How much does IT support cost for a UK small business?

If you've ever asked an IT company "how much?", you'll know the answer is usually "it depends". That's frustrating, but it's also true — two businesses with the same number of staff can need very different levels of support and security. What you can do is understand how pricing works, so you can compare quotes properly and avoid surprises later.

The four main ways IT support is priced

1. Per user, per month. The most common model for managed IT today. You pay a fixed monthly amount for each member of staff, covering them across all their devices. It's simple to budget for and scales as you hire.
2. Per device, per month. A fee for each PC, laptop or server. It can work for businesses with shared machines, but gets complicated when everyone has a laptop, a phone and a tablet.
3. Block hours. You buy a bank of support time up front and draw it down. Useful for occasional help, but it can run out at the worst possible moment.
4. Break-fix (pay as you go). You pay an hourly rate when something goes wrong. It looks cheapest on paper, but costs are unpredictable — and nobody is being paid to stop problems from happening in the first place.

Most growing businesses settle on per-user pricing because it turns IT into a predictable monthly cost and makes the provider responsible for keeping things running, not just fixing them.

What affects the price

• Number of users and sites. More people and more locations mean more to manage.
• Level of security. Baseline protection costs less than advanced threat detection or 24/7 security monitoring.
• Compliance needs. Regulated sectors such as legal, finance and healthcare — or contracts that require Cyber Essentials — need more controls and more evidence.
• Servers and on-site equipment. Physical servers, firewalls and networks add work compared with a fully cloud-based setup.
• Contract length and response times. Longer terms usually bring lower monthly prices; faster guaranteed response times usually cost more.

A worked example: our own pricing

We publish indicative pricing so you can see where you'd likely land before you speak to us.

So a 20-person accountancy practice on our Complete package would start from 20 × £75 = £1,500 per month (excluding VAT), with Microsoft licensing shown as its own line item. Our prices are indicative, based on a 12-month term and a minimum of 10 users, and we confirm a fixed figure after a free scoping assessment.

Hidden costs to ask about

Two quotes with the same headline price can be very different once you look at what's excluded. Before you sign, ask:

• Is security included? Endpoint protection, email security and multi-factor authentication should be part of the service, not paid extras.
• Is backup included — and does it cover Microsoft 365? Many businesses assume their email and files are backed up by Microsoft. Independent backup is a separate thing.
• Are there set-up or onboarding fees?
• Are on-site visits included or charged separately?
• What counts as a "project"? Office moves, new systems and large rollouts are often billed outside the monthly fee — know where the line is.
• How is Microsoft licensing shown? Bundled licensing makes it hard to see what you're paying for. Itemised is better.
• What about out-of-hours support?
• What are the notice period and exit terms?

Is cheaper IT support a false economy?

Sometimes. The cheapest quote often leaves out security or backup, or only reacts when something breaks. The real cost of IT isn't just the invoice — it's the time your team loses when systems are down. An hour of downtime for a 20-person team is 20 hours of lost work, before you count the cost of a security incident or lost data.

A good provider should be able to explain exactly what you're getting for the money, show you evidence each month that it's working, and be clear about anything that isn't included.

Questions to ask any IT provider

• What exactly is included in the monthly price — and what isn't?
• How quickly do you respond, and how do I contact you?
• What security is included as standard?
• How are backups monitored and tested?
• What reporting will I get each month?
• Can you help us achieve Cyber Essentials?
• How long is the contract, and what happens if we leave?