What managed IT costs a professional firm

Most firms have no idea what IT support should cost until they ask for a quote, and by then they have nothing to compare it with. This article explains how the pricing works so you can judge a number when you see one.

How it's usually priced

Per person, per month. This is the most common model for professional firms. You pay a fixed amount for each member of staff, and it covers their support, their computer and their accounts. It's easy to budget, and it rises and falls with your headcount.

Per device. Some providers charge for each computer and server. It suits firms with shared workstations, but it gets complicated when people have a laptop, a desktop and a phone.

By the hour. You pay when something breaks. It looks cheap until a bad month, and it gives the provider no reason to prevent problems, since problems are what they bill for.

For a firm that depends on its systems every day, a fixed monthly price per person is usually the better fit. Your costs are predictable, and your provider does better when things run smoothly.

What moves the price

What's included. This matters most. A plan that covers only support and updates costs far less than one that adds email security, staff training, backup and security monitoring. Two quotes can differ by a factor of three and both be fair.

Hours of cover. Business hours cost less than round-the-clock.

How regulated you are. A firm that needs written security plans and help with client questionnaires is buying expertise, not only software.

The state of what you have now. Old computers, no documentation and software nobody has updated all mean more work at the start.

The costs outside the monthly fee

Ask about each of these before you sign.

• Onboarding. A one-time charge for taking over your systems and fixing what's wrong.
• Projects. Moving office, migrating email, replacing a server.
• On-site visits, if the plan is remote.
• Hardware and software licenses. Your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace subscription is usually separate.
• After-hours work.

None of these is unreasonable. They only become a problem when they're a surprise.

How to compare two quotes

Put them side by side and check each line:

1. Is security included, or extra? A low support price with security sold separately isn't cheaper.
2. Is backup included? For your cloud email and files as well as your computers.
3. What response time is promised?
4. What's the contract length and notice period?
5. What does it come to per person once everything you need is added?

Our ten questions to ask an IT provider covers the rest.

What it costs to do nothing

The alternative to paying for IT is paying for the lack of it, in less visible ways.

• Lost hours. A fee earner who loses an afternoon to a broken laptop costs more than a month of support.
• The partner who does the IT. Most small firms have one. Their time is the most expensive in the building.
• An incident. Recovery, notifying clients, legal advice and lost work, which we describe in the first hour of a ransomware attack.
• Lost clients. More corporate clients now require proof of security before they'll send work.

Our prices

We publish them. There are three plans, each priced per person per month, and the plan builder shows your total as you choose a plan, set your headcount and add extras.

• Essentials covers help desk and protection for every computer.
• Business adds email security, training, account administration and backup of your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace data.
• Secure adds security monitoring and compliance support.

For more than fifty people we tailor the plan with you. If you'd like to talk through what your firm needs before looking at a number, book a free IT and cybersecurity review.