Quick Answer: The 15 Services a Managed IT Agreement Should Address
A managed IT services agreement for a 25–50 employee financial firm should clearly address at least 15 service areas: help desk support, onsite assistance, 24/7 monitoring, device management, patching, Microsoft 365 administration, cybersecurity, network management, backups, disaster recovery, employee onboarding and offboarding, vendor coordination, documentation, compliance support, and strategic planning.
The agreement should also define response targets, support hours, covered users and devices, exclusions, project fees, cybersecurity responsibilities, data ownership, termination procedures, and reporting. Never assume a service is included because the proposal describes the plan as “all-inclusive.” Ask the provider to identify every included service and every circumstance that can create an additional charge.
Financial firms should look for an agreement that combines reliable managed IT services with cybersecurity protection, tested recovery capabilities, secure cloud management, and strategic guidance.
The 15-Part Managed IT Agreement Framework
| Service area | What the agreement should define |
|---|---|
| 1. Help desk support | Support channels, availability, covered issues, escalation, and response targets |
| 2. Onsite support | When onsite visits are included, response expectations, travel, and additional charges |
| 3. Monitoring | Which systems are monitored, when alerts are reviewed, and how incidents are escalated |
| 4. Device management | Covered computers, servers, mobile devices, network equipment, and management tools |
| 5. Patch management | Covered software, update schedules, exceptions, and emergency remediation |
| 6. Microsoft 365 | Licensing, administration, identity security, email protection, and account management |
| 7. Cybersecurity | Included security tools, monitoring, training, incident response, and reporting |
| 8. Network management | Firewalls, switches, wireless networks, internet connections, and remote access |
| 9. Backup services | Protected data, frequency, retention, storage, monitoring, and recovery testing |
| 10. Disaster recovery | Recovery priorities, objectives, responsibilities, testing, and communication |
| 11. Employee changes | Onboarding, offboarding, access changes, equipment setup, and associated fees |
| 12. Vendor coordination | Support for software, internet, phone, copier, hardware, and cloud vendors |
| 13. Documentation | Asset inventories, network diagrams, credentials, procedures, and ownership |
| 14. Compliance support | Technical controls, reports, evidence, assessments, policies, and limitations |
| 15. Strategic planning | Business reviews, budgeting, lifecycle planning, risk priorities, and technology roadmaps |
1. Help Desk Support
The help desk is the service employees will interact with most often. The agreement should explain exactly how users obtain assistance and what the provider considers a covered support request.
Confirm the agreement defines:
- Telephone, email, portal, chat, and remote-support options
- Normal support hours
- After-hours, weekend, and holiday availability
- Whether employees receive access to live technicians
- Which users, locations, and devices are covered
- How requests are prioritized
- When issues are escalated to senior technicians
- Whether support is unlimited or subject to hourly limits
- Whether support for home devices or personal phones is excluded
911 IT provides 24/7 access to live IT support as part of its approach to managed IT services.
Response time is not the same as resolution time
A provider may acknowledge a request quickly but take much longer to make progress. Ask the MSP to explain how it measures both response and resolution.
| Priority level | Example | What should be defined |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | Company-wide outage, ransomware alert, or inaccessible critical system | Immediate escalation and continuous work until stabilized |
| High | Multiple employees unable to work or a major application failure | Rapid response and senior technical involvement |
| Normal | One employee has a software, printer, or access problem | Standard response target and expected communication |
| Low | General request, planned change, or nonurgent question | Scheduled response and completion expectations |
The agreement should state who assigns priority and how an employee can escalate a request that is affecting important business operations.
2. Onsite Support
Remote support can resolve many technology problems, but some situations require a technician at the office. The agreement should explain whether onsite service is included in the monthly fee or billed separately.
Ask whether onsite support includes:
- Hardware troubleshooting
- Network and wireless problems
- Server and firewall work
- New computer installation
- Office moves
- Conference-room technology
- Printer and peripheral assistance
- Emergency response
Also clarify travel charges, minimum onsite billing, geographic limits, scheduling procedures, and whether emergency visits are treated differently from planned work.
