by Scott Jack
Content Contributor, E-N Computers
More than a decade of experience in technical support including user support, endpoint management, application deployment, and documentation.
Updated January 26, 2026
Here’s a fun exercise: Call three MSPs and tell them you have 15 employees who need fully managed IT. You’ll get three quotes. Now tell them those 15 employees have 45 computers across three offices, mixed PC and Mac, with HIPAA compliance requirements and 60 contractors who need occasional access. Watch those quotes triple—or watch the MSP suddenly get very quiet. Welcome to managed IT pricing in 2026, where your user count is just the starting point for a much more interesting conversation.
Most guides focus on pricing models but miss the most important point: what will managed IT cost your organization over time? The answer depends less on headcount and more on other factors like device ratios, platform mix, site complexity, compliance concerns, and whether your current environment matches business needs or is a rat’s nest of technical debt.
E-N Computers is a regional managed service provider in Virginia with nearly three decades of experience helping small businesses, nonprofits, and government entities make IT decisions. We wrote this guide to share what we’ve learned about IT costs.
QUICK ANSWER:
What are the main drivers of managed IT costs in 2026?
Managed IT costs are driven more by environment complexity than user count. Key factors include:
- Device-to-user ratios. Organizations with more devices than users (shared workstations, multiple devices per person, legacy systems) pay more because monitoring, patching, and security scale with device count
- Platform diversity. Mixed Windows/Mac environments cost 30-50% more due to dual testing, implementation, and troubleshooting requirements
- Compliance requirements. HIPAA, CMMC, and similar frameworks add 25-50% to costs through specialized staff, tools, and ongoing audit preparation
- Infrastructure complexity. Multiple sites, high server counts, mixed cloud/on-premise systems, and VPN connections multiply management overhead
- Service model. Budget MSPs often require supplemental services, while comprehensive MSPs bundle these services at a total lower cost.
The bottom line: Focus on total cost of ownership over 3-5 years, not just monthly fees. Complexity matters more than headcount when evaluating what managed IT will actually cost your organization. We estimate that a 15-person org could spend ~$310,000 with a comprehensive, proactive MSP versus ~$785,000 with a budget MSP over five years, saving more than 50% through bundling of security and strategic services, coupled with better planning.
Table of Contents
- What are you paying for when you hire an MSP?
- Why do MSP quotes vary so much?
- Why do budget MSPs end up costing more?
- What will increase my IT costs?
- What will decrease my IT costs?
- Is E-N Computers a budget MSP or a premium MSP?
- What does managed IT cost over 5 years?
- What are the typical project costs and add-ons?
- What to expect when you contact us
- Make an informed decision before spending
- Frequently asked questions
What are you paying for when you hire an MSP?
What you’re paying for depends on the MSP.
Less expensive MSPs deliver maintenance services. They keep your existing systems running, patch computers, respond to help desk tickets, and manage backups and antivirus. These are important functions that keep your business running.
Proactive MSPs deliver strategic services on top of maintenance. They ask questions to assess your technology against your business goals, plan to meet compliance requirements, architect solutions for growth, and guide you through digital transformation. They ask uncomfortable questions about whether your current approach still makes sense.
The difference matters because you can’t get strategic outcomes from a maintenance contract, no matter how good the technicians are.
| Maintenance services | Strategic partnership |
|---|---|
|
|
Every MSP should provide maintenance services. Cost differences at this level reflect factors like response time, offshore versus local support, and what systems are covered. At ENC, our average ticket resolution time is about 30 minutes and our entire support staff is US-based. Our managed IT services include coverage for workstations, servers, network management, and backups.
Not every MSP provides strategic guidance or has the staff to design systems. Ian MacRae, president of E-N Computers, illustrates it this way: “The guy that’s the janitor or the handyman usually isn’t the architect. Often, whatever system you’re needing has to be completely re-architected.”
Why does the distinction between maintenance and strategy matter?
Budget MSPs focus exclusively on maintenance. Their lower pricing reflects that limited scope. If you need help with a tech roadmap, budget, or compliance, you’ll hire it separately — compliance consultants, fractional CIOs, security specialists, or maybe even an internal IT person.
Comprehensive MSPs include maintenance and strategy. Their monthly fees are higher on the surface, but you’re paying for architects and technicians. The question isn’t whether you need both—most organizations do—but whether you want to coordinate multiple vendors or work with a single team. You might spend 20–30% more on your MSP but avoid additional hires.
Questions to find out which type of MSP you’re talking to
Here are the questions to ask during your evaluation.
- Who will attend our quarterly planning meetings? If it’s just the help desk manager, that’s maintenance.
