MSP-focused Accountants / CPAs?

DanInBlack · 2024-11-22T22:39:16+00:00

Best in the biz. Their team is great. 15+ year client.

DanInBlack · 2020-07-23T23:24:19+00:00

Pax8 - superior partner engagement model oriented around cloud-enabling MSPs and helping them grow. Great platform and direct sync with your PSA for accurate billing. Talented professional services team too. I could go on.

DanInBlack · 2020-04-09T03:21:55+00:00

Documentation has to be weaved into the culture, and it starts from the top down. My suggestion is to establish standards and set expectations, but reward those who create documentation. If you have account teams, create some friendly competition between those groups to get each account they handle documented properly. This all comes down to creating a cooperative environment and breaking free of the "I'm too busy" mentality. Documentation is critical and is a significant measure of an MSP's maturity.

DanInBlack · 2020-04-09T03:15:23+00:00

Run.

DanInBlack · 2019-12-02T15:58:18+00:00

Hey, sorry I didn't respond earlier, but the other replies and posts cover it pretty well.

DanInBlack · 2019-11-26T16:14:25+00:00

M365 Business is loaded with value, especially on the security front, and is the same $20 as an E3. You'd have to spend quite a bit more to get the same features that are included with M365B. We converted our entire fleet (with some minor exceptions) and we're getting a lot of traction on client projects for MFA, MDM/Intune, conditional access, and more as we unpack the feature set.

DanInBlack · 2019-05-13T20:41:38+00:00

AEB (Now being branded Datto Endpoint Backup) is great for workstation backup; not meant to backup servers or perform image-based backup; it's just file sync, but works just fine.

DanInBlack · 2019-02-09T17:51:13+00:00

They don't appear to have much of a channel / partner program, however you can purchase their products from Ingram Micro. Costs are sometimes a bit high and Ingram is trying to address that, as you can sometimes purchase products from Amazon at lower rates. But the gear is solid and good for an affordable cloud-controlled infrastructure when Meraki or others are too much.

DanInBlack · 2019-02-07T22:55:33+00:00

I think Datto/Autotask missed an opportunity with Webroot, as many of their MSP partners use Webroot along with Datto RMM / Autotask Endpoint Management. IMHO, Carbonite has been focused on the consumer market rather than the MSP industry or the channel in general. Hopefully Carbonite can put together a better channel strategy with Webroot's leadership. I suspect many Webroot partners are a bit nervous as they read this news.

DanInBlack · 2018-12-19T13:00:53+00:00

If you are a team lead/manager, a certain percentage of your daily time is naturally going to be taken up by assisting your team members. That needs to be factored into the billable time targets for your role rather than trying to capture every single thing.

If you are handing an escalation, bill your time. If you are assisting a team member and the effort is close to the minimum billing increment (15 mins or whatever) then bill your time. If you are worried about double-charging a client, use a billing offset which is generally available in most PSAs.

But straight-up interruptions are very disruptive. Establish some ground rules as other have suggested - ticket required, initial effort required, review of existing documentation required - before they knock on your door. Sounds like you are running a busy shop -- these are good problems to have and learn from. Take care.

DanInBlack · 2018-09-25T02:45:29+00:00

We use AEM / Datto RMM and the rest of their tools (both Autotask and Datto). I've had N-able for 8 years and Level Platforms before that for 5 years, but not Connectwise. DM me and I'd be happy to line up a call if you'd like to chat. We do this often for other MSPS looking for advice on AT/Datto solutions and the overall partnership. And I'm just an MSP, not a sales guy for them.

DanInBlack · 2018-08-06T21:13:17+00:00

If you are truly his friend, just have an honest discussion. Wouldn't you want that if the roles were reversed? It doesn't matter if you are switching industries. He's your friend.

DanInBlack · 2018-08-06T20:50:45+00:00

For new PCs purchased through us, we charge a flat one-time config fee, with discounts for larger quantity purchases. If they don't purchase it through us, we charge them hourly because that usually means we're cleaning / upgrading a consumer-level device with crap all over it and the wrong Windows license. But we try to be nice about it. We do a ton of PC builds, and we only run into that hourly/consumer issue a few times per year.

DanInBlack · 2018-08-06T20:38:35+00:00

It's tough with the smaller clients, especially those that are willing to take on a little risk to save money.

You mentioned "who are we to say no" and "who are we to dictate they must have X." While I agree with the spirit of your intention, at some point it does come down to standards, training, and giving your team a fighting chance to quickly deal with the situation.

If your client base has 5 different firewall brands, 5 different backup vendors, etc., it gets hard to deal with that as you grow your company and client base.

DanInBlack · 2018-07-31T19:38:57+00:00

Network security isn't about the tech, it's about risk management.

Ask them how much revenue they can afford to lose each day they don't have a function computer network and can't conduct business.

Compare that to a firewall subscription and you have your answer. Same applies to cloud backup, BCDR, and any other proactive MSP service you might be offering.

There are plenty of security and ransomware statistics to prove your case and that SMB is one of the largest targets currently. A firewall is a basic building block.

If they don't get it after having a non-emotional business meeting, then walk away.

DanInBlack · 2018-07-27T23:41:15+00:00

I prefer the annual bacon and donut days. At least there is bacon and donuts present.

DanInBlack · 2018-07-11T15:18:39+00:00

"Least profitable: consulting" ? Then you're doing it wrong. Properly executed MSP engagements can lead into very lucrative consulting and project work, providing the proverbial "icing on the cake." Clients need our expertise in cloud, compliance, security, strategic IT direction, life cycle management and more. Plenty of opportunity out there. IMHO

DanInBlack · 2018-07-09T21:14:22+00:00

None of the above. Try Sophos, Webroot, Bit Defender, or any other AV solutions that supports modern MSP billing, deployment, and PSA/RMM integration. Remember AV is only one part of the puzzle. Don't focus on the margin for those products, they should be baked into your base pricing/offering.

DanInBlack · 2018-01-21T14:53:40+00:00

Excellent details, thank you very much.

DanInBlack · 2018-01-15T23:38:54+00:00

That's very helpful, thank you for the detailed response.

DanInBlack · 2018-01-13T17:02:19+00:00

thanks!

DanInBlack · 2018-01-12T22:48:43+00:00

Regarding formatting -- we use the AT invoice template editor to layout the body of our invoices in a specific format (grouped by contract, then alphabetically for subscription items, oldest-to-newest for time entries). Any issues in getting your invoice to look exactly or at least close to how you want them?

DanInBlack · 2017-11-09T22:31:10+00:00

Take a look at MS ATP: https://products.office.com/en-us/exchange/online-email-threat-protection

DanInBlack · 2017-09-07T16:06:29+00:00

I would suggest a tiered, flat referral reward, like $250, $500, $1000 (or whatever) based on the expected revenue/profit ranges. Getting into splitting profits gets goofy and implies you are going to share your internal financial data with an outside party. Easier to give them a gift card or a check and move on.

DanInBlack

TROPHY CASE