In this guide 6 sections
Per user billing suits teams where each person has one main laptop, and per device billing suits offices full of shared machines. A flat fee suits stable teams that want one predictable invoice and rarely add staff, servers or sites during the contract term. Count your odd cases first. Then read what each model leaves out.
Count your odd cases before comparing models
Write down what makes your office odd. A reception desktop used by three people. Part time staff log in two days weekly. A tower under the accounts desk runs the accounting package that nobody dares restart, and the warehouse tablet and the five hires planned this year need pricing.
Each model treats these cases differently. A quote that looks cheapest on a standard headcount can grow sharply once the reception desktop, the accounts tower and the warehouse tablet are counted, so count them first.
Bring the list to every quote conversation. Ask each provider to price the same list, including the label printer, the CCTV recorder and the alarm panel on your network, so the totals can be compared.
- Shared machines and who uses them
- Part time and seasonal staff
- Servers, NAS boxes and printers
- Phones and tablets with mail
- Planned hires and leavers
Per user billing and where it fits
You pay for each person covered, usually with their laptop, phone and mailbox, so invoices move with headcount and are easy to explain at a budget meeting. It breaks when roles blur.
It fits a team where each person has a main device, such as the sales staff who each carry one laptop and one phone. It fits poorly for a shared reception machine. It also fits poorly when a part time bookkeeper, who logs in twice a week, is billed as a full seat on the same rate as the managing director.
Ask whether leavers drop off at once and whether a joiner is covered from day one, since both change the next invoice. Check whether the Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace licence is bundled or billed apart, and whether a leaver’s directory account is disabled the same day.
Per device billing and where it fits
Here you pay for each managed machine. A shop floor with six shared terminals pays for six however many staff rotate through, while a founder with a laptop, a desktop and a tablet pays for three. Simple.
It rewards lean offices. It can punish those with many small devices such as barcode scanners and tablets, unless the provider sets a low rate for them, so ask what that rate is.
Check how servers are counted, including a Windows file server, a NAS and a hypervisor host running two virtual machines, as many providers price a server above a laptop. Yours is the machine you cannot lose.
Flat fee billing and what it leaves out
A flat fee covers an agreed scope for a fixed monthly amount, and finance teams like the steady invoice, but the risk sits in the scope list. Look for the office move, the new server or the mail migration, which are often excluded and billed as separate projects at the provider’s day rate.
It suits a stable team. It suits fast hiring less well, unless the agreement states how many people it covers, which events change the fee and who approves the change.
Read the exclusions line by line. Hardware warranty claims, printer toner, structured cabling and Wi-Fi access point replacement turn up often, and each is billed by the hour unless the contract says otherwise. Ask for the three extra charges clients paid most often last year, with the invoice dates and the reason each was outside the scope. Get them in writing.
- Office moves and new site setup
- Hardware replacement and purchase
- After hours and weekend callouts
- Training for new joiners
Match the model to your office and test it
Small teams suit per user billing. A mixed office with shared PCs and a server often does better with per device pricing, since the reception desktop and the accounts tower are counted separately. A team wanting one predictable invoice can take a flat fee with a tight scope and a written list of what each extra costs.
Model a growth case. Add four people and two shared machines, see what each quote becomes, remove one leaver and check whether the invoice drops at the next cycle or at renewal.
Ask your shortlisted provider to put that scenario in writing before you sign, because a written scenario settles the argument when the first invoice after a new hire arrives.
Billing model worksheet
One row per billing model. Columns cover what is counted, how shared machines are handled, how the server is priced, what is excluded and what happens when four people join or leave. A top block lists your odd cases with counts, so each quote prices the same list, whatever the provider’s own sales sheet says.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Which billing model is cheapest for a small office?
It depends. Price the same list of users, shared devices and servers under each model before comparing, since the cheapest quote on headcount alone often grows.
How should shared reception computers be billed?
Per device billing handles them naturally. Under per user billing, ask whether a shared machine counts as a user or is included free, and have the answer written down.
What is usually excluded from a flat fee?
Projects such as office moves, server replacement, mail migrations and after hours work are the usual exclusions, along with hardware and licences. Ask for the full exclusions list, and for dated examples of what the provider billed extra to other clients over the past year.
Can we change billing models later?
Often yes, at renewal. Ask about the notice period and whether a model change resets the contract term, so you can adjust as the team grows.