Guide
Pay when it breaks, or pay a flat amount every month
There are two ways to pay for IT help. Both are legitimate. Here is how to tell which one fits your office, with our own prices as the example.
Break-fix
You call when something is wrong and pay by the hour. At our rate that is $150 an hour, quoted first. It fits an office that rarely has problems, has someone technical on staff for the small stuff, and is fine waiting for the next available slot when something breaks. The risk is that nothing gets done until it breaks, which is how backups go untested for three years.
Monthly care
A flat amount per person per month covers remote help as often as you need it, updates and security software on every computer, Microsoft 365 changes and password resets, new hire setup and same day shutoff, a password manager, backups checked monthly with a quarterly test restore, the network watched, on-site visits when needed, one training session a year, and help with the insurance renewal. At our price that is $125 per person a month with a $1,000 minimum. The point is not the help desk. It is that the boring preventive work actually happens.
Where the break-even sits
A ten person office on monthly care pays $1,250 a month. On break-fix that buys about eight hours. Most ten person offices use less than eight hours of reactive help in a quiet month and far more in a bad one, and the preventive work never shows up on a break-fix invoice because nobody orders it. The plan wins when you value the quiet months being quiet. Break-fix wins when you have one or two computers and a nephew who is genuinely good.
The contract question
Many managed IT agreements run one to three years with an early termination fee. Ours is month to month with 30 days notice. Ask any provider how you leave before you ask what it costs.
The middle path
Start with a project. The $350 office checkup or a fixed-price setup. Decide on the plan after you have seen the work. Nothing is lost by waiting, and the checkup fee is credited once toward a fixed-price project or care plan onboarding signed within 30 days.
Questions to ask any IT provider
- Is the price published, or do you find out on the call?
- What is the contract length and the exit?
- Who shows up, and is it the same person next year?
- Do we own the equipment, or is it leased?
- What are the actual support hours, and what happens outside them?
- When was the last time you test restored a client's backup?
Our answers are on the pricing page.
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