IT Support for Small Offices in London: Costs & What's Included

By NJ Digital Solutions · Updated 16 October 2026 · 6 min read

Most small London offices run their IT the same way: the most technical person in the room fixes things until something breaks badly enough to call someone. That works — right up until an email outage, a dead laptop before a deadline, or a ransomware email someone clicked. Here's what proper IT support costs in 2026, and how to tell when you need it.

The three ways small offices buy IT support

1. Pay-as-you-go (break/fix)

You call when something breaks and pay per hour — typically £60–£120/hour in London. Fine for very small teams, but costs are unpredictable and nobody is preventing the next failure.

2. Managed IT support (monthly)

A fixed monthly fee per user covers monitoring, maintenance and a helpdesk. Typical London pricing in 2026 is £30–£80 per user per month depending on what's included. For a 10-person office, that's £300–£800/month for IT that's handled before you notice problems.

3. In-house IT staff

A full-time IT technician costs £30,000–£45,000+ a year in London. It rarely makes sense below 40–50 staff — most small offices get better coverage from a managed provider at a tenth of the cost.

What managed IT support should include

• Helpdesk: somewhere your team can actually call or email when things break, with agreed response times.
• Device management: updates and security patches applied automatically across laptops and PCs.
• Email & Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace admin: accounts, licences, onboarding and offboarding handled.
• Backups: automatic, tested, and recoverable — the test part is what most setups skip.
• Security basics: antivirus/EDR, multi-factor authentication, spam filtering and phishing protection.
• Vendor wrangling: one number to call that deals with your broadband, printer and software suppliers for you.

Watch for: providers that quote a low headline price, then charge extra for every ticket, visit or "project". Ask for the all-in monthly number for your exact team size.

Five signs it's time to outsource your IT

1. Someone technical-ish on the team spends hours a week being the unofficial IT person.
2. Updates and backups happen "when someone remembers".
3. Onboarding a new starter takes days because nobody owns accounts and devices.
4. You've had a close call — a lost laptop, a phishing click, a dead hard drive with no backup.
5. You're about to grow, move office or switch systems and nobody owns the plan.

What about cyber security?

Small businesses are now the main target for phishing and ransomware precisely because they're less protected. At minimum: multi-factor authentication everywhere, automatic patching, tested backups and staff who know what a dodgy email looks like. A good provider includes this baseline rather than selling it as an add-on. If you handle client data, ask about Cyber Essentials certification — it's increasingly required in supply chains and tenders.

Our monthly IT support for small London offices

NJ Digital provides managed IT support for small offices across London — fixed monthly pricing, a real human helpdesk, and the security baseline included. Because we also handle websites, social media and ads, many clients consolidate their tech and marketing with one partner and one invoice. Tell us your team size and we'll quote you the all-in number — no surprises.

Frequently asked questions