How Much Do IT Support Business Owners Make? $95K Salary Model
In the researched assumptions, IT support business owner income is modeled as a $95,000 annual CEO / Lead Technician salary before owner taxes and any distributions Extra take-home depends on revenue after technician payroll, software tools, hardware costs, travel, subcontractors, marketing, fixed overhead, reserves, and debt service In the first year, non-labor delivery costs equal 25% of revenue, so every $1 of sales leaves about $075 before payroll, rent, admin, and marketing The model also carries $160,000 of first-year payroll, $90,000 of fixed overhead, and $24,000 of marketing, so revenue and client density matter more than top-line sales alone
Owner income$95kNet margin6.4%Revenue for target pay$959kBusiness difficultyHard
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Planning note: This is a researched planning estimate only, not guaranteed salary, tax advice, or owner distribution advice. Actual owner income depends on real revenue, margins, payroll, taxes, debt, and reinvestment needs.
Want the six income drivers at a glance?
1
Recurring Revenue
$61K-$2.7M
Managed services rises from 45% to 65%, so repeat support work compounds into the main take-home engine.
2
Utilization
3.5-5.8h
Billable hours per active customer climb from 3.5 to 5.8 a month, so the same team invoices more before headcount grows.
3
Service Mix
45%-65%
Shifting toward managed services cuts break-fix dependence and smooths cash flow as the book matures.
4
Direct Cost
25%
First-year non-labor delivery cost is 25%, so trimming tools, travel, and subcontract work drops straight into margin.
5
Overhead
$7.5K/mo
Fixed overhead is $7,500 a month, and the $95,000 owner salary still has to clear before true take-home starts.
6
Retention
18mo
With 18 months to pay back CAC, keeping clients longer matters, even as CAC falls from $150 to $110.
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Owner-income model highlights
Owner income output shown
Pre-payroll 75% to 79%
$95k owner salary
$7.5k fixed overhead
Payroll buildout included
Recurring support revenue
Billable hours and staffing
Software, subcontractors, marketing
Cash flow and reserves
What is the difference between IT support business revenue and owner income?
IT Support revenue is the top-line sales from retainers, break-fix work, projects, and hardware resale margin; owner income is what’s left for the owner after costs, including the modeled $95,000 salary plus any distributions the business can afford. With $160,000 first-year payroll and $90,000 fixed overhead, even six-figure sales can leave limited cash if utilization or pricing is weak.
Revenue
Retainers bring recurring sales.
Break-fix adds one-off jobs.
Projects lift top-line fast.
Hardware resale adds gross margin.
Owner income
Pay software, hardware, travel first.
Then subtract subcontractors and payroll.
Then subtract rent, insurance, admin, and marketing.
Only then can the owner take salary and distributions.
How do IT support gross margin and costs affect owner take-home?
IT Support owner take-home gets squeezed fast because 25% of revenue is already spoken for by 8% software tools, 5% hardware procurement, 8% travel, and 4% subcontractors before payroll and fixed overhead; for launch math, see What Is The Estimated Cost To Open And Launch Your IT Support Business?. A senior technician at $65,000 and a junior technician at $45,000 can take the rest of the gross margin pretty quickly. So price the service scope first, then add coverage only if the work mix can pay for it.
Cost stack
8% goes to software tools.
5% goes to hardware buys.
8% goes to travel.
4% goes to subcontractors.
Protect take-home
Those costs total 25% first.
Payroll sits on top of that.
Response time drops when cuts go too far.
Retention falls if coverage feels thin.
How many clients does an IT support business need to pay the owner?
IT Support needs about 6–9 active clients per month to pay the owner $95,000 per year, assuming each client averages 35 billable hours at $75–$125/hour. Here’s the quick math: $7,917 owner pay plus $9,500 overhead and marketing requires about $23,223/month in revenue after 25% non-labor delivery costs; track retention with What Is The Current Growth Rate Of Customer Satisfaction For Your IT Support Business? because churn can push that client count higher.
Owner-pay math
$95,000 annual owner salary target
$7,917 monthly before owner taxes
$7,500 fixed overhead per month
$2,000 monthly marketing average
Client-count drivers
25% non-labor delivery cost load
35 billable hours per active customer
$75–$125 service-specific hourly rates
Managed services mix: 45% to 65%
Key Takeaways
Recurring support revenue is the main income stabilizer.
