RSystems
Pricing built to keep your bills lean.
We're transparent about how we price and how we work. Our goal isn't to maximize a monthly invoice — it's to give you sound infrastructure and honest advice, structured so you're never paying for more than you need.
How we work
Four ways we structure an engagement.
Most of our work falls into one of a few models. We choose the one that fits the work — and wherever possible, we steer toward the structure that keeps your costs predictable and contained.
Fixed-Fee Projects
For discrete, definable work, we strongly prefer a fixed fee against a fixed scope. You know the cost before we begin, and we carry the risk of execution. Most of our project work is structured this way.
See how we propose work
Managed Services (Subscription)
Our ongoing platform and infrastructure administration is billed as a flat monthly subscription, priced per unit — per identity, per endpoint, per site, and so on. Predictable, and scaled to what you actually run.
See per-unit pricing
Managed Support (Retainer)
For open-ended work that can't be neatly defined in advance, we use a monthly retainer. It's ideal for established relationships, where we understand your environment well enough to forecast and budget accurately.
How retainers work
Hourly
We generally don't structure engagements hourly — it misaligns our incentives with yours. But for the occasional piece of work that fits neither a fixed scope nor a retainer, we do work on an hourly basis.
When hourly fits
Our guiding principle: whenever a piece of work can be defined as a project, we pull it out and price it as a fixed-fee project — and we reserve the managed support retainer for the genuinely undefinable. We've found clients are happiest when their bills are lowest, and that means actively keeping the retainer lean and turning to fixed-scope work wherever we can.
Where we start
Nearly every new relationship begins with an assessment.
Before we take on ongoing support or define specific projects, we start by getting to know your environment. An initial assessment is an audit of your current technology and a review of how your team actually works — enough for us to support your business well and make recommendations worth acting on.
A typical assessment covers verifying or creating records of your key assets, confirming access and credentials, reviewing your on-premises and cloud services, network, security and backup posture, and identifying the pain points that matter most. We usually complete one within about four weeks, depending on the state of your documentation and the availability of your team.
An assessment runs between $3,000 and $5,000 — and candidly, we usually lose money on it. That's deliberate. We treat the assessment as an investment in the relationship: if we take the time to truly understand your environment and your company up front, we can give you great advice and build a productive relationship for years to come.
How we propose work
Every project starts with a Recommendation.
When we propose a piece of work, we don't send a one-line quote. We send a Recommendation — a fully considered scope that reflects real research into your context, goals, and constraints. Each one lays out what we propose to do, why, and how we'll implement it; what it will cost in equipment, labor, and licenses; how long we expect it to take; and anything we'll need from you to succeed.
The result is a proposal you can evaluate and approve with confidence — no surprises, no hidden assumptions. Here are three representative examples, lightly anonymized — from a first-step assessment to a full office buildout.
Example: Initial Assessment
Click to expand$3,266.25 · ~4 weeks
Before taking on ongoing support or defining specific projects, RSystems begins with an assessment — an audit of your current technology and a review of how your team works.
Background
Nearly every new relationship starts here. We need enough understanding of your environment and your workflow to support the business well and make recommendations worth acting on.
Approach
A structured review across your assets, access, services, network, security, and backup posture — conducted through a few working sessions and an on-site visit — culminating in a prioritized set of initial recommendations.
Assumptions
- Roughly one primary office with a typical small-business environment.
- Existing documentation and credentials can be made available during the engagement.
- No emergency remediation is required mid-assessment; urgent issues, if found, may extend the timeline.
Scope
- Verify or create records of key assets (hardware, software, personnel)
- Verify credentials and administrative access (domain, services, workstations, servers)
- Review on-premises and cloud services (file sharing, database, directory, communications)
- Review network topology, security policies, and backup policies
- Review the current IT budget
- Identify and prioritize pain points and ongoing needs
- Produce initial recommendations
Requirements
- Availability of key staff for 2–3 meetings and an on-site visit
- Timely production of asset lists and credentials
Expenses
An assessment is labor only — there is no equipment.
Labor
Typically completed within ~4 weeks, depending on the state of your documentation and the availability of your team.
Example: Firewall Replacement (High Availability)
Click to expand$29,396.25 · ~4 weeks
To address a client's aging, end-of-life firewalls, RSystems recommends replacing them with a high-availability pair of current-generation SonicWall NSa-series firewalls.
Background
The existing firewalls are reaching end of life and will no longer be supported by the manufacturer. Because no major network changes are expected over the life of the new hardware, we recommend the longest available (5-year) license to lower total cost of ownership.
Approach
Deploy a SonicWall NSa-series firewall in a high-availability pair, integrate it with the existing Cisco switching, migrate the configuration, and cut over during a maintenance window — with failover verified before completion.
Assumptions
- The existing network architecture and Cisco switching remain in place.
- A single internet circuit; no ISP changes are in scope.
- A maintenance window is available for cutover, during which the network will be briefly down.
