Based in Hemel Hempstead, Kings is an established firm of chartered accountants that provides a wide range of accountancy, audit, taxation, and business advisory services.
They are a team of 19, including the directors, and their clients range from one-man band contractors to multi-location companies with a £90 million turnover.
We spoke to director, Sara Brown FCA, about her experiences working with IT Trouble Free.
How did you discover IT Trouble Free?
When a new company took over from our previous IT provider, we felt we were being charged an extortionate amount for no service. Olly was already a client of Stuart, one of the other directors, so we reached out to somebody we knew we could trust.
What function has IT Trouble Free performed for your organisation?
When IT Trouble Free came on board, Olly and his team experienced a difficult handover with our old provider, and it took a lot of work to sort out, but they never complained.
An initial audit of our systems was conducted to assess our current status, and the installation of additional IT and software was recommended. I should note, too, that although it may seem to some that paying a bit extra for an onboarding process is just a way to upsell, without it, those genuine issues would not have been identified as quickly.
During the initial onboarding, Olly called (called, not emailed, which is such a good service!) to say, “Sara, there are several issues you haven’t been made aware of, and we need to fix them”.
One of the issues was that our server was out of warranty, so that was pretty serious. Another issue was that we were running at 99% capacity, which is not ideal for a firm in our industry. We had to delete old data as and when we had time, but Olly and his team monitored the process to make sure it didn’t change dramatically.
Our backup battery wasn’t working either. Each issue was something our previous IT provider should have flagged, but didn’t.
Those issues were listed in order of priority, explaining the importance of each and providing a recommendation on what should be addressed first. They were described in layman’s terms so I could understand and appreciate what had to happen.
It was also appreciated that the onboarding process would occur during our busiest season, winter. Olly knew the need for him and his team to tread very carefully around our existing business and determine what the ‘quick fixes’ could be … like putting hardware and warranties in place. I was so impressed that they’d done their homework. Olly even asked questions like “How many personal tax clients do you have to support between now and the end of January?”
It was 900; 450 had to be completed in January. Olly was completely calm and said, “Okay, call me if there’s a major issue, and I’ll be there”.
As it turned out, there was! A colleague inadvertently deleted something he shouldn’t have. But we called, and it was restored in about 5 minutes.
We also have IT Trouble Free’s software installed, and we’ve noticed, for example, that a significant number of our emails are being directed to junk or quarantine folders since we’ve had them on board. It’s really important to us that we know things are getting caught. We receive files in so many ways … Dropbox, secure link, etc. Clients will occasionally send us sensitive information without security, and we must protect ourselves and our clients by ensuring everything is safe and secure.
What benefits has this brought?
As a business, we need to know we’re ticking over nicely and being supported.
IT is a scary world. If you’re not an expert, you shouldn’t be ‘dabbling’ in it. You need somebody you trust to look after that for you, and we get that service from Olly and his team: 100%. We immediately felt we were in safe hands and followed all advice and recommendations throughout the changeover period and beyond.
We’re now confident that everything is running as it should and that we have access to expert advice.
We’re so happy to have the IT Trouble Free team there to support any day-to-day issues. However, when the unexpected happens at 10 pm on a Saturday, we want the most experienced person – and that’s usually the owner or MD (Olly). Like most professionals, I will never abuse that privilege… but knowing it’s an option is comforting!
It’s how we work as a business ourselves and exactly what we want from business relationships with outsourced expertise.
How easy was it to work with IT Trouble Free?
Extremely. We like that Olly and his team communicate verbally. For example, I couldn’t have told you where on the Richter scale of importance the issues Olly found during the onboarding were.
But he took the time to pick up the phone and tell me, “These are your options, this is what we need to do, and this is when we need to do it by”. He didn’t leave it for me to make any judgment on it … and I like that because that’s what we’re paying him to do!
They even call when our software needs updating to check on a convenient time so we don’t encounter any service issues, and any disruption and downtime are minimal.
What’s the ongoing role with IT Trouble Free, and why?
They will continue to be our preferred IT support partner because we trust them to do what’s needed to keep our clients’ data safe, ensure minimal downtime for our team and ensure our IT needs fit our business as it grows.
Plus, as Chartered Accountants, we’re a regulated firm. We must receive annual training on specific areas, such as cyber security. Although we can deliver in-house training to a certain extent, ultimately, we’re accountants, not IT professionals, so we rely on experts.
It’s essential to us that we work with a company that shares our commitment to providing the same level of customer service. They have in-depth knowledge of their industry, appreciate how we operate and what we need, and understand how to treat clients effectively.
Would you recommend IT Trouble Free, and why?
Yes. IT is an area of my business I have to oversee, but I don’t entirely understand–it’s outside my area of expertise. So, I would always recommend trusting in the person, not the machine!
Olly and his team have given me comfort in my ignorance. In Olly, especially, I have the right person to cover me. I feel more supported, even when emailing the Helpdesk over trivial things. They treat it like it’s a priority and make it very clear.
And even when you say it’s low priority, their service speed exceeds expectations.
Sara finished by saying:
“Although I don’t fully understand IT, since working with Olly, I now trust that I can deliver. I don’t have a fear that when there’s an issue, I’ll have to speak to a robot.
Olly runs his IT business like we run our accountancy services: with openness, honesty, and expertise. His team reflects his ethos too. That’s why we work well together.”
Sara Brown FCA
Director, Kings Chartered Accountants