Pricing managed services: per user vs per device
For MSP account managers, sales staff, service managers and owners who price recurring managed services. No prerequisite, though 'Handling objections and explaining pricing' helps. You'll calculate monthly prices under per-user, per-device and hybrid models, work out gross margin from per-unit costs, choose the unit that fits the customer's environment and the vendor subscriptions behind your service, find scope gaps in a proposal, and explain the model to the customer in writing. The price book, costs and margin floor in the examples are fictional; use your company's own, and its discount approval limits.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Length
- About 92 minutes
- Contents
- 5 lessons · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 10 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Calculate a customer's monthly price under per-user, per-device and hybrid models from user and device counts
- Calculate the gross margin of a managed service price from its per-unit costs
- Choose a pricing unit that fits the customer's environment and the vendor licensing behind it
- Identify scope gaps and edge cases in a pricing proposal before it goes to the customer
- Explain the pricing model to a customer in writing: what is counted, what is included and how count changes alter the bill
Course outline
- 1.Calculating a customer's monthly price under per-user, per-device and hybrid modelsLesson · 18 min
- 2.Calculating the gross margin of a managed service priceLesson · 16 min
- 3.Choosing a pricing unit that fits the customer's environment and vendor licensingLesson · 18 min
- 4.Identifying scope gaps and edge cases in a pricing proposalLesson · 16 min
- 5.Explaining the pricing model to a customer in writingLesson · 12 min
- 6.Pricing managed services: per user vs per device: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 13 questions
- 7.Pricing managed services: per user vs per device: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
- 8.Final exam10 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- Microsoft Learn: Microsoft 365 Apps service description (installs per user on PC or Mac)
- Microsoft Learn: Microsoft Intune licensing (user licences, device-only licences and their limitations)
- OpenStax, Principles of Marketing, 12.3 The Five-Step Procedure for Establishing Pricing Policy
- OpenStax, Principles of Marketing, 12.5 Pricing Strategies and Tactics for Existing Products
See it with your own jobs and topics
Tell us about your team and we'll walk you through setup, from choosing jobs to your first skills check.