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Service Agreements for SMB Consultants: A Quick-Start Guide to Managed Services
Your contracts or service agreements are the very definition of the services you offer and the prices you charge. They are the formal definition of your relationship with your clients. There is always the personal side, of course, and that's what keeps small businesses in business. But the basic description of how you operate is defined by your service
agreements.
As we look ahead to the year 2010, it is the job of the business owner to anticipate what the market will look like and to position the business to be successful in that market. Here's what we know:
* Managed services will be everywhere.
As a result, a certain piece of our business will be "commoditized." That is, there will be a large number of chores that anyone can do and they will be farmed out to the lowest bidder.
* Branded technical support will be everywhere. Again, that means that certain services will become commodities. It also means that you have opportunities to join a franchise, buy into a licensed brand, join a technical group, start your own organization, etc.
* One-Stop-Shopping from national companies will be everywhere. This is really a combination of the previous two that is implemented by a large corporation.
None of these can lead to the demise of small I.T. consulting firms. But you will have to properly define your business for the challenges ahead.
Because service agreements define your business relationships, we think this is a great place to start.
This book has a very simple goal: to provide SMB consultants with a solid introduction to support agreements.
SERVICE AGREEMENTS FOR SMB CONSULTANTS
A Quick-Start Guide to Managed Services
FOREWORD
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
About KPEnterprises
THE PLAN OF THE BOOK
WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK?
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
LEGAL DISCLAIMER
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
SECTION I
DEFINING YOURSELF AND YOUR RELATIONSHIPS
CHAPTER ONE ~ DEFINE YOURSELF
Introduction
Define Yourself
Forming Your Consultancy
Important Safety Tip: Don't Mess With the IRS
Define Yourself: Sole Proprietor
Define Yourself: S-Corp
Define Yourself: LLC, Partnerships, etc.
Concluding Comments
CHAPTER TWO ~ DEFINING CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS
Collect All Your Policies
Pre-Pay vs. In Arrears
Getting the Agreement Signed
What's in the Agreement and What's Outside the Agreement
No Contract / Only Credit Agreement
Agreement for Hourly Work -
Time and Materials or Blocks of Time
Agreement for Flat Rate Pricing
Agreement for Managed Services
Service Level Agreements
Sample SLA Language
Additional Options for SLAs
Setting Prices for Managed Services
What We Offer Our Clients
Concluding Comments
SECTION II
THE LANGUAGE OF SERVICE AGREEMENTS
CHAPTER THREE ~ THE SERVICE AGREEMENT CONSTRUCTION KIT
UNDERSTAND THE PARTS
Fitting Into Your Existing Agreements
Keeping Uncle Happy ~ IRS Requirements That Affect You
The Parts
Concluding Comments
Chapter Appendix:
Software Development Parts
Ownership of Code
Maintenance of Code
Background Technologies
CHAPTER FOUR ~ BOILERPLATE: A SAMPLE CREDIT AGREEMENT
FOR CLIENTS WITHOUT A SERVICE AGREEMENT
CHAPTER FIVE ~ BOILERPLATE: A SAMPLE SERVICE AGREEMENT FOR
HOURLY SERVICES
Introductory Comments
CHAPTER SIX ~ FLAT FEE OR MANAGED SERVICES PARTS
AND SAMPLE AGREEMENT
Introductory Comments
The Managed Services Parts
Memo on Tiered Offerings
SECTION III
GETTING HELP AND MANAGING AGREEMENTS
CHAPTER SEVEN ~ GETTING HELP
Legal Advice
You need an attorney.
How Often Do You Need An Attorney?
Write Your Own Draft
How Are Attorneys Paid?
Working With Attorneys: Two Simple Rules
How Many Contracts Do You Need?
Financial Advice and Insurance Coverage
Making Sure You Have the Right Financial Pro
Finding the Right Help
Insurance Coverage - Errors and Omissions
Insurance Audit
Concluding Thoughts
CHAPTER EIGHT ~ MANAGING YOUR SERVICE AGREEMENTS
Execution
Sales Tips for Service Agreements
Staying Organized
Tools to Help Deliver Managed Services
Cover Letters
Cover Letter for a Quote for Service
Cover Letter to a Prospect Who Has Agreed To
Sign a Service Agreement
Managed Service - SuperStar Tech Support
Cover Letter to a Client to Renew an
Agreement With No Changes
Cover Letter to a Client to Renew an
Agreement at Higher Rates
Cover Letter to a Client Who Is Adding On a
Service or Upgrading to a Higher Level of Service
Organizing Letters and Agreements
Concluding Thoughts
CHAPTER NINE ~ CONCLUSIONS
Conclusions
1. Let Other People Help You
2. Defining Yourself
3. Draft Your Managed Service Agreement
4. Build Business Processes That Reflect
Your Way of Doing Business
5. Get Help: Legal, Financial, and Insurance
6. Pick Out the Tools You Will Use to
Manage and Deliver Services
APPENDIX
RESOURCES
Books
Authors
Web Sites
What's on the CD?
Karl's Email
Index
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