- Can you show me an example technology roadmap you’ve built for a client? If they don’t have examples, they don’t do this kind of work.
- What happens when we need to decide whether to keep an on-premise server or move to the cloud? Listen for a structured assessment process versus a simple “we’ll quote both options”.
- Do you have dedicated compliance or security staff? Role specialization is a sign of strategic capability.
Now let’s talk about how MSPs price these different service levels—and why simple per-user pricing often breaks down when your environment doesn’t fit the template.
Why do MSP quotes vary so much?
Many MSPs start with per-user pricing because it’s simple to communicate. But this assumes an environment with standard complexity. When your environment doesn’t fit the template, quotes diverge dramatically based on how (or whether) each MSP assessed your actual situation.
Three ways MSPs deal with complexity
- Ignore it and underprice. This option is bad because it leads to nickel-and-diming, contract renegotiation, or less responsive support. MSPs operate on thin margins, so a low price will mean limited or substandard service.
- Use tiered pricing. Bronze, silver, and gold plans with per-user pricing can account for complexity up to a point. But there are always environments that don’t fit any tier cleanly.
- Assess complexity and provide custom pricing. Evaluate your actual environment and make adjustments for complexity factors.
ENC uses a mix of options 2 and 3. We try to keep things as formulaic as possible. We start with tiered per-user pricing and then use modifiers to account for the complexity factors described in the next section. Ian says, “We can run into situations that are either very simple and justify a discount, or they’re really complicated and justify a price increase.”
How to compare wildly different quotes
Remember that the lowest quotes often come from MSPs who haven’t asked enough questions to understand your real environment. The highest quote might reflect the only MSP who actually assessed complexity accurately. These points will help you evaluate MSP quotes.
- Ask what assumptions they’re making. How many devices per user? How many sites? What platforms?
- Clarify what happens when reality differs from assumptions. If they quoted 15 users but you actually have 40 devices, what’s the revised price?
- Understand whether complexity was assessed. Did they ask detailed questions about your infrastructure, or just count users?
- Look for itemization of non-standard elements. Are multi-site costs, compliance services, or platform support broken out separately?
Next, let’s look at why the cheapest monthly fee rarely translates to the lowest total cost—and what hidden expenses emerge when you choose a budget provider.
Why do budget MSPs end up costing more?
There are a few hidden costs with budget MSPs like fragmentation of service, internal IT hires to cover service delivery gaps, and offshore support.
The fragmented service model
When you see one quote for $3,000/month and another for $5,000/month, the decision seems easy. The lower upfront cost is appealing. But that lower cost comes with a limited scope that can actually cause your costs to balloon. Ian describes it this way:
“You sign up with that $3,000 a month cheap MSP, but then you have to add on the $3,000 MSSP [managed security service provider] after a security incident, you have to get the accounting firm at $5,000 a month to give you their professional services for digital transformation every five years. Suddenly your $3,000 monthly IT bill is $11,000.”
At ENC, we avoid fragmentation of services. Our managed IT plans include security services like regularly assessing your security posture, implementing identity and access management, network configuration and monitoring, and endpoint detection and response. You also get fraction CTO and CIO services to guide you through digital transformation initiatives.
The internal IT hire
Sometimes, companies feel like there are gaps in coverage with a budget MSP and end up hiring an internal IT person. They might even do this to help manage the various consultants they’ve hired. So then they’re paying a full-time salary plus benefits on top of their MSP contract and any other consultants that are filling skill gaps.
Offshore support
In an effort to cut costs and keep prices low, many budget MSPs use offshore labor in the Philippines, South Africa, and India. But there are hidden costs.
- Cultural and language barriers can make communication difficult, adding to operational overhead and slowing resolution time.
- Knowledge loss is common. One prospect we talked with said that they had been happy with their MSP for many years until the help desk was outsourced. “The new help desk didn’t know our systems the same way.” Offshore support also uses larger pools of technicians without assigning specific people to your account. As a result, no one has deep familiarity with your environment.
- Compliance and security risks can be a problem. Ian says, “When someone in a foreign country has access to all of your data, there’s really no rule of law. You can stop paying them, but it’s not like you can easily go after someone overseas to get your data back.” Depending on the regulatory requirements you’re subject to, offshore support may complicate audits or be an outright violation.
As we covered earlier, budget MSPs focus on maintenance rather than strategy. They can fix immediate problems but won’t push for transformation or ask uncomfortable questions about whether your current approach still makes sense. But companies hire budget MSPs anyway; fragmented costs aren’t always obvious, for a few reasons.
- Costs are spread across different budgets. The IT budget pays for the MSP, the compliance consultant is paid from operations, digital transformation consulting comes from the accounting budget.
