How do I find out how an IT services firm bills for project work versus monthly plans?
Ask for revenue split by type: recurring monthly plans, one-off projects and hourly work. Then look at how each is priced, invoiced and collected. Monthly plans give steadier income, while project income can swing. What you need to see is how much of last year’s income you can expect to repeat.
Request the invoice history and group it into the three types. Look at how each client is billed and whether the plans are fixed or tied to the number of devices or users. Check how often plan prices were reviewed. A plan that has never changed in price may be quietly losing money as the work grows.
Next, look at project work. Ask how projects are quoted, how often they run over, and whether the extra time is billed or absorbed. Read a few quotes and compare them with the hours logged. Ask which projects came from plan clients and which from one-off buyers, since that shows whether projects feed the recurring base.
Check collections as well. Ask about late payers and any unpaid balances. Ask whether any plan clients receive extra hours that are not charged. Your accountant can help you separate the income that repeats from the income that does not. Finally, ask how the seller decides when to push a client from hourly work onto a plan. Look at whether project work is bought mostly by clients on plans, because that shows how closely the two revenue types depend on each other. If plan clients leave, projects often leave with them.
Key takeaways
- Split revenue into monthly plans, projects and hourly work.
- Compare project quotes against the hours actually logged.
- Ask which income repeats and which was one-off.
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Sources
This answer is checked against primary sources. Links were last confirmed on the dates shown.
- 01Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentHow to conduct due diligence when buying a business
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