3 IT Services Contract FAQs for Defining Covered Hours
When you offer an IT services contract to small business clients, they are sure to ask what hours you are available.
It’s essential to ensure that all parties are on the same page regarding this. Failure to set firm boundaries between your work life and private time can quickly result in resentment and burnout.
What Hours Should an IT Services Contract Cover?
Few companies operate on a strict 9-5 basis anymore. Even if these are a company’s core operating hours, there will always be one or two early rising staff and some who stay late.
For this reason, you’ll likely need to be available for a time period that covers both the early starters and the late finishers—so if it is just you looking after an IT services contract, you’ll need to make your peace with working from 8am to 6pm.
Should an IT Services Contract Program Cover Weekends?
Most traditional office-based businesses close for the weekend, but some industries such as entertainment, catering, and sports may in fact have their busiest times on the weekends.
Offering IT support over weekends may separate your business from the pack and win you clients, but realistically you need several people on your staff to cover shifts seven days per week.
If you work alone, think very carefully about offering weekend support—downtime is essential for your health and sanity.
What About Out-of-Hours Support for IT Services Contracts?
If you decide to offer out-of-hours support, you either need enough staff to cover the shift pattern or to hire freelance workers to assist.
This obviously creates additional administrative hassle. If you do decide to offer an out-of-hours service, ensure you charge appropriately—after all, even some of the world’s largest IT companies have times when their support desks are closed!
What operating hours do you offer with your IT services contract program? Share your strategies in the comments below.
And to follow-through on the tips introduced in this short article, be sure to download your free copy of the special report on IT Service Contract Secrets for Getting More Repeat Clients and Recurring Service Revenue.
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