An accountancy practice cannot put client work on hold while somebody investigates a slow server or a failed login. January Self Assessment deadlines, year end accounts, payroll processing and Making Tax Digital submissions create periods when reliable access matters particularly much.
Northern Star considers those pressures when reviewing your systems, planning maintenance and prioritising technical risks. Instead of waiting for recurring problems to become urgent, we combine proactive monitoring with support from engineers who understand the effect of disruption on client work.
When Outlook stops working, a laptop cannot connect or a member of staff loses access to a shared folder, your team needs a clear route to help. Northern Star provides direct access to IT specialists, remote assistance and on site support where required. Our hardware and software support also helps practices manage devices, replacements and new starters.
We work with the technology surrounding platforms such as IRIS, CCH, Digita, Sage, Xero, QuickBooks and TaxCalc. That includes user access, networks, servers, devices and connections between applications. Where a problem belongs with the software publisher, we can coordinate technical troubleshooting so your practice manager is not left chasing separate suppliers.
Tax records, payroll files, identity documents and client correspondence demand careful handling. Northern Star helps strengthen account security, device protection and access permissions, supported by email security services and staff awareness training. The goal is to reduce avoidable exposure without making legitimate client work difficult.
Partners, auditors and remote staff need access to the right information, not unrestricted access to everything. Our Microsoft 365 services help practices manage Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive and user permissions while supporting secure collaboration across locations.
Northern Star combines London based account management with support capability across 6 global locations.
We take time to understand your practice, identify recurring problems and explain improvement priorities in plain English. Whether you have a small internal IT team or want to outsource day to day support, we can discuss an approach that fits your systems and responsibilities.
Tell us which systems your team relies on and where IT is getting in the way. Contact Northern Star to discuss support, security and the practical next steps for your firm.
Northern Star’s IT support for accounting firms covers day to day technical assistance, proactive monitoring, help with devices and business applications, and guidance on security and cloud systems. The precise combination depends on your practice’s users, existing infrastructure, internal resources and agreed service scope, rather than a standard package that assumes every firm works alike.
For a practice manager, that can mean somebody taking ownership when a workstation fails, a new employee needs access or an application stops communicating with a server. For partners, it means clearer advice about recurring incidents, outdated equipment and where investment will make the greatest difference.
Our approach also connects IT support with planning. Through IT consulting, we can assess the wider environment and discuss the order in which issues should be addressed.
Support arrangements, on site visits, monitoring and any additional projects should be agreed before work begins so responsibilities are clear.
Yes. Northern Star supports the IT environment used by accounting practices working with IRIS, CCH, Digita, Sage, Xero, QuickBooks and TaxCalc. We investigate issues involving devices, access, performance, network connections and supporting infrastructure, and can liaise with software suppliers when a fault requires their specialist product support. We do not replace the software publisher.
That distinction matters. A tax application that will not open may have a licensing issue, a failed network connection, a damaged local profile or a problem with the application itself. Treating every incident as a software defect can waste valuable time, especially when a filing deadline is approaching.
We also consider what sits between your applications: document storage, scanning, user permissions and the movement of information across systems.
If a firm is changing software, we can help assess the technical dependencies and plan a controlled transition. Product configuration, data conversion and specialist accounting advice remain subject to the relevant vendor and project scope.
Northern Star helps accounting firms reduce the risk of unauthorised access to client financial information through stronger account controls, endpoint protection, email security and staff awareness. We look at how information is accessed and shared, not simply whether antivirus software is installed. No single technology can eliminate the risk of fraud, mistakes or a cyber incident.
A common exposure is an apparently genuine message asking somebody to change a client’s bank details or disclose confidential records.
Filtering and detection help, but your practice also needs a procedure for independently verifying unusual requests. A phone call to an established contact number is safer than relying on the number supplied in a suspicious email.
Permissions need similar attention. A temporary payroll assistant may need access to selected folders without seeing every client’s tax records. Shared mailboxes and departing staff accounts also require regular review.
Northern Star’s cyber security awareness training can support the human side of these controls, alongside technical measures and clear escalation when something looks wrong.
Yes, on the technology side. Northern Star can review the reliability of your devices, connectivity, access controls and supporting systems as your practice uses software for Making Tax Digital. We can investigate technical problems and coordinate with vendors. Choosing suitable tax software, maintaining client records and meeting HMRC obligations remain the responsibility of the practice and relevant software providers.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax began on 6 April 2026 for relevant sole traders and landlords with qualifying income above £50,000.
HMRC’s published timetable extends the requirement to qualifying income above £30,000 from April 2027 and above £20,000 from April 2028. Qualifying income is based on gross self-employment and property income, not profit.