3. Proactive Monitoring
A managed IT provider should identify problems before employees report them. Monitoring may cover workstations, servers, networks, firewalls, backups, cloud services, and security systems.
The agreement should identify:
- Which systems are monitored
- Whether monitoring occurs 24/7
- Which alerts receive immediate attention
- Who investigates security alerts
- How failed backups are handled
- How offline devices are identified
- Whether monitoring includes internet and network availability
- What reports management receives
Monitoring alone is not enough. The provider should define who takes action when a problem is detected and whether remediation is included in the monthly fee.
4. Device and Asset Management
The agreement should define which technology assets the MSP manages. A financial firm may have employee computers, servers, firewalls, wireless access points, printers, mobile devices, conference-room systems, and remote-work equipment.
A complete asset-management process should include:
- An inventory of covered devices
- Assigned users and locations
- Warranty and purchase information
- Operating-system and software details
- Security-agent status
- Equipment age and replacement recommendations
- Procedures for adding or removing devices
- Secure disposal requirements
Ask how frequently the asset inventory is updated and whether your organization receives a copy. The business should not lose access to its technology records when the provider relationship ends.
5. Patch and Software Update Management
Software updates correct security weaknesses, improve reliability, and maintain vendor support. The agreement should explain which systems and applications are patched automatically and which require separate projects.
Confirm coverage for:
- Windows and other operating systems
- Microsoft 365 desktop applications
- Web browsers
- PDF and document software
- Servers
- Firewalls and network equipment
- Remote-access tools
- Financial and accounting applications
- Common third-party software
Ask how the MSP handles emergency vulnerabilities, failed updates, devices that remain offline, and applications that cannot be updated without vendor approval.
6. Microsoft 365 Administration and Security
Microsoft 365 administration should include more than license purchases and password resets. Financial firms often rely on Microsoft 365 for email, identity, documents, collaboration, calendars, and remote work.
The agreement should state whether the provider handles:
- User account creation and removal
- License assignment and optimization
- Multi-factor authentication
- Conditional Access
- Administrator-role management
- Email threat protection
- Shared mailboxes and distribution groups
- Secure external file sharing
- Mobile-device access
- Retention and recovery settings
- Guest-user reviews
- Cloud backup
Ask which Microsoft licenses are included in the monthly fee and which are billed separately. Review 911 IT’s cloud services for additional information about Microsoft 365, secure remote access, and cloud management.
7. Cybersecurity Services
Cybersecurity should be integrated into the managed IT agreement rather than presented as a vague promise to “keep systems secure.” The contract should list the specific protections, responsibilities, and limitations.
Cybersecurity services may include:
- Endpoint detection and response
- Managed antivirus
- Email filtering and phishing protection
- Firewall management
- Security monitoring
- Multi-factor authentication
- Disk encryption
- Vulnerability scanning
- Security awareness training
- Phishing simulations
- Incident-response assistance
- Security reports and reviews
Ask who responds to security alerts
A security tool that generates alerts without a qualified person reviewing them creates limited value. Determine:
- Whether alerts are reviewed 24/7
- Who investigates suspicious activity
- What the provider can disable or isolate without approval
- Who is contacted during an emergency
- Whether incident-response labor is included
- When outside forensic specialists are required
911 IT’s cybersecurity services include firewall protection, endpoint security, phishing prevention, real-time threat monitoring, and employee security training.
8. Network and Firewall Management
The agreement should explain responsibility for the technology connecting employees, cloud systems, servers, and remote locations.
Network management may include:
- Firewall configuration and monitoring
- Switch and wireless management
- Secure remote access
- Internet-provider coordination
- Guest wireless networks
- Network segmentation
- Firmware updates
- Configuration backups
- Internet failover planning
- Performance troubleshooting
Clarify whether network equipment is owned by the firm, leased from the provider, or supplied under a service agreement. The contract should also explain what happens to provider-owned equipment after termination.
