Independent reporting on how MSPs bill, what they keep and how the books hold up. Written by the MSP Margin editorial desk.
Read the latestThe money sideof managed IT.
Organized like the books
Every article is filed the way a chart of accounts is, so you can go straight to the part of the P&L you are working on.
RevenueAccounts 4000. Agreements, billing, MRR and deferred revenue.
Cost of serviceAccounts 5000. Licensing, pass-throughs, labor and tools.
OperationsAccounts 6000. PSA, month-end close and reconciliation.
Growth & exitAccounts 7000. Pricing, valuation, diligence and M&A.
NewsWhat changed, and what it means for the books.
Latest from the desk,filed this month
Get the Monday Close- Oct 16A chart of accounts that shows marginSplitting revenue and cost of service by service line lets an MSP see which parts of the business actually make money, instead of one blended number.Operations
- Oct 15Normalizing EBITDA without overreachingAdd-backs can show a buyer what your MSP really earns, but weak adjustments get stripped out in a quality-of-earnings review and cost the seller credibility.Growth & exit
- Oct 14Match tool seats to billed seatsEvery RMM agent, EDR license and backup seat costs money, and a monthly match against what you bill keeps unbilled seats from eating your margin.Cost of service
- Oct 14A month-end close checklist for MSPsAn ordered close process built around how MSPs actually bill and buy, from agreement additions and license true-ups to deferred revenue and locking the period.Operations
- Oct 14Billing in advance or in arrearsWhen you invoice for managed services and mid-month changes shapes your cash flow, your month-end entries and how much you end up financing for clients.Revenue
- Oct 13Microsoft CSP software renewals rise 5%Pax8's October briefing covers a 5% uplift on monthly-billed annual software terms and a December switch to usage-based billing for new Copilot Business licenses.News
- Oct 12Not all recurring revenue is equalBuyers look past the monthly recurring total to the contracts, customers and margins behind it. Those details decide how much that revenue is really worth.Growth & exit
- Oct 12When your PSA and books disagreePSA-to-accounting syncs fail quietly, so revenue and receivables drift apart unless someone ties the two systems out every month with a few simple checks.Operations
- Oct 10What belongs in your MRR numberMonthly recurring revenue only means something if you define it the same way every month, and most of the confusion comes from onboarding, hardware and resold licensing.Revenue
- Oct 9The effective hourly rate testDividing flat-fee agreement revenue by hours delivered shows which clients pay your real rate and which ones quietly cost you time.Cost of service
- Oct 8TD SYNNEX to acquire BlueStarThe distributor signed a definitive agreement to buy BlueStar, a specialist in data capture, point-of-sale, RFID and related technologies, pending regulatory approval.News
- Oct 7What diligence asks for firstBefore a buyer's team looks at your stack or your people, they ask for the same core financial records. Have them organized before the first call.Growth & exit
- Oct 7Pass-through licensing distorts marginReselling Microsoft 365 and similar subscriptions adds revenue but little profit, so how you present it and report it decides whether your margin numbers mean anything.Cost of service
- Oct 7Prepaid hours are a liability firstCash from hour blocks and annual agreements paid upfront is owed work until you deliver it, and the books should show it that way month by month.Revenue
- Oct 1WEBIT Services becomes employee-ownedThe Naperville, Illinois provider is now fully employee-owned after its founder partnered with Buildkin instead of selling to an outside buyer.News
- Sep 16Niobrara Capital buys MSP CorpThe U.S. private equity firm bought the founder-led Canadian managed IT platform and plans to expand it in Canada and into the U.S.News
Billed is not kept
Take an illustrative agreement that bills $12,000 a month. After Microsoft licensing, the security stack, technician time and tools, $2,400 is left. Most MSPs track the first number. This publication is about the second one.
$12,000
$2,400
What changed,and what it costs
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