This means more frequent digital reporting workflows for affected clients.
Your practice should know which applications are compatible, who manages agent access, what happens if an integration fails and how support incidents will be handled close to a submission deadline.
We can help examine the underlying IT dependencies, but software functionality and tax compliance need to be verified with HMRC guidance and the application supplier.
Northern Star can help accountancy practices review backups, recovery priorities and the steps needed to restore important systems after accidental deletion, equipment failure or a cyber incident. The central question is not simply whether a backup completed. It is whether the right data can be restored, to a usable state, within a recovery timeframe your practice can tolerate.
Different information needs different recovery arrangements.
Recovering a deleted workpaper is not the same as restoring an entire practice management database, including its permissions and application dependencies. Cloud file synchronisation alone should not be treated as proof that every record is protected by a separate, recoverable backup.
A sensible recovery plan identifies the most critical services, who can authorise restoration, which suppliers must be involved and how staff will continue essential work while systems are unavailable.
Northern Star’s business continuity services can help your firm assess those priorities and plan for disruption before the next busy period.
Yes. Northern Star supports Microsoft 365, including Outlook, Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive, as well as the user access and device arrangements needed for remote work. We can help your practice manage accounts, review permissions and resolve day to day technical problems when staff work from home, attend an audit or collaborate across offices.
For accountants, the main issue is often access rather than location.
An auditor should be able to retrieve authorised working papers from a client’s premises without using a colleague’s login or copying confidential documents to an unmanaged personal device. Consistent device policies and carefully configured file sharing can help.
We can also review shared mailboxes, external access and licence allocation as the team changes.
If your firm is exploring Microsoft Copilot, our Copilot consulting provides a route to consider permissions and information exposure before expanding AI use. Confidentiality, professional judgement and the accuracy of accounting work still need appropriate human oversight.
Northern Star offers Cyber Essentials support to help practices assess their systems, address technical weaknesses and prepare evidence for certification. We can also advise on security controls relevant to UK GDPR. Certification or managed IT support does not, by itself, make a firm compliant with every data protection, professional or anti money laundering obligation.
Cyber Essentials focuses on 5 technical areas: firewalls, secure configuration, security update management, user access control and malware protection.
Northern Star can review how these apply to your devices, networks and cloud services and help address gaps before assessment. The certification decision belongs to the relevant certification body.
UK GDPR additionally requires appropriate technical and organisational measures based on risk.
For your firm, that may involve access restrictions, secure transfers, recovery capability and regular testing, alongside policies and contractual arrangements.
Our Cyber Essentials support can form part of a wider programme, while your practice remains responsible for its legal and professional decisions.
Northern Star can plan a managed handover from your existing IT provider with attention to the systems and deadlines that matter to your practice. We start by understanding the current environment, outstanding issues and supplier responsibilities, then agree how access, documentation and support will transfer. The aim is to minimise avoidable disruption, not promise that every change is risk free.
A useful handover covers administrator accounts, domain and Microsoft 365 ownership, backup access, network documentation, software subscriptions and any unresolved incidents.
These are the details that can cause problems long after the previous supplier has left, particularly if nobody knows who controls a critical account.
We also discuss which changes can wait until after a tax or audit deadline and which security risks require earlier attention.
If the transition includes moving email, data or platforms, Northern Star’s migration services can support a more structured project. Your existing provider’s cooperation and contract terms may affect the plan, so these should be reviewed at the outset.
Northern Star offers fixed monthly managed IT support, but the cost for an accounting firm depends on its size, systems and support requirements. There is no responsible single price for every practice. A quotation should reflect how many users and locations need support, what security services are required and which activities fall outside routine support.
For example, a cloud based practice with standardised laptops has a different support profile from a multi office firm running legacy tax software on its own servers.
Temporary staff, extended availability, specialist projects and on site work can also change the scope. Northern Star reviews the environment before recommending an arrangement.
If you already have an internal IT colleague, we can discuss how to divide responsibilities so the firm keeps familiar day to day help while gaining specialist capacity where it is needed.
Ask for a clear description of monitoring, helpdesk coverage, vendor liaison, backups, security, exclusions and project charges. That makes proposals easier to compare and keeps the conversation focused on outcomes rather than headline price.
Speak directly with an experienced specialist — no voicemail maze, no scripted support.
Tell us what is slowing your organisation down. An experienced specialist will help you understand the most practical next step.
6 global locations. One local point of contact. London-based support.
Dependable IT support and cyber security for ambitious organisations in London and around the world.
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