Outsourced IT support for a construction or trades business usually costs between £45 and £100 per user per month. Where you land depends on how much your team works from site, the security you need, and the software you rely on, from finance and payroll to project tools. For most firms this is far cheaper and more capable than trying to manage IT in-house.
Construction and trades firms have office staff and people out on jobs, which shapes the IT and the price. Here’s what drives the cost.
1. Remote and site working
The more your team works from sites and on the move, the more secure remote access and mobile support matter. Supporting people wherever they are is a core part of the value and feeds into the fee.
2. The level of security you need
Construction firms handle payments and are targeted by invoice fraud. Layered security, including MFA, managed email security and endpoint protection, costs a little more but protects your money and helps you meet client requirements.
3. Your software and systems
Finance and payroll software, project tools and any servers or hosted desktops all need supporting. A firm running more systems needs more support than a simple office, and that’s reflected in the price.
4. What’s included as standard
A good managed price should include proactive monitoring, helpdesk support, patching, endpoint protection and backup as standard. Always check what’s in the monthly fee so you can compare like for like.
A real example: quick, reliable support
We support construction and trades businesses whose staff split their time between the office, home and site. When someone can’t connect or an app won’t open, we get them working again fast. As one user told us: “Very prompt service, resolved the issue in minutes.” That reliability is what the monthly fee buys.
What a firm your size should expect to pay
As a rough guide, based on the £45 to £100 per user range:
- A 10-person firm: roughly £450 to £750 a month for fully managed IT and security.
- A 25-person firm with site teams: roughly £1,250 to £2,000 a month.
- A 50-person multi-site business: roughly £2,250 to £5,000 a month.
These are guide figures, not a quote, but the cost is predictable, per user, and scales as you take on more staff and sites.
What to ask a provider
A specialist for construction and trades firms should be able to answer:
- Have you supported firms with site teams and hosted desktops before?
- How do you give site and office staff secure, reliable access from anywhere?
- How do you protect us from invoice and supplier-payment fraud?
- What is your response time when a payroll or billing deadline is at risk?
- Is the price clear and per user, with security included rather than charged separately?
Why the cheapest quote costs more
It is tempting to pick the lowest number, but for a construction or trades business a day of downtime, a payroll or invoicing system that will not open before a deadline, or a redirected supplier or subcontractor payment costs far more than the gap between a cheap contract and a good one. The right question is not the lowest price, but what it costs you when work stops, and who prevents that happening.
What good IT means on a building project
For a construction or trades business, good IT is mostly invisible. Quotes and applications for payment go out on time, site teams reach drawings, schedules and timesheets from wherever they are, payroll runs, and certificates and compliance records are where they should be. When something does go wrong it is caught early and fixed fast, before a deadline slips or a payment goes astray. That day-to-day reliability, rather than any single product, is what you are really paying for, and it is why the right partner at a slightly higher monthly cost works out cheaper than a cheap contract that leaves you exposed.
Why construction and trades firms choose First Stop IT
First Stop IT has supported businesses since 2002, including construction and trades businesses with office and site-based teams. We know how these firms run: people working from sites and on the move, finance and payroll software like QuickBooks, Sage and Xero, secure remote access, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, and the security that protects a firm handling projects, client sites and payments. We support construction and trades firms in Harlow, Bishop’s Stortford and across Essex, Hertfordshire and London. Our credentials include:
- Cyber Essentials Certified
- IASME Cyber Assurance (Gold)
- NCSC Assured Service Provider (Cyber Advisor for Cyber Essentials)
- Microsoft Partner
- Crown Commercial Service Supplier (G-Cloud)
- Quality Principles Certified
We look after more than 2,000 endpoints across 50 companies, we’ve been named a Top 50 UK MSP for three years running, and we support organisations with 10 to 100 employees across Essex, Hertfordshire and London, including Harlow and Bishop’s Stortford.
Book a free IT and cyber security review
Want a clear quote for your firm? Book a free IT and cyber security review with First Stop IT and we’ll show you exactly what’s included.