Managed IT Services for Melbourne Small Business — $180/hr Labour, No Lock-In
No one-size retainer. Pay only for the labour you use at $180/hr ex GST, add an optional $29.95-per-endpoint security baseline (no minimum), and custom per-device management — combined to manage your needs, your environment and your workflow. Month-to-month, no lock-in, no 36-month contract.
Sound Familiar? Three Ways Melbourne Businesses End Up Here
These are the three recurring situations that bring Melbourne business owners to us. See which one matches yours.
A stack of tools, nobody accountable
One person set up Microsoft 365 years ago, the antivirus came from a different vendor, someone else added backup after the fact, MFA only ever got half-finished, and devices were never enrolled into anything. When it breaks, there is no single person to call and no record of what was even configured.
IT that only exists when something breaks
The current arrangement is reactive: someone turns up after you have rung them, not before. Patches sit unapplied for months, licences auto-renew without review, a new starter waits a week for a working laptop, and nobody has actually tested whether the backup restores. It works fine, right up until it does not.
Locked into a three-year contract you regret
Plenty of the bigger Melbourne MSPs will only sign you for three years, charge a steep onboarding fee, and route every question through a ticket queue before you reach someone technical. You become an account number, and getting out of the contract is built to be as painful as possible.
Three Components, Combine the Ones You Need
There is no bundled retainer to buy into. Pick from three published components based on what your business actually runs on, then add specialist project work separately when it is needed.
Ad-Hoc Support
- Troubleshooting, fixes, configuration and project work, all billed at $180/hr ex GST
- No contract to sign and no monthly minimum to hit
- The single rate for all labour; the security baseline is tooling only and covers none of it
- Frequently the most cost-effective route for teams that only need help now and then
Security Baseline
- Covers a secure remote support platform, managed endpoint tooling, Bitdefender-powered antivirus and automated patching
- Priced at $29.95 ex GST per endpoint per month, with no monthly minimum spend
- Includes no hands-on labour — any human time is billed at $180/hr ex GST
- Full detail on the Managed Security Essentials page
Device Management (MDM)
- Device management across Windows, macOS, iOS and Android; choose only the platforms your fleet actually runs
- Enrolment, configuration profiles and compliance policy, so every device follows the same standard
- Priced per device and quoted to match your fleet size
- Taken on its own or alongside the security baseline, whichever suits
Specialist services — scoped and quoted as projects
Available on top of any of the above, delivered as quoted projects (labour at $180/hr ex GST plus any product costs):
- Cloud backup, scoped around the data sets that actually matter
- WordPress web design & hosting — plus custom builds
- Network design, hardening and ongoing management across office and warehouse sites
- Cyber security audits and Essential Eight alignment with evidence you can hand over
- Migrations, whether Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 or on-premises to cloud
Honest caveats we'd rather say up front
- Labour is always $180/hr ex GST. There is no fixed-fee labour plan. The $29.95 security baseline is tooling only — it includes no hands-on time.
- EDR / XDR is a priced add-on, not included by default. The baseline is Bitdefender-powered AV; full behavioural telemetry and threat hunting are integrated as an add-on where it's warranted.
- The security baseline has no monthly minimum — you pay $29.95 ex GST for each endpoint you choose to protect, nothing more.
- If ad-hoc at $180/hr is genuinely cheaper for you, we'll say so. Small teams with few devices are often better off pay-as-you-go, and we'd rather tell you that than sell a baseline you don't need.
Pricing, Published — Three Parts, You Combine Them
Ring around the larger Melbourne providers and the number arrives after a discovery call. Ours is on the page. Labour is always hourly; the security baseline and device management are optional on top. All figures ex GST.
Ad-Hoc Support
- Support, fixes, projects and advice
- Configuration and remediation work
- Often the cheapest option for small teams
Security Baseline
- Secure remote support platform + managed endpoint platform
- Bitdefender-powered AV + patching automation
- No hands-on labour — human time billed at $180/hr
Device Management
- Enrolment, configuration profiles and policy
- Windows, macOS, iOS and/or Android
- Compliance and a streamlined OS environment
Mix what you need. Take just ad-hoc support at $180/hr ex GST, add the security baseline, add device management — or all three. Quoted separately, never bundled silently: EDR/XDR add-ons, cloud backup, hardware, and specialist projects (websites, networking, audits, migrations) — labour at $180/hr plus any product costs, all in writing first.
How a Typical Engagement Runs
Three steps, and you know what is happening at each one. If it turns out you only need one of the three components, that is what we will quote.
