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#2 – Don’t Be That Guy - You Suck at Managed Services - Fix It! (Ryan Alter)
Most MSPs aren’t failing the tech—they’re leaking profit on the math. In this candid convo, Josh Peterson and guest Ryan (former MSP owner in Missoula, MT) break down the two numbers that decide whether your agreements win or wipe out: AGP and EHR. If you lead a service team or price agreements, this one will sharpen your margins fast.
✅ Enjoyed this episode?
Like, subscribe, and share your biggest takeaway below
https://beringmckinley.com/bering-mckinley-podcast-blog
In this “Don’t Be That Guy” session, Josh Peterson sits down with Ryan, a former MSP owner who scaled from a one-man shop to 25 people, to unpack why many MSPs “suck” at managed services—not in uptime or security, but in unit economics. They show how to treat your recurring revenue like a portfolio, and how two metrics—Agreement Gross Profit (AGP) and Effective Hourly Rate (EHR)—should drive pricing, dispatch, and staffing decisions. Guest highlight: Ryan, former MSP owner (Missoula, MT), brings hard-won lessons from two decades of growth, staffing, and project execution.
👉 Why AGP (agreement revenue − licensing − labor) is your north star and why 65% is a healthy target
👉 How to calculate EHR (agreement revenue − licensing) ÷ hours and why it must be ≥ your standard rack rate
👉 The 33% Service Salary to Service Revenue ratio (SSSR): the single metric that predicts team health and profitability
👉 Dispatch as a profit lever: matching technician cost/skill to ticket value, and stopping margin creep from “shiny tool” add-ons
👉 Revenue recovery & portfolio mindset: spotting low-AGP agreements, re-pricing, and protecting margin without tanking CSAT
Natural keywords: MSP profitability, managed services pricing, ConnectWise reporting, AGP/EHR targets, service gross profit, utilization, dispatcher training
🔗 Resources & Links
• Ryan Alter - Silverstream: https://www.silverstreamav.com
• Bering McKinley MSP Consulting: https://beringmckinley.com
⏱️ Chapters
00:00 – Welcome & why “you suck” = profit math, not tech
03:00 – Ryan’s background: hourly vs. recurring in a 25-person MSP
05:45 – AGP formula, setup pitfalls, and the 65% target
10:30 – “More revenue” myth vs. margin reality
13:45 – Fixing PSA data so AGP is trustworthy
17:20 – License creep, shiny tools, and pricing discipline
20:00 – Dispatch as a lever: senior vs. junior tech tradeoffs
24:30 – EHR redefined and why it must meet/exceed rack rate
33:10 – Rate multipliers, discounts, and preserving 33% SSSR
40:15 – Balancing utilization, CSAT, and employee health
47:30 – AGP ↔ EHR don’t always correlate—how to diagnose
51:00 – Action plan: measure, set targets, and do revenue recovery
🔍 Primary Keywords
managed services profitability, agreement gross profit, effective hourly rate, connectwise agreement gross profit report, msp pricing strategy, service salary to service revenue ratio
🔍 Secondary Keywords
msp dispatch best practices, recurring revenue portfolio, revenue recovery, service gross profit, utilization, dispatcher training, managed services targets, msp financial metrics
#️⃣ Hashtags
#beringmckinley #bmkvisionpodcast #managedservices #msp #agreementgrossprofit #effectivehourlyrate #connectwise #mspfinance #recurringrevenue #dispatch #pricingstrategy #serviceprofitability #mspsales #mspowner #psa #mspgrowth #grossprofit #utilization #kpis #techservices
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By Josh PetersonMost MSPs aren’t failing the tech—they’re leaking profit on the math. In this candid convo, Josh Peterson and guest Ryan (former MSP owner in Missoula, MT) break down the two numbers that decide whether your agreements win or wipe out: AGP and EHR. If you lead a service team or price agreements, this one will sharpen your margins fast.
✅ Enjoyed this episode?
Like, subscribe, and share your biggest takeaway below
https://beringmckinley.com/bering-mckinley-podcast-blog
In this “Don’t Be That Guy” session, Josh Peterson sits down with Ryan, a former MSP owner who scaled from a one-man shop to 25 people, to unpack why many MSPs “suck” at managed services—not in uptime or security, but in unit economics. They show how to treat your recurring revenue like a portfolio, and how two metrics—Agreement Gross Profit (AGP) and Effective Hourly Rate (EHR)—should drive pricing, dispatch, and staffing decisions. Guest highlight: Ryan, former MSP owner (Missoula, MT), brings hard-won lessons from two decades of growth, staffing, and project execution.
👉 Why AGP (agreement revenue − licensing − labor) is your north star and why 65% is a healthy target
👉 How to calculate EHR (agreement revenue − licensing) ÷ hours and why it must be ≥ your standard rack rate
👉 The 33% Service Salary to Service Revenue ratio (SSSR): the single metric that predicts team health and profitability
👉 Dispatch as a profit lever: matching technician cost/skill to ticket value, and stopping margin creep from “shiny tool” add-ons
👉 Revenue recovery & portfolio mindset: spotting low-AGP agreements, re-pricing, and protecting margin without tanking CSAT
Natural keywords: MSP profitability, managed services pricing, ConnectWise reporting, AGP/EHR targets, service gross profit, utilization, dispatcher training
🔗 Resources & Links
• Ryan Alter - Silverstream: https://www.silverstreamav.com
• Bering McKinley MSP Consulting: https://beringmckinley.com
⏱️ Chapters
00:00 – Welcome & why “you suck” = profit math, not tech
03:00 – Ryan’s background: hourly vs. recurring in a 25-person MSP
05:45 – AGP formula, setup pitfalls, and the 65% target
10:30 – “More revenue” myth vs. margin reality
13:45 – Fixing PSA data so AGP is trustworthy
17:20 – License creep, shiny tools, and pricing discipline
20:00 – Dispatch as a lever: senior vs. junior tech tradeoffs
24:30 – EHR redefined and why it must meet/exceed rack rate
33:10 – Rate multipliers, discounts, and preserving 33% SSSR
40:15 – Balancing utilization, CSAT, and employee health
47:30 – AGP ↔ EHR don’t always correlate—how to diagnose
51:00 – Action plan: measure, set targets, and do revenue recovery
🔍 Primary Keywords
managed services profitability, agreement gross profit, effective hourly rate, connectwise agreement gross profit report, msp pricing strategy, service salary to service revenue ratio
🔍 Secondary Keywords
msp dispatch best practices, recurring revenue portfolio, revenue recovery, service gross profit, utilization, dispatcher training, managed services targets, msp financial metrics
#️⃣ Hashtags
#beringmckinley #bmkvisionpodcast #managedservices #msp #agreementgrossprofit #effectivehourlyrate #connectwise #mspfinance #recurringrevenue #dispatch #pricingstrategy #serviceprofitability #mspsales #mspowner #psa #mspgrowth #grossprofit #utilization #kpis #techservices