This page describes how We deliver support to Our managed IT clients. It covers Our support hours, how to reach Us, response time targets, maintenance practices, and what to expect when You need help.
These standards apply to all clients on a managed Services plan that includes help desk support. The specific Services included in Your plan are outlined in Your Statement of Work and shown on Your monthly invoice.
Last updated, June 24, 2026
Our contact info is shared during Your onboarding tour, and is always on our website and in Your service portal with us.
Email is the fastest way to get a ticket into Our queue.
Phone calls are best for urgent issues where a system is down or a security incident is in progress. If You call and reach voicemail, leave a message and also send an email so We can begin working Your request immediately.
All support requests are tracked through Our ticketing system. This ensures nothing falls through the cracks, gives You visibility into progress, and creates a record for Your account.
Monday to Friday: 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM Eastern Time
Saturday and Sunday: Closed
Ontario statutory holidays: Closed
After-hours support is available for urgent issues only (see Urgency Level 1 below).
When You submit a support request, We assign it an urgency level based on the scope and business impact of the issue. Our response time targets are measured from the time We receive Your request during support hours. Requests submitted outside support hours are queued for the next business day, except for Urgency Level 1 issues.
These are targets We work to meet or exceed. They are not guaranteed and may be affected by circumstances beyond Our control, including internet or power outages at Your location, delays in response from Your staff, delivery timelines for replacement hardware, severe weather, or force majeure events.
Target response time: 30 minutes during support hours. 3 hours after hours.
This level applies to a complete failure of a managed network, managed server, or managed virtual server or desktop, an active security breach, or an active ransomware infection.
After-hours support is provided for these situations only.
Target response time: 1 hour during support hours.
This level applies when a business-critical function managed under Your plan is non-operational or severely degraded, affecting multiple staff members or preventing a single staff member from performing critical job functions. The issue significantly impacts productivity but does not constitute a complete system failure or security incident.
Examples: a frozen remote desktop or server preventing staff from accessing work resources, a security filter blocking all email from a client or vendor, a major application failure affecting a department, significant network performance degradation, or key equipment failure affecting multiple users.
Target response time: 3 hours during support hours. Most often scheduled by appointment within 2 business days.
This level applies to day-to-day IT issues affecting individual users where reasonable workarounds exist and the affected staff member can continue to perform their job through alternative means.
Examples: a corrupt Outlook profile where the user can still access email via the web application, printer connectivity issues where the user can print to alternative devices or perform other work, or a single workstation performance issue not preventing core work activities.
Target response time: 24 hours during support hours. Scheduled 5 or more business days out, based on scope and availability.
This level applies to moves, adds, changes, improvements, and project work, including new staff onboarding and offboarding requests, new equipment purchases and setup, software license renewals, and projects.
Help desk support covers troubleshooting and resolving issues on the systems and devices managed under Your plan. This includes:
The following are not covered under help desk support and are billed separately according to Our service catalog rates:
New employee onboarding includes account creation across multiple systems, device provisioning and configuration, security group assignments, software license assignment and configuration (license costs billed separately), mailbox and distribution list creation, an orientation appointment, and documentation updates. Offboarding includes the systematic reversal and secure removal of all onboarding elements.
Where help desk services are included in Your plan and You provide 5 business days notice, the labour for these changes is included. Where less than 5 business days notice is provided, rush rates may apply.
Please note that the 5 business days notice covers Our setup labour, not hardware delivery. Device shipping times vary by manufacturer and configuration and are outside Our control. PC’s ordered through TUCU are usually in your hands 2-3 business days later. Apple and custom-built Apple devices can take notably longer to arrive than a standard PC order, sometimes a week or more. Apple shipping is similar to retail timelines.
We recommend ordering new devices well ahead of a start date, and keeping one or two spare, ready devices in Your fleet so a slow shipment never delays an onboarding.
