I need to talk about something that's been bothering me for a while. Actually, for about 15 years.

"Out of scope."

Two words that have probably cost small businesses more money than any actual technology failure. Your managed IT provider charges you a monthly fee. You assume that covers your technology. Then something comes up — a new printer, a software install, a network change — and you get an invoice. "That's out of scope."

Every Exclusion Is a Billing Opportunity

I understand the concept. Contracts have boundaries. But here's what most IT providers won't tell you: they designed those boundaries to generate extra revenue, not to protect you.

Think about it. Why would you build a service agreement that excludes the things your clients are most likely to need? Because every exclusion is a billing opportunity. Every "out of scope" conversation is a chance to send another invoice.

I've watched this play out hundreds of times. A client signs a managed services agreement thinking they're covered. Six months later, they've paid the monthly fee plus $3,000 in "out of scope" charges. By month twelve, the "all-inclusive" service has cost them double what they budgeted.

That's not a partnership. That's a pricing strategy designed to make you feel trapped.

A Different Approach

When I built SkyNet MTS, I made a decision: if a client needs it and it's related to their technology, we handle it. No surprise invoices. No "well technically that's a project." No conversations that start with "I'll need to check if that's covered."

Does that mean we occasionally do work that other providers would bill separately for? Yes. Does it mean our clients trust us and stay with us for years? Also yes.

There's a reason our client retention is among the best in the industry. People don't leave when they feel taken care of. They leave when they feel nickeled and dimed.

Out of scope is just one piece of the puzzle. There's also the turnover problem and the response time lie.

Bottom line: if your IT provider makes more money when things go wrong than when things go right, their incentives are broken. And so is the relationship.