Better technician scheduling lifts billable hours without quality loss.
Labor costs and subcontractors must be covered by pricing.
Retention protects cash by reducing replacement sales pressure.
Show lean, base, and high IT support owner income scenarios
Owner income sensitivity
Owner income moves with service mix, billable hours, pricing, staffing, and non-labor costs. The low, base, and high cases show how quickly earnings change as the model matures.
Low, base, and high owner-income cases for an IT support firm.
Scenario
Low CaseLow Case
Base CaseBase Case
High CaseHigh Case
Launch model
This is the lean case where owner pay stays close to the $95,000 salary and extra draw is limited.
This is the middle case where the owner takes pay plus a steadier operating draw.
This is the upside case where owner income rises with a stronger managed-services mix and better capacity use.
Typical setup
Year 1-style demand centers on 45% managed services, 3.5 average billable hours, 25% non-labor delivery cost, $160,000 payroll, $90,000 fixed overhead, and $24,000 marketing.
By the middle period, the mix reaches 55% managed services, 4.8 average billable hours, higher rates, more staffing, and lower non-labor cost pressure.
A mature mix with 65% managed services, 5.8 average billable hours, 21% non-labor delivery cost, and larger marketing spend supports the strongest owner take.
Cost drivers
45% managed services
3.5 billable hours
25% non-labor delivery cost
$160,000 payroll
$90,000 fixed overhead
55% managed services
4.8 billable hours
higher hourly rates
more staffing
lower non-labor costs
65% managed services
5.8 billable hours
21% non-labor delivery cost
larger marketing spend
higher capacity use
Owner income rangeBefore owner reserves
Salary-heavy, thin upsideLow Case
Salary plus modest drawBase Case
Salary plus strong drawHigh Case
Best fit
Use this to stress-test cash flow if sales ramp slowly or jobs stay break-fix heavy.
Use this for a normal operating plan once demand and staffing both improve.
Use this to test upside if customer mix, pricing, and utilization all land near the top end.
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Planning note: Scenario ranges are researched planning assumptions, not guaranteed earnings, salary promises, tax advice, or distributions.
IT Support Core Six Income Drivers
Recurring support revenue
Recurring Support Revenue
Monthly recurring revenue, or MRR, is the best cash stabilizer here because it pays the bills before new projects close. As the managed services mix rises from 45% in year one to 65% later, more income is locked in each month, which makes staffing, tools, and owner pay easier to plan.
Basic support also matters: pricing moves from $85 to $105 per hour, while monthly basic hours rise from 25 to 38. That helps revenue, but only if the contract does not bundle too much free response time. A flat fee that eats extra labor can look stable and still crush margin.
Protect the Retainer Base
Track what is included, not just what is billed. A simple check is: recurring revenue = retainer fees + basic hours × rate. Here, the hourly move from $85 to $105 is a 23.5% increase, so test whether response times and scope still fit the price.
Measure monthly hours used per account, after-hours tickets, and profit per contract. If a flat plan starts covering too many urgent fixes, raise the price, narrow the scope, or split faster response into a higher tier. Stable recurring revenue should make owner draw safer, not create hidden overtime.
Service mix
Service Mix
When the mix shifts toward higher-touch work, owner income changes fast. Basic managed services start at $85, break-fix at $125, project implementation at $110, and hardware resale at $75; later rates move to $105, $145, $130, and $95. Higher revenue only helps if the added hours, vendor work, and support load stay under control.
The big mix change is project work rising from 15% to 25% and hardware resale from 8% to 18%. Here’s the quick math: more project and resale revenue can lift top-line, but labor, procurement, and liability can eat the gain, so take-home depends on gross margin, ticket time, and stock handling.
Track Margin by Service Line
Measure revenue, direct labor hours, and procurement cost by service line. The key inputs are hours per job, billable rate, technician time, hardware margin, and post-sale support time. If project work needs more setup or follow-up than planned, its 25% mix can crowd out recurring support and reduce owner draw.
Price each line to match its load. A higher-rate job is not better if it adds warranty calls, refunds, or unpaid admin work. Review mix monthly and watch whether break-fix, project, or hardware sales are raising contribution margin faster than they raise payroll and support time.
Track hours by service line.
