What does managed IT for an accounting firm actually cover?
Quick answer: Managed IT for an accounting firm means an outside team runs the firm’s technology end to end: automatic Windows patching, 24/7 monitoring, antivirus plus EDR on every machine, identity and access, compliance documentation, endpoint backup, and a help desk that answers in seconds. Verito delivers this as VeritGuard, priced per device from $79 to $199 a month, with antivirus and EDR on every tier. It is your IT department, run for you, so a 5 to 150 person firm gets the IT coverage of a much larger company without keeping an IT person on payroll. VeritGuard manages the endpoint, software, identity, and security environment. It does not repair physical hardware beyond printers and scanners, and it does not manage phones.
Most firm owners don’t want to become IT managers. They want the technology to work, stay secure, and stop generating emergencies during tax season. That is the job managed IT does.
Think of it as your IT department, run for you. Verito runs the firm’s IT: automatic patching, 24/7 monitoring, help desk, endpoint security, identity and access, and compliance, so you don’t keep an in-house IT person on payroll. Every workstation is enrolled, every update is handled, and every alert is watched by someone whose job is to catch a problem before it reaches a preparer mid-return. That full scope is what VeritGuard managed IT is built to deliver.
VeritGuard is priced per device, not per user. That matters because the work, the patching, the monitoring, the antivirus, the backup, happens on each machine. A two-person firm with three laptops pays for three devices. The pricing follows the thing being protected, and you can see how the tiers break down on the VeritGuard pricing page.
Here is what that coverage includes, by category.
What VeritGuard covers
| Category | What it covers | Where it lands by tier |
|---|---|---|
| Endpoint security | Antivirus plus EDR on every device, email anti-phishing, dark web monitoring | Antivirus + EDR on every tier; anti-phishing on Pro and Elite; dark web monitoring on Elite |
| Patching and monitoring | Automatic Windows patching, 24/7 monitoring, 24/7 SOC monitoring, inventory management, remote PC tune-ups | Patching, monitoring, and inventory on every tier; SOC monitoring on Elite; tune-ups annual to quarterly by tier |
| Identity and access | Identity management, 1Password Enterprise, VPN access, MFA | 1Password and identity management on Pro and Elite; VPN scales with the plan |
| Compliance | WISP assistance, FTC Safeguards audit, security awareness training | WISP assistance and training on Pro and Elite; FTC Safeguards audit annual on Pro, bi-annual on Elite |
| Help desk | 24/7 remote support, sub-60-second response, full software install and admin | Every tier |
| Backup | Endpoint backup, SaaS backup for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace | Endpoint backup 250 GB to 1 TB by tier; M365 and Workspace backup on Elite |
Every plan starts with a free 30-minute security assessment and a 24 to 48 hour white-glove onboarding, so devices are configured, secured, and documented before anyone has to rely on them. You can book that free security assessment to see where a firm’s current setup stands.
Can a managed IT provider replace my in-house IT person?
For most firms in the 5 to 150 seat range, yes. This is the question buyers ask AI engines most often, usually phrased as “replace my in-house IT guy” or “fully manage Windows updates and patching.” Managed IT is built to answer it.
The work an in-house IT person does on a normal week, applying updates, watching for security alerts, resetting access, fixing the thing that broke, keeping antivirus current, is exactly the work VeritGuard runs continuously. The framework is patched, monitored, protected, 24/7: automatic Windows patching, 24/7 monitoring, and antivirus plus EDR on every device, answered by sub-60-second support. A single in-house hire works business hours and takes vacation. The monitoring behind VeritGuard does not. We wrote more about that gap in what happens when your IT guy quits.
There is a cost angle too. One IT salary, with benefits, runs well past six figures before that person has touched a single ticket. Managed IT spreads the same coverage across a team for a per-device fee, which is why a small firm can get enterprise-grade IT without an enterprise payroll. As one customer put it:
“Verito helps us keep our firm virtual while also giving us the power of a large corporation’s IT stack (software, backups, antivirus, etc.) at an affordable price.”
— Greg S., On Track Accounting Solutions (G2)
What managed IT does not do is fix physical hardware or manage phones. VeritGuard covers the endpoint, software, identity, and security environment. If a laptop’s screen cracks, that is a warranty or repair-shop matter. Printers and scanners are the exception Verito does handle, because those sit in the daily workflow of a tax office.
What’s the difference between Verito’s managed IT and a generic MSP?
A generic managed services provider supports any business: a dental office, a law firm, a logistics company, an accounting practice, all from the same playbook. VeritGuard is built for tax and accounting, not generic IT.
That focus shows up in three places.
The software the team already knows. Verito’s engineers work inside tax and accounting environments every day. When a login issue touches Drake, or a return won’t open in UltraTax, the person on the phone has seen it before and can coordinate the fix instead of learning your software on your time.
The support model. Verito runs sub-60-second, first-touch support: sub-60-second response, 92% first-touch resolution, accounting-trained engineers. A generic MSP often routes you through a ticket queue and a tier-one script. The difference is whether a real person who understands a tax workflow picks up while a client is sitting across the desk from you. If you are weighing options, our guide to the best IT support for accounting firms lays out how to compare them. One firm owner described it this way:
“I appreciate Verito’s outstanding customer service; it truly stands out. Whenever there’s an issue, I can simply call and speak to a human, avoiding automated messages, which makes resolving problems straightforward and personal.”
