It applies to the work set out in the accepted proposal (where there is one) and it sits alongside that proposal, so the day-to-day expectations are in one place.
My job is to keep your network stable and watched, and to make changes in a controlled way that you can follow afterwards in plain notes. Your job is to give me the access and decisions I need so I can act quickly when something breaks and plan changes without disrupting your shift.
What’s covered
Managed network support is a monthly retainer that covers monitoring, response, planned change work, and a regular review and tidy-up. Each month I work from the monitoring signals, your tickets, and any agreed change window to keep the firewall, switching, Wi‑Fi, and core access services in good shape.
Project work, new installs, and major redesigns are not included. If something falls into that category once I’ve seen the current setup, I’ll quote it separately before I start.
* 24/7 monitoring and alerting * Firewall and router management * Switching and Wi‑Fi administration * Microsoft 365 access control * Patch management oversight * Backup monitoring and restore tests
Response and cover
I treat issues by impact, not by how loud they are. I’ll agree the exact response targets with you in the proposal using my own severity levels (for example: critical, high, normal), so you know what “outage” versus “degraded” means before anything happens.
If the internet drops at 2am, the monitoring alerts me. I’ll start remote checks, confirm whether it’s on-site equipment or upstream, and update you on what I find. Where a fix risks interrupting traffic, I’ll agree a change window with you first. If I miss an agreed level, I’ll explain what happened and what I’ll change so it doesn’t repeat, and I’ll prioritise getting you stable over perfect root-cause paperwork in the moment.
Payment
Managed network support is billed at the start of each month. Each invoice is payable within 7 days of its date.
If your proposal includes setup or onboarding work (for example: monitoring rollout, alert tuning, baseline documentation, or a first tidy-up), I invoice that setup 50% to start it and the other 50% when it is complete. I do not start setup until the first 50% is paid.
If you ask me to carry out work that sits outside Managed network support, I’ll price it separately and get your written approval before I go ahead. That way there are no surprise charges buried in a monthly invoice.
Price review
I review retainer pricing at a regular interval so the plan stays realistic as your network changes. If nothing meaningful has changed, I’ll usually leave it alone.
If I do need to change the price, I’ll tell you in writing before the new price applies and I’ll explain what is driving it, for example: more sites, more devices being monitored, longer change windows, or added systems that now sit inside the supported estate. The notice period is the one I confirm in writing for your plan.
If you don’t want to move to the new price, you can end the plan using the same written notice process set out below.
Access I need
To do this properly I need admin access to the firewall, switches, Wi‑Fi controller, Microsoft 365 tenant, and any monitoring portals involved. I may also need practical access details such as site entry instructions, alarm procedures, comms room locations, and who can let me in.
Do not send passwords, recovery codes, or door codes in a form or a normal email. I’ll ask you to share them through your password manager, or another secure method you control. I’ll only request access that matches the work you’ve asked me to do.
If access is delayed or incomplete, I can still advise, but I may not be able to act quickly during an incident. I’ll tell you straight away what I’m blocked on.
What I need from you
Please appoint one named day-to-day contact who can raise issues, answer questions, and approve change windows. For larger decisions, I also need to know who can sign off riskier cutovers, for example a firewall replacement and switchover.
You are responsible for telling me about changes that affect the network, such as new circuits, new units being fitted out, supplier swaps, building works, or anything that changes power, cabling, or comms room access. Surprises are what turn small changes into outages.
When I ask for a decision or approval, timing matters. If I do not get it in time, I will pause the change rather than push on and guess. For provider faults, you make sure the correct account-holder details and authorisations are in place so I can log and manage tickets without delay.
Insurance
I keep business insurance that matches the kind of work I’m doing when I manage and change network equipment and configuration.
You should keep your own cover in place for your premises, your equipment, and your business interruption risk. Even with good monitoring, some failures are outside anyone’s control, such as upstream carrier outages, power events, or hardware that dies without warning.
If a site has special requirements (for example: induction, permits, escorting, or restricted areas), you’ll tell me before any visit so I can work safely and stay within your rules.
If something goes wrong
If I notice damage, miswiring, unsafe cabling, failing hardware, or anything that could put your service at risk, I’ll tell you as soon as I see it and I’ll follow up in writing with what I found and what I recommend next.
If I cause damage while working, I’ll report it straight away, stop if continuing would make it worse, and agree the next steps with you. That may be repairing, replacing, or arranging a specialist where that is the sensible option.
If an incident happens during a planned change, I’ll use the agreed rollback point where possible so you are not committed to a bad change. I’ll then document what changed, what the outcome was, and what I’ll do differently next time.
Not hiring me direct
This matters because the retainer price includes the time I’ve put into building your monitoring, notes, and working knowledge of how your network behaves. If you ever want to change how you buy the service, talk to me first. I’m happy to discuss options, but I need it done openly, not sideways.
This does not stop you using other suppliers for areas I’m not providing, such as cabling contractors, ISP installs, or specialist systems, as long as it doesn’t turn into an end-run around this agreement.
How the retainer runs
Managed network support is sold as a monthly retainer. It renews each month automatically, and I invoice at the start of each month.
Either of us can end the monthly plan with written notice. I will confirm the notice period in the proposal before you sign, so you know exactly where you stand.
If you give notice, I’ll keep providing the service through the notice period as long as invoices are paid on time and access remains in place. If you ask me to stop earlier, I can, but I’ll still invoice for the time already committed and any work already carried out.
If there’s a major incident in the final month, I’ll focus on getting you stable first, then I’ll package up the handover notes so you are not left guessing.
Handover at the end
When the plan ends, I’ll hand back what I’ve produced for you in a usable form: current network notes, change history at a practical level (what changed and why), and the key admin pointers you need to run day to day. I won’t include passwords or secret keys in the document set.
I’ll also remove my access in a sensible order. That usually means: you confirm you have working admin access, then I disable my accounts, API keys, and monitoring agents that belong to my tooling, and I close or transfer any provider tickets I’m managing.
If you want me to work with a new provider during the transition, I can do that within the plan or as separately agreed work, depending on timing and scope.
What I’m responsible for
I’m responsible for doing the work with reasonable care, sticking to agreed change windows, and not making risky changes without your approval. If I make a mistake, I’ll put it right as a priority and I’ll explain what happened in plain terms.
There are limits to what I can control. I can’t promise your internet provider will stay up, that third-party cloud services won’t have outages, or that old hardware won’t fail. Monitoring reduces surprises, but it can’t prevent every incident.
I’m not responsible for losses that are really about your commercial decisions, such as production downtime costs, missed revenue, or knock-on losses from an outage. If you have specific risk concerns, tell me and I’ll help you plan mitigations like failover, better backups, and tested restore procedures.
Ending this agreement
You can end this agreement by giving written notice, using the notice period I confirm in the proposal before you sign. I can also end it the same way if I can’t continue to support you properly, for example if access is repeatedly withheld, invoices go unpaid, or the working relationship breaks down.
Up to the end date, you pay for setup work completed and for the monthly retainer invoiced at the start of each month, with each invoice payable within 7 days of its date.
Before the final month ends, I’ll deliver the handover described above and I’ll confirm in writing what access I have removed. If you need an earlier handover to avoid a gap between suppliers, tell me and I’ll agree a practical plan with you in writing.
Signature
