IT Support for Accounting & Tax Firms in Miami

Software we work with

QuickBooks, Lacerte, ProSeries, Drake and UltraTax

QuickBooks Desktop

Company files moved off a single machine onto a proper multi-user setup, with the Database Server Manager doing the job it was built for.

QuickBooks Online

Users, permissions and the machines that reach it. The software is in the cloud, but the computers, browsers and network are still yours.

Intuit ProSeries

Network installs with a shared data path, so the whole team works from one set of returns instead of copies sitting on separate desktops.

Intuit Lacerte Tax

Shared data on the network, a clean workstation install on every machine, and the yearly version change planned rather than improvised.

Drake Tax Software

Multi-user setup on shared storage, with backups that cover the tax data itself and not only the program folder it happens to sit in.

Thomson UltraTax CS

Data locations mapped across the network so licences, prior years and the current season all stay exactly where the software expects them.

Hosted tax platforms

If your software runs in someone else’s cloud, we handle everything on your side: workstations, network, printing, scanning and access.

Microsoft 365 email

Mailboxes, sharing and the settings that decide who can reach what. Email is where most trouble in a tax office starts, so it is worth doing right.

Servers and desktops

The machines everything else sits on. Patched, monitored, and replaced before they fail in the middle of a filing week rather than after.

What we actually do

From one computer to a network that holds up in season

From one PC to a network

Most firms start on a single machine. We move you to a real multi-user install: data on shared storage, the right pieces on every workstation, and permissions that fit your team.

Intuit updates, controlled

Intuit pushes updates all year and they do not always land quietly. We apply them in a controlled way instead of letting every machine decide for itself.

The yearly version install

Every year brings a new version and a new install. We plan the changeover for the quiet part of the year, so nothing moves while your returns are open.

Prior years stay reachable

Several years of tax software have to open at once. Keeping every prior year usable is part of the plan, and it is what breaks most often when a firm changes computers.

Maintenance around deadlines

No Windows updates on the server during a filing week. No restarts at two in the afternoon. The work is planned around your deadlines, not around ours.

Backups built for tax data

Daily backups kept for fifteen days, weekly for a month, and up to a year. Tested so you know they restore, and built around where the tax data really lives.

Why firms pick us

Why accounting firms choose Barreras IT

Accounting and tax offices

More than ten years supporting Miami businesses, accounting and tax firms among them. How these offices run in February is not new to us.

QuickBooks and tax software

QuickBooks and the main tax packages, set up as proper multi-user environments rather than a program someone installed on a desk.

Microsoft 365 administration

Mailboxes, accounts, sharing and security settings managed properly, instead of left the way the first setup wizard happened to leave them.

Secure access for staff

Accountants working from home, a client site or a second office, without leaving the front door open behind them while they do it.

Servers and workstations

Monitored, patched and documented, so the machine that fails is one we already knew about rather than a surprise in the middle of March.

Backup and disaster recovery

Daily for fifteen days, weekly for a month, up to a year. A plan for getting the office running again, not just copies sitting somewhere.

Tax season maintenance plan

The work that has to happen every year, scheduled into the quiet months on purpose so nothing lands while your returns are open.

Cybersecurity that fits

Current practice for a firm holding other people’s tax records, not the generic office setup that gets sold to everybody else.

English and Spanish support

Barreras IT provides support in both English and Spanish, so your team can talk to a technician in whichever language they prefer.

Plans

Three ways to work with us

Pick the level of cover your firm needs. The engineers are the same either way, and so is the tax-season planning.

Questions we get

What accounting and tax firms ask us

We keep the file on one computer and everyone remotes into it. Is that a problem?

It works, until it does not. That one machine becomes a single point of failure for the whole firm. Performance drops as soon as more than one or two people are on it, and it makes access much harder to control. A proper multi-user install fixes all three problems at once.

What usually goes wrong in the middle of the season?

Rarely the tax software itself. Two examples from our own work. A CPA office called us because every workstation had lost access to the shared tax data at the same time. It was not the tax software. A network switch had failed and cut the workstations off from the server. We replaced the hardware, restored connectivity, checked the database, and had the office working again before the end of the day. On another busy March afternoon, a firm lost QuickBooks multi-user mode. A Windows update had changed the firewall rules on the server. We corrected the configuration, confirmed the database connection and brought multi-user access back with no data restore needed.

What do other IT companies get wrong with accounting firms?

They treat a tax office like any other office. Maintenance gets scheduled during business hours. Windows updates go on without anyone checking the filing calendar. Servers get restarted in the middle of the afternoon. And they do not realise that several years of tax software have to stay usable at once. It is not that they are bad at IT. They do not know how a tax practice actually runs.

Do you replace Intuit, Drake or our hosting company?

No. They stay exactly where they are. We handle the computers, the network and the setup their software runs on, and we deal with their support when the problem sits on that side.

When should the yearly version change happen?

Before the season, not during it. Once returns are in progress, a version change is a much bigger risk. We plan it for the quiet months.

Will we lose access to prior-year returns?

You should not. Several years of tax software have to open at the same time, each with its own version and its own data. Keeping every prior year reachable is part of the plan, and it is the thing most often broken when a firm changes computers.

How long do you keep backups?

Daily backups are kept for fifteen days, weekly backups for a month, and up to a year in total. The exact retention depends on the service you are on, so we set it against what your firm actually needs to keep.

Do we need a written information security plan?

Yes. The IRS states that tax return preparers must create and enact security plans to protect client data. The requirement comes from the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the FTC Safeguards Rule, and the IRS sets it out in Publication 4557, Safeguarding Taxpayer Data. Failing to have one can lead to an FTC investigation. The plan itself is a document your firm writes and owns. What we handle is the technical side it depends on: who can reach what, how remote access works, how data is backed up, and how machines are kept current. We are not attorneys and we do not write the plan for you.

Do you offer a free assessment?

Yes. We look at how your tax software is installed today, how the data is shared, how it is backed up and who can reach it, then tell you what we would change and why. No charge and no obligation.

How long have you been doing this?

Barreras IT has been supporting Miami businesses for more than ten years, accounting and tax preparation firms among them.

Can your team support us in Spanish?

Yes. Barreras IT provides support in both English and Spanish, so your staff can talk to a technician in the language they are most comfortable using.

Where are you based?

Miami. Our office is on West Flagler Street downtown, and we cover the surrounding cities on site.

Miami based

Start with a free IT assessment

The best time to change how your tax software runs is the quiet part of the year. Tell us what you have now, and we will tell you what it would take.

Get a free IT assessment

Let’s Find the Right IT Solution

Discover how Barreras IT Corp can streamline your operations with expert-managed IT, secure cloud infrastructure, responsive support, and tailored technology solutions—backed by over a decade of experience.

Explore Our Services Contact Us

IT support that understands your tax software