IT help desk
Someone to call when it stops working.
A help desk is the part of IT your staff actually talk to. This page explains what it does all day, how a request moves from first call to closed, what “unlimited” really covers, and how to get faster answers.
Sample data · “Your Business”, Oxford, AL
Quick answer
What does an IT help desk do?
An IT help desk is where staff send every technology problem and request: a locked account, a printer that will not print, a new hire who needs a computer. It records each request, fixes most of them remotely, and tracks the rest until they are closed. With Operation Buildup the help desk is part of Managed IT at $175 per user, per month, with a 5-user minimum.
Day to day
What the help desk handles.
Most requests are small, and most are fixed by connecting to the computer remotely while the person watches.
Accounts and access
- Password resets and lockouts
- Multi-factor sign-in problems
- Access to a shared folder or mailbox
- New and departing staff
Email and Microsoft 365
- Outlook that will not open or sync
- Calendar and shared mailbox issues
- Teams and OneDrive problems
- Suspicious emails to check
Computers and software
- Slow or frozen computers
- Software installs and updates
- Error messages
- Setting up a replacement computer
Printers, Wi-Fi and the rest
- Printers and scanners
- Wi-Fi and network drops
- Remote access from home
- Calls to a software vendor on your behalf
How a request moves
From “it’s broken” to closed.
You call or email
One phone number and one email address for everything. No deciding who to bother.
It is recorded
Every request gets an entry: who, what, when. Nothing depends on someone remembering a hallway conversation.
It is sorted by urgency
One person with a slow computer waits behind an office that cannot take payments. Critical issues get priority.
It is worked
Usually by remote connection. If it needs hands, an on-site visit is scheduled.
It is closed, with notes
What was wrong and what fixed it, so the next person with the same problem gets a faster answer.
Support requests are handled Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm Central, and critical issues get priority. Managed IT also includes 24/7 monitoring and after-hours emergency support.
What “unlimited” means
Support is unlimited. Projects are quoted.
Covered by unlimited help desk
- Something that worked yesterday and does not today
- Questions about how to do something
- Password, account and access requests
- Software installs and troubleshooting
- Onboarding and offboarding staff
- As many requests as your team needs to make
A project, quoted separately
- Moving the office or opening a new location
- Replacing or retiring a server
- Migrating email to Microsoft 365
- New network equipment or cabling
- Rolling out a batch of new computers
- Custom development
The line is simple: keeping what you have working is support. Building or replacing something is a project, with its own written price before it starts.
Starting and leaving
Onboarding and offboarding, done properly.
Offboarding is the one most often skipped. An account that stays active after someone leaves is a door left unlocked.
When someone starts
- Tell IT before the start date, not on it
- Account, email and licenses created ahead of time
- Computer set up with the software the job needs
- Access to exactly the folders and systems the role requires
- Multi-factor sign-in set up on day one
- A short walk-through of how to ask for help
When someone leaves
- Tell IT before or at the moment of departure
- Sign-in blocked and active sessions ended the same day
- Mailbox forwarded or shared with a manager
- Their files moved to someone who needs them
- Company equipment returned and wiped
- Shared passwords they knew are changed, with a record of all of it
Get a faster fix
What to have ready when you call.
- Your name and which computer or device it is
- What you were trying to do when it happened
- The exact words of any error message, or a photo of the screen
- When it started, and whether anything changed just before
- Whether it affects only you or others too
- What you have already tried, including a restart
“It doesn’t work” starts a conversation. These six details usually start the fix.
Why billing matters
Hourly billing teaches staff not to call.
When every call creates a bill, people stop calling. They work around the problem, share a password, ignore the warning, or ask the coworker who is “good with computers.” Small problems sit until they become large ones, and the first time IT hears about it is the day something is down.
A flat monthly price removes that hesitation. Staff report problems early, when they are quick to fix, and the provider is paid the same whether you call twice or twenty times, which gives the provider a reason to prevent problems, not just bill for them.
What it costs
The help desk is inside the plan.
No tiers, no hourly billing and no surprise invoices.
Unlimited remote help desk by phone and email, with everything else in the plan. Minimum 5 users. Microsoft 365 licenses billed separately at Microsoft’s price.
- Unlimited remote help desk (phone & email)
- 24/7 monitoring and alerting
- Patch management
- Microsoft 365 administration and support
- Backup monitoring and management
- Advanced security monitoring
- Network & firewall management
- Security awareness training
- Quarterly on-site visits
- Vendor management
- Monthly reporting
- After-hours emergency support
Work outside day-to-day support, priced in writing before it starts.
- Office moves and new locations
- Server and network projects
- Microsoft 365 migrations
- vCIO strategy sessions
- CMMC compliance consulting
Questions
Help desk questions, plainly answered.
How much does an IT help desk cost?
The help desk is included in Managed IT at $175 per user, per month, with a 5-user minimum. Microsoft 365 licenses are billed separately at Microsoft’s price. There is no per-call or hourly charge.
Is it really unlimited?
Yes, for remote support by phone and email: there is no cap on the number of requests. Projects such as an office move, a new server or a migration are quoted separately before they start.
When is the help desk open?
Support requests are handled Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm Central, and critical issues get priority. Managed IT also includes 24/7 monitoring and after-hours emergency support.
Can you fix things remotely, or do you have to come out?
Most requests are fixed remotely. When something needs hands-on attention we schedule an on-site visit. The plan also includes quarterly on-site visits.
How do employees ask for help?
By phone or email. Each request is recorded, assigned and tracked until it is closed, so nothing depends on memory.
Do you set up new employees?
Yes. Onboarding and offboarding are part of support: accounts and access ready for a new hire’s first day, and access removed with a record when someone leaves. Tell us as early as you can.
Do you have a help desk near Oxford or Anniston?
Yes. We are based in Oxford. See IT support in Oxford and IT support in Anniston for the local details.
Contact
Request an IT assessment.
A hands-on review of your computers, network, security and backups, quoted up front, with findings in plain English.