of fourteen people billing client work, that is difficult to justify to the other partners, and every outside dollar is a partner dollar.
The alternative most firms land on is a technician they callwhen something breaks. That works until the thing that breaks is urgent, or happens at seven in the evening in the middle of filing season, or requires somebody who already knows how the practice is set up.
The gap is not skill. The gap is coverage.
What coverage has to include for a firm this size
When a firm asks me what they should expect, I give the same list regardless of whether they end up working with me.
Somebody reachable by a person, not a queue, including nights, weekends, and holidays.
Backups that have beentested by restoring something, not backups that report success.
Secure access for partners working from a client site, a courthouse, or a kitchen table.
Anamed person who knows your setup, so you are not explaining the practice from scratch every time.
Somebody who can be physically present when the work requires hands on equipment.
That last one gets underrated until the day it matters.Firewalls,failed hardware, a move to a new floor, and a handful of other jobs simply need a person in the room. Myteam is local, so for most of the firms I work with, getting somebody on site is a short drive.
Confidentiality is part of coverage, not a separate project
An accounting, valuation, advisory, or consulting firm does not hold files. It holds financial statements, tax returns, valuations, and the private circumstances of people who assumed discretion when they hired you. The reputational exposure is not proportional to the size of the firm. A six person practice and a six hundred person practice carry the same obligation to the client in front of them.
Most firms do not start with a full transition. They start with the project they already know they need. A firewall that should have been replaced two years ago. A move. Aclient security questionnaire they cannot currently answer. Sorting that one thing out is a reasonable way to find out whether the working relationship suits you.
I will also tell you when something is not worth doing, or when you would be better served buying it elsewhere. That costs me work occasionally and it has never cost me a client.
If you want to talk it through, call me at (617) 221-4100 and I will come to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why can’t a small firm just hire an IT person? +
For many small firms, IT does not require a full-time internal employee. Hiring someone means covering salary, benefits, training, and availability even when the actual workload may only require part-time attention. Outside IT support can provide broader coverage without the cost of a full-time hire.
2. Who usually handles IT in a firm this size? +
IT responsibilities often fall to a partner, office manager, or another employee whose primary role is something else. Technology work gets added to their responsibilities because the firm has never hired someone specifically to manage IT.
3. What is the real problem with the “call a technician when it breaks” model? +
The main issue is consistent coverage. A technician who is only contacted after something fails may not be immediately available and may not know how your firm’s systems are configured. That can increase downtime during busy or urgent periods.
4. How many employees does a firm need before outside IT support makes sense? +
There is no fixed number. Outside IT support often becomes valuable when technology needs regular attention but the workload still does not justify a full-time internal hire. This commonly happens in growing firms with roughly eight to forty employees.
5. Is outside IT support more cost-effective than an internal hire? +
For many small firms, yes. Managed or outsourced IT can provide monitoring, support, cybersecurity, backup management, and strategic guidance without the salary, benefits, and staffing costs associated with a full-time employee.
6. What should I expect from an IT provider? +
You should expect responsive support, continuous monitoring, tested backups, secure remote access, proactive maintenance, cybersecurity guidance, and a team that understands your systems. Local on-site support can also be important when physical equipment needs attention.
7. Why does it matter that I reach a person rather than a queue? +
Technology problems can happen outside normal business hours. Reaching someone who understands the urgency and can begin troubleshooting quickly can help reduce downtime and keep small issues from becoming full-day disruptions.
8. What does continuous IT monitoring do? +
Continuous monitoring checks systems, devices, backups, performance, and security around the clock. It can help identify potential problems early, sometimes before employees notice anything is wrong.
9. How do I know my backups actually work? +
The best way to know is to test a restore. A backup system reporting that a job completed successfully does not prove the data can actually be recovered when your firm needs it.
10. Why is a named IT contact better than a rotating helpdesk? +
A consistent contact already understands your firm’s technology, employees, applications, and priorities. That familiarity can make troubleshooting faster and reduce the need to explain your environment every time you request support.
11. How can partners work securely from client sites or home? +
Secure remote work should include multi-factor authentication, protected and managed devices, secure remote access, strong identity controls, and appropriate monitoring. The same security standards should apply whether someone is working in the office, at a client site, or from home.
12. When does a firm actually need on-site IT support? +
On-site support may be needed for failed hardware, firewall replacements, network equipment, office moves, cabling, physical installations, and other issues that cannot be resolved remotely.
13. Why does a local IT provider matter? +
A local IT provider can offer faster on-site assistance when physical work is required. Local support can also build stronger familiarity with your office, team, infrastructure, and day-to-day business needs.
14. Why is cybersecurity part of ongoing IT coverage? +
Professional firms often handle confidential financial, personal, legal, or business information. Security therefore needs to be part of everyday technology management, including access controls, endpoint protection, monitoring, backups, patching, and employee awareness.
15. Does a small firm have the same confidentiality responsibilities as a large firm? +
Small firms still have a responsibility to protect confidential client and business information. Firm size does not make sensitive information less important, and a security incident can create serious reputational and operational consequences.
16. What cybersecurity basics should every small firm have? +
Every firm handling confidential information should consider multi-factor authentication, endpoint protection, regular patching, reliable backups, access controls, email security, monitoring, and employee security awareness as foundational protections.
17. Does a firm have to hand over all of its IT at once? +
No. Many firms begin with a specific project, such as replacing a firewall, improving backups, preparing for an office move, reviewing cybersecurity, or responding to a client security questionnaire.
18. What if a client sends us a security questionnaire we cannot answer? +
A security questionnaire can be a useful starting point. Working through the questions helps identify gaps in areas such as backups, access management, cybersecurity controls, vendor management, documentation, and incident response.
19. How do I know if an IT provider is the right fit? +
Start with a defined project and evaluate how the provider communicates, explains recommendations, responds to questions, and understands your business. A good provider should be willing to explain when something is unnecessary or when another solution is a better value.
20. What is the best first step for improving IT support? +
Start with the technology problem you already know needs attention, then discuss it with an experienced IT provider. To talk through your firm’s needs, call (617) 221-4100 and arrange the next step.
