The Cost of It Support For A Small Business in the UK

The cost of IT services for small businesses can vary across the UK, and every IT company has its own pricing policy.

However, your budget should be around £150 per user per month for a good Managed IT Service plan.

This cost is a generalisation, and business IT support costs can vary depending on the type of services your business needs and the size of your business.

Let me explain some factors which influence the costs of your business IT needs.

If you’re researching small business, IT support costs, and you probably have also considered the estimated cost of hiring an in-house IT person.

It is not simple to hire an IT employee for a small business, keeping in mind the cost of an IT person may be in the £30,000 to £60,000 range per annum, depending on the skill levels required and the experience.

Then there is the scenario of what if that one person is unavailable…You might be sitting in your office right now wondering what to do about that IT issue when boom, the one person you were counting on is out for a day or a week. The truth of the matter? You just need more than one technician and it’s not going to cost an arm and leg.

Most small companies either do not have the budget, or just can’t afford to hire even an IT employee.

For this, several small businesses move to the IT company market to try and find a reliable and affordable IT agency.

What Is The Cost Of IT Support For A Small Business In The UK?

The average hourly rate for IT services in the UK can vary, but it is common to expect to pay anywhere between £50 to £150 per hour.

On average, a part-time technician can charge anywhere between £60-£70 per hour, but a professional and experienced IT company will likely charge more in the range of £80-£150.

The average cost of IT support services can vary from region to region, but overall, these numbers will work when looking at computer repair and break & fix services

How Much Should You Pay For Ad-Hoc IT Support Services?

You’ll pay for IT support around £70-£100 for an hour for “Break & Fix” services and about £150 per user for fully Managed IT Services.

These two main price models are widely used by IT support companies. One model is known as “Break & Fix“, and the other is called “Managed IT Services“.

Managed IT Services are cost-effective and are commonly preferred by small businesses since they might save money.

There is a big difference between Break & Fix and managed IT Services:

Break & Fix is when you need an IT support company for having issues. Although a Break & Fix seems like a cost-saving model, it has its drawbacks too.

Firstly, you can stop spending way more than you expect using the Break & Fix approach. However, you’ll not be able to predict or calculate your IT costs or budget, and you’ll not have any ongoing protection and monitoring for your systems.

Let’s suppose you own a Dental Practice business with 15 employees. You need to call an IT company a few times a week to fix ongoing small computer issues and maybe one big problem weekly.

Let’s suppose again that you consumed 20 hours of support and Break & Fix services for the week. Using the average rate of £75 per hour, you need to expect to pay a total bill of £1500 for just one week.

Average Price List For Small Business IT Support In The UK

You might be wondering how to calculate IT support costs. However, there is no easy and quick IT support costs calculator.

The given price list includes average costs based on hourly and monthly IT support costs from experienced and certified suppliers.

1- Ad-Hoc IT support costs – £75/hour (Approx. + call out)

Ad hoc business IT support is the most common model. It can be delivered via on-site visits (most often, it’ll be delivered by an IT engineer coming to your business), or sometimes it can be remote support.

Costs

Ad Hoc support costs typically start at around £60 per hour but cost around £75 per hour is an average. If calling the service provider out for on-site work, there may also be “call-out” charges to cover the travel expenses.

Pros

There are no ongoing costs of this particular IT support service, and you will only pay for them carrying out the fix.

Cons

The disadvantages – however, are extensive! The ad-hoc support services lack preventative maintenance, no real strategic alignment with your business needs, no monitoring, and higher effective billable rate, just to name but a few. The statistics also say it is also in the interest of the suppliers for things to go wrong and take a long time to fix.

This one is our least favourite model! Our advice for small businesses is to look at a managed IT support agreement – it’s a far better value for money service!

2- Pre-paid IT support costs – £80/hour (Approx. bundled, purchased in advance)

Like ad-hoc IT support, pre-paid IT support is a “reactive” service. The most common and sold-out service is probably pre-paid IT support, and this model is a great deal that several IT companies are offering to their customers.

Costs

The average cost for this model of IT support is £60 per hour, with 20 hours purchased in advance (it’s an average). The hours are pre-purchased to allow the cheap IT support supplier to discount the hourly rate.

Pros

It’s great for many IT support suppliers because they are not at risk of doing more work than they’re paid for.

Cons

Pre-paid IT support is like ad-hoc support with almost all the same risks attached and not great for customers… You’ll not receive regular maintenance, no monitoring of systems and no consultation to ensure strategic IT alignment with your small business.

3- Fixed-rate IT support contract – £20 per computer, per month (Approx.)

Instead of hourly services, most cyber security and maintenance companies now offer some kind of fixed-rate support service.

Costs

Fixed-rate IT support is generally charged on a per-computer basis, on average £20 per computer.

Managed IT support contracts cover the “reactive” phone and other remote support, sometimes onsite support, monitoring of your computers & servers, should someone visit your business and fix something.

Pros

Fixed-rate IT support covers reactive support, which means you won’t be forking out for any hidden charges if a problem arises.

Moreover, you’ll also benefit from a fixed monthly fee, meaning planning around your IT budget will be simpler.

Cons

Be alert, as some business IT support suppliers might brand this service as “Managed IT Support” when it is not much more than reactive service. You might be in the same situation as buying bundles of hours.

With little or no real active tasks, maintenance, or monitoring going on in the background, you still face the risk of poor security, higher downtime, and IT service that’s almost completely reactive.

4. Fully Managed IT Support – £25 per user, per month (Approx.)

Secure, well-managed and high availability IT takes a long time to manage. Strategic awareness and thoughtful consideration towards your business needs must be known for this to be delivered.

The perfect and true managed IT service provider will have several delivery areas dedicated to the multiple aspects that contribute to a well-managed IT system.

Costs

A fully managed IT support model is generally charged per user and monthly.

The average cost per user for a fully managed IT support is £25 in today’s market with no extra fee whatsoever.

The cost should also include onsite visits because they claim to deliver the service at a fixed and known rate – no matter the way to fix.

Pros

• 24/7 Monitoring of your entire IT estate: Your IT support supplier should constantly check for software issues, hardware faults, anti-virus status, and backup monitoring. They should also be able to check your backups and making a test restoration regularly.
• Regular auditing, administration, and technical visits: You shouldn’t ever call your IT service suppliers when something is wrong! To stay on top of your IT infrastructure and your estate issues, maintenance tasks must be carried out, records need to be kept, and regular & important cyber security audits must be conducted.
• Strategic guidance: You should have regular meets up with your supplier; the purpose of these meetings should be to keep your supplier up-to-date with your business developments and provide strategic guidance.

Cons

There is no disadvantage! However, our only tip is to be wary of the supplier you choose, as some are not well protected themselves and therefore effectively cause cyber security threats.

Contact GRIT Consultancy

Whether you decide to use fully managed IT services, an in-house team, ad-hoc IT support, or outsourced services, your decision will be based on how IT affects your core ability and bottom line too.

Small business IT support services are very affordable today, and you’ll be able to have a perfect plan that fits your business IT needs and budget.

If you find this information helpful and looking to know more about IT services for your business, we have more for you. Learn more about it on our IT Support website. If you are looking for the best IT services for small businesses in the UK, contact us today.