How we work
How engagements usually start, what “managed” means here, and how we communicate.
Tools / Resources
Guides and one-pagers you can share
Short PDFs and plain-language guides on email trust, cloud choice, kickoff prep, and how we work. Share them with your team or clients.
One-pagers
Read them here, or download the printable PDF for quick reference.
IT health check
A simple checklist for MFA, backups, email auth, and documentation gaps.
Referral one-pager
How referrals work when someone in your network needs a reachable IT partner.
Evergreen guides
Plain English on topics we answer every week.
DMARC in plain English
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are how receiving mail servers decide whether mail that claims to be from your domain is allowed. SPF lists which servers may send. DKIM signs messages so they are hard to forge in transit. DMARC tells receivers what to do when SPF or DKIM fail, and where to send reports.
Most “our email is landing in spam” problems after a domain, vendor, or Microsoft/Google change come back to missing or conflicting records. Start with a public check, then fix the records with whoever hosts DNS, not by guessing in the admin console alone.
Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace for SMBs
We support both with equal depth. Microsoft 365 often wins when the team already lives in Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, or industry apps that assume Entra ID. Google Workspace often wins when the team wants Gmail and Drive simplicity, Chromebooks, or lighter admin for a distributed group.
The wrong reason to pick a stack is a vendor rebate or a one-size pitch. The right reason is how your people already work, what your line-of-business apps require, and whether you need coexistence during a migration. We will say if a hybrid path is safer than a big-bang cutover.
What we need for a kickoff
Before discovery or a project start, these items save everyone time. You do not need a perfect packet. Send what you have and we will ask for the gaps. The interactive checklist turns this into an eight-question self-score.
- Who owns the domain, DNS, and billing for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace
- A short list of must-work apps and any known broken mail or login issues
- Whether you need onsite work in St. Louis or remote-only is fine
- Admin contacts for the ISP, firewall, phones, or line-of-business vendors
- What “done” looks like for this engagement in one or two sentences
Projects, consulting, vCIO, and personal support
Not every engagement is a managed-IT retainer. We take scoped one-off projects, consulting hours for a second set of eyes, vCIO-style roadmap and vendor advice, and personal technical support. Details live on Services → Professional services.
Prefer interactive checks? All tools · Prefer email? help@leveluptech.org · Search the site with the header magnifying glass (⌘K / Ctrl+K).