The short answer
QBR automation for an MSP costs a one-time setup fee plus a fixed monthly subscription. At Catalyst Shift, the QBR module is a one-time setup of roughly $3,000 to install and configure it on your systems, plus $1,000 per month to run it as a managed service. That's the whole number — published, fixed, and the same whether you have fifteen managed clients or fifty. There's no per-client metering, no "investment to be discussed," and no quote you have to sit through a sales call to receive. Before you pay anything, the deliverables and the outcomes we'll measure go in writing.
The rest of this page explains what's in that price, why it's structured the way it is, and how to think about the return.
Why most QBR automation pricing is hidden
If you've shopped for QBR or vCIO reporting tooling, you've met the wall: "Request a demo," "Contact sales for pricing," "Custom quote." The number is hidden because it's variable — priced on seats, clients, endpoints, or whatever the rep thinks you'll pay. That's fine for the vendor and frustrating for an owner-operator who just wants to know if this fits the budget before investing an hour in a call.
We publish pricing because hiding it doesn't serve you. If the published price doesn't fit, we're not the right fit, and you should find that out in thirty seconds on a web page, not thirty minutes on a call. Fixed, public pricing is also a discipline on us: it means the number has to be defensible on its own, not negotiated up to whatever the market will bear.
What the price actually is
QBR automation is delivered as module M.01 of Catalyst OS, on a setup-plus-subscription structure.
| Line item | Cost | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Setup (one-time) | ~$3,000 | Connecting your PSA and RMM, mapping your client data, standardizing your QBR format, and configuring the module to your accounts. This is the work that installs the module. |
| Subscription (monthly) | $1,000 | Running the module as a managed service — generating every client's QBR on schedule, on your data, in your tools, maintained as APIs change. |
| Term | Annual, quarterly reviews | An annual commitment with a review each quarter to confirm it's delivering. |
The monthly is the product — it's what keeps the automation running and maintained. The setup is the onboarding that gets you there; it isn't sold on its own, and the software isn't licensed for you to self-host. This is a managed service, not a tool you stand up and babysit yourself.
The front door: MSP Operations Scorecard
Before the QBR module, most engagements start with the MSP Operations Scorecard — a one-week assessment, $2,500, that scores how your business runs and recommends the right first module. Because it doubles as the deployment blueprint for whatever you implement, the full $2,500 credits toward your first module. It isn't required to buy QBR automation, but it de-risks the decision and pays for itself if you proceed.
Why setup-plus-subscription, and not a license
You might ask why this isn't just software you buy once. The honest answer is the build state: Catalyst OS is in active development, and the QBR module is delivered as a managed service today because that's how we guarantee it works on your specific stack right now — your ConnectWise instance, your NinjaOne organizations, your client list — rather than handing you software and wishing you luck. You join a founding cohort that gets the product first and shapes what's built next, and that early access is part of why the pricing is structured the way it is. As the module matures toward running itself, the model is built to evolve toward lighter-touch, software-style economics. Today's structure is the managed-phase version of that.
How to think about the return
The cost question only makes sense next to the value. Two ways to frame it:
Against the labor it replaces. A thorough QBR built by hand takes three to five hours. If your vCIO or senior tech bills at $150–$250/hour and you're running QBRs for even fifteen clients quarterly, that's 45–75 hours a quarter — $7,000 to $18,000 of loaded labor cost per quarter, much of it spent on assembly rather than strategy. The subscription is a fraction of that, and it converts the time you keep into review-and-advise time instead of build time.
Against the retention it protects. QBRs are a renewal and expansion motion. The clients who get a consistent, value-demonstrating QBR renew more reliably and buy more. If automating QBRs means every client gets one every quarter — instead of only the accounts you had time for — and that protects even one or two renewals a year, the retained recurring revenue is a multiple of the annual cost of the module. (See the companion guide on predicting client churn for how the same data drives retention.)
The point isn't that the tool is cheap. It's that the math is in your favor when the alternative is paying senior people to assemble decks, or skipping QBRs on the accounts most likely to leave.
What's included, and what isn't
Included in setup and subscription:
- Connecting and mapping your PSA and RMM data.
- One standardized QBR format configured to your accounts.
- Automated QBR generation for every managed client on a quarterly cycle.
- Plain-language talking points, a per-client health score, and a forward roadmap section.
- Ongoing maintenance as your systems and their APIs change.
Not included (by design):
- Per-client fees or usage metering — the monthly is flat.
- Self-hosting or a software license — it's delivered as a managed service.
- A promise to "keep working at no cost" — instead, the deliverables and the outcomes we measure are defined in writing before you pay.
The full module price list
QBR is the usual starting point, but Catalyst OS publishes pricing across all five modules. Each carries a setup fee around $3,000 and a standalone monthly:
| Module | Monthly subscription |
|---|---|
| QBR Automation (M.01) | $1,000 |
| Churn Early Warning (M.02) | $1,250 |
| Proposal Generation (M.03) | $900 |
| Pipeline Visibility (M.04) | $800 |
| Authority Engine (M.05) | $1,200 |
Each module's monthly stands on its own — profitable and sustainable as a single module, with no assumed upsell. You start with the one where the bleeding is worst and add the next when it earns its place.
Frequently asked questions
How much does MSP QBR automation cost?
At Catalyst Shift, QBR automation costs a one-time setup fee of roughly $3,000 to install and configure it on your systems, plus a fixed $1,000 per month to run it as a managed service. The monthly is flat regardless of client count, and the pricing is published rather than quoted on a call.
Is the pricing per client or flat?
Flat. The monthly subscription is the same whether you run QBRs for fifteen clients or fifty — there's no per-client metering. That's deliberate: QBR automation gets more valuable the more clients you have, so the economics shouldn't penalize you for scaling the motion.
What's the setup fee for?
The setup fee covers the work that installs the module — connecting your PSA and RMM, mapping your client data, standardizing your QBR format, and configuring it to your accounts. It's onboarding inside the managed agreement, not a separate product, and the module isn't licensed for self-hosting.
Do I have to buy the Scorecard first?
No. The $2,500 MSP Operations Scorecard is the recommended front door because it confirms fit and doubles as your deployment blueprint, and the full amount credits toward your first module. But it isn't required to purchase QBR automation.
Is there a contract?
The standard term is an annual commitment with quarterly reviews. The quarterly review is there to confirm the module is delivering the outcomes defined in writing at the start.
What does the rest of Catalyst OS cost?
All five modules are published: each has a setup fee around $3,000 plus a standalone monthly — QBR $1,000, Churn $1,250, Proposal $900, Pipeline $800, Authority Engine $1,200. There's no required bundle; you add modules as they earn their place.
Catalyst OS is the business-layer operating system for an MSP — the layer the major MSP vendors have no incentive to build. Pricing is published and fixed. The first conversation is a 30-minute listen, not a pitch.