Your MSP's growth depends on offering the right mix of services—not everything under the sun, but services that solve real client problems and generate predictable recurring revenue. The difference between a stagnant MSP and one scaling to $1M+ ARR often comes down to a focused, well-positioned service catalog. Let's build one that actually sells.
Start with Your Core Competency
Before listing 15 services, identify what you do better than competitors in your market. Are you strongest with small manufacturing firms, healthcare practices, or financial services? Do you excel at cloud migrations, security hardening, or infrastructure stability? Your best service catalog is built around genuine expertise, not wishful thinking.
Most successful MSPs anchor their offering on Managed IT Services (24/7 monitoring, patch management, helpdesk support) priced at $85–$150 per user per month depending on region and scope. This becomes your recurring revenue foundation.
Essential Services to Include
A realistic MSP catalog includes:
- Managed IT Services (core helpdesk + monitoring) – $85–$150/user/month
- Cloud Migration & Management – project-based ($8K–$50K+) plus managed services ($200–$500/month ongoing)
- Cybersecurity Services – separate offering at $150–$400/user/month (firewalls, threat detection, vulnerability scanning, employee training)
- Backup & Disaster Recovery – $100–$300/month per client (separate from standard backups)
- VoIP/Telephony Services – $25–$60 per extension/month
- Network Management – bundled or $500–$2,000/month for larger environments
- IT Consulting & Strategic Planning – $150–$250/hour or fixed retainers ($2K–$10K/month)
Don't offer everything immediately. Start with three to four services you can deliver consistently, then expand as your team grows.
Price Your Services Correctly
Margin matters more than volume in MSP. Services priced too low will kill profitability; priced too high, you lose deals.
Benchmark against regional competitors and national MSP averages. A $2M revenue MSP typically operates on 40–50% gross margins; under 35% margins indicate pricing or operational problems. If you're offering 24/7 monitoring and helpdesk for $60/user/month in North America, you're likely underpriced.
Break costs into labor (your biggest expense at 50–60% of revenue), software licensing, infrastructure, and tools. Add 30–50% markup to cover overhead and profit. Test pricing with 2–3 prospect conversations before finalizing.
Service Tiers Create Clarity and Upsell Paths
Offer three packages: Starter, Standard, and Premium. Example structure for a 50-person company:
Starter ($85/user/month): Helpdesk (8am–6pm), basic monitoring, monthly patching.
Standard ($125/user/month): 24/7 helpdesk, continuous monitoring, weekly patching, included security scans.
Premium ($165/user/month): Everything in Standard, plus advanced threat protection, quarterly strategic reviews, priority support.
This lets prospects self-qualify and gives you clear upsell conversations at renewal.
Document Service Delivery Standards
Your service catalog isn't credible without specifics. For each service, define:
- Response times (e.g., "Critical issues: 1 hour; Standard: 4 hours")
- What's included vs. extra
- SLAs (uptime guarantees, availability windows)
- Escalation paths
- Reporting cadence
This becomes your contract language and prevents scope creep.
List Your Services Where Buyers Search
Get your service catalog in front of prospects actively looking for MSP partners. Listing on platforms like Mercoly helps you get found by decision-makers searching for managed IT services in your region, win qualified leads, and sell your service packages directly to businesses ready to buy.
Validate Before Scaling
Once you've defined your initial catalog, run it past your last three clients. Ask: "Would this package have solved your problems? What's missing?" Adjust based on real feedback, not assumptions.
Your catalog isn't final—revisit it every quarter as your team evolves and market demand shifts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Should I offer managed services for every software application our clients use? No. Offer managed services for infrastructure and business-critical systems (ERP, accounting, email) that generate support tickets and impact revenue. Niche software rarely justifies 24/7 support costs.
Q: What's a realistic margin target for MSP services? Aim for 40–50% gross margin on managed services and 50–65% on consulting. Anything below 35% is unsustainable after accounting for overhead.
Q: How many services should I offer as a startup MSP? Start with two to three services you can deliver exceptionally well (typically core managed IT + one specialty like security or cloud), then add a fourth or fifth after hitting $500K revenue.
Ready to expand your reach? List your MSP services on Mercoly today and start winning qualified leads.