Before you sign with any IT provider, get written answers to questions in six areas: real response times, the client-to-technician ratio, what's included versus billable, contract length and exit terms, security credentials, and who actually picks up the phone. Every question below has a reason behind it and a "good answer" to compare against, so you can use this as a working checklist in your next meeting.
It's written for Norfolk business owners comparing providers, but nothing here is local-specific except the on-site questions. (And in fairness we should declare: this is Snap IT's site, we're one of the providers you might ask. The checklist works on us too.)
How fast will you actually respond?
Ask for the measured average response time across all tickets, not the SLA. Then ask for average resolution time too.
- "What's your average first response time, measured across last quarter?" Good answer: a specific number, produced without hesitation. (For calibration: ours is 4 minutes against a 30 minute SLA.)
- "What's your average time to resolve, not just respond?" A fast acknowledgement followed by a three-day fix is still a three-day fix.
- "What happens when we say something is urgent?" You want a defined escalation path, not "we'll prioritise it".
- "How quickly can someone be on-site at our offices?" Make it concrete: your actual postcode, whether that's central Norwich, Aylsham or out along the A47 at Great Yarmouth.
Who will actually be looking after us?
The question behind the question: will the people supporting you know your business, or will you be a ticket number in a queue?
- "How many clients does each technician look after?" This ratio predicts your experience better than any brochure. We hold ours at 5:1 on purpose; whatever a provider's number is, they should know it and defend it.
- "Who answers the phone when we ring?" A technician who can start fixing, or a call-logger who can only take notes? First-contact fix rates live and die on this.
- "Will we have named engineers?" Continuity means your team stops re-explaining the same printer, the same server, the same quirks.
- "What's your staff turnover like?" High turnover quietly deletes all the knowledge you're paying to build up.
What exactly is included, and what costs extra?
Get the inclusion list in writing and make the exclusions name themselves. Surprise billables are the most common source of resentment in IT contracts.
- "Is on-site support included or billed per visit?"
- "Is security included: email filtering, endpoint protection, MFA management, backup monitoring?" If security is an optional bundle, the base price is an illusion. (Our view, openly: it should all be in one package, one bill, no upsells.)
- "What counts as a project?" New starters, new PCs and office moves land differently at different providers. Make them define the boundary.
- "What are your out-of-hours arrangements and rates?"
- "What will this cost at renewal?" Year-one discounts that quietly expire are common enough to ask about by name. There's a fuller breakdown of pricing models and ranges in our guide to what IT support costs for a Norfolk business.
What are the contract and exit terms?
The exit terms are the most honest paragraph in any IT contract: they tell you how confident the provider is of keeping you by service alone.
| Question | Good answer | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| How long is the term? | 12 months or rolling | 3 to 5 years, auto-renewing |
| Notice to leave? | 30 to 90 days | 6+ months, or renewal windows you can miss |
| Who owns licences and domains? | You, always, in your name | "We manage all that for you" with no register |
| What happens on exit? | Documented handover, credentials transferred, reasonable or no fee | Vague, or priced to punish |
| Any guarantee? | A real remedy you can invoke | "We're confident you'll be happy" |
On guarantees, since providers rarely volunteer one: ours is that if you're not happy in the first 2 months we refund your fees, help you move on, and buy your team doughnuts. Whatever a provider offers, get it in the contract, not the conversation. And if you're asking these questions because you're already trying to leave someone, our guide to switching IT provider without the disruption covers the handover itself.
How do you handle security, and can you prove it?
Your IT provider holds the keys to everything. Their security is your security.
- "Do you hold Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus yourselves?" A provider who hasn't certified their own business can't credibly certify yours. (Our plain-English guide to Cyber Essentials for Norfolk businesses explains what's involved.)
- "How do you secure your own access to our systems?" You're listening for MFA everywhere, unique credentials per client and logged access, delivered fluently.
- "What's your incident process if we're breached?" Who do you call, what happens in the first hour, what's included versus billable in a crisis.
- "Is our email protected against spoofing: SPF, DKIM, DMARC?" Any provider should explain these without jargon; see our email security guide for Norwich businesses for what the answers should sound like.
- "What's your backup testing schedule?" Backups that are never restored are hopes, not backups.
Do you understand businesses like ours?
Sector fluency saves you months of expensive education.
- "Which clients like us do you support today?" Same sector, same size bracket, ideally same software. For professional firms and manufacturers specifically, see our guides to IT support for accountants and solicitors in Norwich and IT support for manufacturers in Norfolk.
- "Can we speak to two of them?" Then actually ring them, and ask about the worst day, not the average one.
- "What's your ideal client?" Honest providers have one and say so. Ours is 10 to 150 employees in professional services or manufacturing, which is exactly why this list keeps mentioning those worlds.
Frequently asked questions
What's the single most revealing question to ask an IT provider?
"What's your measured average response time, and can you show me?" It tests speed, honesty and whether they run on data in one go. Providers who measure, answer instantly.
What response time should an SLA promise?
SLAs of 30 to 60 minutes for first response are typical for SME support. The SLA matters less than the measured average: a 30 minute SLA with a 4 minute average is a different service from a 30 minute SLA with a 29 minute average.
What's a reasonable IT contract length?
Twelve months is standard; rolling monthly after an initial term is better. Treat multi-year terms, auto-renewal and long notice periods as pricing for your inability to leave.
Should the provider own our Microsoft 365 licences?
Licences can be bought through the provider, but the tenancy, domains and admin access should be yours, documented, with nothing that evaporates if the relationship ends.
What security certifications should an IT company have?
Cyber Essentials as a minimum, Cyber Essentials Plus ideally. Ask to see the certificate; verification is the entire point of certification.
How many references should I ask for?
Two is enough if you genuinely call them. Ask each the same three things: how fast are they really, what happened the last time something went badly wrong, and would you sign with them again tomorrow?
How do I compare providers once I have all these answers?
Put them side by side in a simple table and weigh them against your priorities; our pillar guide to choosing an IT support company in Norwich and Norfolk includes a comparison framework you can copy.
