An MSP service catalog is a written list of exactly what you deliver, at what level, and what it costs. It turns a vague promise of “IT support” into defined offerings that your team can deliver consistently and your clients can understand. Without one, every client gets a slightly different deal, and margins quietly suffer.
A catalog is more than a price sheet. It is the backbone of your service delivery, your sales conversations, and your onboarding. This guide covers what belongs in it, how to structure it, and how to keep it useful as your business grows.
Why Every MSP Needs a Service Catalog
When services are not defined, three problems appear. Sales promises things delivery cannot support. Technicians handle requests differently depending on who asks. And clients argue about what was included because nobody wrote it down. A catalog fixes all three by giving everyone the same reference.
It also makes your business easier to run. You can price with confidence, train new hires against a clear standard, and spot where you are giving away work for free. If you are trying to build an operation that scales, the catalog is where the discipline starts.
What Goes in a Catalog
Each service entry should answer the same set of questions so clients and staff can compare them easily.
- Name and description: what the service is, in plain language.
- What is included: the specific tasks and deliverables.
- What is not included: the exclusions, stated clearly.
- Service levels: response and resolution targets, and hours of coverage.
- Requirements: what the client must provide or maintain for the service to work.
- Pricing model: per user, per device, flat fee, or project-based.
- Owner: the person or team responsible for delivery.
The exclusions matter as much as the inclusions. Many disputes come from an assumed inclusion that nobody wrote down.
Organize by What the Client Buys
Group the catalog by client outcomes rather than internal tools. Typical categories include help desk and end-user support, security and compliance, backup and recovery, cloud and infrastructure management, network management, procurement, and strategic advisory. Clients understand “protects our data and recovers it if something goes wrong” better than a list of software brands. Name the tools inside each entry, but sell the outcome.
Define Tiers Carefully
Many MSPs offer two or three packages, such as essential, standard, and advanced. Tiers help clients choose and make quotes faster, but only if the differences are clear. Each step up should add real value, like faster response, additional security controls, or included strategic reviews. Avoid tiers that differ only by a few hard-to-explain features. Fewer, cleaner options usually sell better than a long menu.
Decide where the advisory role fits. Some MSPs include strategic guidance in every agreement, others sell it separately. Whichever you choose, describe it precisely, including how often you will meet and what the client will receive. For a sense of what belongs there, see vCIO deliverables that prove value.
Set Service Levels You Can Actually Meet
A service level is a promise. Set targets based on what your team can consistently deliver, not on what sounds impressive. Measure your current performance for a few months before you publish numbers. If you promise a fifteen-minute response and deliver in an hour, you have created a reason for the client to leave. Define priorities, such as critical, high, normal, and low, and say how each is measured. Make sure the definitions reflect business impact rather than the volume of the complaint.
Connect Pricing to Effort
Each service should have a price that covers your real cost plus margin. Track the time and tools it takes to deliver, and revisit the price yearly. If a service consistently costs more than it earns, raise the price, tighten the scope, or stop offering it. A catalog gives you the data to make these decisions instead of relying on gut feel.
Write Onboarding Into the Catalog
What happens in the first ninety days is part of the service. Define the onboarding steps, the documents you collect, the access you require, and the time frame. Clients feel the quality of your operation in this phase, and a clear process makes it repeatable. It also helps you set expectations about what the client owes you, such as timely approvals and access to key staff.
Keep the Catalog Alive
A catalog goes stale quickly if nobody owns it. Assign one person to maintain it. Review it every quarter, retire services that no longer make sense, and update descriptions when your delivery changes. Gather feedback from technicians, sales, and clients. When a client asks for something that is not in the catalog, decide whether it is a one-off or a signal for a new offering, and record it.
Use the Catalog in Client Conversations
Bring the catalog into reviews. When a client asks whether something is covered, point to the entry. When you propose a new service, explain how it fits with what they already have. A clear catalog helps a vCIO guide clients toward what they need without a pitch, because the options are visible and honest.
Common Service Catalog Mistakes
- Listing tools and features instead of outcomes.
- Leaving out exclusions, which invites scope arguments.
- Promising service levels the team cannot meet.
- Creating too many tiers and confusing clients.
- Never updating the document after publishing it.
An Example Entry
Here is how a single catalog entry might read. The service is managed backup and recovery. It includes daily backups of servers and cloud data, monitoring of every job, monthly restore tests, and documented recovery steps. It excludes recovery from client-side deletion beyond the retention period and recovery of systems not listed in the inventory. The service level is a four-hour response to a failed backup and a defined target for restoring critical systems. The client must keep licensing current and give timely access to systems. Pricing is per protected device plus storage. The owner is the infrastructure team lead. Every entry follows the same layout, so a client comparing two services can see the difference in a minute.
Use the Catalog to Say No Gracefully
Every MSP gets requests outside its scope. A catalog gives you a fair way to respond. Point to the entry, explain that the request is outside the agreement, and offer a project quote or a partner. Clients accept a clear boundary far better than a vague refusal. It also protects your team from unpaid work that slowly erodes margins.
Involve the Whole Team in Building It
Do not write the catalog in isolation. Ask technicians what they actually deliver, ask sales what clients ask for, and ask leadership which services drive the most profit. The best catalogs come from real practice. A first version does not need to be perfect. Publish it internally, use it for a quarter, and refine it with what you learn.
Review Catalog Performance
Once a quarter, look at which services sell, which generate the most tickets, and which carry the best margin. Retire or rework anything that costs more than it earns. The data tells you where to invest and where to simplify.
Related Reading
New to the role? Start with what a vCIO is and why the role matters, then see how the vCIO services hub ties the pieces together.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a service catalog for an MSP?
It is a documented list of the services an MSP offers, including what each one covers, its service levels, requirements, and pricing model.
How many service tiers should an MSP offer?
Two or three is usually enough. Each tier should add clear, meaningful value so clients can choose without confusion.
Should an MSP publish its prices?
That depends on your market and sales approach. Whether or not prices are public, define them internally so quotes are consistent and margins are protected.
How often should you update a service catalog?
Review it quarterly and make changes whenever your delivery or costs change. Assign one owner so it does not go stale.
What is the difference between a service catalog and a service level agreement?
The catalog describes what you offer. A service level agreement sets the performance targets you commit to for those services. The two work together.
About Brent Lacy: Brent Lacy is a technology advisor and the voice behind Rewired MSP. He helps MSPs operate with greater maturity and helps business owners make IT choices that make them more secure and more efficient. He is the author of Out of Cycle: A Field Guide to Strategic IT Continuity, vCIO Rewired: Virtually Conquering IT Obstacles, and Near Miss: Preventable IT Failures Threatening Your Business Security.
