Detailed scope

What the MSP contract review covers.

The MSP contract review is a structured, document-led review of your managed service provider relationship — what was agreed, what is being delivered, and what your options are. Here is exactly what we examine.

Review areas

Seven structured areas. One clear report.

Each area maps to a section in your findings report, with a plain-English summary of what was found, what it means, and what we recommend.

01 — Scope & Exclusions

  • What services are explicitly included in the contract
  • What is excluded — and what sits in a grey area
  • Whether the scope reflects your current operations
  • How out-of-scope work is governed and charged
  • Whether services you rely on are undocumented
  • Consistency between contract, SOW, and actual delivery

02 — SLAs & Reporting

  • What SLA commitments exist and how they are defined
  • Whether metrics are meaningful for your business
  • How SLA breach is defined, measured, and remedied
  • Whether reporting obligations exist and are being met
  • Availability of historic SLA performance data
  • Escalation paths and whether they are practical

03 — Renewals & Pricing

  • Contract term, renewal date, and exit notice period
  • Auto-renewal clauses and trigger conditions
  • Price escalation mechanisms and how they have been applied
  • Whether pricing benchmarks against current market alternatives
  • Volume commitments and whether they remain appropriate
  • Your negotiating position at the next renewal

04 — Licensing & Tools

  • What software licences your MSP provides or manages
  • Whether you own those licences or they revert on exit
  • Licence allocation versus current headcount and usage
  • Whether management tooling costs are itemised or bundled
  • Microsoft 365 or other platform licensing position
  • Third-party software managed under the MSP relationship

05 — Responsibilities

  • What your MSP is responsible for versus what falls to you
  • Whether the RACI or equivalent is clearly documented
  • Backup and disaster recovery responsibilities and testing
  • Security patching and update obligations
  • Data protection responsibilities and DPA alignment
  • Supplier chain visibility — who your MSP uses and on what terms

06 — Alternative Options

  • Whether the current arrangement is competitive in the market
  • What alternative MSPs or delivery models exist for your profile
  • Switching cost assessment — practical and contractual
  • Whether partial rebundling or hybrid arrangements are viable
  • Market summary of available alternatives at comparable scope
  • Independent recommendation: renew, renegotiate, or retender

07 — Action Plan

  • Issues prioritised by commercial and operational impact
  • Recommended positions for renegotiation, where applicable
  • Draft challenge points for your next supplier review meeting
  • Renewal timeline and recommended engagement schedule
  • Suggested next steps — renegotiate, audit further, or retender
  • Optional: ongoing oversight arrangements to maintain the position achieved
What to prepare

Documents that help most.

The review is designed to work with whatever you already hold. You do not need everything on this list to get started. The more of the following you can share, the more detailed and actionable the findings will be.

Everything you share is handled in strict confidence and used solely for the purpose of the review. We do not pass client documents to third parties.

Start the review

Documents that help most

  • MSP contract or service agreement (current version)
  • Any statement of work or service schedule attached to the contract
  • Most recent MSP invoice, or a typical monthly invoice
  • Licence summary or Microsoft 365 admin centre export
  • Contract renewal date and notice period, if known
  • Recent SLA or service performance report, if available
  • Any previous pricing proposals or renewal correspondence
  • Brief description of any outstanding issues or concerns
Scope note

What this review is, and what it is not.

This review is

An independent, document-led commercial and contractual review. It gives you a clear picture of your MSP relationship, identifies where your position could be strengthened, and provides independent recommendations — written for a non-technical leadership audience.

This review is not

A penetration test, a technical infrastructure audit, or a compliance certification. We do not require system access. We do not contact your MSP directly without your instruction. We have no commercial arrangements with alternative suppliers.

Ready to begin?

Share what you have and we will confirm scope, timeline, and next steps. Most reviews complete within two to three weeks of receiving documents.

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