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Hourly Support or Fixed Package: At What Load Is the Package Cheaper?

Training calculation for an online store owner: we find the hourly threshold, compare four scenarios, and show why average quarterly load can lead to the wrong choice.

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On the desktop, a clock and individual tools sit next to the full set of technical support.
In this article

Under the training conditions, a fixed package at 48,000 RUB per month becomes cheaper than hourly support at 4,000 RUB after 12 hours of work. However, the average number of hours per quarter can be misleading: if unused volume expires, months must be calculated separately. Below are the formula, four scenarios, and criteria to agree on before making a choice.

Tariffs can only be compared when the scope of work is identical. Diagnostics, fixes, releases, result verification, and documentation must be treated the same way. Otherwise, one option sells hours, while the other sells a nice name with unknown content.

Input Conditions of the Training Model

The two options are hypothetical and do not represent General iT tariffs or market recommendations. They are intended to demonstrate the solution mechanism for an online store owner.

Parameter

Hourly Option A

Package B

Fixed Fee

0 ₽

48 000 ₽ per month

Conditions up to included volume

4 000 ₽ per hour

16 hours included

Volume exceeding included hours

4,000 RUB per hour

3,200 RUB per hour

Hour transfer

Not applicable

No

Scope of work

Same

Same

An hour in the model is actual time accounted for for agreed tasks. It includes only actions that both parties pre-classified as support. Waiting time for a response from the store or an external service is not added automatically.

Threshold within the included 16 hours

The cost of variant A equals the number of hours multiplied by 4,000 RUB.

For up to 16 hours, the cost of variant B remains 48,000 RUB. Therefore, the threshold is 48,000 ÷ 4,000 = 12 hours.

Work for a month

Variant A

Variant B

Difference: B minus A

6 hours

24,000 ₽

48 000 ₽

+24 000 ₽

12 hours

48 000 ₽

48 000 ₽

0 ₽

16 hours

64 000 ₽

48 000 ₽

−16 000 ₽

24 hours

96 000 ₽

73 600 ₽

−22 400 ₽

The hourly support cost line and the fixed package line intersect at 12 hours and 48,000 RUB.
Educational model: A is 4,000 RUB per hour; B is 48,000 RUB for up to 16 hours, then 3,200 RUB for each additional hour.

At 12 hours, both variants cost the same. Below the threshold, the hourly model is cheaper. Above the threshold, the package is cheaper, provided the scope of work and accounting rules are truly identical.

After 16 hours, package B is calculated as: 48,000 RUB + (hours over 16 × 3,200 RUB). For 24 hours, this is 48,000 + 8 × 3,200 = 73,600 RUB. The hourly variant costs 24 × 4,000 = 96,000 RUB.

The quarterly average can yield an incorrect answer

Let's take three months with loads of 4, 12, and 24 hours. The average is 13.33 hours per month, which is above the 12-hour threshold. If we stop at the average, the package seems more cost-effective. However, hours under our condition are non-transferable.

Period

Hours

Option A

Option B

Month 1

4

16 000 ₽

48 000 ₽

Month 2

12

48 000 ₽

48 000 ₽

Month 3

24

96 000 ₽

73 600 ₽

Total

40

160 000 ₽

169 600 ₽

Cost of hourly support and the package over three months with loads of 4, 12, and 24 hours
With non-transferable hours, the quarter costs 160.0 thousand rubles under option A and 169.6 thousand under option B.

For the quarter, the hourly option costs 160,000 ₽, while the package costs 169,600 ₽. The difference is 9,600 ₽ in favor of the hourly model. The cause is not the threshold formula, but the 12 unused and expired hours in the first month and four hours in the second.

If the contract allows transferring unused hours, combining several months, or switching packages without a penalty, the quarterly calculation will change. Such a condition cannot be assumed; it must be taken from the specific offer.

What must be identical in both options

  • Scope and support boundaries: website, server, 1C integration, payment modules, and external services.

  • Hour definition: rounding step, minimum charge, and accounting order for short tasks.

  • Scope of work: diagnostics, fixes, testing, release, rollback, and documentation.

  • Specialist availability: working hours, weekends, holidays, and emergency calls.

  • Approval process: who authorizes the task and any package overage.

  • Outcome: what the store receives after the work and who confirms acceptance.

Hours do not replace responsibility boundaries. Reviewing administration and support boundaries helps verify who diagnoses the infrastructure, environment, and the store itself, as well as how tasks are handed off between specialists.

Response speed and hourly cost are different parameters

A cheap hour does not guarantee a fast start to work. A fixed package also does not mean round-the-clock resolution of any error. For comparison, separate the response time, diagnostic start time, target recovery time, and availability of the required role.

Parameter

What to record

Initial response

Channel, working hours, and maximum confirmation time

Diagnosis start

When the specialist begins and what data is required

Critical incident

What symptoms warrant elevated priority

Restoration

Which scenario is tested and who approves the result

Scheduled task

Queue, estimated hours, and the date of the approved release

In the educational model, the cost composition is identical, but the contract may distinguish between urgent and scheduled hours. If the package includes priority while the hourly option processes tasks without priority in a general queue, the monetary threshold of 12 hours remains arithmetically correct, but the comparison of solutions is now incomplete.

How to accept the support model before payment

  1. Take the task log for the 3–6 completed months and separate project support from development.

  2. For each month, calculate the actual hours spent on diagnosis, fixes, testing, and release.

  3. Apply the rounding rules of both options to the same set of tasks.

  4. Separately count the months below the threshold, near it, and those with a peak incident.

  5. Check hour rollover, the cost of hours exceeding the package, and the right to reduce or disable the package.

  6. Record the acceptance scenario: what is checked after the change and what result closes the task.

  7. After the pilot period, compare the calculation with the actual log and recalculate the solution.

A pilot does not have to include risky changes. You can select several standard tasks: analyzing an error in the log, fixing template text, verifying data exchange on test data, and releasing a small change with a rollback plan.

When the hourly option usually wins in this model

  • Load is consistently below 12 hours per month.

  • Monthly usage varies significantly, and unused package hours expire.

  • Tasks can be scheduled without priority response time.

  • The store can collect data and accept results on its own, so it pays for less coordination.

When package B becomes economically more attractive

  • Confirmed load regularly exceeds 12 hours per month.

  • The included scope of support, specialist availability, and deliverables are at least as broad as under the hourly option.

  • Exceeding the package must be agreed upon in advance and is calculated at a clear rate.

  • For a store, regular diagnostics, documentation, and control of recurring tasks are more valuable than one-time fixes.

Recalculate using your own data

First, find the monthly threshold: fixed package fee divided by hourly rate. Then calculate each month separately, accounting for the included volume, overage, and hour expiration. The total for the period equals the sum of monthly costs, not the cost of an average month.

The current scope of support work and its price must be determined for each specific project: the 1C-Bitrix edition, customizations, integrations, and access rights all affect the volume. You can provide these details for an estimate on the technical support page, without replacing the calculation with a promise of a fixed price.

Decision criterion: select an identical scope of work, recalculate actual months, and verify the hour tracking rules. In our educational model, the package is cheaper after 12 hours within a month, but for a quarter with workloads of 4, 12, and 24 hours, hourly payment is still cheaper than the package by 9,600 RUB.

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