How MSPs Can Help Accounting Firms Make Smarter Technology Decisions

A technology investment can make technical sense and still be the wrong business decision. Before recommending a tool, MSPs need to understand the problem it solves and the value it delivers.

Accounting firms face constant pressure to improve efficiency, manage costs and deliver more value to clients. New platforms, integrations and AI tools promise to help, but every investment comes with implications for the wider business.

For managed service providers, this creates an important distinction: recommending technology that works and helping a client make a sound business decision aren't necessarily the same thing.

To advise accounting firms effectively, MSPs need to understand whether a proposed investment is worth making.

In the "Is Tech Driving the Future Firm? MasterClass", Jason Croston, Managing Partner at SRJ Walker Wayland, shares his perspective on how technology fits into the realities of running an accounting firm.

Technology Decisions Don’t Happen in Isolation

A technology solution might promise faster processes, better reporting or improved productivity. But accounting-firm leaders can’t evaluate those benefits in isolation. They need to consider how an investment fits into the business economics.

An accounting firm relies on people, infrastructure and operational resources to deliver services and generate revenue. Technology is one part of that equation, alongside staffing, marketing and other overheads.

Jason discusses a useful way of thinking about this balance: roughly a third of revenue goes towards service delivery, a third towards overheads and a third towards the owners’ return. It’s a simplified model. But it highlights how decisions in one area can affect the wider business.

An investment that improves one process can still be difficult to justify if it adds costs elsewhere or fails to deliver a meaningful return. Equally, avoiding investment altogether could mean missing opportunities to improve how the firm operates.

For MSPs, the challenge is to connect technology recommendations to the commercial priorities behind them.

That means understanding what the firm wants to improve before discussing what a particular platform can do. Is the objective to reduce manual work, improve capacity, manage costs or support a new way of delivering services?

The answer helps establish whether a technology investment deserves further consideration.

Start With the Problem, Not the Technology

Technology conversations can easily begin with a product rather than a business need.

A new platform attracts attention. A vendor demonstrates an impressive feature. An AI tool promises to automate a task. Before long, the discussion centres on how to adopt the technology, instead of whether the business needs it in the first place.

Jason makes a clear point in the MasterClass: lead with the problem, not the technology. Introducing a solution to address an issue the firm doesn’t really have can create unnecessary complexity instead of meaningful improvement.

For MSPs, this changes the starting point of a recommendation.

Rather than leading with features, begin by understanding the challenge. What isn’t working as it should? Where is the firm losing time or capacity? What outcome would make a measurable difference?

Only then does it make sense to explore potential solutions.

Sometimes, improving an existing process or making better use of current software is enough.

This approach also gives MSPs a stronger basis for explaining their recommendations. Instead of asking clients to buy into a product’s potential, they can show how a proposed investment relates to a problem the business has already identified.

The technology becomes a means to an end, rather than the starting point of the conversation.

Is the Answer Already in the Technology They Own?

Before recommending another subscription, MSPs should consider whether the accounting firm is getting enough value from its existing technology.

Over time, businesses can accumulate software to address individual needs. Some tools may overlap, while others may have capabilities that employees rarely use. The result can be a growing technology bill without a corresponding improvement in how work gets done.

Jason raises the issue of underutilised products and subscriptions in the MasterClass. The challenge isn’t simply how much technology a firm owns, but whether that technology is delivering value.

For MSPs, this creates a useful question to bring into technology planning: does the firm need another solution, or does it need to get more from what it already has?

Answering that requires looking beyond a software inventory. MSPs need to understand how employees use existing tools, where processes remain inefficient and whether the current technology environment is meeting the firm’s needs.

A new product can be justified if a gap exists. But if the required capability is already available, the priority may be adoption, configuration or process improvement.

This isn’t about avoiding new technology or defending every existing subscription. It’s about making sure each investment has a clear purpose.

For accounting firms balancing operational costs with the need to improve service delivery, that distinction is essential.

Look Beyond the Purchase Price

Even when a firm has identified a real problem, the initial cost of a solution tells only part of the story.

A technology investment can involve implementation, employee training, ongoing subscriptions and changes to established workflows. There can also be security considerations, operational dependencies and questions about what happens if the solution no longer meets the firm’s needs.

These factors influence whether the expected benefits are realistic and sustainable.

MSPs can help accounting-firm clients evaluate a proposed investment across several dimensions:

The point isn’t to make every technology decision unnecessarily complicated. It’s to avoid treating a successful implementation as proof that the investment was worthwhile.

A product can work exactly as intended and still fail to deliver the business outcome that justified its purchase. If employees don’t adopt it, costs grow beyond expectations or the original problem remains unresolved, the firm will not receive the value it anticipated.

By raising these considerations before a decision, MSPs can help clients understand the trade-offs and make a more informed choice.

How Do You Know Whether the Investment Was Worth It?

A technology decision shouldn't end when the product goes live. If the objective was to reduce manual work, improve capacity or make a process more efficient, the firm needs to assess whether that outcome has been achieved. Otherwise, technology investments can become permanent expenses whose value is assumed rather than examined.

MSPs can help establish a clear connection between the original problem, the chosen solution and the results the firm experiences. That means returning to the reason for the investment and considering whether the expected improvement has materialised.

If it hasn’t, the next step is to understand why. The solution may need adjustment, employees may need additional support or the original assumption about the problem might have been wrong.

In some cases, the firm will need to reconsider whether the technology remains appropriate.

This is an important part of making better investment decisions over time. Each review can help the firm understand which investments are delivering value and where further spending may not be justified.

It also gives MSPs a more meaningful role in technology planning: helping clients assess not only what to implement, but whether their technology choices continue to serve the business.

What This Means for MSPs Serving Accounting Firms

Helping accounting firms make smarter technology decisions means looking beyond the technology itself. MSPs need to understand the business priorities behind each investment and help clients evaluate what will deliver real value.

But how do accounting-firm leaders balance profitability with investment, and what do they expect from their technology partners?

In the Is Tech Driving the Future Firm? MasterClass, Jason Croston shares his perspective on these questions and the realities of running an accounting firm.

Want to understand what drives your accounting-firm clients’ technology decisions?

Watch the MasterClass to hear Jason’s insights and learn how a deeper understanding of accounting firms can make your recommendations more valuable.

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