How much does IT support cost? WaTo's actual rates
Most IT providers won't give you a straight number until you've already had a sales call. The honest reason is usually 'it depends,' but it's also just not common practice to publish rates. We do it differently. Here's exactly what WaTo Consulting charges, straight from our current rates schedule, plus how the wider Australian market prices things if you're comparing.
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The short answer
WaTo Consulting charges $180 per hour for a standard on-site callout (Adelaide metro travel included), $115 per hour for remote or workshop-based work, and $360 per hour for urgent after-hours or weekend consults. Local courier drop-offs are $40 each. Across the wider Australian market, managed IT is more commonly sold as a per-user monthly fee (roughly $100 to $350 per user per month) rather than billed hourly, so the model you're comparing against matters as much as the figure itself.
WaTo's current rates (FY 2026/27)
Callout consult: $180/hour
Includes travel to your site. This is the standard rate for most in-person work, and also applies to scheduled meetings attended remotely when they need a specific block of staff time.
Workshop/office consult: $115/hour
Our discounted rate for work we can do remotely by phone, web development consulting, equipment setup/testing in our workshop, or document preparation.
Urgent consult: $360/hour
Applies to consulting between 5pm and 9am, on weekends, or when we need to drop other work to attend immediately. We'll always confirm this rate with you and suggest alternatives first.
Courier charge: $40 per drop-off
For non-urgent, local (Adelaide metro) item drop-offs with no on-site labour involved. If we're installing or testing anything while there, it becomes a callout instead.
Retainer arrangements
Regular clients can move to a retainer for predictability, priority access and cost savings over ad-hoc rates. Ask us to run the numbers for how often you actually call.
How this compares to the wider market
Most Australian MSPs price managed IT per user per month (commonly $100 to $350) rather than hourly. It's a different model, so compare on scope as much as on price.
Who this guide is for
- Business owners budgeting for IT support and wanting a real number, not a ballpark.
- Anyone comparing WaTo against another provider's quote or price list.
- Existing clients wanting to understand which rate applies to a job before it's booked.
- Owners who've been quoted a number elsewhere and want to check it against a published schedule.
How WaTo's rates work in practice
- Most work is billed at the callout or workshop rate. On-site work is the $180/hour callout rate, Adelaide metro travel included. Remote, phone-based or workshop/prep work is the discounted $115/hour rate.
- After-hours and weekend work costs more. Anything before 9am or after 5pm on a weekday, or on a weekend, is billed at $360/hour, unless it's scheduled in advance, in which case the standard callout rate applies instead.
- We always confirm before charging the urgent rate. If a job might land in urgent-rate territory, we tell you upfront and talk through alternatives before going ahead, so there are no surprise line items after the fact.
- Frequent callers often do better on a retainer. If you're regularly booking ad-hoc work, a retainer can work out cheaper overall and guarantees priority access. It's worth asking us to compare against your actual usage.
- Know the rate before something breaks. Understanding which rate applies in advance means no surprises if you need urgent help outside business hours.
How WaTo can help
- We publish our actual rates instead of a vague 'contact us for pricing', so you know the number before you call.
- Both ad-hoc and retainer arrangements are available, and we'll tell you honestly which suits how often you actually need us.
- The urgent/after-hours rate is always confirmed with you first, with alternatives offered, never applied after the fact.
- The callout rate already includes travel, with no separate travel surcharge added on top.
- Adelaide owned since 2001. Rates are reviewed annually and never changed without notice.
Related questions
What's the difference between the callout and workshop rate?
The callout rate ($180/hour) is for on-site work and includes travel time. The workshop/office rate ($115/hour) applies to remote phone-based work, web development consulting, or work done in our workshop rather than at your site.
When does the urgent rate apply?
The $360/hour urgent rate applies to consulting between 5pm and 9am, on weekends, or when we need to drop other work to attend immediately. We'll always confirm with you before it applies.
Can I avoid the urgent rate for after-hours work?
Yes. If it's scheduled with us in advance, even outside standard hours, it's billed at the standard callout rate instead. We'll make it clear which rate applies before starting.
Is a retainer cheaper than paying ad-hoc rates?
Often, if you're a regular caller. A retainer trades a predictable ongoing fee for priority access and usually a better effective rate than one-off callouts. Get in touch and we'll compare it against your actual usage.
How WaTo can help with this
Want to know exactly what a job would cost?
Tell us what you need and we'll quote it against these published rates, without any hidden callout surcharges.
Mon to Fri, 8:30am to 5pm
