Managed IT support for a Houston CPA firm starts at $70 per user per month with Scorpion Technology’s Essentials plan, $100 with Assured, and $170 with Complete, based on a 36 month agreement. The right budget depends on your team, your security needs, and the services you want covered.
For accounting firms, price is only part of the decision. Your team handles sensitive financial information, relies on dependable access to tax and accounting software, and cannot afford avoidable interruptions during busy filing periods. Here is how to compare the plans without confusing a starting rate with a custom quote.
What are the starting managed IT prices for Houston CPA firms?
Scorpion Technology offers three managed IT plans, each with a published starting price per user per month on a 36 month agreement. A user means one employee and their computer. Extra computers, servers, and cloud-only employees are priced separately and quoted.
- Essentials: Starting at $70 per user per month, with a $500 monthly minimum.
- Assured: Starting at $100 per user per month, with a $750 monthly minimum.
- Complete: Starting at $170 per user per month, with the monthly minimum quoted.
These are starting prices, not an individualized estimate. A CPA firm with shared workstations, additional devices, servers, or unusual support requirements should request a written proposal. The published minimum also matters: multiplying a small headcount by a per-user starting rate does not necessarily produce the monthly bill.
Agreements of 24 months, 12 months, and month to month are available with pricing quoted separately. Onboarding is waived for Assured and Complete on 24 or 36 month agreements. Other plans and terms carry a one time onboarding fee quoted in advance.
For current details, visit our Managed IT Services Pricing in Houston page. The purpose of a consultation is to confirm your environment and needs, not to surprise you with fees later.
What does a CPA firm receive with each managed IT plan?
Every plan includes everyday remote help desk support under fair use, plus the foundational management and security work a small accounting practice needs. The differences are mainly in the depth of security protection and how onsite support is handled.
Essentials includes remote support, monitoring, updates and patching, managed antivirus, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace account threat detection, email protection against phishing, spam and malware, security awareness training and phishing simulations, dark web monitoring, firewall and wireless network management, routine employee changes, and a monthly executive report. Essentials onsite work is billed at $150 per hour plus a $75 trip charge.
Assured adds endpoint detection and response on every computer, a 24/7 security operations center staffed by AI and human analysts, advanced email security with secure outbound mail, DNS filtering, managed DMARC protection against email spoofing, and Technology Business Reviews. Its onsite rate is $125 per hour with no trip fee, including after hours.
Complete adds advanced endpoint protection with active threat hunting, forensic investigation if a security incident occurs, email encryption, outbound data loss prevention, and included onsite support. Complete does not mean a 24/7 help desk. The round the clock service in Assured and Complete is security operations monitoring.
Most CPA and accounting firms are a natural fit for Assured because email availability, client records, and uninterrupted work are important to daily operations. Essentials may suit a smaller, lower risk office. Complete is worth evaluating when your firm regularly sends sensitive information by email or wants onsite visits included.
Scorpion’s average first response time is 15 minutes or less. That is an observed average, not a promise that every request will receive a response in that time.
Which expenses are separate from the monthly managed IT fee?
Microsoft 365 licenses, backup services, hardware, and project work are quoted separately. Backup is an add-on, not a feature included in any of the three plans. This distinction is especially important for a CPA firm that wants reliable recovery of financial records and cloud data.
Project work can include an office move, a new server setup, a software migration, or cabling. Those activities have a different scope from everyday support and ongoing monitoring. Ask for written scope and pricing before work begins.
Consider a scenario: a Houston accounting practice has ten employees, a server that supports a line of business application, and a growing collection of client files. The per-user starting price helps the owner compare plan levels, but the server, backup requirements, software environment, and any migration project still need to be reviewed. A responsible provider should not present a final price without understanding those details.
Also ask how the provider handles new hires, departures, and changes in staff access. Those routine requests are included under fair use in every Scorpion plan. A firm that adds temporary staff during tax season should explain that pattern during its initial assessment so expectations are clear.
Why do cybersecurity and client confidentiality affect CPA IT costs?
Accounting firms are attractive targets because they work with tax returns, financial records, payroll details, and other sensitive information. A low monthly price means little if it leaves important protections or responsibilities unclear.
Start with practical questions. Who watches for suspicious activity on workstations? Who reviews account threats? What happens when a phishing message reaches an employee? How will staff recognize a fraudulent request to change payment details? The answers help determine whether basic protection is enough or whether the stronger monitoring in Assured makes sense.
Security awareness training and phishing simulations are included in all three Scorpion plans. Assured adds managed endpoint detection and response and a 24/7 security operations center. These services complement good internal practices such as limiting access to client records and promptly removing access when someone leaves the firm.
Some accounting and tax preparation businesses also need to evaluate requirements under the FTC Safeguards Rule and other applicable obligations. Requirements depend on the business and its activities, so avoid treating the purchase of an IT plan as proof of compliance. A documented assessment of your data, access controls, written policies, and service-provider responsibilities is the better starting point.
For additional context, read What Does the FTC Safeguards Rule Require for a Houston CPA Firm? and CPA Firm Data Breach During Tax Season.
How should a Houston CPA firm compare managed IT proposals?
Compare the responsibilities behind the numbers, not only the monthly total. Two providers may use similar pricing language while including very different services. A useful proposal should explain what is covered, what is separate, and who is accountable when something goes wrong.
First, confirm the user and device count. Does the quote cover each employee’s primary computer? How are shared computers, servers, and cloud-only users handled? Next, confirm whether the proposal includes email security, account threat detection, workstation protection, patching, network management, and employee training.
Then ask about backup. Identify what data must be protected, how often it should be backed up, who checks the results, and how recovery would work. Do not assume backup is included because the proposal says managed IT or cybersecurity.
Finally, discuss onsite support, agreement length, onboarding charges, and work that would be billed as a separate project. For a Houston CPA practice, access to a local team can matter when a network device fails or an office change needs hands on assistance.
A straightforward provider should be willing to explain all of this in plain language. You should understand the monthly commitment before signing, and your staff should know how to request help.
Frequently asked questions
Is managed IT billed per employee or per computer?
Scorpion’s published starting prices are per user, meaning one employee and their computer. Additional computers, servers, and cloud-only employees are priced separately and quoted.
Does a Houston CPA firm need the Assured plan?
Assured is where most Scorpion CPA and accounting clients fit because it adds stronger security monitoring and email protection. The right choice still depends on your firm’s data, workflow, risk, and support needs.
Is Microsoft 365 backup included in managed IT?
No. Backup is quoted separately on every Scorpion plan, as are Microsoft 365 licenses. Ask for a specific backup and recovery proposal so the scope is clear.
Can we choose a shorter agreement than 36 months?
Yes. Scorpion offers 24 month, 12 month, and month to month options, with pricing quoted for those terms. The published per-user starting prices apply to 36 month agreements.
Can managed IT help during tax season?
Ongoing monitoring, patching, security protection, and remote help desk support can reduce avoidable interruptions and give staff a clear way to request help. No IT service can promise that an outage or security incident will never occur.
About Scorpion Technology
Scorpion Technology has served small businesses and healthcare practices across Houston and the surrounding Texas area for over 19 years. We specialize in HIPAA-compliant IT for medical practices and professional services firms, with an average first response time of 15 minutes or less. Our team is local, responsive, and built around keeping your practice running, not just fixing problems when they break. Learn more at ScorpionITSupport.com or call 713-623-1266.