Gradient MSP introduced a new tool called StackTracker for a pretty specific reason: To help MSPs tune up their profits and product better results.
About one third of MSPs are unprofitable and at least another 10% survive on razor-thin margins, according to ConnectWise research. While it may appear the answer is to focus on growth, that isn’t necessarily the case. Focusing on profitability supersedes growth, per ConnectWise. When MSPs struggle to make money, it’s even harder to take on new customers.
Canada-based Gradient MSP created StackTracker to end that vicious cycle. The SaaS-based solution lets MSPs use data management and business intelligence to optimize their product offerings. StackTracker helps MSPs determine which products are most profitable as well as how many clients use them.
How it Works
Gradient MSP provides a much-needed tool by focusing on the resale of vendor solutions, said CEO Colin Knox. Typically, MSP administrative solutions focus on tracking the nonproduct aspects of the business, such as IT offerings, managed services, consulting services, and software patching.
Colin Knox
Meanwhile, Gradient MSP’s systems are attached into the vendor suppliers. “We’re not pulling from another reporting system that they use, like their PSA or their accounting package,” Knox explained. “We’re pulling straight from the source of consumption.”
StackTracker delivers data in real time, he added. “At any moment’s notice, MSPs can see exactly what’s being used by which clients, what that’s contributing to their revenue and profit, and what their vendor spend is.”
The tool quickly reveals redundancies, too. For instance, if an MSP carries multiple backup solutions, the data shows the total volume and profit for those solutions and which is the most profitable, he said. This enables the MSP to pare back solutions to cut costs and boost profit.
Controlling Vendor Spend
Implementing Gradient MSP’s tool offers a huge benefit when it comes to vendor spend. Tracking product use and reconciling it with billing is often a challenge, especially when it involves dynamic consumption. It takes a lot of work to check the accuracy of a vendor’s numbers, Knox said.
“StackTracker tells them, ‘This is how much you should be paying that vendor, based on the products that are being consumed and the quantity of each of those products,’” he said. If something is off, the MSP can quickly identify the discrepancy and bring it up with the vendor.
On the other hand, if consumption of a certain product is spiking, the MSP may be able to renegotiate terms boost margin, Knox said. And if an MSP discovers it was charged for a product that clients no longer use, the MSP can eliminate that cost.
Compliance Benefits
In addition to controlling vendor spend, StackTracker helps MSPs with contract compliance, Knox said.
Take, for example, when MSPs enter contracts to deliver multiple services, such as endpoint detection and response (EDR), backup and security. “They need to make sure that they’re actually delivering and they’ve got all of those services deployed,” he emphasized.
StackTracker shows every service a customer is consuming and by how many users, he said. If the contract calls for 27 seats of a certain offering, but only 24 are active, the system exposes the discrepancy so the MSP can act to meet compliance. “It’s risk mitigation, and it goes both ways. You might have under-deployed services, but you actually can have over-deployed services too very easily,” Knox noted.
Gradient MSP is in recruitment mode for StackTracker. The company had a limit of 100 services providers for its initial deployment. The idea, said Knox, is to ensure deployments are successful, and work out any kinks if needed, after which the vendor will cast a wider net.
Image: iStock
