Resources
Self-service tools for small businesses evaluating their IT.
Why It's Free
Real Tools, Not a Lead Magnet
Everything on this page is genuinely free to use. We publish these tools because they are the same diagnostics we use at the start of paid engagements, and the small businesses we want to work with are the same ones who benefit from having them in hand. There is no email gate and no upsell built into the scoring.
Each resource is designed to give you something you can act on by the time you finish using it, whether that means a clearer view of your current provider, a sharper set of questions for the next one, or just a better understanding of where your technology stands. If you want to talk after, that is your call and your timeline.
What You Get
Free IT Tools and Guides
Each one is the same diagnostic we use at the start of a paid engagement, free for you to run on your own.
MSP Performance Scorecard
Rate your IT provider across 25 criteria in about 10 minutes.
A structured self-assessment that scores your current managed services provider across five categories: responsiveness, technical performance, security and compliance, communication, and value for money. Each category has five rated questions with a scoring guide, so you finish with both an overall percentage and a clear picture of where things are working and where they are not.
Who It's For
Small business owners, operations leaders, and office managers who suspect their IT provider relationship is not working but want an objective read before making a change. Also useful as a yearly health check on a provider you are otherwise happy with.
What's Covered
- 25-question evaluation across five performance categories
- Scoring guide that interprets your overall result
- Red-flag thresholds that indicate it is time to consider a change
- Targeted questions to bring back to your existing provider based on weak areas
Provider Frustration Quiz
Is your IT frustration normal, or a sign of a bigger problem?
A short, 10-question self-assessment that helps you separate the everyday friction of running technology from the warning signs of a poorly fitting IT provider. The result includes a frustration score, a plain-English interpretation, and a recommended next step. Takes about three minutes.
Who It's For
Anyone whose IT relationship feels off but has not yet sat down to figure out why. The quiz is intentionally lighter than the full scorecard, designed as a first gut check rather than a comprehensive evaluation.
What's Covered
- Ten focused questions covering the most common pain points
- Plain-English result categories with recommended actions
- Optional follow-on links into the deeper scorecard if your score warrants it
- Takes around three minutes from first question to result
MSP Switching Checklist
Questions to ask before you sign with a new IT provider.
A vetting checklist for evaluating prospective managed services providers. Covers the contractual, operational, and technical questions most buyers forget to ask until something goes wrong, so you can compare quotes apples-to-apples and avoid the patterns that quietly cause provider relationships to fail later.
Who It's For
Anyone who has decided to switch providers, or is collecting proposals to decide. Also useful for owners who are not switching but want to benchmark what good looks like against their current arrangement.
What's Covered
- Service level agreement and response time guarantees, written into the contract
- Security protocols, compliance capabilities, and audit-trail practices
- Pricing structure and the contract terms most likely to surprise you later
- Onboarding process and transition support depth
- Reference checks and proof of experience with businesses your size
Blog & Guides
Articles on running better business IT.
A growing library of articles aimed at owners, operators, and office managers who want to understand their technology without an IT degree. Topics range from what managed IT services should actually cost, to cybersecurity basics every business should have in place, to how to survive an IT emergency. Each article is written to give you something you can act on by the end.
Who It's For
Anyone trying to make better technology decisions without spending hours decoding jargon. The articles work as one-off reads or as a sequence when you are preparing for a bigger decision like provider transition or a security upgrade.
What's Covered
- Pricing transparency: what managed IT actually costs and why
- Cybersecurity basics every business should have in place
- 5 signs it is time to fire your MSP
- Cloud vs. on-premise: how to decide for your business
- Hidden costs of bad IT support
Common Questions
Resource FAQ
Honest answers about what these free tools include and how they relate to the paid work.
Have a question that is not covered here? Get in touch.
Get Started
Need More Than Self-Assessment?
A paid Technology Confidence Assessment pulls actual ticket data, audits your security controls, reviews your contracts, and produces a written report with prioritized recommendations. The free resources above are the right starting point. The assessment is where you go when you need an independent answer rather than a self-report.
Book your assessment