Break/fix vs managed IT: which is right for your small business?

Every small business needs IT support eventually. The question is whether you pay for it only when something breaks, or pay a predictable monthly fee to stop things breaking in the first place. Both are valid — it depends on your size, your risk, and how much downtime costs you.

Break/fix: pay only when you need it

Break/fix is exactly what it sounds like: something goes wrong, you call us, you pay for the time it takes to fix it. No contract, no monthly commitment. It suits businesses with simple setups, a handful of devices, and the tolerance to wait a little when something fails.

Managed IT: predictable cover that prevents problems

A managed plan is a flat monthly fee for proactive monitoring, maintenance, updates, and priority support. Instead of reacting to failures, we catch issues before they bite — and you get faster response when something does go wrong. It suits businesses where downtime genuinely costs money.

How to choose

• ✓Fewer than ~5 devices and rare issues? Break/fix is usually the cheaper fit.
• ✓Downtime costs you customers or revenue? Managed IT pays for itself in prevented outages.
• ✓Want predictable budgeting and no surprise bills? Go managed.
• ✓Not sure? Start with break/fix and switch to managed once the call-outs add up — we make the move easy.

There's no wrong answer, only the wrong fit. If you're weighing it up, tell us how your business runs and we'll recommend the option that actually saves you money — not the one that bills the most.