Warning: Stop overpaying for small biz IT support contracts

I run a three truck plumbing crew here in Denver and last year I was paying $1,200 a month to a local IT firm for "managed services". All they really did was reset passwords and run virus scans once a quarter. I caught on when my dispatch computer had a blue screen issue and it took them 5 days to send a guy out. Switched to a break/fix model with a smaller provider for $75 an hour and my annual costs dropped by almost 60%. The key was getting a hard quote for emergency response time in the contract. Most of these monthly subscription deals are just padding for stuff you rarely need. Anyone else bail on the MSP model and just pay as you go for B2B IT work?

3 comments

3 Comments

scott.olivia1d ago

$1200 a month for password resets is wild.

patricia321d agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, that really stings. I feel for you, @scott.olivia, because that kind of overhead just adds up way too fast. It's crazy how the little admin stuff eats into a budget like that.

amyh1218h ago

$1200 a month for password resets" is honestly more than some small businesses spend on their whole IT budget. It makes me wonder if investing in a better self-service reset tool could cut that cost in half within a few months. That kind of savings would free up money for actual projects instead of just fixing login issues over and over.