- Additional costs feel like reacting to incidents, not MSP limitations. “We had a security incident, so we hired a cybersecurity consultant” feels like responding to circumstances rather than a service gap.
- Sticker shock at comprehensive pricing. A $5,000 per month quote from a full-service MSP like E-N Computers might make you sweat. Three smaller $2,500 per month services acquired over 18 months doesn’t trigger the same reaction.
To understand the cost of buying IT services, let’s talk about the cost of delivering IT services. What factors increase or decrease the cost of IT service delivery?
What will increase my IT costs?
Several things can increase IT costs including role specialization, third-party tools, having a mix of operating systems, multiple locations, more devices than users, a high number of servers relative to your size, or an otherwise complex IT environment.
Role specialization
MSPs, like much of the IT industry, used to rely heavily on generalists that could do everything from help desk to security to compliance. But as the IT industry has seen an increase in complexity — new technologies, increased cybersecurity threats, more stringent regulatory frameworks — role specialization has become more important. We have to have dedicated security and compliance staff; ione person can’t do it all.
Role specialization increases MSP fees. But the alternative would be relying on generalists for specialized work, which creates costly vulnerabilities.
Third-party tools
Third-party tools for security, compliance, monitoring, and management abound on the market. MSPs will often deploy these tools to clients and bundle the cost into their monthly fee. When vendors of those tools raise rates or are acquired by private equity, MSPs pass the cost along. Ian warns, “MSP fees are going up because of all these third-party tools. A lot of MSPs force the tools on their customers and a price increase to match.”
Platform mix-and-match
Supporting multiple operating systems, or a mix of on-premise and cloud services, creates real overhead. “Supporting PC and Mac takes twice the amount of your time. You’re going to pay for everything twice or go half the speed piloting everything on two platforms,” Ian says.
Every software rollout and security update needs to be tested on both platforms. Troubleshooting steps differ between platforms.
If you have legitimate reasons to keep a mix of Windows and macOS, expect support costs to be 30% higher than if you were all-in on one platform.
Multiple sites
Each physical location adds complexity and cost, because it requires:
- Network equipment to monitor and manage
- Onsite support
- VPN or site-to-site network connections that require configuration and troubleshooting
- Coordination for infrastructure changes
Unusual device-to-user ratios
We assume one workstation per user. Here are some variations we have seen that increase costs:
- Shared workstations. Medical practices and shop floors with shared workstations, or organizations that keep legacy systems around for specific software
- Multiple workstations per user. Some employees have a desktop and a laptop. Depending on the work they do, they might even have a test machine somewhere.
- Many contractors, temp workers, PRN staff. These types of users may or may not require the same level of support as full-time staff, but they incur support costs especially when it comes to provisioning and disabling accounts and making sure they can access company resources.
As Ian says, “Sometimes we hear, ‘Oh, we’re a real small organization. We have five users … But we actually have 25 computers.’” From our perspective, that’s a 25-endpoint environment that happens to have five people. Per-user pricing clearly doesn’t work in this situation, so we have to adjust our pricing.
High server count relative to size
Modern organizations can be fully cloud-based (no servers) or have a hybrid environment with just one server. But every couple of years, we meet someone that has more servers than employees. There are a few reasons this happens:
- Legacy software that has to be maintained
- Highly regulated environment with on-premise data requirements
- Over-engineered infrastructure
Server management requires careful monitoring and planning, which increases costs. We look for ways to help our clients streamline their environment and reduce costs when practical.
Compliance
Compliance is an ongoing effort that requires someone who 1) understands compliance frameworks and 2) how to implement them technically. A comprehensive MSP should be able to provide:
- Dedicated staff that understand regulatory compliance
- Knowledge of tools and processes for auditing and access control
- Guidance on documentation and policies
- Scope analysis to decide which systems and people touch regulated data
- Audit preparation assistance
You can expect costs to be at least 50% higher when you have strict regulatory requirements to meet.
Even cloud-based systems don’t eliminate compliance scope. In healthcare, we commonly hear, “Oh, we have a cloud-based EHR system.” But how do the scans work? What happens to PDFs saved to local computers? Just because your cloud vendor has a BAA doesn’t mean you’re not responsible for data before uploading or after downloading.
Existing complexity from past IT decisions
Often, we find that companies with internal IT have the most complex and expensive environments. This complexity can take the form of custom solutions, non-standard configurations, undocumented workarounds, and over-engineered infrastructure that require more time and money to maintain. MSPs will either charge more to maintain it as-is, or we may require an onboarding and stabilization project to simplify your setup before handing you over to our service team.
What will decrease my IT costs?