9. Backup Services
A backup section should define much more than whether the provider “includes backups.” It should identify exactly what is protected and how recovery is verified.
| Backup requirement | Question the agreement should answer |
|---|---|
| Scope | Which servers, cloud services, files, applications, and computers are backed up? |
| Frequency | How often does each backup run? |
| Retention | How long are daily, monthly, and annual versions kept? |
| Storage | Where are backup copies stored? |
| Security | Are backup copies encrypted and protected from alteration? |
| Monitoring | Who responds when a backup fails? |
| Testing | How often are documented recovery tests performed? |
| Termination | How long will data remain available after the agreement ends? |
Ask whether Microsoft 365, cloud applications, employee laptops, and local servers require different backup services. A provider should not assume that the software vendor is responsible for every type of data loss.
10. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
Backups preserve data. Business continuity determines how the firm will continue operating during a cyberattack, equipment failure, extended outage, or local emergency.
The agreement should define whether the MSP helps create and maintain:
- Recovery time objectives
- Recovery point objectives
- A priority list for critical systems
- Alternative work procedures
- Emergency contact information
- Recovery documentation
- Communication responsibilities
- Scheduled recovery testing
- Post-incident reviews
911 IT’s business continuity services include secure backups, disaster-recovery planning, and redundancy designed to help businesses recover after cyberattacks, natural disasters, and system failures.
11. Employee Onboarding, Offboarding, and Access Changes
Employee changes create frequent support work and significant security risk. The agreement should explain what is included each time someone joins, leaves, or changes roles.
Onboarding may include
- Creating user and email accounts
- Assigning licenses
- Configuring a computer
- Enrolling MFA
- Providing application access
- Setting up printers and remote access
- Applying security policies
- Documenting equipment assignments
Offboarding may include
- Disabling accounts
- Revoking active sessions
- Removing application access
- Securing company data
- Forwarding or preserving email
- Collecting and wiping equipment
- Removing mobile access
- Updating shared passwords where necessary
Confirm how much notice the provider needs, what information managers must provide, and whether new computer setup or after-hours changes result in extra fees.
12. Technology Vendor Coordination
Financial firms may rely on internet providers, phone companies, financial software vendors, cloud platforms, copier companies, hardware manufacturers, and other technology suppliers.
A managed IT agreement should state whether the MSP will:
- Open and manage support cases
- Coordinate troubleshooting between vendors
- Participate in application upgrades
- Review technical requirements
- Track vendor contacts and account numbers
- Escalate unresolved problems
- Assist with renewals and licensing
- Document vendor responsibilities
Vendor coordination can save executives and office managers substantial time, but some MSPs treat it as billable project work. Ask for a clear definition before signing.
13. Documentation and Data Ownership
Your organization should retain ownership of its technology documentation and business data. The agreement should not leave the firm dependent on one provider for access to its own systems.
Documentation should include:
- User and device inventories
- Network diagrams
- Administrator accounts
- Vendor information
- Software and licensing records
- Backup configurations
- Security policies and settings
- Standard operating procedures
- Open issues and known risks
- Hardware warranties and lifecycle information
Ask how documentation is secured, who can access it, how often it is reviewed, and how it will be transferred when the relationship ends.
14. Compliance and Security Documentation
Financial firms may need technical safeguards and supporting evidence related to SEC, FINRA, GLBA, IRS, PCI DSS, cyber insurance, client contracts, or other requirements.
The agreement should distinguish among:
- Technical safeguards the MSP manages
- Reports the MSP provides
- Documentation the MSP helps prepare
- Assessments included in the monthly service
- Remediation work billed as a separate project
- Responsibilities retained by the financial firm
- Work requiring legal, compliance, audit, or insurance professionals
Possible deliverables include asset reports, patch reports, backup results, security-training records, access reviews, risk findings, incident records, and remediation plans.
