OoftyGoofty

Hi all, I'm a newbie to the forum and glad I found ya! I have been in home and small business tech support for 7 years part time and just went full time last year. I am starting to get a lot of referrals from businesses, and the managers are asking me to put together annual service contracts for them. They want me to go in and check security, perform tuneups and possibly upgrade hardware on a quarterly or bi-annual basis. The bulk of my work is spent running anti-malware scans, replacing (memory hog) security suites such as Norton and McAfeewith my own, featuring Spybot, AdAware, Zone Alarm and AVG Free. I charge $85/hr. and that includes my travel. How much should I charge for this routine service, and where could I find examples of written service contracts, so I could compose my own? Also, I would greatly appreciate any feedback on my replacing Mcafee and Norton with my own blend of FREE tools, which seem to actually do a better job. Who says you can't get something for nothing!!!

yustr

Who says? The owners of the software that's who.

They market the free tools for individual home us only. Business' cannot have these programs on their machines. I suggest you are setting them up for a fall if anyone ever checks (I doubt that they will but I also doubt that the owner would appreciate knowing that you set them up for a law suit. I know of at least one business that got hit for a $200,000 fine when an ex-employee called the software police. )

Somehow you're going to have to remove those programs and replace them with commercial versions. Crow doesn't taste that good but you're gonna be eating some.

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OoftyGoofty

That's a good point I had forgotten about. Thanks for the constructive criticism. Know anything about service contracts?

VincentWong

Look online for some Service Contract Templates. There is also a very good book called "Building a Successful Helpdesk Company". I don't know who the author is, but there are several service contracts in the back that you could follow. It also goes on to explain what things you will need in the contract. I actually found this book in the library. There is a cartoon on the front. If I think of the authors name I'll let you know.

Vince.

codar

I'm looking for the same thing and I found this site:
http://www.megadox.com/documents.php/602
and this document http://www.megadox.com/docdetail.php/5049
It costs $25

I'm starting computer repair business myself and looking for all kinds of legal documents. Now, if any of forum members would like to sell their legal documents that would be great since we are not competing for the same market and I know how expensive lawyers are, these days.

Regards,
CODAR

Cellus

I agree with yustr on the use of business/enterprise level software. Sticking, for example, AVG Free on corporate systems scares the living daylights out of me. Uptime and productivity is paramount for networks. Don't get me wrong, AVG Free is a great product for home users who do not pay for an antivirus product, but I would never have it in a production environment - the risk is far too high.

Business level security suites are better than their home counterparts - companies invest untold amounts of money on them as they charge far more for them. The added support all business-level software grants can also be a lifesaver when something goes wrong.

I don't mean to sandblast you, but it is the honest to god truth. The loss of information, resources, and productivity that can occur means you'll need to put more than freeware protection on their networks. Now I am not saying all freeware is bad to have for business - Snort IDS is excellent if configured properly as an example - but replacing the Antivirus with a freeware alternative is definitely not a good move.

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VincentWong

Hey Codar,

PM me when you get a chance. I might be able to help you.

Vince