4-Volume Audio Book Set Now Available - Managed Services Operations Manual

One of our major projects for the year is complete! The Audio Book version of the 4-volume Managed Services Operations Manual is now available at SMB Books!

Buy Now!

This comprehensive guide to running a modern IT consulting business has been a best seller for two years. Now it's available as an audio product! Includes hundreds of pages of downloads, Excel spreadsheets, Word docs, and checklists you can customize.

I hear over and over again that some people only listen to audio books. Well here you go!

Sold separately, the set would be $400. As a set, we sell it for $379. Right now it's on sale for only $279.95!

If you already bought the four-volume set in another format (paper, Kindle, or ebook) and want a super special deal on the audio books, email me - karlp at smallbizthoughts.com. Be patient, though. I'm on vacation.

Comprehensive? I think so! Here's the table of contents:

Table of Contents

Volume One: Front Office Mastery - SOPs for Office Management, Finances, Administration, and Running Your Company More Efficiently

Section I - Getting Started

Introduction to SOPs for Technical Consultants and MSPs
Setting Up an MSP Office
Getting Started - Naming Your Business
Getting Started - The Form of Your Business
Getting Started - Cash vs. Accrual Accounting
Getting Started - Licenses, etc.
How to Work 8AM to 5PM in I.T. Consulting
Keeping Your Standards and Procedures Organized
Team Management of SOPs
Making Exceptions to SOPs
Rules for Working at Home
Phone Etiquette and Procedures
Phone Procedures 1 - Philosophy and General Rules
Phone Procedures 2 - How Much Interruption is Okay?
Business Cards . . . All the Details
Signing Service Agreements

Section II - Finance

The Central Role of Finance
Building a Business Plan for Your I.T. Company
Billing Procedures and policies
Cash Flow: Getting Paid in Advance
Collection Policies
Cash Flow: Dealing with Late Payments
The Managed Services Grid
Invoice Review and Processing
Cash Flow: Weekly Procedure
Hourly vs. Salaried Employees
Running Regular Financial Reports
Choosing Pay Dates
Vendor Management and Coordination
Vendor/Distributor Record Keeping
Inventory Management
Is This a Profitable Hour?
Financial Goals: More than Revenue Targets
Financial Goals: Realistic Revenue Projections
Financial Goals: Getting Started
How to Track Credit Card AutoPayments

Section III - Sales, Marketing, and Client Management

Intro Notes
Defining Your Company to Clients and Employees
Quarterly Roadmap Meetings
Helping Clients with Audits - Security and Insurance
Celebrate Anniversaries (Employees and Clients)
Sales Tickets and Sales Queues
Trip Charges
Sales Scripts
Clients Who Abuse the Phones
Removing a Client from Managed Services

Volume Two: Employees and Internal Processes - SOPs for Hiring, Employee Evaluations, Team Management, and More

Section I - Employees

Intro Notes
Employee Handbook
Hiring Your First Employee
Hiring vs. Outsourcing
Hiring Process
Employee On-Boarding
Roles and Responsibilities - Front Office
Roles and Responsibilities - Service Manager
Roles and Responsibilities - Technician
DiSC Personality Profiles
Honesty, Integrity, and Teamwork
Basic Customer Service Training
Employee Review Procedure (Quarterly or Annual)
Layoffs and Downsizing
Firing Process
Time Sheet Submission and Approval
Employee Expense Reports
Healthcare and Other Benefits
Paid Time Off / Paid Holidays
Travel Policies
Casual Fridays (and Dress Codes Generally)
Dealing with Unfaithful Employees

Section II - Misc. Policies and Procedures

Intro Note
Organizing Your Company Files and Folders
The !Tech Directory
Naming Your Processes and Procedures
Date formats
Managing Temporary Files
Do Billable Work First?
Prudent Password Policies
Voicemail Passwords, etc.
Mobile Device Management
BYOD - Bring Your Own Destruction
Using a White Board
Shredding
End of Year SOPs
Next Year's Holiday and Pay Schedule

Volume Three: Running the Service Department - SOPs for Managing Technicians, Daily Operations, Service Boards, and Scheduling

Section I - Policies and Philosophies

Intro Notes
Naming Conventions for Machines and Servers
Schedules and Timelines for Running Your Company
Working in Real Time
Used Equipment and Warranties
Hardware Replacement and Upgrade Policy
Software Upgrade Policy
Nuking and Paving
After Hours Work
On Call and Night Staff
Managing Internal Administrative Tasks
Assign Techs or Rotate Them?
Approved Tools
Do Not Exclude Yourself from the Rules
When Processes and Policies Become Obsolete

Section II - Employees in The Tech Department

Intro Notes
Technician Daily Time Management -- includes daily work flow
Time Tracking for Employees
The Tech on Call for The Day - Managing Daily Workflow
How to Maximize Billability of Technicians
Email Rules and Etiquette for the Consultant
Technician Supplies -- The "Scary Box"
Final Friday Training

Section III - Client Management

Intro Notes
Setting Up a New Managed Service Client (Checklist)
Client Personnel Changes: New User Checklist
Client Personnel Changes: Employee Departure Checklist
Activating and Registering Client Software and Hardware
Local Docs versus Server / My Docs
Moving a Client Office

Section IV - Practical How-To Examples

Intro Notes
Troubleshooting Guidelines
Troubleshooting and Repair Logs
HIPAA Part One - Training
HIPAA Part Two - Compliance
HIPAA Part Three - Documentation
Adding a New Machine to Managed Services
How to Use Velcro
DNS and DHCP Allocation - Server vs. Firewall
IP Address Allocations (static, dynamic, exceptions, documenting)
Router Configurations
Labeling Equipment
Removing Old Information - From Everything
Responding to Viruses

Volume Four: Support and Service Delivery - SOPs for Client Relationships, Service Delivery, Scheduled Maintenance, and All About Backups

Section I - Service Delivery Policies and Procedures

Intro Notes
The First Client Visit
Guide to a Service Call
How Do Service Requests Get Into Your System?
Response Times - Guarantees and Delivery
Ticket Statuses to Use and When to Use Them
Setting Job Priorities
Service Ticket updates (time estimate, work type, etc.)
Time Entry and Note Entry in Service Tickets
Information Sharing
Massaging the Service Board
Service Board Backlog Management
Daily Monitoring of Client Machines
Patch Management Philosophy and Procedures
Setting Up Alerts in Your PSA and RMM
New PC Checklists
Server Down Procedures
Third Party Tech Support - Documenting Calls
Third Party Tech Support - Rules of Engagement
Document Pouches

Section II - Service Focus: Monthly Maintenance

Intro Notes
Why We Do Monthly Maintenance
Scheduling Monthly Maintenance and On Site Visits
Checklist for Major Scheduled Maintenance
The Monthly Maintenance Checklist
Monthly Single Checklist
Outsourcing (some) of Your Monthly Maintenance

Section III - Service Focus: Backups and Disaster Recovery

Intro Notes
Designing a Great Backup Process
Documenting Backups
Backups 1: Defining Your Client Backup
Backups 2: Backup Philosophies and Client Communication
Backups 3: Backup Monitoring, Testing, and Management
Backups 4: Changing Technologies
Disaster Recovery - Simple Restores

End Matter

That should keep you listening for a few weeks!

Check it out at SMB Books!

:-)