SQL Server Support Types & Price Specifications

At sqlfingers, we don't really have any 'fixed' prices. Every customer is different, and we don't believe you can create 'fixed' categories to equally meet everyone's needs. Instead, our rates are agreed upon after we speak to our Customers and develop a better understanding of the project(s) at hand.

The following points are standards in all of our Agreements: 

     - 30-minute initial consultations are free ~ 708.328.8591

     - Five different support types are provided:

     1. T&M (Time & Materials) – The most basic option we have; Customer calls when something is needed, we work the problem until it is resolved.  An example T&M rate may be $135/hr for remote assistance, any day of the week, any time of the day. Customer is billed on an hourly basis, from start to completion. 

      2. 40/80/120 Hour Support Buckets – 'Support Buckets' are available at 40, 80 and 120 hours, at rates substantially discounted from T&M.  Customers may utilize the Support Buckets on an ‘as needed’ basis, for the support task of their choosing.  Additional Support Buckets can be purchased when the current Bucket hours are complete, and each Bucket expires 12 months from the date of purchase.  Telephone and email support is also available within these buckets, from the hours of 9AM to 4PM EST, Monday through Thursday. For example, a $135/hr T&M rate may be discounted with these Support Buckets:

    40 Hours for $120/hour, a discount of $15 per hour
    80 Hours for $110/hour, a discount of $25 per hour
  120 Hours for $100/hour, a discount of $35 per hour

      3. Fixed Price – This is on a per-project basis, and only possible with a clearly   
  defined SOW (Statement of Work). 15% of the price is required at time of agreement;    Additional arrangements may be requested due to project length.

         4. Managed Service Agreement – 24/7 proactive management and preventative maintenance support agreements are also provided.  In this case, costs are determined based on the number of instances being managed, and the costs are discounted with the addition of multiple instances.  For example, a single instance could be managed at a substantially discounted rate of $2500/month.  Yet for three to five instances, this may become $2000/month, per instance -- and potentially even less for a greater number of instances.  Again,these are examples. With a Managed Agreement, we require a service commitment of 6 months or more, and we provide the following types of SQL Server support services remotely:

        a.  Problem Management/Troubleshooting of database outages
        b.  Analyze existing maintenance and advise accordingly
        c.  Regular monitoring of SQL Server instance and databases
        d.  Performance Analysis & Tuning
        e.  Software Installation & Upgrades
        f.  24/7 SQL Server emergency support

      5. Onsite services – Onsite Support prices are dictated based on priority, and the extent of services needed per day.  For example, a small project with lesser priority might be quoted at $1200/day, plus travel expenses.

      - Payment terms for everything except travel and Support Buckets is net 14.  

         * Travel expenses are required pre-travel.

         * Payment for Support Buckets are required at time of agreement.

- Electronic invoicing occurs the 1st and 15th of each month.  If either day is a
  holiday or weekend, invoicing will be submitted on the previous business day.

- ACH is the desired method of payment. 

Other than that, it's based on what you need.  I encourage you to take advantage of our free 30 minute consultation.  Give us a call.  We'll talk about your needs and put something together.