A managed IT provider can help implement technical controls, but it should not promise that tools alone make a business compliant. Financial firms should obtain legal or regulatory guidance for their specific obligations.
Organizations building a formal security program can also review what a written information security plan is.
15. Strategic Planning and Business Reviews
A managed IT relationship should help leadership plan rather than simply react to problems. The agreement should explain how often strategic reviews occur and what the provider will deliver.
Regular reviews may cover:
- Support trends and recurring issues
- Cybersecurity risks
- Backup and recovery results
- Hardware age and replacement priorities
- Microsoft 365 licensing
- Compliance-related gaps
- Current projects
- Technology budgeting
- Business growth and staffing plans
- A 12–36 month technology roadmap
Quarterly reviews are often more useful than annual meetings because risks, staffing, software, vendors, and business priorities can change throughout the year.
What Is Usually Not Included in a Standard Managed IT Agreement?
Exclusions differ among providers, but the following services are often billed separately unless the agreement states otherwise:
- New office construction or relocation
- Large cloud migrations
- Server replacements
- Major network redesigns
- Custom software development
- Complex financial application upgrades
- Data recovery from failed or damaged equipment
- Cabling and electrical work
- Hardware and software purchases
- Compliance audits and legal services
- Digital forensics after a major breach
- Support for unsupported or personal equipment
- Work caused by unauthorized changes
An excluded service is not necessarily a red flag. The concern is whether the exclusion is disclosed clearly and whether the provider explains how separate work will be estimated and approved.
10 Contract Terms That Deserve Extra Attention
1. Contract length
Review the initial term, renewal period, and whether the agreement renews automatically.
2. Termination notice
Confirm how many days of written notice are required and how notice must be delivered.
3. Price increases
Ask whether the provider can raise rates during the contract and how frequently pricing is reviewed.
4. Service-level commitments
Ensure that priorities, response targets, escalation, and support hours are written clearly.
5. Covered users and devices
Define how users, computers, servers, and locations are added or removed and how those changes affect billing.
6. Liability limitations
Have legal counsel review limitations, warranties, indemnification, and insurance requirements.
7. Data ownership
The agreement should confirm that the business owns its data, accounts, domains, and documentation.
8. Security responsibilities
Identify what the provider manages and what remains the client’s responsibility.
9. Transition assistance
Define what the provider must deliver when the agreement ends, including credentials, documentation, licensing information, and backup data.
10. Additional fees
List every situation that may result in project, emergency, travel, after-hours, licensing, onboarding, or termination charges.
Use This Managed IT Proposal Comparison Table
| Service | Provider A | Provider B | Provider C |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24/7 live help desk | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded |
| Onsite support | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded |
| Monitoring and patching | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded |
| Microsoft 365 management | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded |
| Cybersecurity tools | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded |
| 24/7 security monitoring | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded |
| Employee security training | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded |
| Backup monitoring | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded |
| Recovery testing | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded |
| Vendor coordination | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded |
| Compliance support | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded |
| Strategic business reviews | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded |
| Projects | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded |
| Onboarding | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded | Included, extra, or excluded |
Comparing proposals line by line is more useful than comparing monthly totals alone. A higher-priced agreement may offer better value when it includes services another provider bills separately.
20 Questions to Ask Before Signing
- Which employees, devices, servers, offices, and cloud systems are covered?
- Is live help desk support available 24/7?
- What response targets apply to critical, high, normal, and low-priority requests?
- Is onsite support included?
- Which cybersecurity tools are included?
- Who monitors and responds to security alerts after hours?
- Does the agreement include incident-response labor?
- Which Microsoft 365 licenses and management services are included?
- What data and systems are backed up?
- How often are backup restores tested?
- Are employee onboarding and offboarding included?
- Is vendor coordination included?
- Which reports will management receive?
- How often will strategic business reviews occur?
- Which projects are billed separately?
- Is there an onboarding charge?
