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    Starting own IT consultancy - Gathering list of tools required and recommendations

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved IT Business
    92 Posts 19 Posters 23.2k Views
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    • AmbarishrhA
      Ambarishrh @MattSpeller
      last edited by

      @MattSpeller said:

      Congratulations!! I wish you the best of luck!

      Thanks!

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • brianlittlejohnB
        brianlittlejohn
        last edited by

        When I was a consultant, I used GoToAssist for remote support. I liked it, it always worked well for me.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • DustinB3403D
          DustinB3403
          last edited by DustinB3403

          TeamViewer is a pretty solid product, but it's quite expensive.

          You could take a look at AeroAdmin (it's completely free to use, but does have a buy option).

          Since you're looking for things you don't have to manage you're really going to want Web based providers for everything. Pipeline/projections, Tickets, Billing and Invoices etc.

          I'm not sure of any off hand, but there are a few out there, right?

          All of which are most certainly a subscription service.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
          • BRRABillB
            BRRABill
            last edited by

            One option with TeamViewer:
            They will work with you on pricing. I was looking at a one seat license and they came back with an attractive monthly option for me. Was like $40 if I remember.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • AmbarishrhA
              Ambarishrh
              last edited by

              Features looks good, i would like to hear more feedback on this. Good thing is it supports both MAC and Windows.

              brianlittlejohnB 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • scottalanmillerS
                scottalanmiller
                last edited by

                I would be surprised if ScreenConnect would not work with you on pricing too. And they work really well on Linux. Using it on Mint right now.

                AmbarishrhA 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                • brianlittlejohnB
                  brianlittlejohn @Ambarishrh
                  last edited by

                  @Ambarishrh It works well you can divide stuff up by companies and it can keep track of notes,time spent working on a pc. There are 3rd party solutions to import thatinfo into Freshbooks as well (i've never used any).

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • H
                    hubtechagain
                    last edited by

                    I run my biz off of freshbooks and MaxFocus (formerly GFI Max) and I love it. one stop shop for AV, Monitoring, Patching, Remote Support, etc. I dig. They even have a Service Desk add in (that i dont use) that you can use for ticketing, and project management I think.

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                    • H
                      hubtechagain
                      last edited by

                      i'm small beans though. a large hill of small beans 🙂

                      BRRABillB 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • BRRABillB
                        BRRABill @hubtechagain
                        last edited by

                        @hubtechagain said:

                        i'm small beans though. a large hill of small beans 🙂

                        It's like from the first Naked Gun movie. "But this is OUR hill. And these are OUR beans."

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • scottalanmillerS
                          scottalanmiller
                          last edited by

                          If you are doing MSP style work, you might want to look into an inclusive RMM platform. Pretty sure Continuum will have some tools for you.

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                          • scottalanmillerS
                            scottalanmiller
                            last edited by

                            Adding @MKM8DY

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • BRRABillB
                              BRRABill
                              last edited by

                              We use N-Able and have been pretty happy with it.

                              I do believe there is a lot more outsourcing available for Continuum, though.

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • AmbarishrhA
                                Ambarishrh @scottalanmiller
                                last edited by

                                @scottalanmiller said:

                                I would be surprised if ScreenConnect would not work with you on pricing too. And they work really well on Linux. Using it on Mint right now.

                                For screenconenct, I am confused with the different types of packages. I am leaning towards to most popular package $49/month billed anually.

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • LakshmanaL
                                  Lakshmana
                                  last edited by

                                  Congratulations.My small suggestion is that Dont think IT consultancy as business,just think it as an daily activity with less stress works.

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                  • AmbarishrhA
                                    Ambarishrh
                                    last edited by

                                    I am currently evaluating Max Focus and having a call with their team to better understand their licensing. My mind is between screenconnect and GFI, reason for GFI is that it has almost all required modules in one place which can be very helpful on retainer jobs: patch management, av, maintenance tasks etc. Thanks @hubtechagain

                                    Regarding accounting, i think for now i can stay with freshbooks and don't require xero to be added.

                                    Another thing I am thinking is about mails, i currently have it on google apps, the free 10 user pack. Thinking if i need to switch to O365, which will give me MS office license as well, which is anyways needed for my daily tasks. If so, which O365 can i start with to just have Mails+Office online and desktop?

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • scottalanmillerS
                                      scottalanmiller
                                      last edited by

                                      The $5 Office 365 SMB plan probably has everything that you want.

                                      BRRABillB 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • Minion QueenM
                                        Minion Queen
                                        last edited by

                                        MaxFocus is not as great as you might think. We used it for a bit and had lots of issues with it. The remote control software was unreliable at best. The AV piece (if you use it) is also not as good as others on the market (Webroot for the win here). I would recommend ScreenConnect.

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • sscharioS
                                          sschario
                                          last edited by

                                          I am just getting started with MaxFocus. So far so good, with only a few hiccups. I have been using ScreenConnect and love it, but want to try a full RMM tool and LabTech was too expensive (they recently bought ScreenConnect.) On the other end, I am using CommitCRM and Quickbooks. They integrate nicely and I have all of my client info, records, tickets and billing in CommitCRM. It has made life much easier.

                                          Steve

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                                          • H
                                            hubtechagain
                                            last edited by

                                            i use max focus every day. like every day. i dont know what remote access issues the queen has had, but i've not experienced any of that . You can use Vipre or Bitdefender for your AV engine, and i never have any virus problems out of my clients who use either. Vipre is easier on the system than bitdefender. BD, looks nicer. once you tweak your monitoring templates it's great. as much or as little data as you'd like. Sorry you guys had problems with it if you'd like to have me consult in on the config let me know.

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