Small Business Taxes

Data Security for Tax and Financial Systems (SMB Guide)

Updated 2025-10-28

Baseline security practices for small businesses handling financial and tax data: access control, backups, and vendor risk management.

  1. Access control
  2. Backups & recovery
  3. Vendor risk
  4. Monitoring & logging
  5. Staff training

Access control

Use MFA, SSO, and role‑based permissions; separate duties for payments vs. reconciliation.

Backups & recovery

Automate daily backups with periodic restore tests; keep at least one offline copy.

Vendor risk

Review SOC reports and DPAs; maintain a vendor inventory with data flows.

Monitoring & logging

Log admin actions and API access; set alerts for unusual export volumes.

Staff training

Annual security and phishing awareness with simulated exercises.