Let’s be blunt: most MSPs are terrible at projects.
I know, because I’ve been there. At one point, projects nearly sank my MSP business. We had smart people, a PSA, and plenty of ambition but we consistently dropped the ball.
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We didn’t scope properly.
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We gave overly optimistic estimates.
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We over-promised, then over-delivered at our own expense.
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We failed to communicate clearly with clients.
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We had no methodology, no training, and no visibility into what was actually happening.
It was chaos. And it almost cost us the business.
Recently, James Davis of TSP Advisory pointed out that project profitability across MSPs is falling off a cliff with best-in-class service margins dropping from 50% to 38%. That confirms exactly what we’ve seen talking to thousands of MSPs: the issue isn’t just “the economy", it is execution.
Meanwhile, in my software development company, we used Scrum with JIRA and Kanban boards. Same people, same complexity, but the flow was night and day. This means that projects shipped, clients were happy and teams had focus.
That contrast led me to build CW Kanban, purpose-built boards for ConnectWise. That eventually grew into TopLeft, supporting multiple PSAs and helping MSPs stop bleeding money on projects.
What We’ve Learned After Talking to 2,000+ MSPs
Over the years, we’ve seen the same patterns play out across MSPs:
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No training or methodology
Smart engineers get thrown into projects without project management discipline. Every project is reinvented from scratch. -
Too much work in progress
MSPs love saying “yes” to clients. Projects get started, then stall for months because resources are stretched too thin. -
The wrong tools
PSAs are built for billing, not delivery. Many MSPs then add MS Teams, Excel, Planner, or other web tools to visualize projects — but this creates duplicate data entry, confusion, and delays. -
Conflicting service and project work
Tickets always win; projects always lose. Techs can’t focus on delivery. -
New technology, steep learning curves
Projects often involve unfamiliar tech. Without structure, teams learn on the client’s dime — and the MSP eats the cost. -
Unbalanced focus on MRR
Many MSPs treat projects as a “loss leader” for managed services. In reality, poorly executed projects burn both project margin and recurring margin. -
Broken handoffs
Sales may do a great job winning a deal, but critical knowledge gets lost before delivery even begins. -
No adoption of proven methodologies
Entire industries have been transformed by Lean and Agile, yet most MSPs remain oblivious. They keep “winging it” instead of leveraging practices that drive flow, predictability, and profitability. -
Change management failures
Many MSPs recognize the issues and even explore new tools and methods. But they struggle to get full buy-in and to implement the daily habits that make change stick. Without adoption, nothing improves.
The Hard Truth
Poor project execution doesn’t just kill margins. It also:
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Hurts clients: they don’t get the transformation they paid for, leaving unstable environments that create more tickets.
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Hurts recurring revenue: bad projects create more support noise and destroy trust.
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Hurts your team: engineers feel frustrated, leaders lose confidence, and salespeople hesitate to sell more projects.
What the Best MSPs Do Differently
The MSPs who are winning at projects aren’t superheroes — they’re disciplined:
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They make work visible and limit work in progress.
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They build repeatable playbooks and methodologies.
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They align service and project priorities.
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They scope carefully and price correctly.
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They adopt Lean and Agile principles into their daily practices.
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They equip their teams with tools designed for execution, not just billing.
And the results speak for themselves:
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Teba in Australia cut project completion times by 58.4% by focusing on flow and WIP limits.
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Saitel Systems in Victoria eliminated “slipping through the cracks” projects by giving their 12-person service desk Kanban visibility.
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First Focus in Sydney scaled Agile practices across a 300+ person MSP, aligning technical account management and service delivery with real visibility.
The Way Forward
Projects don’t have to be a loss leader. When MSPs get visibility, flow, and adoption right, projects can generate 3x services revenue to labor cost.
That’s why we built TopLeft: to help MSPs finish projects faster, serve clients better, and finally stop leaving money on the table.
Want to see how leading MSPs are doing it? Watch our webinar with Steve Psaradellis of Teba
