Managed service proposals are written to be agreeable. They lead with inclusions, use the same vocabulary as every competitor, and leave the parts that will cause arguments to a schedule at the back. Three questions cut through most of it.
What is the response target, and what happens when it is missed?
A response time with no consequence attached is an aspiration. Ask what the target is, how it is measured, whether it covers evenings and weekends, and what you are entitled to if it slips. A provider who reports against the target monthly is making a commitment. One who mentions it only in the sales deck is not.
What is explicitly excluded?
This is the question that changes the number at the bottom. Common exclusions worth asking about directly:
- Project work, and where the line between support and project sits
- Hardware, licensing and third-party subscriptions
- After-hours and weekend attendance
- Vendor coordination with your line of business software
- Onboarding and offboarding beyond a certain volume
None of these are unreasonable to exclude. What matters is whether they are stated plainly or discovered in month four.
Who owns your documentation, tenancy and licences?
If the relationship ends, do you keep your documentation, and are your Microsoft tenancy, domain and licence agreements in your own name? A provider who holds those is a provider you cannot leave without rebuilding. Ask early, get the answer in writing, and treat hesitation as the answer.
A proposal that answers all three without being chased is usually from a provider who has had the awkward conversations before and would rather have them now.