You can bring your costs down in several ways. At ENC, we look for ways to streamline your systems and control costs where possible. A few opportunities we see include customer-owned Microsoft licensing, simple environments designed around business needs, and optimizing your IT before engaging an MSP.
Customer-owned Microsoft licensing
At ENC, we’ve gone on a “tooling purge”, moving away from third-party tools in favor of Microsoft 365 licensing. We’re a bit of an outlier on this, but we think it’s better for you as a customer. It provides you with greater flexibility and cost savings.
Many third-party tools that MSPs use are part of a multi-tenant setup. In other words, your instance of that tool falls under the MSP’s umbrella. If you leave the MSP, you lose access to that tool. Your new MSP or internal IT hire must quickly get you migrated to their solution. And nowadays, many MSPs are running a dozen or more third-party tools.
In contrast, we prefer to set you up with Microsoft 365 licensing in your name. If you leave us, the licensing, the tenant, and any configuration work we’ve done stays with you. Microsoft 365 pricing is aggressively competitive when compared to a patchwork of third-party tools. All the features are contained in one system, giving us better visibility without jumping between admin interfaces. And we don’t have to worry about Microsoft getting bought out by private equity.
Simple, well-designed environments
You can control IT costs with a simpler environment, which may include one or more of the following:
- One operating system (all Windows or all macOS, not mixed)
- Single location
- One workstation per person
- Cloud-based Microsoft environment without legacy on-premise infrastructure
- Good documentation of systems and configurations
Each of these items reduces administrative overhead. When we spend less time troubleshooting platform issues, coordinating work across sites, or unraveling an undocumented setup, we’re able to pass that savings along.
Internal IT that assists with onsite implementation
One way to save money with an MSP is to take advantage of co-managed IT services. In this arrangement, you have an onsite IT person who takes care of things like:
- Tier 1 support during business hours
- Workstation deployments
- Change management
- Documentation
Meanwhile, we handle strategic guidance, vCTO/vCIO services, network management, monitoring, patching, security, and support escalation. Because we’re not handling all support functions, we offer co-managed IT at a lower monthly cost.
Optimizing your IT before MSP shopping
Optimizing your IT before shopping is optional but may be worth doing if MSP quotes are coming in significantly higher than you’re comfortable with. These steps will lower your operational overhead and can bring quotes down.
- Consolidate platforms where possible, perhaps by standardizing on Windows if business needs allow.
- Eliminate out-of-production equipment. Sometimes old equipment hangs around, creating a security risk and more maintenance work. Eliminating these devices can give an MSP a more accurate idea of what we actually need to support.
- Clean up user accounts. Remove inactive accounts and implement a proper offboarding process.
- Document everything. Good documentation reduces our discovery time. It also provides us with some reassurance that there are not gnarly problems lurking beneath the surface that we need to account for in our pricing.
- Standardize tooling. Reduce your third-party tool footprint and make better use of Microsoft 365.
Is E-N Computers a budget MSP or a premium MSP?
We are not a budget MSP. If cost is your most important criteria, we’re not the MSP for you.
Instead, we are a full-service MSP that provides strategic services, compliance and security consulting, and named account managers and technicians that are responsible for your account. Our comprehensive services cost more to deliver but deliver a better result.
As Ian puts it, “We lean toward higher quality, higher prices. Other firms show up once a year to do a vCIO session. That’s your one shot to really think outside the box. Whereas we’re showing up with a small team each quarter.” Those quarterly business reviews give us an opportunity to talk with you about our service delivery, your business, where things are headed, and develop a tech roadmap.
What you’re paying for
Our pricing reflects the way we think about our services. We look at IT as something that helps to solve business problems.
Account management. We train our account managers to ask questions before proposing solutions so they’re looking ahead and not assuming they know what’s best.
Consistency. Many MSPs only assign an account manager, but route work through whomever is available. At ENC, we assign an onsite technician to be responsible for regular visits where they maintain documentation, perform necessary maintenance, and provide support that can’t be done remotely. We find that this arrangement strengthens our relationship with you and enables us to provide you with better service.
Strategic guidance that scales. We generally recommend quarterly business reviews and monthly onsite visits, but some clients feel like that is overkill for their situation. That’s OK. We can reduce the frequency of those interactions to fit your situation. When things change, those services remain available to you from the same team that provides your daily support.
“Even if people scale way back with us, they can still take advantage of features like strategic planning and change management,” Ian says. “It’s not like they’re completely deactivated. It’s just that we’re not interacting with them as much to try to push them forward.”
