Computer Maintenance Contracts – Good or Bad?

The year is 2010 (now 2011) and our dependence on technology has increased even since last year.  Five or ten years ago, we were mainly concerned with whether our computers would boot up when we got to the office, now we depend on servers, online data storage, smart phones and the internet to get through the day.  If one or a few of these devices were to fail, we would need to get them fixed immediately so we can get back to business (or play).  Being fellow business owners, would you rather have your IT help on computer maintenance contracts knowing that they can get your devices working again or do you take a chance with a person that has no ties to your business but you only have to pay them when they come into to your office? This is a tough question to answer since there are both positive and negative reasons for doing computer repair service contracts, whether you are the business owner or the computer support contract provider. Below is a great resource for contracts, lingo and law in the tech service contract industry.

Pros and Cons for the Computer Firm Providing the Service Agreement

When running a small IT business that you plan on running for many years to come, it is a good idea to establish good relationships and IT Support contracts with your customers.  Having a computer contract with your customers will get you consistent paychecks and allow you to run your business without having the stress associated with having to find new customers every week.  You could probably make more money without the contracts but consistent paychecks are a good thing.  Some customers will shy away from a contract which is fine too because its great to have a good mix of computer service contracts and some hourly work or retainer clients.

I know from experience that contracts are a good thing because my customers are a mix of both hourly rate for computer repair and computer repair contracts.  During slow times, if you have a contact the client can always find things for you to do but with no contract they will put repair work off when their budget is low.  This could mean a month or two with no work from this client.  Once again a plus for the contracts.

If you’re just starting out your computer repair business, you may find it hard to get contracts since the client doesn’t know you too well.  Work on the relationship with the client, provide good reliable service and you should have no problem getting a contract with them in a few months or so. It may also be a good idea to look around for a good example of computer maintenance contract template to “base” your contracts around. Make sure you have someone review your contracts as well.

Pro and Cons of Computer Support Contracts for the Business Owner

Being the business owner, you should sit down with your computer support company to take inventory of your current computer network, the computers, servers, firewalls, cabling and software and decided if your office is ahead or behind in technology. If your office is ahead, then you can probably just go hourly or on retainer with your computer repair firm and just call when something comes up. If your office is behind, there could be a ton of work in the months ahead that may require your computer guys to be on hand often and in that case, a Computer Maintenance Contract would be ideal.

Cheers,

Troy