We perform routine maintenance including patches, updates, and security configurations on Your systems. We make commercially reasonable efforts to schedule maintenance between 5:00 PM and 6:00 AM on weekdays, or during weekends. We will provide notice when possible, but some maintenance may occur with limited or no advance notice when required for security or operational reasons.
Your devices must be powered on and connected to the internet at least every two weeks to receive updates and allow Us to monitor and manage them. If a device has been offline for more than two weeks, do not use it until You contact Us for a manual update and security verification.
Where Your plan includes a backup Service, We provide backups for the systems and data described in Your Statement of Work. Backups reduce the risk of data loss but do not guarantee that any data can be recovered in any given situation. Backups are one part of a layered protection strategy and are not a substitute for the precautions and insurance described elsewhere in these standards and in Your Master Service Agreement.
For a backup to complete, the device or system being backed up must be powered on and connected to the internet for a sustained, uninterrupted period on a regular basis. Workstations and laptops in particular must be left on and online for at least a few uninterrupted hours, ideally every day, for a full backup to finish. This is a stricter requirement than the every-two-weeks power-on described under Maintenance Windows above. A device that is frequently shut down, put to sleep, or disconnected may capture only a partial backup, or none at all, for that period, and We cannot guarantee that a recent backup exists for it.
Email and cloud data are subject to the retention and recovery limits of the underlying platform. When an email or file is deleted and then permanently removed, for example by emptying the Deleted Items folder and then clearing it from the recoverable or deleted items area, or by purging it past the platform’s built-in retention period, it may be permanently unrecoverable. Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace keep deleted items for only a limited time by default. Where Your plan does not include a dedicated email or cloud backup or data-loss-prevention Service for that data, items removed in this way cannot be recovered.
It is Your responsibility to keep Your devices powered on and connected as described above so that backups can run. If a device is kept offline or shut down, or if action needed on Your side is not taken, We cannot ensure that current backups exist for that device or its data, and We are not responsible for data that cannot be recovered as a result.
The specific systems, data, backup frequency, and retention period included in Your backup Service are set out in Your Statement of Work. Backups are also subject to the terms of Your Master Service Agreement, including the provisions on Client responsibilities, disclaimers, and limitation of liability.
We hold administrative access so We can keep Your environment secure and consistent. Client-held admin rights are the most common cause of the incidents We are hired to prevent. You are provided a sealed emergency “break glass” account so You are never locked out, with the understanding that using it triggers a mandatory security review before We can safely continue.
If We suspect or detect a security incident affecting Your systems, We follow a methodical incident response process tailored to Your environment, services, and risk tolerance. This typically includes initial assessment, containment, investigation, remediation, and recovery. The specific actions, timeline, and resources deployed vary based on Your infrastructure, the services You have contracted with Us, and Your business continuity requirements.
Initial containment and notification are included. Forensic investigation and remediation work beyond initial containment are billed at Our current rates.
We will work with You to establish appropriate incident response procedures during onboarding and periodic technology reviews.
We strongly recommend that all clients carry cybersecurity insurance appropriate to the size and nature of their business. Cyber insurance typically covers costs that fall outside the scope of Our Services, including legal counsel, regulatory notification, credit monitoring for affected individuals, business interruption, and data recovery beyond what is covered under Your plan with Us. We are not insurance brokers and cannot advise on specific coverage levels or policies. We recommend You speak with Your insurance provider about cyber liability coverage. Your Master Service Agreement contains important provisions regarding insurance and liability.
We may update these standards from time to time to reflect changes in Our operations, tools, or service delivery. When We make changes, We will publish the updated version at this URL and notify You in advance. The current version at this URL is the version that applies to Your service.
Master Service Agreement – The legal framework governing Your relationship with Us, including responsibilities, liability, confidentiality, and termination.
Statement of Work – The specific Services, fees, and payment terms for Your account. Attached as Schedule A to Your Master Service Agreement.
Service Catalog – A detailed listing of all Services available under Your managed Services plan, including what is and is not covered. Published at hellotucu.com/services-catalog.