Setting Expectations With Your MSP Clients & Team
Most MSP owners get stuck at the same ceiling: they are the smartest person in the room, and their "processes" only exist in their heads. When they finally try to document everything, they often create a bureaucratic monster that kills creativity and slows down service delivery.
In this episode of How to MSP, Andrew Moore and Connor Fagan (Renada) break down the high-level operational strategy required to move from a "hero-based" business to a repeatable machine. We discuss the "Ambiguity Trap," the dangers of over-engineering tools like Halo PSA, and why your senior engineers might actually be the biggest bottleneck in your helpdesk.
Protect Your Margins: Why Every High-Growth MSP Needs a Quarterly ‘180’
A 180 is a dedicated time for the team to step back from day-to-day service delivery to reflect on how they work together. It’s about turning away from the daily grind to look at the bigger picture of operational health.
While some industries do this every two weeks, for most MSPs, a quarterly 180 rhythm is the sweet spot. It provides enough data to see trends without being an administrative burden.
The Evergreen Service Desk
Before you automate, you must understand. By mapping every point where a human "touches" a process, you gain the clarity needed to strategically insert AI microtools that actually enhance efficiency.
The tools will change, but the engine remains the same. Built for today, ready for whatever comes next.
Per-User vs. Flat Fee: What is the Best MSP Pricing Model?
One of the most defining decisions a Managed Services Provider (MSP) makes isn't technical—it's financial. How you price your services shapes not only your profitability but also your client relationships, your operational efficiency, and ultimately, your valuation.
Many MSPs still cling to legacy models: hourly billing, flat fees, or per-user pricing. But as client expectations evolve and the demand for transparency and results increases, it's time to rethink your pricing strategy. Should you stick with traditional models, or is it time to move toward value-based or outcome-based pricing?
MSP Valuation Secrets: How to Maximize EBITDA Multiples for Your Exit
Are you building a business or just a job? In this episode, Andrew Moore sits down with Reed Warren, President and CEO of IT Valuations, to pull back the curtain on what actually drives the market value of a Managed Service Provider. With over 30 years of experience and 700+ clients, Reed explains why your valuation is the most critical metric for directing your business investments.
Whether you are planning an exit in the next three years or want to build a more resilient, profitable MSP that can weather any market downturn, this conversation provides the financial roadmap you need.
What Should Be In Your MSP Onboarding Checklist?
Repeatability is the key to growth. If your onboarding process is reinvented for every client, it becomes a bottleneck that drags down your team and increases delivery risk. That’s why your checklist must be:
Standardized: Applied consistently across all new clients
Flexible: Accommodates slight variations without becoming bespoke
Documented: Supported by templates, SOPs, and internal tools
Tracked: Integrated into your PSA for accountability and reporting
This structure allows you to onboard more clients, faster, while maintaining a high standard of delivery. It also gives your operations team confidence that what was sold can actually be fulfilled—without pig tossing or scope confusion.
Your Service Desk Is Trash: How to Build an MSP Service Desk with Data, Process & Heart
In this episode of How to MSP, host Andrew Moore welcomes Mark Sowden, a 20-year MSP veteran and former Vice President of Service who has built award-winning delivery teams from the ground up. Mark breaks down the exact strategies used to whip chaotic service desks into shape, focusing on accountability, data integrity, and scalable team structures.
How Do You Perform a Cybersecurity Risk Assessment for SMBs?
At the core of any risk-aware strategy is a cybersecurity risk assessment. This is not a one-time technical audit. It’s a structured, repeatable process that evaluates vulnerabilities, identifies likely attack vectors, and prioritizes remediation based on business impact.
For SMBs, this process is often eye-opening. Many are unaware of the full scope of their digital exposure or assume their size makes them less attractive to attackers.
Beyond the Call Center : Why Dedicated Remote Talent is the MSP Growth Lever
Discover the critical difference between low-cost outsourcing and strategic staff augmentation. This episode explores how to bridge those gaps by integrating dedicated international resources who bring high-level problem-solving initiative and cultural alignment to your service desk. You will learn how to implement essential daily disciplines and structured onboarding plans that ensure these remote team members are fully integrated into your company culture.
Using “Moneyball” to Hire & Retain Top Talent for Your MSP
A major theme of this episode is applying the concept of Moneyball to recruitment. In the book (and movie), the Oakland A's realized they couldn't afford "five-tool players" (superstars who do everything), so they focused on undervalued players who were elite at one specific thing (getting on base).