- How can pricing change during the contract?
- Who owns our accounts, data, domains, documentation, and equipment?
- What must the provider deliver when the contract ends?
- Can you provide references from financial firms of a similar size?
Red Flags in a Managed IT Agreement
- “Unlimited support” is not defined. The agreement should identify covered users, equipment, applications, and support situations.
- Cybersecurity is described without naming the controls. Look for specific tools, monitoring, responsibilities, and response procedures.
- Backup recovery testing is omitted. Successful backup jobs do not prove that data can be restored.
- Response commitments are missing. Support quality is difficult to evaluate without written expectations.
- Projects and exclusions are vague. Unclear scope can result in unexpected fees.
- The provider controls business-owned accounts. The firm should retain ownership and appropriate administrative access.
- There is no termination process. Credentials, documentation, licensing, and data transfer should be addressed before the relationship begins.
- Compliance is guaranteed by software alone. Compliance requires technology, policy, process, oversight, evidence, and professional interpretation.
- Every customer receives the same package. The agreement should reflect the firm’s users, applications, data, risk, and business requirements.
- Strategic planning is absent. A provider focused only on support tickets may not help the firm reduce long-term risk or budget effectively.
A Practical Example for a 35-Employee Financial Firm
Consider a 35-employee accounting firm using Microsoft 365, cloud tax applications, a document-management platform, laptops, one physical office, and several remote employees.
One MSP proposes a lower monthly fee that includes basic help desk support, patching, and antivirus. Backups, Microsoft 365 security, employee training, onsite work, and strategic reviews are separate charges.
A second MSP proposes a higher monthly fee that includes:
- 24/7 live support
- Remote and onsite assistance
- Endpoint detection and response
- Email security
- Microsoft 365 administration
- Backup monitoring and quarterly recovery testing
- Employee security training
- Vendor coordination
- Quarterly strategic reviews
- Technology budgeting
The second proposal may provide stronger value even though its advertised monthly price is higher. The firm should compare the complete annual cost, service scope, business risk, and management time required under each option.
What Clients Say About 911 IT’s Managed Services
“Working with 911 IT feels like having an entire IT department at my fingertips, without the hefty salary of a full-time IT person.”
“I feel safe knowing our company is protected and backed up by 911 IT.”
Financial-industry clients also describe 911 IT as responsive, proactive, knowledgeable, and familiar with the demands of accounting and financial organizations. Clients highlight live support, prompt follow-through, secure remote assistance, reliable backups, and practical recommendations that improve their technology environments.
What 911 IT Provides
911 IT helps businesses reduce downtime, improve security, and create predictable technology costs through:
- 24/7 access to live IT experts
- Proactive monitoring and maintenance
- Remote and onsite support
- Network and software management
- Cybersecurity protection
- Microsoft 365 and cloud management
- Secure backups and recovery planning
- Employee security training
- Compliance-focused technology support
- Strategic planning and budgeting
- Flat-rate pricing with no hidden fees
- A 100% money-back guarantee
Learn more about managed IT services, specialized IT support for CPAs and financial firms, and cybersecurity services from 911 IT.
Take One Action Before Reviewing Your Next Proposal
Ask the provider to return a written version of this sentence:
Our monthly fee includes the following support, cybersecurity, Microsoft 365, backup, recovery, compliance, vendor-management, onsite, reporting, and strategic-planning services. The following services are excluded or billed separately.
A qualified MSP should be able to complete that statement clearly. If the answer remains vague, do not assume the missing services are included.
Get a Clear Managed IT Services Proposal
A useful agreement should make responsibilities, services, pricing, support expectations, and exclusions easy to understand. It should help your financial firm know who is protecting each system, who responds when something goes wrong, and how technology will be improved over time.
Schedule a discovery call with 911 IT to discuss your users, systems, cybersecurity requirements, financial applications, support expectations, and business goals. The conversation can help you build an accurate service scope and compare providers without hidden assumptions.
