We are pleased to share some news: SysFix IT Support has been named Charity Focused MSP of the Year. It matters less because of the trophy and more because of what it reflects, which is a lot of small charities finally getting IT that fits how they actually work. So rather than simply announcing it, here is the practical bit: what charities and small businesses should be doing about their IT right now.
SysFix IT Support has won Charity Focused MSP of the Year, and the award page is at the SME News winners listing if you want to see it for yourself. MSP stands for managed service provider, which is jargon for the company that looks after your IT so you do not have to.
The 'charity focused' part is the bit we care about. Charities do not run like typical businesses. You often have a small paid team, a large volunteer base, grant funding that arrives in chunks, and trustees who need reassurance that money is being spent sensibly. You also handle sensitive data about beneficiaries, donors and sometimes vulnerable people.
None of that makes charity IT easier. It usually makes it harder, because the same risks apply but there is less money and fewer hands to deal with them.
Here is the situation we see most often. A charity has a handful of laptops, a shared inbox, a donor spreadsheet, a Microsoft 365 tenancy somebody set up years ago, and a filing cabinet of passwords. The person who 'knows the IT' is often the office manager, the finance lead, or a willing volunteer. They are doing three jobs already.
Then something goes wrong. A laptop is stolen. A staff member leaves and nobody can get into the shared mailbox. A phishing email gets clicked and the finance team spends a fortnight worrying. Everyone looks at each other and asks who was supposed to be looking after this.
That is not a failure of effort. It is a failure of ownership. Nobody has been given clear responsibility, and nobody has written down what 'good' looks like.
If that sounds familiar, the fix is not a big project. It is a short list of things you can start on this week.
1. Turn on multi-factor authentication. MFA means a login needs your password plus a code from your phone. It stops the overwhelming majority of account takeovers, and it is free in most Microsoft 365 plans. Start with email and finance accounts.
2. Check your backups actually restore. A backup nobody has tested is a hope, not a plan. Ask your provider when a file was last restored from backup, and how long it took. If nobody knows, that is your answer. Our data backup service covers this properly.
3. Write down who owns what. One page is enough. Who administers Microsoft 365? Who holds the domain and website? Who approves new software? Who do staff call when something breaks?
4. Give leavers a proper exit. When someone leaves, their email, files and access need handling the same day. A simple checklist prevents the awkward 'can you send me the password' email three months later.
5. Train people on phishing. Ten minutes, once a quarter, with real examples of fake invoices and fake parcel notifications. It is the cheapest security control you will ever run.
It is not about having the fanciest systems. It is about knowing that someone competent is watching, that problems get fixed, and that you can explain your setup to a funder or trustee without blushing.
In practice that means a named contact you can reach, sensible managed IT security covering email, devices and accounts, and a plan for the things charities get asked about most: GDPR, safeguarding records, and grant reporting data.
It also means pricing and contracts written in plain English, with no surprise invoices. If you are reviewing providers, our IT support contracts page explains what to look for, and the charity IT support page covers the charity-specific side in more detail.
We have written before about why this sector matters to us, and this award sits alongside earlier recognition such as Best Business & Community IT Support Provider. The trophy is nice. The useful part is that it keeps us honest about who we are building for.
Most of the above applies to you too. Small businesses and small charities share the same shape: a lean team, no dedicated IT person, and a handful of systems that quietly hold everything together.
The difference is usually that businesses have more budget and less patience. Either way, the starting point is the same. Know what you have, know who owns it, and make sure you can get your data back if the worst happens.
If you want a second pair of eyes, a PC health check is a low-drama way to find out what state your kit is really in before something breaks at the worst possible moment.
If you run a small charity or business and want plain-English advice on security, backups and support, get in touch with SysFix IT Support. We will tell you what needs doing first, and what can wait.
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