Managed IT Services (MSP)
An MSP is one of the cleanest recurring-revenue businesses in the trades-and-services world: you charge a fixed monthly fee per seat to keep a client’s technology running, and that base compounds with every seat you onboard. You are not selling projects; you are building an annuity of seats under management, delivered by a team of technicians and a stack of tools.
Read the launch plan: every step from deciding to opening, free →The Snapshot
Is this worth your attention?
Cited sources Typical bands for this kind of business, compiled from the public sources listed under Sources and method; they are a synthesis, not figures copied from any one source. Estimates, not forecasts; a specific business varies with its location, lease, equipment and owner. Last reviewed 2026-07-07. smbnest is a self-assessment tool, not individualized advice.
A fit if you…
- Want recurring per-seat revenue, not one-off project work
- Can recruit, train, and retain technical staff
- Can sell a monthly agreement on value and trust
- Can run tight ticket flow and seats-per-tech efficiency
- Are comfortable owning security and uptime for clients
Probably not if you…
- Want a hands-off business from day one
- Dislike managing a technical team and client escalations
- Prefer big lumpy project fees over steady recurring revenue
- Are not willing to invest in security and tooling
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Sources and method7 public sources, with the year and a link where the source gives one. The benchmark bands are smbnest's synthesis of these sources, not figures copied from them.
Sources & Method
Figures are compiled from the public sources below; the bands are a synthesis of them, not copies
How these numbers were built: technician wages come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS for SOC 15-1232, Computer User Support Specialists); establishment counts and industry size come from the U.S. Census Bureau (County Business Patterns for NAICS 541513, Computer Facilities Management Services); per-seat pricing, recurring-revenue mix, and seats-per-tech benchmarks come from MSP industry sources such as CompTIA and Kaseya; firm survival rates come from the Census Bureau’s Business Dynamics Statistics; and financing terms and the size standard come from the SBA. These are starting assumptions; the moment you enter a real MSP’s clients, seats, per-seat price, headcount, and tool costs, your numbers should replace ours. Figures are current as of 2025-2026 and refreshed as the sources update.
Cost ratios draw on the existing CompTIA/Kaseya industry-benchmark source and BLS wage data already cited in this file's sources map; the owner cash flow band is checked against BizBuySell's SDE medians for IT and software service firms sold from 2021 to 2025 and Service Leadership's best-in-class adjusted EBITDA; seats-per-tech and recurring-mix ranges are directional industry benchmarks rather than a single precise dataset.
This is just the surface
The full model is the complete, interactive deep-dive, and every business here is built to the same standard: a live economics simulator you tune to your own numbers, an interactive 3D walkthrough, a location scorecard, an owner-fit assessment, a buy-versus-build comparison, and the full breakdown of how it makes money and what quietly kills margin.
then $29 a month
Time to choose and start, then month to month.
$99 today for your first 3 months, then $29 a month until you cancel.
about $17 a month
The best price: a year to decide, open and run it.
$199 today, then $199 each year until you cancel.
Renews until you cancel. Cancel any time from your account; you keep access to the end of the period you paid for, and your saved plans stay in your account. What membership opens
smbnest is a self-assessment tool. It does not give individualized financial, investment, legal or tax advice. Figures are estimates and benchmarks, not forecasts. Speak with a qualified financial adviser and a licensed attorney before you start, buy, finance or sign anything.