When we’re not the right fit
E-N Computers doesn’t make sense for organizations that:
- Need lowest possible monthly cost. If budget is the primary constraint and you’re willing to coordinate multiple vendors or accept service limitations, budget MSPs offer lower entry pricing
- Require 24/7 on-site presence. We’re not sized for organizations needing dedicated on-site staff; we primarily provide remote service supplemented by scheduled onsite days.
- Want inexpensive offshore support. We maintain local technicians and account management; organizations specifically seeking offshore cost structures should look elsewhere
If you have strong internal IT leadership providing all strategic direction and just need backend monitoring and maintenance, we offer a basic plan with core monitoring tools and pay-as-you-go support.
Where ENC excels
We’re the right fit for organizations that:
- Value strategic guidance. You don’t have internal IT leadership and need your MSP to think architecturally about technology decisions
- Face compliance requirements. HIPAA, CMMC, and other frameworks requiring dedicated expertise and ongoing management
- Want service continuity. Consistency matters more to you than rotating through the cheapest available labor
- Need flexibility. Your IT needs vary over time, and you want a provider who can scale service up or down without forcing you into rigid tier structures
- Prioritize tool ownership. You understand the value of controlling your security and productivity tooling rather than having it bundled into MSP fees
What does managed IT cost over 5 years?
Much like buying a car, buying managed IT services requires looking at the total cost of ownership. Your total cost needs to account for:
- Hardware refresh cycles (we recommend clients replace workstations every 5 years, on average)
- Server replacements or cloud migration
- Compliance, security, strategy consulting
- Internal IT staffing
- Emergency projects
- Downtime
- Tools and licensing
If you only look at your monthly costs, you won’t see the whole picture. Sticking with our vehicle analogy, budget MSPs are like economy cars with a minimal maintenance plan. Your monthly cost is low, but there are still a lot of out-of-pocket expenses. This might be OK if you can do some of the work yourself, have time to coordinate services, and don’t use the car much.
Comprehensive MSPs are more like a full-service lease that includes maintenance. Instead of buying a thing you have to maintain, you’re buying a result. With the lease, you’re buying a car that just works with minimal headaches. The real value is that there’s someone behind the scenes tracking usage, predicting your needs, and planning for the future. The risk is on them if something goes wrong. Similarly, we’re invested in keeping things running smoothly, anticipating future needs, and making fixes and improvements before major problems happen.
Case studies of real clients
McDonough Toyota in Staunton, Virginia, moved from our basic plan (monitoring tools plus pay-as-you-go support) to fully managed services. There was a slight increase in costs — about $100 more per month — but now they enjoy full strategic support and the freedom to call whenever they need help without having to worry about added charges.
Atlantic 10, a collegiate athletic conference based in Washington, D.C., is paying more than they were with their previous budget MSP. With that came an improvement in security posture, significant savings by switching to Microsoft 365 education licensing, and a complete tech roadmap with a hardware refresh schedule. Martha Perez, the finance director for A10, says, “For the services we get, everyone understood E-N Computers was worth the cost.”
Five-year total cost comparison (15-person organization)
| Category | Budget MSP | Comprehensive MSP |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fees | $180,000 ($3,000 x 60 months) | $255,000 ($4,250 x 60 months) |
| Security services (MSSP) | $105,000 (over 36 months, added after year 2) | Included in MSP fee |
| Compliance consulting | $60,000 | Included in MSP fee |
| Strategic vCIO services | $40,000 (annual engagements) | Included in MSP fee (quarterly engagements) |
| Internal IT hire | $306,800 (over 52 months, salary + benefits, added month 8 to cover gaps) | Not needed |
| Hardware – workstations | $18,000 (emergency replacements) | $22,000 (planned refresh cycle) |
| Hardware – servers | $28,000 (emergency replacements and migrations) | $15,000 (planned migrations) |
| Hardware – network | $15,000 (reactive upgrades) | $12,000 (planned upgrades) |
| Downtime/productivity loss | ~$35,000 (multiple incidents, poor planning) | ~$5,000 (minimal, planned downtime) |
| Total five-year cost | $787,800 | $309,000 |
| Difference | $448,800 savings |
Where the savings come from
Avoided fragmentation costs ($111,000)
- No separate MSSP, compliance consultant, or fractional CIO needed
- One team maintains context and coordinates all IT activities
- No duplicated effort or conflicting vendor recommendations
Avoided internal hire ($165,200)
- Comprehensive help desk eliminates need for on-site support staff
- Strategic services included rather than requiring internal IT leadership
Better hardware planning ($8,600 savings)
- Proactive refresh cycles prevent emergency replacements (which cost 30-40% more)
- Migration planning reduces project costs
- Bulk purchasing and proper scoping reduce waste
Reduced downtime and productivity loss (~$18,000)
- Proactive monitoring catches issues before failure
- Planned maintenance windows minimize disruption
- Better change management reduces user frustration and rework
What if we go with a budget MSP but don’t hire internal IT?