Scope
- Coordinate purchase and delivery of new firewalls and licenses
- Configure the SonicWall HA pair and integrate with the Cisco switches
- Migrate rules, routing, and VPN configuration
- Manage cutover from old to new firewalls and verify failover
- Dispose of old equipment
Requirements
- Availability of key staff and timely access to the space
- Prompt delivery of credentials and authorizations
- A 4-hour maintenance window (network down during cutover)
Expenses
Labor
Expected completion within ~4 weeks of approval, provided all requirements are met. Practical firewall lifetime is ~5–7 years; pricing includes 5 years of licensing.
Example: New Office Network Buildout
Click to expand$91,563.88 · ~12 weeks
To address a growing ~60-person company's need for a complete network in a new office, RSystems recommends a high-performance, scalable infrastructure built around SonicWall, Cisco, and Juniper Mist.
Background
The company is relocating and needs a full network built around its 5 Gbps internet connection — supporting heavy video conferencing, large file transfers, and reliable Wi-Fi across the entire floor.
Approach
A scalable design built on a SonicWall NSa-series high-availability firewall, Cisco Catalyst switching, and Juniper Mist Wi-Fi 7 access points — designed and pre-configured in the RSystems office, then installed and validated on site with a post-installation wireless survey.
Assumptions
- Base building provides the 5 Gbps circuit and demarcation; structured cabling is in place or scoped separately.
- Approximately 60 users on a single floor.
- Standard office power and a suitable IDF / rack location are available.
Scope
- Design the network solution
- Procure all equipment
- Pre-configure the network in the RSystems office
- Install equipment and access points on site
- Test Wi-Fi and network connectivity
- Perform a post-installation wireless survey
Requirements
- Availability of key staff and timely access to the space
Expenses
Labor
Expected completion within ~12 weeks of approval, provided all requirements are met.
Figures shown are illustrative and rounded. Every recommendation is priced to the specifics of your environment.
Managed services
Transparent, per-unit pricing.
Our managed services are billed monthly, priced per unit so you only pay for what you run. Services can be taken à la carte, but most clients are best served by one of our two packages.
| Service | Monthly Price | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Identity Management | $30 | per identity |
| Endpoint Management | $35 | per endpoint |
| Network Management | $300 | per site |
| Security & Domain | $400 | per domain |
| Server Management | $350 | per server |
| Backup Management | $12 | per user |
| Cybersecurity Awareness | $5 | per identity |
Minimums apply to some services. Server pricing shown is for standard (Synology) instances; Windows and specialized servers are priced individually.
Package
Essentials
The minimum entry point for managed services.
$50 / identity / month
Minimum 5 identities.
A streamlined bundle covering the essentials of managed infrastructure. The right starting point for smaller teams, and very often paired with a Managed Support retainer.
Explore Essentials
Package
Core Suite
The right fit for most organizations.
$500 base + $75 / identity / month
Minimum 10 identities.
Our most complete package — domain and network management plus per-identity identity, endpoint, and backup management, bundled at a lower rate than à la carte. For most clients, Core Suite paired with Managed Support is exactly the right fit.
Explore Core Suite
Managed support
How retainers work.
Managed Support is a monthly retainer for the open-ended work that doesn't fit neatly into a defined project — the questions, changes, and judgment calls that come up in the course of running an organization's technology.
Retainers work best in established relationships. Once we've worked together for six months to a year or more, we understand your average burn rate well enough to forecast annual usage and amortize it evenly across the year. Some months run high and others run low, but you're always working from a known, defined budget.
For brand-new clients, we use our experience to make an educated starting estimate. We then track utilization closely with you over the first few months and adjust quarterly, so your budget stays commensurate with your actual usage — never drifting away from what you need.
And because we actively pull defined work out into fixed-fee projects, we keep the retainer itself as lean as possible. The retainer covers the genuinely undefinable; everything else gets scoped and priced on its own.
Getting started
Setup costs and the things that move them.
Onboarding a new environment involves up-front setup work that varies from client to client. The figures below are ballpark ranges to help you plan — not rigid quotes. Every environment is a little different, and your actual recommendation will reflect yours.
| Service | Typical Setup |
|---|---|
| Identity Management | ~$2,500+ |
| Endpoint Management | ~$2,500+ |
| Network Management | ~$2,000+ |
| Security & Domain | ~$4,500+ |
| Server Management | ~$2,000+ |
| Backup Management | ~$500+ |
| Core Suite onboarding | ~$15,000+ |
Setup costs scale with the size and complexity of your environment and are confirmed in your recommendation.
Larger environments
Organizations of 100+ employees often benefit from economies of scale, which can bring per-unit pricing down.
Co-managed environments
When we work alongside your internal IT team and share responsibilities, our scope is smaller — and there's often room for reduced pricing to match.
Hourly
When hourly is the right fit.
We generally don't bill hourly — it misaligns our incentives with yours, and we'd rather carry the risk of a fixed scope. But for the occasional piece of work that fits neither a fixed scope nor a retainer, we do work by the hour.
Rates aren't fixed — they run anywhere from $150 to $500 an hour, on a sliding scale set by the role and the work. Hands-on installation — running cable or mounting displays in a conference room — sits at the low end; senior advisory, like joining a board meeting as your fractional CTO, sits at the top.
Let's find the right fit.
Tell us about your environment and what you're trying to accomplish. We'll start with an honest conversation about how to structure the work — and what it should cost.
Start a Conversation