A 'quick favour' that took a day
A managed client asks the helpdesk to set up a new starter. Fine, that is in the contract. While doing it, the engineer notices the client has bought a new label printer, a conference room screen and a line-of-business application update that needs installing on every PC. The client asks if they can 'just sort that too'. The engineer does, logging the time against the same ticket.
A month later, the invoice goes out as the usual managed fee. Nobody noticed that a day of project-style work was done inside a routine request. It happens several times a month across the client base, and nobody has added it up.
Why billable work slips into the managed fee
Engineers are measured on closing tickets and keeping clients happy, not on classifying work. The contract schedule that says what is included is a PDF the engineer has never read.
- Contract inclusions are written in general terms, like 'reasonable user support'.
- Each client's contract differs slightly and engineers cannot remember which covers what.
- Work type is set when the ticket is opened, not when its nature changes.
- Asking a client to approve a charge mid-ticket feels awkward to an engineer.
- Invoice runs happen from the PSA's billing screen with no review of borderline time.
The PSA's own settings often make it worse. If the default work type on a managed client's board is 'covered by agreement', every entry is treated as included unless the engineer changes it, and in a busy week they never do. The default, not the engineer, decides most billing outcomes.
What leaked work costs an MSP
| Leak | Effect |
|---|---|
| Projects done as support | Engineer time given away and margins squeezed |
| Hardware set-up absorbed | Clients expect it free next time too |
| No change record | The estate changes without documentation |
| No client approval | Disputes if the work is billed later |
| Contracts never reviewed | Scope creep becomes the new normal |
What counts as in scope is set by your own contracts. The aim is to apply them consistently, not to find reasons to charge.
Scope checks we add to the ticket flow
- Contract inclusions per client summarised as a short list of categories in the PSA, taken from your contract schedules and agreed with your service manager.
- A prompt on the ticket when work matches a category that is usually outside scope for that client (new hardware, application installs across many devices, site moves), asking the engineer to confirm.
- A one-click client approval request from the ticket, sent by email with the work description and your rate, so billable work is agreed before or during the job.
- A split-ticket option so billable work sits on its own ticket with the right work type and billing code.
- A billable review list before each invoice run, showing borderline time entries for the account manager to decide.
- A monthly summary per client of work done outside scope, billed or waived, for account reviews.
We build this in your PSA where it supports custom fields and workflows (ConnectWise PSA, Autotask and HaloPSA all do to some degree), with a small service alongside it where it does not.
After: engineers know, clients agree, the invoice is right
The engineer at the new starter job sees a prompt that label printer set-up is outside this client's scope, sends the approval request in two clicks and carries on. The client approves by email. The work goes on its own ticket. At month end, the account manager reviews the few borderline entries in minutes, and the invoice includes the approved work.
Where the account manager decides to waive something for goodwill, that is recorded too, so the account review shows the value you gave away, which is a useful conversation in itself.
Does billable work leak at your MSP?
- Engineers rarely know what each client's contract covers.
- Out-of-scope work is billed only when someone happens to notice.
- Clients push back on charges because nobody asked first.
- Invoice runs are not reviewed for borderline time.
- You cannot say how much free work each client received last quarter.