There are a few different ways IT companies price managed support. Some charge per user. Some charge per device. Some use a mixture of both.
At ZOOC, we price our managed IT support per machine because over time, we’ve found that it’s the clearest and fairest way to do it.
A user is not always a neat measure of IT workload. One person might use a desktop, laptop, phone and tablet. Another might only log into email now and again. Several staff might share one reception PC, workshop machine, till, office computer or warehouse workstation.
Per-user pricing can look simple at first, but it does not always reflect how your business uses technology.
The work usually sits with the machine
It may need monitoring, updates, antivirus, security checks, troubleshooting, Microsoft 365 setup, printer access, backup checks, and general maintenance.
If that machine goes wrong, it affects the person using it, but the thing that needs fixing, securing or managing is the machine itself.
Better for shared devices
Per-user pricing can become awkward for businesses with shared equipment.
Think about reception desks, workshops, warehouses, treatment rooms, hotel offices, estate agency front desks, cafés, shops, or back-office machines used by different people throughout the day.
Per-user pricing can charge you for every person who might use a machine, even when the support requirement sits with just one computer.
Whereas, per-machine pricing keeps things grounded and easy to predict. If there are ten machines that need support, we price for ten machines.
Better for mixed roles
Not every person in a business needs the same level of IT support.
Some staff are on a computer all day. Some only check emails occasionally. Some work from home. Some are seasonal, part-time, or shift-based.
Per-user pricing can push smaller or more diverse teams into a model that does not reflect a modern, varied way of working.
Whereas per-machine pricing provides a clearer link between what you use and what you pay for.
Fewer surprises
Managed IT support works best when the costs feel predictable. You should be able to look at your monthly bill and see exactly what it covers. Per-Machine pricing makes this a lot easier:
Add a new laptop? We adjust your support cost to match.
Retire an old desktop? We adjust it again.
There is a justifiable relationship between your IT estate and your monthly bill.
Our approach
We prefer pricing that is easy to explain and easy to understand. For many of our clients, the machine gives us the clearest unit of support. It keeps the agreement tied to the real equipment we monitor, maintain and fix.
Doing things this way means the price follows the actual support requirement, not just the number of names on a staff list.
You should know what we cover, how we work out your monthly cost, and what changes if your setup grows or shrinks. Per-machine pricing helps us keep things fair, transparent and properly linked to the technology your business uses every day.
If you’d like to see what this could look like for your business, our IT Support pricing page is a good place to start.
