IT Revenue Streams?

[joneze]

Hi all,

What does your company charge for when it come to IT/Connectivity.


Do you have a sperate warranty cover for printing scanning issues?


How much do you charge for your warranty cover for printing/scanning?


Do you charge for telephone/email support if not covered by the printing/scanning warranty?


If so how is this charged monthly or per call/email?


If no cover is in place how much is your hourly call out charges?


IT Consultancy charges? (per day)


Any other income for IT revenue?


Appologies for the all the questions just trying to gather info on the standard charges...etc for IT related problems.

Any replies are much appriciated.

[copiman]

Re: IT Revenue Streams?

For our customers, if they have a scanning or printing issue, we offer our assistance at no charge. If it becomes a network issue, we refer them to a company we have partnered with. Alot of copier companies want to charge for the simple things dealing with scanning and printing. We will load drivers and scanning software as well as troubleshooting. This sets us appart from other companies. The company I used to be with would charge $125.00 per hour to do this. They also sold blocks of time contracts.

[TheOwl]

Re: IT Revenue Streams?

We don't have a separate printing / scanning SLA for our machines, but for the most part we will cover troubleshooting at no charge.

Because machine firmware changes and sometimes techs create the issue themselves by not also updating the print driver, it is a bit hard to charge the customer for something that we may have created. The other point is that firmware and new drivers are released to fix issues with the machine. Fixing issues with the machine IS covered under our SLA.

Now that I have said that, here comes the grey area. If we can prove without a doubt that the issue was caused by something on the network, the network changing, services change and so on, then we will charge. We only charge for the time that we are there plus travel, but at the moment we charge about $140 an hour.

When it comes to MFD's and charging for IT related issues, the rule of thumb is that there is no rule of thumb.

Come up with a model that is going to cover your techs wage but also make you comparative to an IT person's charge and make sure that you put a clause in your contracts that allows you to charge for this type of work.

[JR2ALTA]

Re: IT Revenue Streams?

The whole thing is a grey area.

I have a problem with charging more than normal labor rates, unless you actually have a certified computer specialist, or a non-certified super-geek, you get the point.

It's OK we charge for having special copier knowledge, we shouldn't over charge for computer work just because networks sound complicated and intimidating to users. The solutions are often easy. If they aren't easy, the customer is better off with a pro anyway.

[cbs]

Re: IT Revenue Streams?

Generally, our MFP agreements cover the "box" scan, print, copy, fax functions of the "box." If the phone line/system is the source of the problem, we bill; if the network or a PC is the source of the problem, we bill. Supporting these systems is a great source of revenue and establishes your dealership as a comprehensive technology management solutions provider. The days of growing a copier/printer business on less than 1 cent per page are fading. Connectivity to voice and data systems opens the door for revenue, for employee advancement, and enables independents to position themselves well against copier/printer only shops and the likes of IKON, etc.

[JR2ALTA]

Re: IT Revenue Streams?

Generally, our MFP agreements cover the "box" scan, print, copy, fax functions of the "box." If the phone line/system is the source of the problem, we bill; if the network or a PC is the source of the problem, we bill. Supporting these systems is a great source of revenue and establishes your dealership as a comprehensive technology management solutions provider. The days of growing a copier/printer business on less than 1 cent per page are fading. Connectivity to voice and data systems opens the door for revenue, for employee advancement, and enables independents to position themselves well against copier/printer only shops and the likes of IKON, etc.

What if it takes you an hour to realize it's on their end, do you fix it and bill or tell them what is going on?

[cbs]

Re: IT Revenue Streams?

Diagnosis, troubleshooting, etc. are all part of being a subject matter expert and I've found customers are more than willing to pay for professional, timely service. If the service agreement only covers the MFP then other work is billable. We offer comprehensive technology support plans that cover work past the MFP's NIC or FAX modem.