#2 – Don’t Be That Guy - You Suck at Managed Services - Fix It! (Ryan Alter)

In Episode #4 of Don’t Be That Guy on the BMK Vision Podcast, Josh Peterson and Ryan Alter confront one of the most persistent and damaging myths in the MSP industry: that technicians fail at time entry because they lack discipline, accountability, or care.

This episode dismantles that assumption at the root. Time tracking does not fail at the technician level—it fails at the system level. When leadership designs an operating environment where technicians are expected to self-dispatch, absorb constant interruptions, manage ticket flow, and carry administrative ownership alongside technical execution, accurate time entry becomes structurally unrealistic. In that environment, time entry isn’t ignored out of apathy—it is sacrificed for survival.

If you’ve ever repeated the phrase “just enter your time” and wondered why nothing changes, this conversation explains why behavior never improves without structural clarity—and what disciplined MSP leadership must change for time entry to become automatic instead of adversarial.

The core problem: techs are doing jobs they shouldn’t own

Josh makes the case early and unequivocally: most MSPs unintentionally assign technicians four jobs instead of one. They are expected to resolve issues, prioritize incoming work, manage ticket flow, and remember administrative follow-ups—all while operating in an interruption-driven environment.

Time entry fails not because it lacks importance, but because it competes with responsibilities leadership failed to separate.

• Technicians self-dispatch instead of focusing on resolution.
• Interrupt-driven work erodes documentation discipline.
• Ownership confusion turns time entry into a negotiable task.

Dispatch isn’t overhead — it’s leverage

Ryan and Josh challenge the idea that dispatch is a “large MSP luxury.” Even in two- or three-technician teams, someone must own the day, the priorities, and the flow of hours. When that role is absent, technicians absorb dispatch responsibility silently—and accuracy collapses.

• A dispatcher owns tickets end-to-end.
• They balance urgency, availability, and client experience.
• They shield technicians from unnecessary context switching.

Standards matter — but only if they’re enforced

Time tracking only improves when expectations are explicit, enforced, and inspected. Josh outlines a simple but non-negotiable baseline:

• 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week.
• Time submitted by Friday at 5 p.m.
• Time approved by Monday morning.
• Time reviewed multiple times per day.

Most MSPs already have policies. What they lack is consistent inspection.

Inspect at the same rate you expect

This principle defines the episode. Reviewing time three times per day isn’t micromanagement—it’s leadership. Coaches correct athletes during the game, not days later watching tape. Time entry habits form when feedback is immediate, human, and predictable.

• 11 a.m., 2 p.m., and end-of-day reviews reset behavior.
• Feedback should be calm, personal, and judgment-free.
• Habits outperform motivation every time.

Why this actually matters

Accurate time entry is not about control—it’s about truth. Without it, MSPs cannot trust agreement gross profit, effective hourly rate, utilization, or client profitability. Every downstream decision becomes distorted by bad inputs.

If you want clean reporting, confident pricing, and predictable margins, this discipline is foundational—not optional.

Episode highlights

• 00:05:37 – Why self-dispatching destroys time entry.
• 00:06:12 – Dispatch works even with very small teams.
• 00:13:22 – Creating a distraction-free technician role.
• 00:19:41 – The BMK time entry standards.
• 00:21:34 – Why reviewing time three times per day works.
• 00:30:56 – Charge codes reveal where time actually goes.
• 00:45:46 – Inspect at the same rate you expect.

FAQ

Why do MSP technicians struggle with time entry?

Because most MSPs accidentally design a system where time entry is competing against higher-pressure work. When technicians are expected to solve issues, prioritize incoming requests, manage ticket flow, and de-escalate users—accurate documentation becomes the first thing sacrificed. The behavior is a symptom; the operating environment is the cause.

Is time entry a technician accountability problem or a leadership problem?

It’s primarily a leadership problem. If leadership wants reliable time entry, leadership must create structural clarity: who owns the day, who owns priorities, and how technicians are protected from constant context switching. Discipline improves when the system makes success easier than failure.

What does “technicians are doing four jobs instead of one” actually mean?

It means technicians are expected to do more than technical resolution. In many MSPs they are also expected to (1) answer calls and triage, (2) decide what is most urgent, (3) manage their own work queue, and (4) remember administrative follow-ups like notes, statuses, and time. That overload creates predictable breakdowns in documentation and consistency.

How does dispatch relate to time entry compliance?

Dispatch is the structural lever that protects technician focus. When dispatch owns intake, prioritization, and ticket flow, technicians spend less time context-switching and more time executing cleanly. That clarity is what makes time entry automatic: fewer interruptions, cleaner handoffs, and less ambiguity about ownership.

Do small MSPs really need dispatch?

Yes. Even with two or three technicians, someone must own the day and the flow of hours. Without that ownership, technicians silently absorb dispatch responsibilities and the system becomes reactive. Dispatch is not an “overhead luxury”—it is the mechanism that makes a small team behave like a scalable operation.

What time entry standards should an MSP enforce?

The baseline discussed is simple: time should reflect a full workday and be reviewed frequently. The point is not bureaucracy—it’s creating predictable inspection and feedback so habits form. Policies matter, but they only become real when they are consistently inspected.

Is reviewing time multiple times per day micromanagement?

No. It’s leadership inspection. If you expect a behavior, you should inspect it at the same rate you expect it to occur. Delayed feedback turns time entry into a weekly argument; immediate feedback turns it into a daily habit.

Why does accurate time entry matter beyond payroll or billing?

Because time entry is the foundation of truth in an MSP. Without it, metrics like agreement gross profit, effective hourly rate, utilization, and client profitability become unreliable. When inputs are wrong, pricing decisions, staffing decisions, and service design decisions are distorted.

About the guest: Ryan Alter

Ryan Alter is a former MSP owner who grew a one-man operation into a 25-person firm before selling the business. His perspective is grounded in lived experience—especially around dispatch discipline, technician focus, and operational clarity.

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About the host: Josh Peterson

Josh Peterson is the CEO of Bering McKinley and host of the BMK Vision Podcast. Through Don’t Be That Guy, Josh helps MSP owners replace heroics with structure, habits, and operating systems that scale.

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Want to go deeper?

If you’re ready to stop fighting time entry and start running your MSP on clean, trustworthy data, explore Vision or apply to be a guest on the podcast.

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