Let’s talk about MSP contracts (agreements, engagements, memorandums of mutual technology affection or whatever you call them). The point is: if you're offering managed services, you need a solid, standardized, structured document that makes it crystal clear what’s included… and what absolutely, definitely, cross-your-heart is not.
But the real power move? Including a “premium” pricing tier that’s so wildly expensive and so absurdly generous that no one in their right mind will ever buy it.
You’re not creating it to sell it. You’re creating it to give yourself a graceful out.
Let’s break down the logic and the framework.
Think modular. You’ve got your Master Service Agreement (MSA), the big legal boilerplate: terms, liability, confidentiality, termination. Then you’ve got your Scope of Work (SOW), this is the juicy part that defines the actual services you're delivering. Finally, toss in a rate card and/or service catalog that outlines pricing and deliverables by tier.
The MSA is the foundation; the SOW is the blueprint; the rate card is the menu.
Simple.
Your SOW should explicitly spell out what’s included in the managed service, e.g., patching, antivirus, helpdesk, remote monitoring, maybe backup, and make it painfully clear that if it’s not written down, it’s not included.
"Implied support" is where scope creep goes to get swole.
Stuff like full server migrations, major system upgrades, M365 tenant reconfiguration, or a surprise “we're merging with another company, can you just help onboard 43 new people by Monday?” ... yeah, that’s not in scope. Nor should it be.
You may think you need an SLA (Service Level Agreement), but what you actually need is an SLO: a Service Level Objective. Why? Because setting a guaranteed response time is realistic. Guaranteeing resolution time is a fantasy, especially when Microsoft or AWS decides to nap.
Define how quickly you’ll respond, not how quickly you’ll fix it. And be sure clients understand the difference. Bonus points if they initial the page that says so.
Month-to-month feels flexible, but it can burn you. Three years sounds solid, but clients get antsy. One year? That’s the MSP Goldilocks zone.
It gives you time to invest in the relationship, recover onboarding costs, and build value. Bonus: tie in software like M365 or antivirus subscriptions that align with your term.
Don’t forget to include renewal language. Otherwise, you’re playing contract roulette every December.
Here’s the secret sauce: include a premium tier so unreasonably priced, so lavish in its promises, that it makes your mid-tier look like a steal.
Seriously, offer “unlimited projects,” “24/7 on-site support within 30 minutes,” “quarterly IT strategy sessions in Barbados” if you want. Make it ridiculous. Then price it accordingly.
This serves three magical purposes:
It anchors your pricing. That mid-tier with realistic support suddenly looks reasonable, even cheap.
It defines boundaries. Clients can’t say, “I thought that was included,” because it clearly isn’t, it’s only in the platinum unicorn tier.
It gives you a polite out. “Oh, that’s actually only included in our premium plan, want me to send over a quote?”
It’s not manipulative, it’s just good menu design.