MSP software for small managed IT service providers

Short answer: MSP software helps a managed IT provider answer clients, plan on-site work, track what each client owns and bill for it. Alori is the all-in-one app for service businesses, and it runs the tickets, the phone, the inbox, the schedule and the invoices for a small MSP. Device inventory and per-seat billing are not built.

A day at a small MSP

A small MSP is often two to ten technicians and an owner who still takes calls. The morning starts with a client whose email stopped working, a printer that won't print at a dental office, and a new hire who needs a laptop by Monday. One tech is on site for a server move. Another is patching. The owner is quoting a firewall replacement between calls.

The tools pile up fast: a PSA for tickets and billing, a remote monitoring tool, a phone system, a shared mailbox, a spreadsheet of licenses and devices per client, a calendar for on-site visits, and QuickBooks. Many small MSPs use only a slice of their PSA and pay for all of it.

What you can do in Alori today

• Tickets with response times. Each ticket gets a number like SUP-12, a type, a priority, an assignee and your team's steps, on a list or a board. Set a response time per priority: a client's ticket past its time turns red. Add a client to a ticket and Alori emails them when it moves to in progress or done. See ticket SLA tracking.
• A business phone that handles after hours. Get a business number or bring the one you have. Set a phone menu ("press 1 for support, press 2 for sales"), business hours and holidays, a closed message, and a voicemail that is written out for you. Ring a group of technicians at once, record calls, and get voicemails by email. See calls.
• One shared inbox. Emails, texts and website chats land in Conversations, one thread per client, with a teammate following each one. Close a conversation when it is handled; it comes back when the client writes again.
• A website chat bot. The bot answers visitors from your help articles and passes urgent chats to your team, under Needs you, with the reason.
• Client companies and their people. One company record with every contact, note, call and email.
• On-site visits on the schedule. Schedule visits by technician, see each person's day in its own column, and let techs open their stops on their phone with directions.
• Jobs with checklists and photos. Use a checklist for an install or a move, and add photos of the rack before and after.
• Tasks and projects per client. A project for each onboarding or migration, tasks assigned to a tech, and tasks that repeat every week, month or year, like a monthly review.
• Quotes and invoices. Quotes signed online, invoices with a pay by card link, automatic reminders for unpaid invoices, and QuickBooks Online sync.

What Alori does not do

• Device and license inventory per client is not built. See IT asset management.
• Per-seat billing and prepaid hour banks are not built. Invoices are made from a job, a quote or your own lines.
• Billing hours on invoices. Hours are logged from jobs for payroll and labour cost, not added to invoices.

How to start

1. Describe your business. Type something like "MSP in Montreal, 5 techs, 40 small business clients", or paste your website. Alori builds your app and your website.
2. Bring your data. Paste your client list into Ask Alori, import tasks from Excel or CSV, or move from HubSpot. Coming from Zendesk? Import your tickets, clients and help center. Using Aircall? Import your phone setup and recordings.
3. Invite the team. Every plan has unlimited users, so every tech gets a login. See pricing.

More for tech companies on the tech industry page.

FAQ

Is Alori a PSA? Partly. A PSA usually means tickets, time, contracts and billing in one place. Alori covers tickets with response times, the phone, inbox, schedule, projects, quotes and invoices. Device inventory, per-seat billing and hour banks are not built.

Does Alori do remote monitoring? No. Keep your RMM tool. Alori handles the client side: calls, messages, visits and billing.

Can clients call after hours? Yes. Set your business hours, play a closed message, and take a voicemail. Each voicemail is written out and can be emailed to you.

Can a client follow their ticket? Yes, by email. Add the client to the ticket and Alori emails them when it moves to in progress, done or closed. You can also email a comment to them from the ticket. See the support desk.