When searching for an IT service and support company, you’ll discover there are basically two different methods of pricing used by all major managed services companies, flat-rate pricing (you pay a fixed rate, regardless of the time and materials costs the service provider accrues helping you) or time and materials pricing (you are charged an hourly rate for the technician’s time, plus the cost of all materials included in each service and support incident).

Flat-rate pricing offers many advantages to the client over time and materials pricing:

Easier to budget-You have an upfront price before any of the work begins. You’ll never be charged more.

Things get done right the first time-With flat-rate pricing, it is in the IT services company’s best interest to fix your problem right the first time, with a permanent solution. Otherwise, a long project which is extended because of errors on their part, will eat into their profit margins.

The stated price will not change- Regardless of how much extra work your IT services provider must put into the project, you pay the one-time fee.

No surprises-As the client, you can decide immediately if you think this price is fair and if you want the work done at this price, rather than waiting until you get your bill to see the overall price.

Flat-rate pricing tends to build long-term relationships between trusted IT service advisors and the companies they provide with solutions. Great care is made to satisfy flat-rate customers quickly, which keeps them coming back. Many times, an IT company, billing with time and materials, will put a band-aid on your repair issues, so you must keep bringing them back to fix long-term problems; they would have fixed right away if they were using a flat-rate structure. Eventually, many companies get frustrated that their problems aren’t getting fixed promptly and efficiently and switch to a provider with flat-rate plans.

Time and materials pricing offers no upfront price guarantees. Price quotes may even change, after the work has begun. Plus, the IT company is actually financially rewarded for sluggish technicians, temporary solutions to permanent problems, and overpriced materials.

If you’re a small to medium size business with a limited IT staff and budget, flat-rate IT services are the solution for you. You can easily budget the expenditure. There are no surprises and you’ll be getting superior, efficient service each time a technician comes to your business.

Jason Dick,

Northwest Computer Support