The in-house server worked for decades. But IRS compliance requirements, ransomware threats, and cyber insurance mandates changed the game. Most firms are one attack away from shutdown. Here's why—and what to do about it.
For 20 years, the model was simple. Buy a server. Put it in the closet. Hire an IT person to manage it. Run your practice.
It worked because:
But the IRS changed the rules. The FTC added requirements. Ransomware gangs started targeting tax firms during filing season. And your cyber insurance company started asking questions you couldn't answer.
The server closet became a compliance gap. The IT person became a single point of failure. And downtime became an existential risk.
You're probably dealing with at least one of these right now.
Breaking Point #1
The Hidden Cost of Downtime
1.5 hours per employee, per day. Every day.
Slow logins. Frozen software. "Can you reboot the server?" Your team wastes 1.5 billable hours per day waiting on technology.
Your server isn't saving you money. It's costing you a junior partner's salary.
The Math:
Breaking Point #2
The "Key Person" Risk
What happens when your IT person leaves?
Your IT specialist knows everything. Where the backups are. How to restore. The admin passwords. The quirks of your setup. Then they quit. Or get sick. Or retire.
One person shouldn't control your firm's ability to file returns.
You're Looking At:
Our IT guy gave two weeks' notice in February. We couldn't process returns for 11 days while we figured out the backup system. We lost three clients.
— Managing Partner, 12-person firm (name withheld)
Breaking Point #3
IRS & FTC Compliance Gaps
Your server probably isn't compliant. And you might not know it.
The IRS requires a Written Information Security Plan (WISP). The FTC Safeguards Rule requires MFA, EDR, encryption, employee training, and annual risk assessments.
Most firms find out they're non-compliant when it's too late.
The Stakes:
Your in-house setup probably doesn't have:
The modern accounting firm doesn’t maintain infrastructure. It runs on infrastructure that never goes down.
IRS, FTC, GLBA requirements are built into the infrastructure. Not bolted on later.
Redundant systems across multiple data centers. Your team stays productive even when hardware fails.
Call at 3 AM on a Sunday. Someone answers in under 5 minutes. Every time.
CPA-trained team resolves issues in minutes, not hours. Real people, real expertise.
This isn’t “moving to the cloud.” This is moving to a platform built specifically for tax and accounting firms that can’t afford downtime, compliance gaps, or security breaches.
Here's what changes when you stop maintaining servers and start running your firm.
Depends on one server, one person
100% uptime guarantee. Redundant infrastructure. Zero downtime since 2016.
Limited to business hours. Hope your IT person answers. Wait days for parts.
24/7/365. <5 minute response time. Expert help for any technology issue.
DIY. Hope you have all the documentation. Risk EFIN revocation.
Built-in WISP compliance. Audit-ready documentation. Protect your EFIN automatically.
Probably non-compliant. Risk $50K+ fines.
MFA, EDR, encryption, training, risk assessments—all included.
Hope your backups work. Pay ransoms or lose data.
Offline, immutable backups. Tested disaster recovery. Recover in hours. Zero ransoms paid since 2016.
High premiums. Claims denied if you lack controls.
Everything insurers require. Documentation provided. Clients save avg $18K/year on premiums.
Depends on aging hardware. Slows down over time.
Process returns 35% faster. Dedicated resources. Scales instantly.
Entire firm depends on one person's knowledge.
Enterprise-grade support team. No single points of failure.
Hope nothing breaks in February.
Guaranteed uptime even during attacks. File on time. Every time.
Depends on one server, one person
100% uptime guarantee. Redundant infrastructure. Zero downtime since 2016.
Limited to business hours. Hope your IT person answers. Wait days for parts.
24/7/365. <5 minute response time. Expert help for any technology issue.
DIY. Hope you have all the documentation. Risk EFIN revocation.
Built-in WISP compliance. Audit-ready documentation. Protect your EFIN automatically.
Probably non-compliant. Risk $50K+ fines.
MFA, EDR, encryption, training, risk assessments—all included.
Hope your backups work. Pay ransoms or lose data.
Offline, immutable backups. Tested disaster recovery. Recover in hours. Zero ransoms paid since 2016.
High premiums. Claims denied if you lack controls.
Everything insurers require. Documentation provided. Clients save avg $18K/year on premiums.
Depends on aging hardware. Slows down over time.
Process returns 35% faster. Dedicated resources. Scales instantly.
Entire firm depends on one person's knowledge.
Enterprise-grade support team. No single points of failure.
Hope nothing breaks in February.
Guaranteed uptime even during attacks. File on time. Every time.
Modern firms don't manage infrastructure. They run on infrastructure that's built for compliance, security, and performance from day one.
The biggest objection to switching? "Migration sounds complicated." It's not.
You're not the first firm to worry about migration. We've moved hundreds of accounting practices with zero data loss and zero downtime.
Zero data loss. Zero downtime.
95% of clients are migrated and go live within 48-hours.
I was worried about moving 15 years of client data. The Verito team handled everything over a weekend. Monday morning, we were faster than we'd ever been. And now I sleep better knowing we're compliant and protected.
Lisa M.
Managing Partner, 18-person firm
Your managing partner job is to grow the practice. Not to worry about whether the server will crash during tax season.
Complete hosting infrastructure. Complete compliance. Complete IT management.
IRS & FTC compliant hosting that meets every requirement automatically
Complete IT management so you stop wasting time on technology issues
Ransomware-proof infrastructure with tested disaster recovery
100% uptime guarantee even during tax season attacks
24/7 comprehensive support for any technology issue
35% faster processing on dedicated private servers
Starting at $249/user/month
Includes hosting, security, compliance, and comprehensive IT support
Compliance and security standards that protect your firm
Enterprise-grade security controls and compliance
Built to meet IRS security requirements
Complete compliance with federal data protection rules
Join hundreds of accounting firms that stopped worrying about IT and started focusing on growth.
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Superior customer service. Almost 0% downtime. Host tax software as well as virtual office. Great cloud company.
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