The busiest season of the year for accountants is almost upon us: tax season. No doubt your firm is already preparing for tight deadlines, long hours and a mountain of work. And all of this is a sure-fire recipe for stress, whether you’re new to the profession or a seasoned veteran.
However, your firm’s technology could help lessen the chaos and lower everyone’s stress levels. In this article, we’ll highlight some of the most essential technologies your firm should be equipped with to make tax season as successful—and stress-free—as possible.
Upgrade your firm with cloud tech solutions
Cloud tech solutions have arguably become one of the most significant technology solutions in the modern world. Which is probably no secret if you’ve been following our blog.
In short, cloud solutions allow you to store and access data, as well as critical applications, on a secure internet server. As long as you, your clients and your team have a stable internet connection, you can easily share important information, files and even other software solutions from virtually any location.
Let’s take a moment to imagine how productive and efficient your operations could be during tax season. Using cloud tech solutions, you could deliver important documents to your clients within a secure online application. No more mailing them or meeting in person to exchange documents (both of which cost valuable time and money). Or you could make real-time changes to files with your team—even if you’re on opposite sides of the country.
Plus, all these solutions could be easily managed with a single application. This can make it easy for your clients and employees to get up and running and on the same page without extra cost or time.
Not to be dramatic, but implementing a cloud tech solution in your firm could be your greatest decision this year.
Boost your firm’s cybersecurity
Consider how much personal data firms are privy to, especially during tax season. We’re talking critical personal information like financial data, Social Security numbers and insurance information. Is it any wonder accounting firms—even small ones—are a primary target for cybercriminals?
Client data protection should be your top priority. As such, you need to take steps now to ensure that your firm’s cybersecurity systems are drum-tight.
Given the chaos of tax season, the last thing you want is to be too busy to notice when a cybercriminal finds their way into your firm. Because once they do, they will begin harvesting information…or holding it for ransom.
One surefire way to help keep cybercriminals out of your firm and out of your data is to educate your team and your clients. Make sure they are armed with knowledge about some of the most common ways attackers can access their information. This includes avoiding phishing scams, using multifactor authentication and using complex passwords (and changing them regularly).
Armed with the right cloud tech solution, you can significantly bolster your firm’s efforts to protect client data by keeping it in the cloud instead of on your local devices. The best of these solutions will provide malware protection, nightly backups, denial of any unwanted third-party access and so much more.
Get peace of mind with managed IT
Why not take things a step further? You already have enough to stay on top of during tax season. Keeping up to date with your technology, ensuring it’s working properly and keeping your data protected is a lot to add to your already-full plate.
That’s where a managed IT solution can all the difference. As the name suggests, a managed IT solution takes your technology infrastructure needs and puts them into the hands of skilled and experienced professionals. From providing a secure, stable platform to accessing essential applications, storing your data and ensuring it’s all safeguarded with the best and most modern solutions available, they can handle it all. And that frees up your firm to spend more time doing what it does best—providing the best possible service to your clients.
Use technology to make tax season easier
Tax season is the busiest time of the year. Why not give yourself as many advantages as possible? With the help of modern technology and managed IT solutions, your firm can be more productive, efficient and secure during tax season. And this ensures you always have the time and the means to serve your clients effectively and securely.
Technology can do more than keep your firm running smoothly during tax season. Learn how cloud technology can also have an impact on your bottom line.