<\/p>\n
Your Complete Checklist for Choosing the Right IT Partner<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
This comprehensive evaluation guide will help you:<\/p>\n
Before evaluating providers, understand what you actually need:<\/p>\n
Use this for each provider you evaluate. Make copies of this section for each candidate.<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udea9 Red Flags – Automatic Disqualification:<\/strong><\/p>\n\nWon’t provide references from similar businesses<\/li>\nRefuses to share SLA in writing before signing<\/li>\nRequires multi-year contract with huge cancellation penalty<\/li>\nTerrible online reviews (under 3 stars or fraud complaints)<\/li>\nCan’t explain pricing clearly or keeps changing it<\/li>\nDoesn’t ask about your business goals (only talks tech)<\/li>\nPromises “unlimited everything” at suspiciously low prices<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\nProvider Score<\/h3>\n\n___<\/div>\nTotal Score: _____ out of 29<\/strong>\n20+ = Excellent | 15-19 = Good | 10-14 = Fair | Under 10 = Look elsewhere<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n\n3. Critical Questions to Ask During Consultations<\/h2>\nAbout Their Service<\/h3>\n\nWhat exactly is included in your base package? (Get detailed list)<\/li>\nWhat’s your average response time for urgent issues?<\/li>\nWhat is NOT included in your standard package?<\/li>\nHow many clients does each technician support? (Under 150:1 is ideal)<\/li>\nDo you provide after-hours support? At what cost?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nAbout Security<\/h3>\n\nWhat cybersecurity measures do you implement by default?<\/li>\nHow often do you perform security assessments?<\/li>\nWhat’s your incident response process if we’re breached?<\/li>\nHave any of your clients been successfully breached? What happened?<\/li>\nDo you provide security awareness training for employees?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nAbout Experience & Expertise<\/h3>\n\nDo you work with other businesses in our industry? Can we speak with them?<\/li>\nWhat certifications do your technicians hold?<\/li>\nHow do you stay current with new technologies and threats?<\/li>\nWhat’s your onboarding process like? How long does it take?<\/li>\nHow do you handle vendor relationships (Microsoft, Adobe, etc.)?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nAbout the Relationship<\/h3>\n\nWho will be our main point of contact?<\/li>\nHow often will we have business reviews?<\/li>\nWhat happens if we’re unhappy with the service?<\/li>\nWhat’s your client retention rate?<\/li>\nCan we see a sample SLA before signing?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n\n4. Cost Comparison Worksheet<\/h2>\nCompare the total cost of ownership across different options:<\/p>\n\n\n\nCost Item<\/th>\nIn-House IT<\/th>\nBreak\/Fix<\/th>\nProvider 1<\/th>\nProvider 2<\/th>\nProvider 3<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n\n\nMonthly Base Cost<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nSetup\/Onboarding<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nHardware Costs<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nSoftware Licenses<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nExtras\/Add-ons<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nYear 1 Total Cost<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n3-Year Total Cost<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n$_______<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\ud83d\udca1 Don’t Forget Hidden Costs:<\/strong><\/p>\n\nDowntime:<\/strong> Average cost is $5,600 per minute for small businesses<\/li>\nLost productivity:<\/strong> How many hours do employees waste on IT issues?<\/li>\nSecurity breaches:<\/strong> Average breach costs $4.5M in 2026<\/li>\nOwner\/manager time:<\/strong> Your time spent dealing with IT has value<\/li>\nOpportunity cost:<\/strong> What could you accomplish if IT just worked?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n\n5. Simple ROI Calculator<\/h2>\n\n\n\nCurrent annual IT costs<\/strong> (all sources)<\/td>\n$_____________<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nEstimated downtime cost per year<\/strong>\n(Hours down \u00d7 $5,600\/hr)<\/small><\/td>\n$_____________<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nLost productivity costs<\/strong>\n(Employee hrs waiting on IT \u00d7 avg hourly rate)<\/small><\/td>\n$_____________<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nOwner\/manager time on IT issues<\/strong>\n(Hours \u00d7 your hourly value)<\/small><\/td>\n$_____________<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nTOTAL CURRENT COST<\/strong><\/td>\n$_____________<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nManaged IT annual cost<\/strong><\/td>\n$_____________<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nEstimated downtime reduction<\/strong> (90%)\n(Take 90% of current downtime cost)<\/small><\/td>\n– $_____________<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nProductivity improvement<\/strong>\n(Conservative: 75% of lost productivity cost)<\/small><\/td>\n– $_____________<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nTime