Scoping call (20 minutes)
We count devices, look at what you are running and what you are already paying for, and work out which of the three parts apply. Where hourly work alone is the cheapest answer, that is what we tell you.
Onboarding (1–2 weeks)
We document your environment, roll the security baseline out where you want it, enrol devices into management, and set the patch and policy standard. Setup labour runs at $180/hr ex GST and is quoted before it starts.
Monthly rhythm
Patching runs to schedule, policies stay enforced, alerts get triaged and new starters get set up without a week of waiting. Once a month you get a plain-English snapshot, and when you ring you get the technician rather than a queue.
What you can expect, honestly
- Published rates. $180/hr labour, $29.95/endpoint security baseline, custom per-device management — no "true-up" surprises, every project quoted first.
- One technician. Devices, security, backup and networking handled by one local technician — not five vendors pointing at each other.
- You speak to the technician. Sole-trader honesty: Aaron is the technician. No ticket queue between you and the person fixing it.
- No lock-in. Month-to-month, 30 days' notice and you're out. That's the leverage that keeps us sharp.
- Add-ons priced openly. EDR/XDR, cloud backup, helpdesk hours, projects — quoted transparently, per line item, before work starts.
One Owner of Your IT vs. Break-Fix at $180/hr
Hourly work handles the occasional problem well. What it does not do is notice the unpatched server, the licence nobody reviewed, or the backup nobody restored from. Those accumulate quietly until one of them becomes the emergency.
| What you get | Break-fix / ad-hoc only | Support Melbourne managed IT |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns your IT | Nobody — you chase it | One accountable owner who knows your setup |
| When things get done | Only after you notice and call | Proactively, before it becomes your problem |
| Patching & updates | Whenever, if at all | Scheduled and tracked across devices |
| Security posture | Reactive — fixed after an incident | Baseline maintained, gaps closed on a plan |
| Knowing your environment | Re-explained every call | Documented — we already know it |
| Billing | $180/hr, unpredictable spikes | Transparent $180/hr labour + published parts you combine |
| Lock-in | None, but no continuity either | Month-to-month, no lock-in — continuity without the cuffs |
Honest rule of thumb: if you only need a hand once in a blue moon, ad-hoc at $180/hr ex GST is the right, cheaper fit — and we'll say so. Once IT is getting in the way of running the business, having one owner pays for itself in the problems you never hear about.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Melbourne owners ask before committing: what is covered, what is not, and which of the three parts they genuinely need.
How long am I committing for?
Month-to-month, exited with 30 days' written notice. Plenty of the larger Melbourne providers still push 24 to 36-month terms; we do not. If the work stops being worth paying for, you should be able to leave.
What sits outside the published components?
Cloud backup, enterprise EDR or XDR, Microsoft 365 licensing, hardware and substantial projects are all quoted separately. The security baseline is tooling only, so any hands-on time attached to it still runs at $180/hr ex GST.
Are we too small for this?
No minimum. Sole operators and two-person practices are welcome, though for very small setups the honest answer is often ad-hoc labour alone with no subscription attached. We would rather tell you that on the first call than bill you for tooling you do not need.
How long does it take to get running?
One to two weeks for a typical Melbourne small business, depending on which components you take. Discovery and documentation come first, then agent deployment and patch baselines, then device enrolment and compliance policy if you have taken device management. You see the console throughout.
We have someone internal already. Does that work?
Yes, and it is common. Your internal person keeps the business context and the relationships; we carry the tooling, the patching rhythm and the escalation path for the things that need a second pair of hands. Plenty of clients use us exactly this way.
What is the difference between EDR and the antivirus in the baseline?
The baseline uses Bitdefender-powered antivirus: real-time scanning, ransomware protection, web filtering and device control. EDR adds behavioural analytics, threat hunting and a monitored response layer on top. If your obligations genuinely call for EDR, we quote it as an add-on rather than pretending the baseline is the same thing.
Which of the three parts do I actually need?
Labour at $180/hr is the only part everyone uses. The $29.95 security baseline starts paying for itself around five devices. Device management is worth it once new starters and leavers happen often enough that manual setup is costing real time. On the scoping call we will tell you which ones apply and which do not.
Is this just security, or the whole of IT?
The whole of it. Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace administration, networking, hardware, migrations, backups, automation and project work all sit alongside the security baseline. Security is where most engagements start because it is where most gaps are, but it is not the boundary.
Ready for One Owner of Your IT?
Twenty minutes on the phone: we count devices, look at what you are running, and tell you which of the three parts you actually need. Often the answer is hourly work alone, and we will say so. The quote follows the same week.
Prefer email? hello@supportperth.com.au — we reply same day in business hours.