Project management (PM) is the foundation of every successful project. From planning and execution to post-project analysis, effective project management ensures timelines stay on track, budgets remain in check, and deliverables meet client expectations. Yet, for many IT/MSPs, this crucial work often goes unnoticed and unbilled—leading to lost revenue and overextended resources.
If your team is spending countless hours coordinating projects, handling scope changes, and ensuring smooth execution without charging for it, you’re giving away valuable expertise for free. The reality is, project management is a billable service, and it’s time to start treating it that way.
In this blog, we’ll explore three actionable strategies MSPs can implement to charge for project management time effectively. By applying these approaches, MSPs can ensure fair compensation, improve project profitability, and build a more sustainable business model—without pushback from clients.
Generally, PM is a strategic process that ensures projects stay on track, within budget, and meet client expectations. It involves planning, execution, risk management, and quality control, all of which contribute to efficient service delivery and successful project outcomes.
A structured approach helps IT/ MSPs allocate resources effectively, identify potential risks early, and keep stakeholders aligned throughout the project. With clear timelines and defined responsibilities, teams can reduce inefficiencies, minimize delays, and prevent scope creep—ultimately improving profitability and client satisfaction.
On top of being overlooked as a billable service, project management is often misunderstood. Some assume it’s just basic coordination work, when in reality, it involves strategic planning and proactive issue resolution to keep projects running smoothly. Another common misconception is that project management is only necessary for large-scale projects, but even smaller engagements benefit from structured oversight to prevent delays and misalignment.
By breaking away from these assumptions, IT/MSPs can implement the following three key strategies to ensure project management is both effective and properly accounted for. In the next sections, we’ll explore how to integrate project management fees into your pricing model, position its value to clients, and align it with your overall service delivery strategy.
One of the most effective ways for IT/MSPs to ensure fair compensation for PM efforts is by incorporating PM time into project pricing. Rather than absorbing the costs internally, factoring PM hours directly into project proposals and invoices provides transparency, sets clear expectations, and reinforces the value of structured project oversight.
When clients see a dedicated line item for project management, they gain a better understanding of the work involved, from planning and coordination to risk management and post-deployment analysis. This not only builds trust but also reduces potential billing disputes, as clients recognize that project success depends on more than just execution—it requires structured leadership and strategic oversight.
For instance, when managing a large-scale IT deployment, clearly outlining project management as part of the cost structure ensures that critical activities like workflow planning, resource allocation, and issue resolution are properly accounted for. This approach allows MSPs to allocate resources more effectively, ensuring project managers have the necessary bandwidth to oversee each phase without cutting corners.
Additionally, leveraging IT automation and deployment tools can streamline the manual workload, allowing project managers to focus on higher-level strategic activities. The integration of automated deployment solutions with proactive project oversight results in a more efficient, scalable, and predictable project delivery model, further reinforcing the importance of PM time as a billable service.
By adopting this pricing strategy, MSPs can enhance financial sustainability, improve resource utilization, and deliver higher-quality outcomes, all while ensuring that project management remains a core, valued part of the service offering.
Beyond incorporating PM time into project pricing, IT/MSPs can take it a step further by positioning PM as a standalone service. This approach highlights the specialized expertise and strategic value of project management, allowing IT/MSPs to support clients who need dedicated oversight—even if they aren’t engaging in other IT services. Businesses handling complex IT deployments, regulatory-driven projects, or company-wide system rollouts often require expert coordination but may not need full-service IT management, making this a valuable offering.
To make this approach scalable, MSPs can adopt different pricing models based on client needs:
For standalone PM services to gain traction, IT/MSPs must effectively communicate their value. While some clients may see project management as just oversight, it’s the foundation of structured execution, risk reduction, and process optimization. Showcasing case studies and testimonials that highlight successful project outcomes reinforces this point, helping clients understand why expert PM is an investment, not just an added expense.
Consider this: When managing a complex IT deployment, an MSP acting as the dedicated project manager ensures seamless coordination, clear communication, and risk management throughout the process. Moreover, leveraging collaboration tools helps streamline workflows, track key milestones, and provide real-time visibility into progress—reducing misalignment, delays, and errors.
Retainer agreements provide IT/MSPs with a structured, reliable way to charge for ongoing project management services, ensuring predictable revenue while giving clients continuous access to expert oversight. Under this model, clients pay a recurring fee—typically monthly—in exchange for a set number of hours or defined services, allowing for proactive planning, streamlined workflows, and long-term client relationships.
One of the biggest advantages of retainer agreements is the financial stability they provide. MSPs benefit from consistent, predictable income, which allows for better resource allocation and service planning. Clients, in turn, gain peace of mind knowing they have dedicated project management support on standby whenever they need it. This ongoing engagement fosters loyalty, as clients are more likely to stay with an MSP that consistently meets their needs without requiring renegotiation for every new project.
To implement retainer agreements effectively, IT/MSPs should clearly define the scope of work, deliverables, billing cycle, and policies for additional work beyond the agreed-upon terms. Establishing structured communication channels and regular check-ins helps ensure that expectations remain aligned and project goals stay on track.
For example, an MSP managing a complex IT deployment can use a retainer agreement to provide ongoing project management support, ensuring that every phase of deployment—from initial setup to long-term system optimization—is executed smoothly. By leveraging automation-driven deployment tools, MSPs can reduce manual intervention, accelerate rollout times, and maintain seamless coordination with clients—maximizing efficiency while reinforcing the value of a dedicated project management partner. This model not only strengthens client relationships but also positions MSPs as strategic advisors rather than just service providers.
For IT/MSPs, recognizing the true value of project management is essential—not just for fair compensation but for business sustainability and client success. Too often, critical project oversight, strategic planning, and coordination efforts go unbilled, eating into profitability and stretching resources thin. A structured, intentional approach to pricing project management services ensures that IT/MSPs are paid for the expertise they bring to every project.
In this blog, we explored three proven strategies, which reinforces the importance of structured project oversight while ensuring IT/MSPs maintain profitability and deliver seamless project execution.
At MSP+, we help IT providers optimize their business processes, improve enterprise value, and streamline operations with structured project management strategies. By leveraging intelligent deployment automation, MSPs can maximize efficiency, reduce project timelines, and ensure project managers focus on high-level strategic execution rather than getting lost in administrative tasks.