IT managed services proposal
IT managed services proposal with per user pricing
An IT managed services proposal prices support by the user or device, so the client can see what each extra staff member costs and what happens when they leave. This example from a Western Sydney provider to an accounting practice prices onboarding and the first month at $4,416 plus GST, with the staff count set by the client and a written exit clause.
The proposal, page by page
Every page as the client sees it and as it prints, pricing table included.
The pricing, line by line
- Onboarding and documentation
- 1 × $2,400.00
- Managed support, per user per month
- 18 × $95.00
- Email and file backup, per user per month
- 18 × $6.00
- Endpoint security, per device per month
- 22 × $9.00
- Phishing training (optional)
- 18 × $4.00
- Tax
- $441.60
- Total
- $4,857.60
Section by section
- Cover
- The title, the client, 18 users and 22 devices, and a 1 December 2026 start.
- About us
- Two sentences on the provider and its one engineer per client model.
- Understanding your needs
- An on call contractor, no documentation, no email backup, and the record keeping a tax practice carries.
- Our approach
- Onboard and document, protect, support.
- Deliverables and timeline
- Documentation, seven year backups, encryption, a 30 minute help desk and quarterly reviews, then four December to March milestones.
- Investment
- Onboarding plus the first month: support and backup per user, security per device, and optional phishing training.
- Terms
- Monthly invoicing, staff changes, a six month initial term, response times, data on exit and validity.
- Next steps and acceptance
- E-sign with an email code, the first invoice, and the onboarding visit.
How per user pricing reads in a proposal
Managed services are bought per head because that is how the cost grows: each new staff member is another mailbox, another laptop and more help desk calls. A proposal that prices the service as one monthly lump hides that, and the first new hire turns into an argument. This one prices support at $95 per user and backup at $6 per user, both with 18 as the quantity, and security at $9 for each of 22 devices because some staff have two. In the online proposal the client can change the user count between 15 and 30 and watch the total move. The pricing table therefore shows exactly what one month costs at today's headcount, plus the one off onboarding, which is the first invoice the practice will receive.
What the first invoice and later months cost
At 18 users the first invoice is $4,416 before GST, $4,857.60 with it: $2,400 onboarding, $1,710 support, $108 backup and $198 security. Phishing training at $4 a user is optional and adds $72 a month. There is no deposit; on acceptance one invoice is issued for the table, due in 14 days, which is how the product handles a proposal without one. Every later month is $2,016 before GST at the same headcount, and clause 1 says those are invoiced at the start of each month. The proposal is honest that the monthly invoices are separate, because there is no recurring invoice in the product: the provider issues each month's invoice itself.
How to adapt this proposal
Price by whatever drives your cost: users, devices, sites or mailboxes. Set an editable quantity with a sensible minimum, so a client cannot pick a headcount that makes the service unprofitable. Write response times you actually meet, and separate business hours from urgent outages. Tie the protection to the client's own obligations: record keeping for a tax practice, patient privacy for a clinic, client trust money for a law firm. If you follow a recognised security baseline such as the Essential Eight, say which controls are included and which are not. Keep the exit clause. It costs you nothing if the service is good, and it is often the clause that wins the client from an incumbent.
What makes this proposal work
Headcount is a setting, not a renegotiation
Support and backup are priced per user with 18 as the quantity, editable from 15 to 30 in the online proposal. The client sees the cost of the next hire before signing, and clause 2 moves the invoice up or down as staff change.
It speaks to the client's obligations
Backups are kept for seven years and the needs section names client financial records, the thing an accounting practice is judged on. The proposal sells protection in the practice's own terms, not as generic IT.
Leaving is planned
Clause 5 promises every password, backup and document within five business days of exit, and the service runs month to month after six months. The firm stops depending on one contractor's memory, which was the problem it came with.
Questions people ask
What should an IT managed services proposal include?
The client's current setup and risks, what onboarding involves, what is supported, backed up and secured, response times, the price per user or device, how staff changes affect the bill, the term and notice period, who owns the data and passwords, and how to accept. This example fits that into four pages after a cover.
How do managed IT services charge?
Usually per user or per device per month, plus a one off onboarding fee. This example charges $95 per user for support, $6 per user for backup and $9 per device for security, with $2,400 for onboarding. At 18 users and 22 devices that is $2,016 a month before GST after the first month.
Can the client change the number of users before signing?
Yes. The support and backup lines have an editable quantity, limited here to 15 to 30 users. In the online proposal the client sets the number of staff and the total updates at once. After signing, clause 2 says users added or removed are reflected on the next monthly invoice.
What contract term is normal for managed IT services?
Terms range from month to month to three years. This proposal asks for an initial six months, long enough to recover the onboarding work, then runs month to month with 30 days notice either way. A short term with a clear exit is easier for a small firm to accept than a long lock in.
What happens to our passwords and data if we leave?
They should come back to you. Clause 5 of this proposal says all data and documentation belong to the client and that every password, backup and document is handed over within five business days of the service ending. Ask for that in writing from any provider before signing.
Why is there no deposit on this proposal?
Because the first invoice is small and covers work the provider starts straight away. With no deposit set, accepting the proposal issues a single invoice for onboarding and the first month, due in 14 days, and the client can pay it by card through the pay link or by bank transfer.
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