Some companies use a budget MSP, avoid hiring internal IT, and accept the limitations. Even if you do this, a comprehensive MSP will still cost you less. Why? Without the internal IT person, the cost of reactive IT increases. Hardware replacement and productivity costs go up because you don’t have someone to handle the reactive work on a daily basis. There are also some hidden costs:
- Conflicting advice from vendors with competing priorities
- Coordination overhead, juggling multiple vendors and giving direction
- Knowledge loss, because multiple vendors means multiple discovery projects
- Opportunity cost when poor IT planning inhibits business goals like supporting remote work or pursuing certain clients and contracts
How looking at TCO affects MSP selection
When you evaluate proposals:
- Project all costs, not just monthly fees. In the short term, a lower monthly cost is more attractive. But when you zoom out and look at the whole picture, the value proposition changes.
- Consider your planning horizon. Are you anticipating growth, company initiatives, or hardware refreshes that will require IT support? Think about the next three to five years.
- Value your time. If you’re coordinating vendors, you’re spending precious time and money.
- Consider business impact. Downtime, delayed projects, and the inability to pursue opportunities are real costs.
- Know what’s included. Understand what is being offered and how the MSP intends to fulfill it. Do they have the staff to support you?
What are the typical project costs and add-ons?
Monthly managed service agreements cover ongoing work, but some work falls outside that scope and needs to be billed as a separate project.
Onboarding and transition projects
When you switch IT providers, there is a transition period of one to three months. We use a two-phase approach:
- Onboarding: Discovery, tool deployment, documentation, account setup
- Stabilization: Address urgent issues discovered during onboarding, implement security improvements, fix compliance gaps
For smaller companies (less than 20 users), onboarding can be absorbed into overlapping monthly fees. “If we’re picking up from the old MSP—let’s say we start onboarding work in January, but don’t take responsibility until March 1st—there might be a couple of months of overlap of monthly services to fund that project,” Ian says. You pay both the old MSP (who maintains production responsibility) and the new MSP (who’s preparing to take over) for 1–2 months during the transition.
For larger organizations or compressed timelines, onboarding becomes a separate project fee. A 50-user organization with complex infrastructure might see $15,000-25,000 in onboarding costs. The same complexity factors that increase IT costs come into play here.
What is stabilization?
While onboarding is about documenting your systems, getting our tools installed, and training your users on how to request support, the point of stabilization is to address the reasons you switched MSPs in the first place. Ian relates, “Stabilization is often why customers buy our services to begin with. It may be because there’s something that they’re dissatisfied about their operations or they want to improve their compliance or security posture.”
If you’re switching because security is inadequate, stabilization includes implementing proper security controls. If you’re switching due to compliance gaps, stabilization includes remediation work to meet regulatory requirements. If you’re switching because systems are unreliable, stabilization includes fixing infrastructure problems.
This work is more specific to your business and can’t always be scoped accurately during initial sales conversations.
Hardware and software procurement
Developing a tech roadmap and budget that includes hardware refreshes is part of our managed services. One-off computer installations (e.g. due to unexpected failure or adding a staff member) can sometimes be done during a planned onsite visit. But we bill separately for:
- Hardware (e.g. workstations, servers, network equipment)
- Deployment labor for hardware and software upgrades that require significant planning, coordination, and onsite time
- Data migration from one device to another
Some MSPs mark up hardware prices by 20–40%. Others pass through at cost or with minimal mark up and charge for deployment labor. We prefer the latter, offering competitive pricing on Dell business workstations and servers and Meraki network equipment. So, when evaluating MSPs, ask how they handle hardware procurement, what their markup is (if any), and what deployment services are included.
Major infrastructure projects
Major projects could be:
- Cloud migrations, like moving from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365
- Network overhauls, like replacing aging equipment, setting up site-to-site connectivity, network segmentation
- OS migration, like consolidating from a mixed environment to Windows-only, or upgrading to the next major version (e.g., Windows 10 to Windows 11)
- Digital transformation initiatives that involve major business process changes enabled by technology
Onsite days (a.k.a. focus days)
We recommend monthly onsite days, which are eight-hour retainers used for documentation, maintenance, and support that can’t be handled by the help desk. You can choose to have these more or less often. Ian describes onsite days this way:
“Our goal is to use this time to make small improvements, upgrades, and replacements that would normally be outside of the scope of the monthly agreement. This makes for a more effective partnership where there’s some budget pre-approved for these improvements.”
