Service decisions / Pricing and scope
Know what changes the managed IT bill.
A monthly figure is only useful when you can explain what it buys and what makes it change. Put each proposal against the same inventory, support needs and change scenario. Then separate the recurring service, additional consumption, approved work and transition costs before comparing totals.
Read the charging basis
The unit price and the included service answer different questions.
Managed IT pricing describes both how a supplier calculates charges and which responsibilities those charges cover. A per-user or per-device amount needs a definition of the counted population. A recurring service fee needs a scope boundary. Any usage, additional work and transition charges need their own measurement and approval rules. Compare these details over the same period.
- Billable population
- Reconcile the quoted count with an agreed inventory. Ask how shared devices, contractors, dormant accounts and multiple devices assigned to one person are treated. The contract defines the unit; the headcount alone may not.
- Included obligation
- Name the supported systems, tasks, coverage window and service targets. Monitoring, responding to an alert and restoring service are separate activities. Establish which ones the recurring fee buys.
- Change rule
- Identify when a new user, location, application or request changes the bill. Ask for the effective date, any minimum commitment and the approval needed before additional work starts.
Four charging structures
Ask for the evidence behind each invoice line.
Published supplier listings provide examples of user and device pricing. Fixed-scope fees and time-based work are further arrangements to distinguish in a proposal. These structures can coexist; none establishes the service quality or total cost by itself.
Per user
01Charging basis: A stated rate multiplied by the agreed billable user count, subject to the proposal's terms.
- Useful comparison
- Checking the cost of supporting a defined group of people.
- Count or scope
- Named population, device allowance, account categories and count date.
- Invoice evidence
- Reconcile additions and removals with the period charged.
- Approval owner
- The client confirms eligibility and authorizes changes.
- Request
- A sample invoice and a definition covering shared, inactive and contractor accounts.
- Ambiguity
- A user charge is mistaken for coverage of every device, application and request.
- Change question
- When does a joiner start billing, and when does a leaver stop?
Per device or managed asset
02Charging basis: Charges follow defined asset categories and their managed status.
- Useful comparison
- Checking the service attached to an endpoint or infrastructure inventory.
- Count or scope
- Device types, asset identifiers, ownership and supported condition.
- Invoice evidence
- Match billed assets to the accepted inventory and any different category rates.
- Approval owner
- The asset owner confirms enrollment and retirement.
- Request
- Treatment of spares, shared terminals, replacements and overlapping enrollment.
- Ambiguity
- Device support is assumed to include user support, on-site visits or unrelated systems.
- Change question
- Does a replacement overlap with the old device's charge, and for how long?
Recurring fee for defined scope
03Charging basis: A periodic fee covers named obligations within documented assumptions and limits.
- Useful comparison
- Comparing responsibility for a specified service rather than a simple headcount.
- Count or scope
- Supported estate, coverage, tasks, volume assumptions and exclusions.
- Invoice evidence
- Check the agreed service was delivered and identify approved scope changes separately.
- Approval owner
- The service owner accepts scope and the commercial owner approves changes.
- Request
- The service schedule, reporting obligations and what triggers a revised fee.
- Ambiguity
- A fixed fee is read as an unlimited commitment despite uncertain scope.
- Change question
- Which change requires a new agreement rather than routine fulfillment?
Time-based work or a reserved allowance
04Charging basis: Approved work is charged by recorded time or drawn against a stated allowance.
- Useful comparison
- Separating variable tasks, specialist work or projects from recurring operation.
- Count or scope
- Role rates, charging increments, permitted tasks and any allowance terms.
- Invoice evidence
- Reconcile approved requests, time records and remaining allowance.
- Approval owner
- An authorized requester approves work and any overrun.
- Request
- Overage rates, expiry or rollover terms, and escalation before the allowance is exhausted.
- Ambiguity
- Reserved time is treated as a promise to complete an undefined backlog.
- Change question
- What happens when the request exceeds the allowance or requires another specialist?
Six comparison lines
Give every cost a place in the comparison.
Use the same planning period and workload for both proposals. Mark unresolved items as unknown and request clarification. Do not enter zero because a charge is absent from the headline quote, and do not add a cost again if it is already included.
| Cost area | Basis to align | Inclusion question | Change authority | Evidence to retain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recurring operation | Same users, assets and service period | Which tasks and supported systems? | Service and inventory owners | Scope and count reconciliation |
| Coverage and response | Same hours, priorities and locations | Monitoring, investigation or restoration? | Service owner | Service targets and exceptions |
| Licenses and consumption | Same products, quantities and usage | Bundled, passed through or separate? | License and budget owners | Entitlements and consumption basis |
| Additional work | Same example requests and projects | Routine fulfillment or separately charged? | Authorized requester | Approval, rate and time record |
| Starting the service | Same initial estate and readiness | Discovery, remediation and migration? | Transition owner | Acceptance and charging start date |
| Renewal and exit | Same horizon and leaving scenario | Notice, transfer work and commitments? | Commercial and service owners | Term, adjustment and handover conditions |
Test a real change
Follow a new location through the next invoice.
