ABOUT / How We Work & Pricing
HOW WE WORK & PRICING
Honest contracts. Predictable pricing.
No engagement letters dressed up as proposals, no hidden margins, no surprise invoices. This page lays out exactly how our contracts work, what's included in managed services and what isn't, how our pricing scales, and what the contract term options give you.
CONTRACT TERMS
Four agreement options. Pick what suits your stage.
Longer terms unlock material discounts because they let us plan resourcing and amortise onboarding investment over a known period. Month-to-month gives you maximum flexibility but is priced at standard rates.
MONTH-TO-MONTH
Maximum flexibility
- ✓ Standard pricing
- ✓ 30-day notice to cancel
- ✓ No minimum commitment
- ✗ No term discount
Best when: you're early stage, testing the relationship, or genuinely can't commit to a longer term.
12-MONTH
First-year commitment
- ✓ Modest discount vs M2M
- ✓ Locked pricing for term
- ✓ Priority project queue
- • Early termination: balance of term payable
Best when: you want a discount but aren't ready to commit beyond a year.
24-MONTH · MOST COMMON
The sweet spot
- ✓ Stronger discount vs M2M
- ✓ Locked pricing for term
- ✓ Priority project queue
- ✓ Annual strategy review included
- • Early termination: balance of term payable
Best when: you've decided on us and want commercial terms that match that decision.
36-MONTH
Best pricing
- ✓ Maximum discount vs M2M
- ✓ Locked pricing for term
- ✓ Priority project queue
- ✓ Quarterly strategy review
- ✓ Roadmap-aligned planning
- • Early termination: balance of term payable
Best when: you've embedded us deeply and the commercial discount matters.
Specific discount percentages and pricing scale with team size and service mix, discussed during scoping.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
Managed services scope, included vs not included.
Our managed services fee covers everything we do, engineering time, monitoring, helpdesk, security tooling we provide. The fee does not cover software licensing you'd be paying for anyway (Microsoft, Google, JAMF, backup, etc.). Most clients prefer this transparency over bundled pricing that obscures what's BaseHost and what's vendor.
For clients who want it, we'll handle the licensing and pass it through transparently as a separate line on your invoice. No mark-up shenanigans on Microsoft licenses or Google subscriptions.
Included in managed services
- BaseHost engineering timehelpdesk, project work, security operations, on-call escalation
- Our toolingTeamViewer, N-Sight RMM for endpoint monitoring, our PSA and ticketing
- Documentationrunbooks, configuration management, change records
- Monitoring & alertingendpoint, server, mail flow, cloud health
- Monthly reportingengineering activity, ticket trends, security posture
- Annual / quarterly strategy reviewdepending on contract tier
Not included, billed separately
- Microsoft licensingM365, Defender, Intune, Azure consumption, Copilot
- Google licensingWorkspace, Gemini, Google Cloud consumption
- Third-party security toolsJAMF, AvePoint, third-party backup, EDR/MDR not in your stack
- Hardware procurementlaptops, phones, networking. Quoted at transparent margins
- Major project workmigrations, new deployments, scoped and quoted separately
- External audit costsISO 27001 certification body, SOC 2 auditor, Essential 8 assessor (paid directly)
A NOTE ON LICENSING
Licensing managed or self-procured, your choice
For software licensing (Microsoft, Google, JAMF, etc.) you have two options. Option 1, we handle it. As a Microsoft CSP we procure, bill and manage your Microsoft licensing as part of your monthly invoice. Google Workspace licenses we manage and bill the same way, though we're not a Google Premier Partner, just an experienced managed services provider supporting Workspace tenants. Option 2, you handle it. You buy directly from Microsoft, Google or your existing reseller. We integrate and manage whatever you've got.
Either way, licensing costs are your licensing costs. We don't mark them up. The transparency is the point.
NO SURPRISES
Predictable monthly invoices. Quoted change in advance.
If a piece of work falls outside scope, we quote it before starting. You'll never receive an invoice with a line item you didn't agree to in advance.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
Common questions
What does it actually cost?
We're priced competitively against the market for properly scoped managed services, typically materially lower than the larger system integrators for comparable scope. The exact number depends on team size, platform mix, compliance scope, site complexity and SLA tier. We quote against a written scope after a discovery call.
Can I leave a 24-month contract early?
Yes, but the remaining contract balance becomes payable on termination. The discount on a longer term is a forward commitment from both sides. Month-to-month exists precisely for situations where you can't make that commitment.
Do you mark up Microsoft / Google licensing?
No. When we manage licensing through our CSP relationship with Microsoft, we pass the cost through transparently on your invoice. Same with Google Workspace. The margin we earn is on managed services.
Why is your licensing pricing different from direct or from another provider?
We charge exactly what the vendor charges, with no markup on licences. Differences in price almost always come down to commitment term. Vendors like Microsoft price their cheapest rates for annual payments and long-term commitments, and some agreements frame that as a "discount" when it is really long-term lock-in.
The right approach is balancing long-term commitments on the licences you will always need with short-term flexibility on the ones that fluctuate. That mix secures vendor discounts where they are genuinely available, without committing you to seats or capacity you can’t predict. We model that balance with you at scoping and revisit it as your team and workload change.
What about hardware, is it pass-through?
No, hardware is quoted at transparent margins, not pass-through-at-cost. Hardware procurement carries operational overhead, supplier relationships, configuration, deployment, warranty handling, and the margin covers that overhead honestly. You'll always see the quote before purchase.
Are there per-user discounts at scale?
Yes, pricing tiers reflect headcount bands. Larger organisations pay less per user than smaller ones, reflecting fixed-cost amortisation. We'll model this at scoping.
What if my team size changes during a contract term?
Pricing is per user. Headcount changes flow through as monthly invoice adjustments, no renegotiation needed. Significant changes (more than 25%) trigger a service review.
Annual price increases?
For multi-year contracts, pricing is locked for the term, no annual CPI adjustments. At renewal we may reset pricing to current rates. Month-to-month pricing can be adjusted on 60 days' notice but in practice we rarely do this.
What happens when my contract comes to an end?
Our standard contracts renew for a further term of the same length, but we always have a renewal conversation with you well before that date, to revisit scope, scale and any changes in your environment.
If you decide to come off a contract term and move to month-by-month, that is fine. Any discounts that were tied to your contracted commitment revert to standard pricing. Other discounts, such as volume tiers, are not affected unless your quantities change.
Do you offer ad hoc or pay-per-hour support?
No, and it is a deliberate choice. Our model is built around knowing your business, managing your devices, knowing your people, and being able to resolve issues quickly because we already understand the environment. Ad hoc and pay-per-hour providers are economically incentivised to maximise their billable hours, the longer something takes, the more they earn.
We charge a fixed price per user per month that includes our engineering effort and all of the tooling we run on your behalf. Response and resolution times benefit directly from that model, because the first thing we do on any ticket is not "learn your environment", it is fix the problem.
How do we pay for your services?
We accept Visa, Mastercard and AMEX, and we also support Direct Debit from your bank account. There is no processing surcharge on any of these payment methods.
For larger accounts we can negotiate alternative payment arrangements, typically formalised in the contract by exception.
Ready for a real number? 30-minute pricing conversation.
Tell us about your team size, current stack, and what you want managed. We'll quote properly, written proposal within five business days, no high-pressure follow-up.