The first question in every conversation with a new client is how much it costs. The answer depends on what the service includes. The same monthly amount can buy two completely different services. Here we explain how the price is built and how to check whether the quote you received makes sense.
What you're actually buying with managed IT services
A managed service includes a technician who comes when something breaks, plus monitoring of workstations and servers, security updates, user and subscription management, tested backups and one point of contact responsible for everything.
- Employee support. Phone, WhatsApp and remote control of the workstation. Every call is logged and handled through to resolution.
- Proactive monitoring. A disk filling up, a failed backup or a server running hot gets caught before your staff ever notices.
- Information security. Protection for workstations and servers, permissions management and checks that the protections are working.
- Vendor management. With the internet provider, the POS, the time clock or your business software vendor, we make the calls for you.
Compare proposals against this list, item by item.
It's also worth asking what's not included. Setting up a new office, moving to the cloud, replacing a firewall or rolling out a new system are projects priced separately from ongoing support. A well-run provider says so up front. With us, that line is written into the contract.
Three pricing models, and which fits whom
In Israel you will see three models: per user, a fixed monthly retainer or pay per call. The choice depends on the size of your business and how much risk you are willing to take on.
| Pricing model | Typical range in ₪ | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Per user, monthly | 120 to 300 per employee | Businesses with 10 to 100 employees and cloud infrastructure |
| Fixed monthly retainer | 2,500 to 12,000 per month | Offices with an on-premises server or regulatory requirements |
| Per call or a bank of hours | 250 to 450 per hour of work | Up to 5 employees, no server, no SLA |
These ranges are typical for the market and shown before VAT. Your price is set by what you actually have.
The practical difference between paying per user and a retainer is who carries the risk. With per-user pricing, the price goes up with every employee who joins. With a retainer the price is fixed, and the provider earns more when there are fewer problems. For businesses with an on-site server we almost always recommend a retainer.
What moves the price up or down
Four things make most of the difference between a cheap quote and an expensive one. Know them before you compare numbers.
- Number of employees. Every employee adds a workstation, a user and a phone to manage. The price per employee goes down as the business grows.
- Servers and on-premises infrastructure. A network cabinet, virtualization and local backup need maintenance that a pure cloud setup does not.
- Regulatory and client requirements. A security standard, a large client's questionnaire or an audit all require documentation and controls, and that takes work hours.
- Availability. Business-hours service costs less than 24/7 availability.
It's worth calculating what an hour costs you when the office is at a standstill and every employee is sitting idle. Compare the price of availability against that number.
In-house IT employee vs. an external provider
Many managers compare a retainer to an IT employee's salary. On top of the salary you need to add benefits, vacation, sick days, tools, training and the days that person isn't there.
When a single IT person is on vacation, on reserve duty or changes jobs, nobody else knows the systems. A provider has a team, documentation and someone to step in.
An outside provider isn't always the better choice. In a company with more than 80 employees, the common model is an in-house IT manager who knows the business, plus a provider that brings a team, on-call coverage and tools. We work this way alongside in-house IT staff.
A provider that serves many offices has already seen the common problems and solves them faster. An in-house employee knows your people and processes in depth. It's worth checking which of the two you are missing today.
How to read a quote, and what to demand in writing
A good quote also explains what is not included. These are the items you should insist on seeing in writing, with numbers.
- Response times. How many minutes until a call is answered, and how long until a critical outage is handled. With us, every request is answered within 10 minutes, and a critical outage is handled within 30 minutes.
- What the price includes. How many tickets, whether an office visit is included, and what counts as a separately billed project.
- Ownership of passwords and documentation. The accounts, the domain and the documentation belong to you. Insist on full access from day one.
- Exit terms. A notice period, and a commitment to hand over the data and documents to the next provider.
- Who actually works on your account. Whether you get a permanent team that knows your network.
If a provider will not put response times in the agreement, take that into account when you compare.
Also check what is missing from the proposal. One line called technical support with a number next to it is not enough. Ask for a breakdown of what is done each month and who reports it to you. with managed service You should get a periodic report written in language managers understand.
The forgotten costs: licensing, backup and equipment replacement
Three costs usually don't show up in the quote, and in almost every business we walk into they are missing from the budget.
Licensing and subscriptions. Microsoft 365, antivirus, cloud backup and AI tools add up to a large monthly sum. We almost always find licenses being paid for employees who have left. in the IT management dashboard we build, you see subscriptions, licenses and actual usage, and cancel what isn't in use.
Backup and recovery. It is the first item people cut to save money, and the damage shows up at the first failure. We insist on it in every proposal.
Hardware refresh cycle. A business laptop lasts 3 to 5 years. Skip budgeting for replacements each year and you eventually hit the year when half the office needs replacing at once. We supply Laptops At importer prices, which helps spread the cost over time.
What we do before we give you a number
Before we give a quote, we do a 30-minute IT and security assessment. We go over how many employees you have, which servers, what's backed up, which subscriptions you pay for and what has failed in the last six months.
By the end of the call you will know what is urgent and where you are exposed. The assessment is free and comes with no commitment, and you can also use it to compare proposals from other providers.
If you want to continue, you will get a written proposal with the price, what is included and what needs a separate budget. We have been in business since 2008, and you can call us at 050-8271299.
FAQ
How much do managed IT services cost for a company with 20 employees?
In the Israeli market you typically see a range of 120 to 300 shekels per employee per month before VAT, and for a business of this size a fixed retainer is also a good option. The gap between the ends of the range comes from availability, servers and security requirements. An exact price is given after we go over your infrastructure.
Retainer or pay per call: which is better?
Pay per call suits a small business with no server and no special availability needs. The moment a 2-hour outage starts to hurt financially, a retainer works out cheaper, because it motivates the provider to prevent problems instead of racking up hours. Your budget becomes predictable too.
What should you insist on having in the contract?
Response times in numbers, what's included and what's billed separately, full ownership of passwords and documentation, and clear exit terms. With us, all of these are written into the contract.
What does an in-house IT person really cost?
Count the fully loaded cost, not gross salary, and add tools, training and time off. Beyond that, one employee can't cover vacations and sick days or hold every area of expertise the business needs. In most cases the cost-effective model is a provider, or an in-house IT manager combined with an external team.
Which costs usually get forgotten?
Subscriptions that keep running for employees who left, backup and recovery that get cut to save money, and equipment replacement that isn't budgeted every year. All three come back later as one large bill. The dashboard we build shows subscriptions and license usage, so you can see what can be canceled.
More on this topic: Managed IT services for businesses · IT management dashboard · What professional IT services include · Book a free assessment