How to Compare MSP Quotes in Australia: A Line-by-Line Checklist
A practical scorecard you can use (or print) when evaluating proposals from managed IT service providers. Go line by line, fill in the gaps, and make a decision based on substance — not sales pitches.
In brief: MSP quotes are difficult to compare because providers structure pricing differently — per-user, per-device, flat-fee, tiered — and scope varies wildly. This checklist gives you 10 categories and 80+ line items to evaluate side by side, a comparison matrix to fill in, a method for normalising different pricing models, and a list of hidden costs to ask about before you sign.
What's in this guide
The 10-Category Comparison Scorecard
Work through each section with every MSP proposal in front of you. If a provider's quote doesn't address a line item, that's worth asking about — a missing line is often a missing service.
Service Scope
10 itemsHelpdesk support (phone, email, chat)
Check hours of coverage and whether it's local or offshore
On-site support visits
How many per month are included? What's the callout fee for extras?
Server monitoring & management
24/7 or business hours only? On-prem, cloud, or both?
Desktop/laptop management
Patching, updates, asset tracking — all included?
Network management (firewalls, switches, Wi-Fi)
Does this cover hardware replacement or just configuration?
Mobile device management (MDM)
Especially important for BYOD environments
Backup & disaster recovery
What's the RPO and RTO? Where are backups stored?
Vendor management (ISP, telco, SaaS)
Will they handle third-party escalations on your behalf?
Strategic IT advisory / vCIO
Quarterly business reviews, technology roadmap, budgeting?
User onboarding & offboarding
Account creation, provisioning, secure de-provisioning
Security Stack
9 itemsEndpoint Detection & Response (EDR)
Which product? Is it managed 24/7 or just deployed?
Email security & anti-phishing
Does it include link scanning, attachment sandboxing?
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) management
Setup, enforcement, user support
Security awareness training
Platform included? How often? Simulated phishing?
Vulnerability scanning
Frequency? Internal, external, or both?
SIEM / security log monitoring
Often an add-on — check if it's included in the base price
Dark web monitoring
Credential breach detection for your domains
Essential Eight alignment
Do they report on your Essential Eight maturity level?
Incident response plan
Is there a documented IR plan? Tested how often?
Response Time Commitments
7 itemsCritical / P1 response time
Total outage — entire office down. Look for ≤ 15–30 minutes
High / P2 response time
Key system degraded. Look for ≤ 1–2 hours
Medium / P3 response time
Single-user issue, workaround exists. Look for ≤ 4–8 hours
Low / P4 response time
Cosmetic or minor request. Look for ≤ 24–48 hours
Resolution time targets
Response ≠ resolution. Are resolution targets defined too?
Escalation procedure
What happens if the initial response doesn't resolve it?
Service credits for SLA breaches
Financial penalty if they miss targets? Automatic or by request?
Project & Change Charges
7 itemsNew office / site setup
Typically out of scope — get a per-project estimate
Server migration or replacement
Labour, planning, testing — often billed separately
Cloud migration (e.g. to Azure, AWS)
Ask for a separate SOW with fixed pricing
Major application rollouts
ERP, CRM, line-of-business deployments
Network infrastructure upgrades
New firewall, switch refresh, Wi-Fi redesign
Hourly rate for out-of-scope work
Quoted per hour? Per 15-minute block? Minimum charge?
Project management overhead
Is PM time billed separately on top of engineer time?
Contract Terms
7 itemsMinimum contract term
12, 24, or 36 months? Month-to-month available?
Auto-renewal clause
Does it roll over automatically? What's the opt-out notice period?
Price increase provisions
CPI-linked? Fixed annual increase? Or at MSP's discretion?
Termination notice period
30, 60, or 90 days? Penalty for early termination?
Early termination fee
Remainder of contract? Fixed break fee? Pro-rated?
Change of scope process
How do you add/remove users or services mid-contract?
Dispute resolution process
Mediation first? Which jurisdiction governs the contract?
Exit & Transition Assistance
6 itemsData return obligations
Will they export all your data in a usable format?
Transition assistance period
How many days/weeks of handover support?
Documentation handover
Network diagrams, passwords, asset registers, run books
Transition assistance cost
Free? Hourly rate? Fixed fee? Often overlooked
IP and data ownership clause
Confirm you own all data, configs, and documentation
Non-compete / lock-in tools
Are they using proprietary tools that only they can manage?
Licensing & Software
5 itemsMicrosoft 365 licences
Included, or do you pay Microsoft directly? Which plan tier?
Security tool licences (EDR, email filter, backup)
Bundled in the monthly fee, or itemised separately?
RMM / monitoring agent licences
Some MSPs charge per-agent; others include it
Line-of-business application support
Do they support your industry-specific software?
Licence ownership on exit
If you leave, do your licences transfer or get cancelled?
Onboarding
5 itemsOnboarding / setup fee
One-time charge to document your environment and deploy tools
What onboarding includes
Network audit, documentation, agent deployment, user training?
Onboarding timeline
How many weeks from signature to fully managed?
Parallel running period
Will they overlap with your outgoing provider?
Onboarding fee waiver conditions
Some MSPs waive the fee on longer contracts — ask
After-Hours & Emergency Rates
5 itemsAfter-hours support availability
6pm–8am, weekends, public holidays — who answers?
After-hours hourly rate
Often 1.5× to 2× the standard rate
Minimum call charge (after-hours)
Typically 1–2 hour minimum per callout
Emergency on-site callout fee
Travel time, minimum hours, weekend surcharges
24/7 support upgrade option
Can you upgrade later? What's the cost delta?
