A managed IT quote should explain which services your monthly payment covers and which services cost extra. It should also tell you when support is available and what happens if you change providers.

That sounds straightforward, but two providers can use the same phrase—“managed IT”—for very different services. One may include evening support and visits to your office. Another may charge separately for both. Before choosing the lower price, check that you're comparing the same work.

Here is what to ask a managed service provider, or MSP, to put in writing.

Which employees, equipment and locations are included?

Ask the provider to list how many employees and computers the quote covers, along with the offices it will support. Those should be your actual office addresses, not a general service area. The list should identify any other equipment or services included, such as servers, phones, Wi-Fi and business software.

If employees work from home, ask what support they can receive. Does the fee cover their work laptop only, or will the provider also help with a connection problem at home? Ask whether someone working remotely gets the same help as someone in the office.

The quote should explain how the price changes when you hire someone, buy another computer or open another office. If you might add a location, ask how it would be priced and whether setting it up would be a separate project. You should not have to wait for the next invoice to find out.

When can you get help?

Look for the days and hours when support is available. Check whether help is provided remotely, at your office, or both. If someone needs to come to your office, ask whether the visit or the travel time is charged separately.

“Priority support” does not tell you how long you might wait. Ask how quickly someone will respond to an urgent problem and to an ordinary request. Also ask what the provider considers urgent. A promised response time is not necessarily a promise to fix the problem within that time.

Ask who will help if your usual technician is away or cannot solve the problem. The provider should explain how another qualified person gets involved, rather than leaving you dependent on one employee.

What work does the monthly fee cover?

For each service, ask whether it is included, limited to a certain amount, or charged separately. The details should be specific enough that you know who is responsible for the work.

Computer maintenance: installing updates, checking for problems and fixing issues that are found.
Employee accounts: setting up new employees, helping with sign-in problems and removing access when someone leaves.
Email and shared files: explaining what support is included for Microsoft 365, Google Workspace or the services you use.
Security: identifying the protective software included and who investigates its warnings.
Backups: identifying which files and systems are copied, how often copies are made and how long they are kept.
Recovery tests: checking that backed-up files can actually be recovered, and recording the results.
Help with other suppliers: explaining whether the provider will work with your internet, phone or software company to resolve a problem.
Records and planning: keeping useful information about your systems up to date and reviewing upcoming technology needs with you.

If you need help with an insurance application, audit or industry requirement, ask which tasks the provider will handle and what they cost. Do not assume that general IT support includes that work.

For more background on these services, read What Does an MSP Do?.

Will the provider test your backups?

A backup is only useful if you can recover the information you need. Ask the provider how often it will test recovery, what it will test and how it will share the results with you.

For example, recovering one deleted file is a different task from getting an entire server working again. The quote should explain which tests are included. If the provider has not started supporting you yet, ask when the first test will take place.

Ask about recovery charges too. Does your monthly fee include restoring a deleted file? What would you pay for help after a major equipment failure?

Our backup and recovery service page explains more about this area of IT support.

Will your business keep control of its accounts?

Your provider will need permission to manage some of your systems. Your business should also retain control of the accounts it depends on.

Ask how an authorized person at your company can access the accounts that manage your email, website address and backups. Administrator access means permission to change settings and manage other users; it should be assigned carefully, rather than shared through a common password.

Ask what access the provider will receive and how it will be removed if you change providers. You should not discover during a switch that only the departing provider can manage an essential account.

The quote or accompanying agreement should also explain what records you will receive about your systems and how those records will be kept up to date.

What costs extra?

Ask for a clear list of additional charges. Common questions to raise include:

Is the initial setup included, or is there a separate fee?
Are evening, weekend and emergency calls included?
Are office visits and travel time included or billed separately?
Are software subscriptions included in the quoted price?
Will replacing equipment or moving to a new system require a separate project quote?
Must you approve extra work before the provider starts it?

A service charged separately is not automatically a problem. You need to know about the charge before deciding whether the overall price works for your business.

What happens if you change providers?

Review the contract length, renewal terms and notice required to end the service. Ask whether ending it early involves a charge.

The agreement should explain how your accounts, system records and other information will be transferred to you or your next provider. It should identify any software the departing provider will remove, when that will happen and whether help with the transfer costs extra.

For more questions about the agreement, see What's Included in an MSP Contract.

How should you compare two quotes?

Compare the included services, support hours, limits and additional charges side by side. If one quote does not answer a question, ask the provider to clarify it in writing before you decide.

The cheapest monthly fee may still be the right choice. But you can only judge that once you understand what each provider will do for your business and what you would pay separately.

Our guide to managed IT pricing covers how these services are commonly priced. This checklist helps you understand what a particular quote includes.

How does STG prepare a quote?

STG is based in West Hollywood. Our page on managed IT services for Los Angeles businesses says we start by learning about your users, locations, devices, systems, vendors and security needs. We then define responsibilities, priorities and scope, and review your environment before recommending a price.

The same page says pricing depends on users, devices, locations, infrastructure, security and compliance needs, onsite needs and which services are included. The specific cybersecurity and backup services depend on the agreement, which is why they should be named in the quote rather than assumed.

The page also describes remote support for speed and onsite support across Greater Los Angeles when hands-on work is needed. Our onsite and remote support page says we begin with remote diagnosis and arrange a visit for hardware, cabling, network equipment, installations or work that cannot be finished remotely. It also says support availability and response expectations are set by each client's service agreement. Those are details to read in any quote, including ours.

Need help reviewing a quote?

If you're comparing IT providers for your Los Angeles business, we can talk through your quote with you and identify questions worth asking before you sign. Book a conversation with us.