Separate hardware from labor.
Price support time into projects.
Watch procurement delays and returns.
Software and overhead control
Software and overhead control
This driver hits owner pay because software and overhead sit under the margin line. Here, software licensing and tools fall from 8% to 6% of revenue, but hardware procurement rises from 5% to 7%, so the mix is not a simple savings story. Fixed overhead stays at $7,500 per month, and marketing climbs from $24,000 to $72,000 a year, so every wasted tool or low-use contract cuts cash available for profit draw.
Right-size the stack, then track the payback
Measure revenue, tool spend, hardware spend, fixed overhead, marketing, ticket volume, and response time together. The goal is right-sized tools: enough to cut rework and keep retention high, but not so much that licenses and hardware eat the gain. If a tool does not lower labor time, speed replies, or protect renewals, it should not stay in the budget.
Office rent and utilities
Insurance and professional services
Supplies and telecom
Training and equipment maintenance
Labor and subcontractor cost
Labor and subcontractor cost
Payroll is the first gross margin test. First-year labor includes a $95,000 owner salary and a $65,000 senior technician salary. Later, the model adds a $45,000 junior technician, a $38,000 admin role, and a $55,000 sales role. If staff growth runs ahead of billable work, owner take-home drops because wage cost is fixed while support demand moves month to month.
Subcontractor cost falls from 4% to 2% of revenue. That saves about 2 cents per revenue dollar, or $2,000 per $100,000 of sales. It helps margin and service capacity, but only if pricing covers emergency support, client expectations, and management time. If not, extra coverage can raise complexity faster than profit.
Track labor before you add headcount
Measure payroll as a share of revenue, billable hours per employee, and subcontractor spend by ticket type. The clean rule is simple: if after-hours or emergency work is common, bake it into the retainer or hourly rate. Owner income comes from what is left after labor, contractors, and the time spent managing them.
Add people in steps, not all at once. Use junior staff and admin support only when recurring demand is steady enough to keep senior labor on billable work. Watch whether subcontractors are reducing overload or hiding weak scheduling. If they just fill gaps, they protect service but may not improve owner pay.
Client retention
Client retention
Client retention keeps monthly support revenue from leaking out. In this model, CAC drops from $150 to $110, but churn still forces the owner to replace lost accounts just to hold revenue flat. If onboarding is weak or service scope is vague, retained clients can become high-touch accounts that eat technician time and squeeze owner pay.
What matters is recurring revenue quality, not just logo count. Retention depends on response time, documentation, proactive maintenance, cybersecurity reliability, and clear contract limits; if those slip, support hours rise faster than monthly fees, and gross margin falls even when sales stay steady.
Tighten onboarding and scope
Measure monthly churn, renewal rate, ticket response time, and hours spent per client against contract value. Here’s the quick math: if a client leaves, the business loses future recurring revenue and still has to spend to replace it, even with CAC at $110. Retention improves owner income when each account renews without extra service drag.
Use onboarding checklists, scope sheets, and maintenance calendars so clients know what is included and what is extra. The best test is simple: if retained accounts need more labor than they pay for, the owner is buying revenue with time, and take-home pay drops.
Track churn by month
Log response time by client
Review scope on every renewal
Flag high-touch accounts fast
Technician utilization
Technician Utilization
Technician utilization is how much paid labor turns into billable support, project delivery, and contract retention. In this model, average billable hours per active customer rise from 35 to 58 per month, so revenue can grow fast if scheduling stays tight. If not, the extra hours just turn into overtime, weak service, and lower owner take-home.
Here’s the quick math: project work uses 12 to 20 hours per customer, and break-fix uses 45 to 65 hours. When staff are overbooked, documentation, ticket triage, training, and quality control slip. That hurts margin, slows cash flow, and can push churn up, which makes the business less able to pay the owner.
Track Billable Hours, Not Just Ticket Count
Measure billable hours per active customer, utilization by technician, and the share of time spent on non-billable work. If you are near the model’s 35 to 58 hours range, fix scheduling before adding headcount. Better routing protects response times and keeps managed accounts profitable.
Active customers
Project hours
Break-fix hours
Documentation time
Rework
If billing rises but non-billable work rises too, profit can stall. Better scheduling and tighter scope control usually beat pushing more tickets through the same staff.
