Common IT Questions.
Actual Answers.

Yes — completely free, and not just the tools. The matching is free. The introductions are free.

You answer a short questionnaire about your business — industry, size, compliance requirements, what you've dealt with before — and we match you with vetted IT providers who actually fit. We make the introduction, we stay in your corner during the process, and there's no obligation to hire anyone.

If the first match isn't right, tell us and we'll find another. You can use SerenIT as many times as you need, for as long as you need, until you find a provider you want to stick with.

We earn a placement fee from providers only after you choose one you're happy with — which means we have every incentive to keep looking until it's genuinely right for you.

No. When you use the AI tools (Translate to My Boss, Vendor BS Detector, RFP Generator), your text is sent to Google's Gemini API to generate a response and then it's gone. We don't log, store, or analyze the content of your submissions. Refresh the page and it disappears.

Both sides of the IT conversation. Business owners who can't decode their IT situation and need clarity. And IT professionals who can't get their non-technical colleagues or bosses to understand what they're dealing with. Most of the tools work for either audience.

An MSP is a company that proactively manages your IT systems and security — as opposed to only showing up when something breaks. What that actually costs and how it's billed varies significantly by provider. Some charge an all-inclusive flat monthly fee. Others charge a smaller monthly amount for security tooling and bill labor separately as you use it. Understanding which model you're being quoted matters a lot when comparing proposals.

These are the three main MSP billing models:

All-You-Can-Eat (AYCE / flat-fee): You pay one predictable monthly rate per user that covers everything — help desk, monitoring, patching, security tools, and labor. Easiest to budget. Most common for businesses that generate a lot of IT tickets.

Time & Materials (T&M): Your monthly cost covers the security and management tooling (RMM, MDR, etc.) required to properly manage your environment — then labor is billed at an hourly rate only when work is actually performed. Can be more cost-effective for leaner businesses that don't need constant support.

Break-fix: No ongoing contract, no proactive monitoring. You call when something breaks and pay by the hour. Low upfront cost, but no one is watching your systems, and your IT provider only makes money when things go wrong — which is a bad incentive structure for everyone.

It depends heavily on the billing model. AYCE providers typically charge $100–$250 per user per month — a 15-person business might pay $2,000–$3,500/month all-in. Time-and-materials providers may charge $500–$1,500/month for tooling, then bill labor at $100–$175/hour as used — which can be cheaper if your team is relatively self-sufficient. Price also varies by location, industry, and compliance requirements (HIPAA, PCI, etc.). See our full IT pricing guide for a detailed breakdown.

An RFP (Request for Proposal) is a document you send to multiple vendors explaining what you need and asking them to bid. You don't technically need one, but it's highly recommended. Without an RFP, every vendor quotes something slightly different, making comparison almost impossible. With an RFP, everyone quotes against the same scope and you can actually compare apples to apples. Our free RFP Generator creates one in minutes.

MFA (also called two-factor authentication or 2FA) means that logging into an account requires your password plus a second verification — usually a code sent to your phone or an authentication app. Yes, your business needs it. MFA blocks over 99% of automated account compromise attacks. If your business isn't using MFA on email and critical systems, it's one of the most important things to fix first.

Key signs of good IT support: they contact you proactively (not just when something breaks), you have access to all your own passwords and documentation, backups are tested and verified, they discuss security regularly, and their invoices are detailed and readable. If you're not sure, take our free IT Sanity Check — 7 questions that surface the most important gaps.

Yes — that's a significant problem called "single point of failure." If that person is unavailable, quits, or has a falling out with you, you may be locked out of your own systems. Every business should maintain a documented password vault (like 1Password or Bitwarden for Business) that the company owns, containing all credentials for all systems. Your IT provider should help you set this up, not discourage it.

Immediately: disconnect affected systems from the network (unplug ethernet, disable WiFi), do not pay the ransom until you've consulted a professional, contact your IT provider or an incident response firm, and preserve evidence. Do not restart or try to "clean" infected machines on your own. Whether you can recover depends heavily on whether you have tested, offline or cloud backups from before the infection. This is why backup testing matters before an incident, not after.

We apply a multi-point review before accepting any MSP into the network:

3+ years in business — no fly-by-night operations
4.0+ verified rating on Google or Clutch with real client reviews
Confirmed active coverage in their listed markets — not just a sales territory
Demonstrated response time commitments — they have to be able to tell us what their SLA looks like
Liability insurance — verified proof of coverage
Balanced contracts — we don't work with providers whose agreements are entirely one-sided in their favor

We also reference the ChannelFutures MSP 501 ranking as one benchmark for established, well-regarded providers. Not every applicant makes it in.

We typically match you with 2–3 vetted providers in your area so you can compare proposals side by side. If none of them feel right, tell us and we'll find more options. There's no limit on how many introductions we'll make — we'd rather spend more time finding the right fit than leave you stuck with the wrong provider.

Tell us and we'll find you another match. There's no commitment, no fee, and no pressure on your end. The intro call is free. If the provider isn't the right fit — wrong size, wrong price, wrong culture — we keep looking until you find one that works. We'd rather make five introductions than have you end up locked into a contract you regret.

No. The matching is completely free for business owners. MSP partners pay us a fee when an introduction leads to an engagement — so our incentive is to make good matches, not to push you toward anyone. If a provider isn't right for you, it's not good for us either.