James Bier argues MSPs should do the same. You might not find the perfect "unicorn" technician who knows every stack and has perfect soft skills. Instead, look for "Trade Craft" and "Grit"—traits that are often undervalued by traditional HR but predict massive success in an MSP environment.
Stop Selling Work : Why MRR Outperforms NRR in MSP Value Creation
Learn why MRR valuation multiples dwarf NRR. Stop managing a job shop and start building a scalable MSP asset.
How to Scale Your MSP Service Desk: The "Pod" Structure & Remote Teams
One of the biggest challenges discussed in this episode is the "breaking point" that occurs when an MSP service desk hits about 10–12 people. At this size, a single Service Manager can no longer effectively manage every ticket and every engineer.
Jon Katz introduces the solution LISS Technologies implemented: The Pod Structure.
How to Build an MSP Account Management Process (That Doesn't Suck)
Most MSPs treat QBRs as a "technical report card." They walk into the client meeting with a stack of reports showing ticket counts, patch statistics, and uptime percentages.
The hard truth? Your clients do not care about ticket counts. They assume you are patching their servers—that’s what they pay you for. When you focus solely on metrics, you are commoditizing your service. You are reminding them that you are an expense, not a partner.
How to Build an MSP Service Catalog
To run your IT services like a well-oiled diner, it’s essential to create a detailed service catalog that ties directly to your contracts. Here are four areas to focus on when building yours:
Alerting and Monitoring – Define how and when your MSP alerts clients to issues. Is there proactive monitoring? If so, what’s the response time for different alert levels?
Updates and Maintenance – Make it clear what is included in standard support, like Office 365 updates, and what falls under more specialized services, such as firewall firmware updates tied to security or vulnerability management.
Response Times – Set realistic expectations with SLAs that clearly define response and resolution times for different levels of service requests. Clients should know when to expect a resolution for minor issues versus critical outages.
Doing What You Sell: Aligning Sales and Operations for Your MSP
For any Managed Services Provider (MSP), trust is the foundation of long-term client relationships. From the moment your sales team engages a prospect, to the seamless delivery of services by operations, maintaining that trust is essential. However, many MSPs stumble along the way, especially when there’s a misalignment between sales and operations or when the services sold don’t match what’s delivered.
How can an MSP build trust that begins in the sales process and carries through operational execution? The answer lies in aligning sales and operations around standardized solutions that allow for customization without becoming bespoke, ensuring clear communication and consistent delivery.
Tapping the Armadillo: How to Manage Processes & People
Imagine you’re at the helm of a business project. You’ve set everything up—a clear process, tools, and resources. You’ve picked the right team members, just like I picked my armadillo, confident that they have what it takes to deliver great results. Like me with my armadillo, you’ve seen promising signs that they’re equipped for success. You align everything toward the goal, the finish line in sight.
Then, the project kicks off—much like the start of my armadillo race. But instead of racing toward the goal as expected, something goes sideways. The project (or in my case, the armadillo) veers off course. Despite your best efforts in preparation, your team or process falters, heading in an unexpected direction.
Pig Tossing is Hurting Your MSP and Clients
In many Managed Services Providers (MSPs), there’s a recurring issue that we can call “pig tossing.” Imagine tossing a large, complicated deliverable, project, or client transition to another department or team without proper planning or communication—like throwing a pig over a fence and expecting someone to catch it without injury to themselves or the pig. The outcome is predictable: a chaotic process that often leads to confusion, delays, and frustration for both your team and the client.
8 Steps to Better MSP Marketing Lead Generation
To win over small business owners with technology needs, start by being the go-to expert in your community. Sales enablement strategies must shift from “selling” to genuinely “helping.” Businesses want partners they can trust to solve problems, not push unnecessary services.
3 Rules of Conference Sponsorship for MSPs: Maximizing Your Trade Show ROI
Trade shows are not just about visibility; they are about building relationships, demonstrating expertise, and engaging with your ideal client profile (ICP) in meaningful ways. To truly get the most out of your investment, there are three crucial rules every MSP should follow when sponsoring or attending a conference or trade show.
MSP Automation: Because “Oops!” Is Not a Business Plan
For most Managed Service Providers (MSPs), automation gets framed as a cost-cutting tool — a way to “do more with less.” But that framing misses the point entirely. The real reason automation matters isn’t to reduce headcount or increase margins (although those may come too). It’s to eliminate inconsistency, protect client trust, and deliver reliable outcomes every single time.