Your IT liaison and assigned technician will work together to prioritize what work should be done during the support half of the day. This includes:
- Hands-on support
- Adding, changing, or removing hardware and software in a way that minimizes disruption
Not everything has to be a project
One great benefit of working with a full-service MSP that assigns you technical staff is that you can avoid project overhead for many changes. “Consistency of staff, both at the account management level and the technical level, means that you can operationalize change much better,” Ian says.
“You can roll out change over time without a more complex project management process.” Investing in a team that can make incremental changes pays dividends by reducing the need for outside contractors and added projects.
How to budget for projects
Year one: Expect higher project costs due to onboarding, stabilization, and catching up on deferred maintenance or improvements. Budget 30-50% of annual MSP fees for first-year projects.
Ongoing: Well-managed environments average 10-20% of annual MSP fees in project work (hardware refresh cycles, periodic infrastructure upgrades, new location buildouts).
Five-year planning: We work with you to develop a five-year tech roadmap and budget. This is always changing, since some changes might become more urgent, while you might need more time to budget for others. Good MSPs help you forecast major expenditures like:
- Workstation refresh cycles (every ~5 years)
- Server replacements or cloud migrations (every ~7 years)
- Network equipment upgrades (every ~7 years)
- Major compliance initiatives
- Business expansion or consolidation
Questions to ask about project costs
When evaluating MSPs, ask these questions.
- What does onboarding typically cost for an organization of our size?
- How long does stabilization usually take, and what does it include?
- What project work is covered by monthly fees vs. billed separately?
- Do you offer monthly retainers for dedicated project time?
- How will you help us plan for major capital expenditures?
- Can you show me a sample 5-year technology plan with projected costs?
What to expect when you contact us
For new clients, we start with a 45-minute business improvement review to get a high-level idea of how technology currently fits into your business operations and strategy. Then we schedule a technical discovery meeting to gather information about your technical needs, challenges, and environment. After that, we prepare a proposal. This process can be as fast as one to two weeks, and you have up to 30 days to accept our proposal.
Gathering information before you call can help you feel more prepared and help the process move along quickly. You can use questions on the page Our Process – Discovery as a guide.
Make an informed decision before spending
Now that you know what managed IT service pricing involves and why, there’s one other thing to have clearly in mind. Before you start looking at IT MSPs, know what your goals, strengths, and weaknesses are—in IT and your business as a whole. Our IT Maturity Self-Assessment can help you identify areas where you can improve. Try it for free today!
Here are some further resources to help you while you are searching for IT services and comparing costs:
- How much does IT support cost in 2025? This article compares the total cost of ownership between in-house and outsourced IT support
- Break/Fix versus managed services – What’s the difference?
- Should I outsource my IT department (with calculator)? This article compares the pros and cons of using in-house IT versus outsourcing your IT services.
- 7 steps to choosing a managed IT services provider
Not sure if you need managed IT services?
Take the IT Maturity Self-Assessment
In a few minutes, get actionable insights on your IT strategy, plus a free strategic consultation.
Frequently asked questions
Are there onboarding or setup fees?
For smaller organizations (under 20 users), onboarding costs are usually absorbed into monthly fees during the transition period. You’ll pay both your outgoing MSP and E-N Computers for one to two months while we prepare to take over responsibility.
For larger organizations, compressed timelines, or complex environments, we may quote a separate onboarding project fee. This depends on factors like device count, number of locations, mixed operating systems, compliance requirements, and the current state of documentation and systems.
During your initial consultation, we’ll assess your environment and provide clear pricing for any onboarding work beyond standard monthly fees.
How long does onboarding take?
Onboarding typically takes one month to get your environment under our management—deploying tools, completing discovery, setting up monitoring, and documenting systems.
Stabilization takes another month to one quarter depending on what needs to be addressed. If you’re switching MSPs because of security gaps, compliance issues, or system reliability problems, stabilization includes remediating those concerns. Simple environments with good existing practices stabilize faster than complex environments with deferred maintenance.
Can we leave at any time?
Yes. We don’t believe in forcing clients to stay through contract restrictions. Our agreements are typically structured with 30-to-60-day notice periods, giving both parties time to transition responsibly.
That said, we invest significantly in learning your environment, building documentation, and developing relationship context. We’d rather address service concerns than see clients leave, so we take dissatisfaction seriously and work to resolve issues before they reach that point.
Can we mix plan levels for different users?
Yes, when it makes sense. We consider user type to account for the fact that not all users generate equal help desk load or require the same level of service.
For example, in addition to your standard users, you may have contractors or email-only users that need minimal help. We can structure pricing to reflect these different support levels rather than forcing one-size-fits-all per-user rates.
What happens if we add or remove employees?