saved<\/strong>\n(Conservative: 80% of owner\/manager time)<\/small><\/td>\n– $_____________<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nNET ANNUAL COST<\/strong><\/td>\n$_____________<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\nYour Annual Savings with Managed IT<\/h3>\n$_____________<\/div>\n(Total Current Cost – Net Annual Cost = Your Savings)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n\n6. Implementation Timeline Checklist<\/h2>\nOnce you’ve chosen a provider, here’s your 60-day onboarding plan:<\/p>\nWeek 1: Kickoff<\/h3>\nContract signed and payment setup complete<\/label><\/div>\nKickoff meeting scheduled with entire team<\/label><\/div>\nNetwork assessment and documentation begun<\/label><\/div>\nExpectations and communication plan established<\/label><\/div>\nWeek 2-3: Discovery & Planning<\/h3>\nComplete inventory of all IT assets<\/label><\/div>\nSecurity assessment completed<\/label><\/div>\nUser accounts and permissions documented<\/label><\/div>\nCritical systems and applications identified<\/label><\/div>\nTransition plan created and approved<\/label><\/div>\nWeek 4-5: Implementation<\/h3>\nMonitoring tools installed on all systems<\/label><\/div>\nSecurity software deployed to all endpoints<\/label><\/div>\nBackup systems configured and tested<\/label><\/div>\nHelp desk\/ticketing system access provided to all users<\/label><\/div>\nStaff training on new systems\/processes<\/label><\/div>\nWeek 6-8: Optimization & Handoff<\/h3>\nAll monitoring dashboards active and reporting<\/label><\/div>\nOld IT provider (if any) fully transitioned out<\/label><\/div>\n
Compare the total cost of ownership across different options:<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udca1 Don’t Forget Hidden Costs:<\/strong><\/p>\n\nDowntime:<\/strong> Average cost is $5,600 per minute for small businesses<\/li>\nLost productivity:<\/strong> How many hours do employees waste on IT issues?<\/li>\nSecurity breaches:<\/strong> Average breach costs $4.5M in 2026<\/li>\nOwner\/manager time:<\/strong> Your time spent dealing with IT has value<\/li>\nOpportunity cost:<\/strong> What could you accomplish if IT just worked?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n\n5. Simple ROI Calculator<\/h2>\n\n\n\nCurrent annual IT costs<\/strong> (all sources)<\/td>\n$_____________<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nEstimated downtime cost per year<\/strong>\n(Hours down \u00d7 $5,600\/hr)<\/small><\/td>\n$_____________<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nLost productivity costs<\/strong>\n(Employee hrs waiting on IT \u00d7 avg hourly rate)<\/small><\/td>\n$_____________<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nOwner\/manager time on IT issues<\/strong>\n(Hours \u00d7 your hourly value)<\/small><\/td>\n$_____________<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nTOTAL CURRENT COST<\/strong><\/td>\n$_____________<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nManaged IT annual cost<\/strong><\/td>\n$_____________<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nEstimated downtime reduction<\/strong> (90%)\n(Take 90% of current downtime cost)<\/small><\/td>\n– $_____________<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nProductivity improvement<\/strong>\n(Conservative: 75% of lost productivity cost)<\/small><\/td>\n– $_____________<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nTime saved<\/strong>\n(Conservative: 80% of owner\/manager time)<\/small><\/td>\n– $_____________<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nNET ANNUAL COST<\/strong><\/td>\n$_____________<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\nYour Annual Savings with Managed IT<\/h3>\n$_____________<\/div>\n(Total Current Cost – Net Annual Cost = Your Savings)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n\n6. Implementation Timeline Checklist<\/h2>\nOnce you’ve chosen a provider, here’s your 60-day onboarding plan:<\/p>\nWeek 1: Kickoff<\/h3>\nContract signed and payment setup complete<\/label><\/div>\nKickoff meeting scheduled with entire team<\/label><\/div>\nNetwork assessment and documentation begun<\/label><\/div>\nExpectations and communication plan established<\/label><\/div>\nWeek 2-3: Discovery & Planning<\/h3>\nComplete inventory of all IT assets<\/label><\/div>\nSecurity assessment completed<\/label><\/div>\nUser accounts and permissions documented<\/label><\/div>\nCritical systems and applications identified<\/label><\/div>\nTransition plan created and approved<\/label><\/div>\nWeek 4-5: Implementation<\/h3>\nMonitoring tools installed on all systems<\/label><\/div>\nSecurity software deployed to all endpoints<\/label><\/div>\nBackup systems configured and tested<\/label><\/div>\nHelp desk\/ticketing system access provided to all users<\/label><\/div>\nStaff training on new systems\/processes<\/label><\/div>\nWeek 6-8: Optimization & Handoff<\/h3>\nAll monitoring dashboards active and reporting<\/label><\/div>\nOld IT provider (if any) fully transitioned out<\/label><\/div>\n
(Total Current Cost – Net Annual Cost = Your Savings)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Once you’ve chosen a provider, here’s your 60-day onboarding plan:<\/p>\n