Hi everyone,

I need help in knowing the retainer fee for IT Support based on market rate (so i wouldn't damage market price).

Background of the story is, I quit my old retail company to set up my own IT company.

However my boss still needs me to support on the IT parts since I'm the General Manager that does all IT procurement before this and also my background is IT related, thus all IT work fall under me alone, no other staff.

Now i have quit, they still need me to support them as retainer.

Below is some of the details for my background.


1. Scopes of services: I will be the one be their website admin to update any content to their website. I also will be the IT support for any software/hardware issues at their office. I will also be the one manage their Google workspace and all the software i have procure during my tenure there.

2. Expected time commitment: I estimated to allocate 5 hours weekly.

3. Value propositions: I'm the General & IT Manager of the company previously and all the software procurement was done by me. My expertise is in website design, website development, software integrations, google workspace, project management software (clickup,notion,trello, jira) and also find the best software to enhance company operation efficiencies. I also always respond less than 2 minutes for any technical enquiry during my tenure at the company and fix it between 10~30 minutes based on how complicated it is.

4. Market rates: this is the part i'm unable to find any market rates from IT consultants in Kuala Lumpur. Need your help on this so i didn't cut the market price.


My salary before i quit was 5.5k as GM and i in charge with 3~4 departments (My Core: IT, Design. Sub: Operation, HR, Marketing)

My boss said he wanted to pay me maybe 500~1000 monthly. I find it very low

So i wanted to justify the suitable rate based on the industry market price.

Please help me. Thanks!


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This is the calculation suggested by Gemini AI

Retainer Fee = Estimated Monthly Hours x Hourly Rate x Value Multiplier
Weekly: 5 hours/week * RM 100/hour * 1.3 = RM 650

This post has been edited by HarrionX: Sep 21 2024, 02:45 PM

General manager only 5.5 fuking k?????

Yep
I keep being told it's a startup so i can't demand much...
I'm the first staff there

Got bonus though every year.

This post has been edited by HarrionX: Sep 21 2024, 03:17 PM

Generally for a freelance consultant would be around 5k/mth. But since you mentioned not much work, I would suggest sign a contract under your new company for consutancy and support service, and charge around 20K/annum (thats pretty low as well).

If happy just continue, not happy just go find another job.

This post has been edited by kelvinfixx: Sep 21 2024, 03:33 PM

Actually i still bit busy everyday have to solve something or got Web content update. But since i manage to took care most of it quickly, so on their end seems like i took only bit of time to fix

Don't know how to put value on i able to fix thing quickly vs hiring a fresh grad to fix it but slower.

Oh 5k/month eh for your company?
Now I felt I'm being underpaid for so long dy

Haha actually already quit coz not happy with pay. Now the retainer thing last i try with them. If not happy, i cut loose maybe since i don't have anything to lose

Yeah its low, but take it positively since you were GM+IT Manager, you would have learnt alot, not many can have that kinda experience in a short period! Definately its a good thing for a long term career!

And now with you starting up on your own, you could make use of the different functions responsibility that you have learnt.
And as I said, make sure sign a contract if your new business, atleast if it will be a good rolling for your business and cliental as well.

Selamat berjaya, bang!

There's a bit of advantage since you've worked for the company in the past and you're aware of the area of service needed. With your estimate of 5hr/ week, it seems fair and make sure to note that any extra man hours will be billed at x cost per hour.

Also make sure to cover allowance/ cost of your transportation for every trip that requires your physical presence at their office - unless your cost have covered it. Example, RM650/ week will only cover 1x per week you're based in their office. Any increase of support that requires you to be there, chargeable at RM100 (example) per trip. This is to avoid them calling you over to their office unnecessarily, as your cost of petrol, toll, parking and travelling time will incur with each trip.

Normal for them to offer a low rate, but you'll have your rate and value so come to an agreement to meet in the middle. If both parties couldn't agree and you're not comfortable with what they're offering (plus, you're not relying on this project/ job to survive), consider turning down the lowball offer. Otherwise you'll find yourself caught in the same cycle of frustration working for the same person.