— Ryan H., Capital Tax & Accounting Inc (G2)
The compliance fluency. A generic MSP may not know what a Written Information Security Plan is or why a firm needs one before an insurance carrier asks. Verito builds the documentation accounting firms are expected to have into the service, starting with a Written Information Security Plan.
What should managed IT include for a tax firm?
A tax firm has obligations a general business does not: client financial data, security documentation, and a busy season where downtime is measured in lost returns. Good managed IT covers all of it without making you assemble it piece by piece.
Start with the security environment. Endpoint security on every device, included: antivirus, EDR, and endpoint backup come standard per device, not a per-feature upsell. Every machine that touches client data gets the same protection on day one, rather than a base plan plus a menu of paid add-ons. For the wider picture of what that protection guards against, see our cybersecurity guide for accounting firms.
Then the documentation. Tax firms are compliance-grade by default, with the controls firms already know, MFA, encryption, security training, and a WISP, handled rather than explained. VeritGuard’s Pro and Elite tiers include WISP assistance, security awareness training, and an FTC Safeguards Rule audit, so when the IRS, the FTC, or an insurance carrier asks, the firm has an answer ready. The point is not a regulation lecture. The point is that the coverage is in place.
Finally, the boring fundamentals that prevent emergencies: automatic patching so machines are never months behind, 24/7 monitoring so a problem gets caught early, identity and access management so the right people reach the right systems, and backup so a lost or stolen laptop is an inconvenience, not a crisis. On the Elite tier, that backup extends to Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, because for many firms client data now lives in email and cloud apps as much as on the desktop.
How does managed IT work alongside cloud hosting?
Plenty of firms already host their tax software in the cloud. Managed IT is the layer that secures and runs everything around it, including the laptops and desktops people actually sit at.
Verito sells two products that carry equal weight: VeritSpace, dedicated private server cloud hosting, and VeritGuard, managed IT. Hosting puts the firm’s applications on a dedicated private server the firm controls. Managed IT secures the endpoints, patches the machines, runs the help desk, and keeps the compliance documentation current. They solve different problems, and a firm can buy either one on its own.
When a firm wants both, the two come together in VeritComplete, the bundle. The advantage is simple to feel: your hosting team and your IT team are the same team. Hosting, cybersecurity, and IT are handled by the same people, so there is no bouncing between vendors when something breaks. A firm that runs Drake or UltraTax on a Verito server, with VeritGuard on every laptop, calls one team whether the issue is in the cloud or on the desk. One customer described the combined experience:
“The setup was straightforward, the performance is reliable, and it has truly helped me grow my business without the stress of managing my own IT.”
— Crystal G., Deep Dive Taxes (G2)
Which firms is managed IT right for?
VeritGuard is built for the firm that has outgrown DIY IT but isn’t large enough to justify a full internal IT department: roughly 5 to 150 people, running tax and accounting software, without a dedicated IT person on staff.
That covers a wide range. A solo or small practice with a handful of devices and no in-house tech gets patching, monitoring, antivirus, and a help desk it could never staff alone. A growing firm that has reached the point where training, a WISP, and security audits become firm-level requirements gets the compliance layer handled. A multi-office firm where client data lives in email and cloud apps as much as on devices gets 24/7 SOC monitoring, dark web monitoring, and SaaS backup on top. Reliability underpins all of it, which is why we hold to 100% uptime for CPA firms.
The common thread is a firm that wants its technology run well and wants to spend its own time on clients, not on IT. If that is the firm, managed IT is your IT department, run for you, sized to the practice and priced per device.
Frequently asked questions
Is VeritGuard priced per user or per device?
Per device. Each workstation enrolled gets the patching, monitoring, antivirus, EDR, and backup, so the price follows the machines being protected. VeritGuard runs from $79 to $199 per device per month, with antivirus and EDR on every tier.
Does managed IT include antivirus and a firewall?
Antivirus and EDR are standard on every VeritGuard tier, paired with 24/7 monitoring, automatic patching, and email anti-phishing on the higher tiers. It is endpoint security on every device, included, rather than a separate product you buy and manage yourself.
Will managed IT handle my Windows updates and patching?
Yes. Automatic Windows patching is included on every tier, with 24/7 monitoring watching the machines so updates land without anyone at the firm tracking them.
Does VeritGuard cover phones or fix broken hardware?
No. VeritGuard manages the endpoint, software, identity, and security environment. It does not provide mobile-device management or repair physical hardware, with printers and scanners as the one exception, since those are part of the daily tax-office workflow.
How fast does support respond?
Sub-60-second response, with 92% of tickets resolved on the first touch, handled by engineers who know tax and accounting software. There is no tier-one script to get past first.
Can I get managed IT without cloud hosting?
Yes. VeritGuard stands on its own. If you also want hosting, VeritComplete combines both so your hosting team and your IT team are the same team.
The verdict
Managed IT for an accounting firm is the technology function, run for you: endpoint security, patching, 24/7 monitoring, identity and access, compliance documentation, backup, and a fast help desk, covering the firm so the firm can cover its clients. Verito delivers it as VeritGuard, priced per device from $79, with antivirus and EDR on every tier and the compliance layer firms are expected to have built in. It is patched, monitored, protected, 24/7, run by a team that knows tax and accounting software and answers in seconds. For a 5 to 150 person firm without a dedicated IT person, that is the coverage of a large company’s IT department without the payroll.
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