Monthly fees adjust with your headcount. When you add employees, we provision new accounts and equipment, and your monthly fee increases proportionally (typically starting the month after the addition).
When employees leave, we handle offboarding (account deactivation, data retention/transfer, equipment recovery), and your monthly fee decreases accordingly.
Do you charge for after-hours support?
Our managed IT plans include after-hours support for critical alerts and work stoppage at no extra charge. Planned after-hours work is billed separately.
Do you support both PC and Mac?
Yes, but supporting both platforms in a single environment costs more than standardizing on one platform. We’re a Microsoft partner and recommend standardizing on Windows when practical.
See Platform mix-and-match above for details on why mixed environments increase costs.
Is onsite support included?
Yes, we include onsite or focus days in our monthly plans. These are pre-paid eight-hour blocks of time. Half of the time is spent on documentation and maintenance, while the other half is spent on hands-on support and change management.
Generally, we recommend monthly visits. The frequency depends on your service level and organizational needs.
Emergency onsite support is evaluated case-by-case. Many issues can be resolved remotely, but we’ll dispatch onsite when necessary.
What if we have more than one device per user?
Our pricing assumes one workstation per user. If there are more devices than users, we adjust pricing accordingly. See “Unusual device-to-user ratios” above for how we handle these situations.
How do I reach your team when I need help?
You can submit support requests through:
- Email to our help desk
- Phone support line (during business hours, with after-hours emergency line)
- Client portal ticketing system
- Online support request wizard
You are assigned an administrative account manager, technical account manager, and onsite technician. If there are specific support requests that need extra attention, your IT liaison can contact the admin account manager. Your onsite tech will work with your liaison to prioritize tasks for onsite days.
My business is not located near your headquarters—is this an issue when I need help?
No. Most managed IT work is performed remotely regardless of physical location. We monitor your systems, apply patches, troubleshoot issues, and provide help desk support from our offices regardless of where your business is located.
For onsite work (equipment deployment, infrastructure projects, site assessments), we service clients throughout Virginia and Washington, D.C. The frequency and necessity of onsite visits depends more on your environment complexity than geographic proximity.
What matters more than location is having reliable internet connectivity and proper remote access tools deployed, which we take care of during onboarding.
We need compliance, but only a few members of our team will handle sensitive information—does that cost extra?
Not necessarily, but it requires careful scoping. Compliance frameworks like HIPAA or CMMC apply based on which systems and users touch regulated data.
Some clients discover their compliance scope is larger than expected once we assess how data actually flows through their systems. See “Compliance” under “What will increase my IT costs?” for examples of how scope expands.
We are planning to make upgrades soon and want to be proactive about planning for future technology expenses—how is this calculated?
We develop a 5-year technology roadmap during onboarding (included in standard service) that projects major expenditures:
- Workstation refresh cycles (every 4-5 years)
- Server replacements or cloud migration timing
- Network equipment lifecycle (every 5-8 years)
- Software licensing changes or consolidation opportunities
- Compliance initiatives and associated costs
- Planned capacity increases (new locations, headcount growth)
This roadmap lets you know when major capital expenses will occur so you can budget appropriately and time expenditures strategically (aligning with fiscal years, business cycles, or planned initiatives).
We update the roadmap during quarterly business reviews, adjusting for changes in your business, technology landscape shifts, or revised priorities.
For immediate upgrades you’re planning, we’ll scope those as projects during initial conversations, so costs are clear before you commit to service.
Do you work with our existing cybersecurity tools?
If your tools are provided by your current MSP, they probably cannot be migrated to us, and we will have to move you to new tools during onboarding. Our philosophy is that you shouldn’t be tied to third-party tools we provide. Instead, we encourage clients to take advantage of Microsoft 365 Business Premium licensing (or greater), which provides integrated security tools.
Many organizations discover they’re paying for redundant tools or using expensive third-party solutions when Microsoft’s included security features would meet their needs at lower cost. We provide honest assessments of your tooling and recommend changes when they make sense.
What about ‘light support’ users?
Light support users (those who don’t have dedicated workstations and only access email via mobile devices or shared computers) can be priced differently than standard users.
However, this depends on what “light support” actually means in practice:
- Do they access company files or shared drives?
- Do they use mobile devices that need management?
- Do they access any regulated data (triggering compliance requirements)?
- Do they generate help desk tickets?
True email-only users with minimal support needs and no compliance scope justify reduced pricing. Users who say they’re “light support” but actually access multiple systems from unmanaged personal devices create security and compliance risks that may cost more to manage properly than standard users. We’ll assess your specific situation and provide appropriate pricing based on actual usage patterns and risk profile.
