THE THREE PRICING MODELS
UK business IT support is sold three ways — understanding them is 90% of the budgeting job:
1. Break-fix (pay per call)
- Hourly rate: £50–£100/hour, minimum callout usually 1–2 hours
- Per-visit pricing: £90–£150 for a standard 1–2 hour resolution visit
- Best for: businesses with rare, simple IT needs
- Risk: costs spike exactly when things go wrong — and urgency costs more
2. Outsourced business IT support (monthly contract)
- Per user: £25–£75/user/month depending on response times and on-site cover
- Per device: £15–£40/device/month
- Includes monitoring, updates, helpdesk — and with the right provider, regular on-site engineer visits
- Best for: 5+ staff businesses — predictable costs, problems fixed before you notice
3. Project & field work (per job/contract)
- Installations, moves, rollouts: quoted per site or per day (£250–£600/day typical)
- Best for: specific events — new office, refresh project, structured cabling
ON-SITE VS REMOTE SUPPORT
This is the decision most businesses get wrong. Remote support is fast for software issues — but hardware faults, network problems, WiFi coverage, installations and office moves physically require an engineer on site. A purely remote contract fails the moment a switch dies or a laptop screen cracks.
- Remote-only support: cheapest monthly cost — but no hands on hardware when it matters
- On-site support: an engineer at your office — faster resolution for anything physical
- The hybrid model (recommended): remote helpdesk for daily issues + scheduled on-site engineer days — that hybrid is exactly what Triset delivers across the North West and UK-wide
Search data confirms the shift: businesses are moving away from remote-only arrangements back toward on-site support as hybrid working settles — and providers able to put engineers on site are in growing demand.
WHAT PUSHES COST UP OR DOWN
- Response time: same-day/4-hour SLAs cost meaningfully more than next-day
- On-site coverage: contracts including physical engineer visits cost more than remote-only — for good reason
- Location: London premiums vs regional rates; Manchester and North West rates are typically 15–25% below London for the same quality
- Sector: financial services and accountancy practices carry compliance requirements that raise support costs modestly
- Proactive vs reactive: monitoring costs monthly but prevents the £1,000 emergencies
SUPPORT COSTS BY SECTOR
- Financial services & accountants: higher — compliance, data sensitivity and software stacks demand more support hours; expect the upper end of per-user pricing
- Schools & education: budget-sensitive but volume-heavy — per-device pricing works best, with summer-holiday install windows
- Retail & hospitality: POS and card-payment uptime is revenue-critical — on-site response SLAs are worth paying for
- Professional offices (solicitors, estate agents, consultancies): moderate — standard business IT support with reliable on-site cover
THE HIDDEN COSTS OF NO SUPPORT
The cheapest option on paper is often the most expensive in reality. Consider what downtime actually costs: staff idle at £15–£40/hour each, missed client work, and data-loss recovery (which starts around £500 and climbs fast). One prevented ransomware incident or one avoided weekend of downtime pays for years of support contracts. Business IT support isn't a cost centre — it's downtime insurance with extra steps.
HOW TO BUDGET — BY BUSINESS SIZE
| Business | Sensible monthly IT budget |
| 1–5 staff | £50–£150 (break-fix + occasional on-site hours) |
| 6–20 staff | £150–£600 (light contract or retainer) |
| 21–50 staff | £600–£2,500 (outsourced contract with on-site cover) |
| 50+ staff | £2,500+ (contract + project budget) |
Plus a capital refresh cycle: laptops every 3–5 years at £300–£800 each — spread the cost in phases, and budget certified disposal of the old estate.
COVERAGE — WHERE WE SUPPORT
Triset provides business IT support across a 45-mile own-engineer radius from Manchester — covering Manchester, Salford, Stockport, Bolton, Oldham, Warrington, St Helens, Liverpool, Preston, Blackburn, Burnley, Halifax, Huddersfield, Bradford, Leeds, Sheffield, Chester, Stoke-on-Trent and all surrounding towns — with same-day and next-day on-site mobilisation. Beyond the radius, UK-wide delivery through our vetted, insured subcontractor network.
QUESTIONS TO ASK ANY PROVIDER
- What exactly is included at this price — and what bills extra?
- What's your guaranteed response time — and is on-site cover included, or remote-only?
- Do you monitor proactively, or only respond when we call?
- Who actually takes the calls — qualified engineers or a call centre?
- Can you also handle our hardware, installs and secure disposal? (One contractor, full lifecycle — fewer blame games)
QUICK SUMMARY
- Break-fix: £50–£100/hr — fine for tiny, rare needs
- Outsourced contracts: £25–£75/user/month — right from ~5 staff upward
- Hybrid on-site + remote beats remote-only — hardware still needs hands
- Sector matters: financial services and compliance-heavy businesses pay more — budget accordingly
- Budget by size: £50/month (tiny) to £2,500+/month (50+ staff)
- Compare providers on inclusion lists, not just headline rates — ask Triset for a transparent business IT support quote