Illustrative scenario: a business adds a small location with new employees, shared equipment and an existing application. The exercise below tests how a proposal behaves. It does not assume any supplier includes these tasks or any particular rate.
- 01
Set the baseline
Record current billable users and assets, included services and the comparison period. Separate recurring charges from starting costs and commitments that continue beyond the period.
- 02
Describe the change once
Give each supplier the same employee, device, location and application requirements. State the desired coverage and which internal team will prepare access and equipment.
- 03
Classify the resulting work
Ask which tasks are included, which require a project or time charge, and which licenses or consumption will change. Identify unknown readiness work before accepting a total.
- 04
Apply dates and approvals
Confirm when new units become billable, whether partial periods apply and who authorizes additional work. Check minimum quantities, notice and any continuing license commitments.
- 05
Reconcile a sample invoice
Request the expected next-period invoice with assumptions attached. Match every difference to a count, service, consumption or approved task. Resolve gaps before using the figure in the comparison.
Keep the comparison usable
Maintain the assumptions after the quote is accepted.
The comparison becomes less useful when inventories, scope and invoices drift apart. Assign someone to keep the agreed basis current.
- One reconciled inventory
- Keep a dated record of billable users and assets with additions, removals and disputed entries. Agree how discrepancies are resolved and when corrections affect billing.
- Explicit exception approval
- Define who can approve additional work, what evidence they receive and when an overrun must be escalated. An urgent request still needs an agreed commercial handling rule.
- Separate pass-through costs
- Make license, cloud and third-party charges identifiable, including any stated administration charge. Align currency, tax treatment and adjustment assumptions when comparing proposals.
- A planned renewal and handover
- Review notice dates, fee adjustments and remaining commitments before renewal. Specify the access, records, configuration and assistance needed for a receiving team to take over.
Questions before comparing totals
A useful quote can explain its own boundaries.
Use these questions to identify missing terms before treating two figures as equivalent.
- How much should managed IT services cost?
- This guide does not supply a market average or a Werkon rate. A useful quote requires the billable population, supported estate, coverage, responsibilities and starting condition. Ask suppliers to price the same scope and scenario, including additional work and transition, so the difference can be explained.
- Is per-user pricing better than per-device pricing?
- Neither unit is inherently better. One person may use several devices, and a shared device may serve several people. Compare the actual inventory and included support, then test how additions, replacements and removals change the invoice. A lower unit rate across a different population is not a comparable total.
- Does unlimited support include projects and on-site work?
- The phrase alone does not establish that. Request the supported systems, request types, coverage hours and exclusions in writing. Ask specifically about new locations, migrations, on-site visits and specialist incident work. Have the supplier classify a representative request before you assume it is covered.
- Are security, backups and licenses included?
- Check each item separately. NCSC guidance warns that some security features can attract additional charges. Establish both the task and the charge: for example, storing backups, checking them and testing restoration are different obligations. Confirm license entitlements and usage charges rather than inferring them from a service label.
- What should we request before accepting a proposal?
- Ask for the service scope, billing definitions, sample invoice, additional-work rules, transition plan and renewal or exit conditions. Include the same change scenario in each comparison. A named owner should resolve unknown charges and responsibilities before the proposal is used as an approved cost baseline.
Source basis
Guidance and supplier examples behind the pricing distinctions.
- 01
National Cyber Security Centre
Choosing a managed service providerNovember 2025 guidance. Supports checking additional security charges, service targets, responsibilities and contract duration. Its illustrative response times are not adopted as Werkon commitments.
- 02
GOV.UK Cabinet Office
The Sourcing PlaybookWhole-life cost and payment-mechanism sections inform scope and risk reasoning. Government procurement requirements and older legal-reform wording are not used as private-sector legal guidance.
- 03
Complus IT / Digital Marketplace
Managed IT Services: user-based exampleSupplier-authored G-Cloud 14 listing reviewed September 2026. Demonstrates a per-user structure with stated support conditions. Not an endorsement, market benchmark or Werkon offer; published rates are not reproduced.
- 04
Access UK / Digital Marketplace
Access Managed Endpoints: device-based exampleSupplier-authored G-Cloud 14 listing reviewed September 2026. Demonstrates device charging and a distinction between included remote support and separately charged on-site support. No supplier outcomes or rates are adopted.
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