How long are we committing to, and what does it cost to get out?

Bundled network and IT services are frequently sold on a multi-year term, and the term is usually the part that gets least attention during the sale because it is not the exciting bit. It is also the part you live with.

The four things to establish, in writing:

• The term. How many years, and does it start at signature or at installation, which can be months apart.
• The early termination charge. Often expressed as a percentage of the remaining monthly fees, which on a long term can be a substantial number. Get the formula, not a reassurance.
• The auto renewal clause and the notice window. This is the one that catches people. A contract that renews automatically unless you give notice in a specific window means you can decide to leave and still be locked in for another term because nobody diarized a date. Find the window and put it in a calendar on the day you sign.
• The price at renewal. Promotional pricing that steps up is normal and fine as long as you know the number. Ask what it becomes.

Two more worth asking: whether adding a location or users changes the pricing structure or restarts the term, which it sometimes does, and whether the agreement is tied to the circuit, so that leaving the managed service also means leaving the internet service or paying separately for it.

Ours, for comparison. Month to month, 30 days notice, no early termination charge and no auto renewal trap, because there is no term to renew. We think a provider should have to keep earning the work every month, and it also means an agreement signed by one owner does not bind the next one. If onboarding goes badly you are not stuck, and there is a separate article on that in this topic.

We are not going to pretend a term agreement is always wrong. A long term can buy a genuinely better price, and for a business with a stable network and a clear budget cycle that can be a sensible trade. The problem is not the term itself. It is signing one without knowing the exit number, and that is entirely avoidable by asking four questions before the pen comes out.