GST & Invoicing
5 itemsAre quoted prices GST-inclusive or exclusive?
Always confirm — a 10% difference changes your comparison
Invoicing frequency
Monthly in advance? Monthly in arrears? Quarterly?
Payment terms
Net 14, Net 30? Late payment penalties?
Itemised invoicing
Can you see a breakdown of base fee, licences, projects, extras?
True-up frequency for user count changes
Monthly? Quarterly? Annual? This affects cash flow
Side-by-Side Comparison Matrix
Use this matrix to record the key data points from each MSP quote. Print it out, or copy the structure into a spreadsheet. Filling this in makes it far easier to spot gaps and compare like for like.
| Line Item | MSP A | MSP B | MSP C |
|---|---|---|---|
| $ Monthly base fee (ex GST) | ___________ | ___________ | ___________ |
| Pricing model | ___________ | ___________ | ___________ |
| Number of users/devices covered | ___________ | ___________ | ___________ |
| $ Effective cost per user per month | ___________ | ___________ | ___________ |
| Helpdesk hours | ___________ | ___________ | ___________ |
| Critical (P1) response time | ___________ | ___________ | ___________ |
| On-site visits included | ___________ | ___________ | ___________ |
| Y/N EDR / endpoint security included | ___________ | ___________ | ___________ |
| Y/N Email security included | ___________ | ___________ | ___________ |
| Y/N MFA management included | ___________ | ___________ | ___________ |
| Y/N Security awareness training | ___________ | ___________ | ___________ |
| Y/N Backup & DR included | ___________ | ___________ | ___________ |
| Y/N Microsoft 365 licences included | ___________ | ___________ | ___________ |
| Y/N vCIO / strategic advisory | ___________ | ___________ | ___________ |
| $ After-hours support rate | ___________ | ___________ | ___________ |
| $ Out-of-scope hourly rate | ___________ | ___________ | ___________ |
| $ Onboarding / setup fee | ___________ | ___________ | ___________ |
| Minimum contract term | ___________ | ___________ | ___________ |
| $ Early termination fee | ___________ | ___________ | ___________ |
| Price increase mechanism | ___________ | ___________ | ___________ |
| Exit / transition assistance | ___________ | ___________ | ___________ |
| GST treatment | ___________ | ___________ | ___________ |
| Y/N Local Australian support team | ___________ | ___________ | ___________ |
| Total effective cost / user / month (ex GST) | $___________ | $___________ | $___________ |
Tip: Focus on the total effective cost, not just the headline monthly fee
The provider with the lowest sticker price often isn't the cheapest once you add back excluded items. See the normalisation section below for how to calculate a fair per-user figure.
What to Normalise
MSP quotes use different pricing structures — per-user, per-device, and flat-fee — which makes direct comparison impossible without normalisation. Here's how to convert any quote into a comparable per-user-per-month figure.
Convert everything to a per-user-per-month figure
This is the single most useful thing you can do. If Provider A quotes $6,000/month flat for 50 users, that's $120/user/month. If Provider B quotes $95/user/month, you now have a meaningful comparison — but only once you verify the scope is equivalent.
Map per-device pricing back to per-user
If a quote is per-device, multiply by your average devices-per-user (typically 1.5–2.5 in a modern office: laptop + phone, possibly a monitor or tablet). A $60/device quote for an employee with a laptop and phone is really $120/user before you check what's included.
Add back anything that's excluded
The cheapest quote often excludes security tools, Microsoft 365 licences, or backup. Add those costs back in. If Provider A includes EDR and email security but Provider B charges them as add-ons, the effective monthly cost per user may flip.
Factor in onboarding and project costs
A $5,000 onboarding fee on a 24-month contract adds ~$208/month to your effective cost. Amortise setup fees across the contract term to get a true monthly figure.
Account for after-hours and out-of-scope rates
If your business regularly needs after-hours support, a provider with a higher base fee but inclusive after-hours coverage may cost less overall than a cheaper provider charging $250/hour after 6pm.
Check the GST treatment
Confirm whether every line item is quoted ex-GST or inc-GST. A quote that looks 10% cheaper might simply be excluding GST while the other includes it.
Worked Example: Normalising Three Quotes for a 40-Person Office
| Provider A | Provider B | Provider C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quoted price | $110/user/mo | $65/device/mo | $4,200/mo flat |
| M365 licences included? | Yes | No (+$32/user) | Yes |
| EDR included? | Yes | Yes | No (+$8/user) |
| Avg devices per user | n/a | 2 (laptop + phone) | n/a |
| Onboarding fee | $3,000 | $0 | $5,000 |
| Contract term | 24 months | 12 months | 24 months |
| GST treatment | Ex GST | Inc GST | Ex GST |
| Normalised cost per user/mo (ex GST) | $116.25 | $150.09 | $121.04 |
Provider A: $110 + ($3,000 ÷ 24mo ÷ 40 users = $3.13 onboarding) + $3.12 GST adjustment* = ~$116.25/user
Provider B: $65 × 2 devices = $130 ÷ 1.1 (remove GST) = $118.18 + $32 M365 = ~$150.09/user
Provider C: $4,200 ÷ 40 users = $105 + $8 EDR + ($5,000 ÷ 24mo ÷ 40 = $5.21 onboarding) + $2.83 adjustment = ~$121.04/user
*Figures are illustrative — the point is the method, not the exact numbers. Your real quotes will differ.
Next Steps
Print This Checklist
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Understand MSP Pricing
Our companion pricing guide breaks down cost ranges for every model so you know what's reasonable.
Read the Pricing Guide →Need Help Comparing?
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