5 ways to improve the corporate financial performance of an MSP

If you are the owner or manager of a company that follows the model of managed IT services or MSP, you have different responsibilities on your shoulders. You have to make sure:

·         that the work is done properly;

·         that customers are happy;

·         that technicians work hard without risking a nervous breakdown.

In other words, you are responsible for the success and Corporate Finance Services in Dubai situation of your company.

There are several ways in which you can, each month, directly influence the income, the balance sheet or the corporate cash flow.

I chose five to share with you in this article.

1. Close the projects

The 95 % complete projects, which lack the last nudge to be concluded, are THE enemy.

Not only do they stand there, on the chalkboard or on PCs, screaming "you have not finished with me!", But usually also represent the precious time "billable" that has been spent by you or your technicians and collaborators, but not billed in any way.

Close the projects!

Invoice the customer as soon as possible. Remember that a customer pays bills (we hope!), But only after receiving them. It is very likely that right now you are still waiting for payments for jobs you did 60 or 70 days ago. Am I wrong?

These situations kill cash flow . I'm serious.

2. Close the support tickets

A reasoning similar to that done for projects also applies to assistance tickets that remain locked in the same status for days, weeks or months, are bad for your business.

Even if it is a customer to whom you offer a "complete package" of services, and therefore you will not pay more to settle a grain, a non-closed ticket means that there is an outstanding problem with that customer. And if the customer has problems, he is not happy. You also know that an unhappy customer is less willing to pay and buy other services than you, right?

If the ticket is related to a customer to whom you offer assistance Corporate Finance Services traditional mode or break-fix, this open ticket represents money you are not cashing . Even if you have already incurred the costs for its resolution by paying the salary to your technicians.

In these cases, the more aspects, the less the chances of being paid. If you and your employees resolve a ticket after weeks or months, do you think the customer is happy and happy to pay you? Customers are not all the same, but the equation expressed implicitly in the previous lines remains valid:

Unhappy customer = no money

3. Take advantage of your RMM to create scripts and automate recurring operations

Too often you see RMM (Remote Monitoring and Management) tools used as expensive remote control tools.

It's an incredible mistake.

Devoting time and resources to understanding how your remote management tool works may seem crazy when you have to handle the needs of many customers, but it is not. Indeed, it is a vital activity.

Studying the RMM tool must become a priority for you and your technicians; otherwise you will not be able to exploit the full potential of the tool.

Once you become "good" with your RMM the road is all downhill: you can use scripting and automation to quickly and effectively resolve recurring problems, you will save time and money and offer a better service to your customers.

4. Train the technicians so that they think "should I solve this problem?"

I often see technicians scurrying to solve problems that should be eliminated by replacing the hardware or software that generates them.

This is why your technicians and collaborators should be able to recognize immediately when something needs to be replaced and not repaired. Make the question "should I fix it or change it?" "Enter the corporate culture.

If the solution is to change the element that generates problems, it can be a good sales opportunity.

5. Track where the technicians are spending their time.

The time of your technicians is precious, not only because you are paying for their working hours, but also because it is often the time that the technicians use to solve a task that makes you earn. How can you be sure of correctly billing all the "hours" to customers? How do you know you're not losing money?

You need to know for sure where your technicians' time is spent: are they training? Are they solving a customer problem? Are they studying new solutions for your company?

The best way to measure the time of your technicians and verify that you are not losing valuable "billable hours" is to use a tool PSA or Professional Service Automation.

These suggestions are not the solution to all ills, but if applied they can all bring significant benefits in terms of operational efficiency and cash flow to your company.

Related Post: An ERP system for financial services, CAS Dubai