Not every business needs a fully managed IT agreement. We offer three ways to work together and we'll tell you which one actually makes sense for your situation — even if it's the least expensive option.
Break-fix is exactly what it sounds like — something breaks, you call us, we fix it, you pay for the time. No monthly fees, no ongoing commitment. You have our number and you use it when you need it.
We bill in 30-minute increments at a flat hourly rate. No minimum hours, no padding. A 15-minute remote fix is billed as 30 minutes. A 45-minute on-site visit is billed as an hour. You always know what you're getting before we start.
Break-fix works well for businesses that are genuinely low-complexity — small team, stable environment, occasional issues. It doesn't work well when downtime has a real cost, when you have sensitive data that needs proactive protection, or when you're growing fast enough that things are always changing.
The honest limitation: with break-fix, we're reactive. We show up after something goes wrong. We're not watching your systems, we don't know about the warning signs before they become failures, and we're not maintaining your security posture. For some businesses that's fine. For others it's a gap worth closing.
Hybrid is the model most IT vendors don't offer — and the one that's often the right fit for businesses that aren't quite ready for a full managed agreement but know they need more than pure break-fix.
Here's how it works: we set up and manage the non-negotiable foundation — Datto backup, Huntress endpoint security, and Syncro RMM monitoring — on a low monthly per-device rate. That covers the things that need to be running and watched all the time regardless of whether anything is broken.
Everything else — helpdesk calls, troubleshooting, projects, new user setup — is billed hourly on the same break-fix rate. You're not paying a flat fee for support you might not use. You're paying for the protection layer monthly and for actual hands-on time as needed.
This is a common starting point for new clients who want to get their security and backup right before committing to a full managed agreement. Many stay here — it works. Others graduate to fully managed as their environment grows or their needs change.
Fully managed means exactly that — we manage your IT environment end to end for a flat monthly fee per workstation. Proactive monitoring, helpdesk support, security, backup, patch management, and a named engineer who knows your setup. One invoice, predictable cost, no surprises.
This is the right model when IT downtime has a real dollar cost — when you're a CPA firm in February, a business management office with active client deliverables, or any firm where staff sitting idle waiting for IT to get fixed translates directly to lost revenue or client impact.
The managed model also changes the incentive structure. With break-fix, your IT vendor makes more money when things break. With managed, we make more money when nothing breaks — because we're spending less time on reactive work. Our incentive is proactive. That's by design.
Managed clients get priority response, quarterly environment reviews, and a documented IT asset inventory. We know your setup before you call — not after.
| Break-Fix | Hybrid | Fully Managed | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | None | Low — security & backup only | Flat per workstation |
| Helpdesk support | Hourly | Hourly | Included |
| Proactive monitoring | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Patch management | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Datto backup | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Huntress EDR/ITDR | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Priority response | ✗ | Standard | ✓ First in queue |
| Predictable monthly cost | ✗ — variable | Mostly — base is fixed | ✓ — fully predictable |
| Cyber insurance compliance | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ + documentation |
| Environment documentation | ✗ | Basic | ✓ Full asset inventory |
These aren't hard rules — every business is different. But here's the honest pattern we see.
Nobody has to commit to a full managed agreement on day one. Most client relationships follow a natural progression.
All hourly work — break-fix and hybrid — is billed in 30-minute increments. A 10-minute call is 30 minutes. A 40-minute session is one hour. You always know the minimum before we start.
Any significant project — new server, office buildout, migration — gets a written quote before we start. No surprises at invoice time. If scope changes, we tell you before we keep going.
We don't mark up hardware. We pass Dell and other vendor pricing through at cost and you see the invoice. Our margin is on labor, not on the equipment we help you buy.
Managed and hybrid clients get one clean monthly invoice. Tools, monitoring, and any included services in one line. Hourly work from that month itemized separately.
Tell us about your business in a free 20-minute call. We'll give you a straight answer — even if it's "break-fix is fine for now."
Schedule a Free 20-Minute Call →