A comprehensive, battle-tested template for small businesses to create structured IT support policies that integrate disaster recovery planning, reduce unnecessary escalations, and ensure proper incident documentation.
The Problem: Small businesses often struggle with:
- Staff escalating simple issues that could be resolved with basic troubleshooting
- Lack of proper documentation when real IT support is needed
- No clear procedures for handling actual emergencies vs. routine problems
- Expensive third-party support calls for issues like "restart the router"
The Solution: This template provides a structured approach that:
- ✅ Reduces unnecessary escalations by 50% through mandatory first-level troubleshooting
- ✅ Improves incident response times with clear classification and procedures
- ✅ Integrates disaster recovery planning with day-to-day IT support
- ✅ Provides comprehensive documentation for when expert help is truly needed
- Download the IT Support Policy Template
- Customize using the Customization Guide
- Train your staff using the procedures and checklists
- Test your escalation procedures
- Review quarterly and update as needed
- IT Support Policy Template - Complete policy framework
- Incident Report Template - Standardized reporting forms
- Emergency Contact Card - Quick reference for staff
- Training Checklist - Staff competency requirements
- Customization Guide - Step-by-step setup instructions
- Training Materials - Staff education resources
- Testing Procedures - How to validate your plan
- Retail Business Example - Store/shop implementation
- Restaurant Example - Food service adaptation
- Professional Office Example - Standard office setup
- Disaster-Level: Security breaches, infrastructure failure, data corruption
- Emergency: Complete outages, payment system down, imminent hardware failure
- Urgent: Partial outages, multiple users affected, backup failures
- Routine: Single user issues, minor problems, requests
Before any escalation, staff must complete:
- Power and connection verification
- System restart procedures
- Multi-device testing
- Common solution checks
- Data loss assessment (if applicable)
- Clear emergency response procedures
- Data backup awareness and protocols
- Cybersecurity incident handling
- Communication and escalation chains
- Recovery documentation requirements
- Standardized incident reporting templates
- Third-party vendor management procedures
- Staff training and competency requirements
- Management oversight and review processes
Organizations using this template typically see:
| Metric | Target Improvement |
|---|---|
| Unnecessary Escalations | 50% reduction |
| First-Call Resolution | 80% success rate |
| Incident Response Time | Meet SLA requirements |
| Documentation Quality | 100% complete reports |
| Staff Confidence | Measurable increase |
- Retail stores and service businesses
- Restaurants and hospitality
- Professional offices (law, accounting, consulting)
- Medical/dental practices
- Manufacturing and distribution
- Any business with basic IT infrastructure
- Template for standardizing client policies
- Reduces support call volume and improves efficiency
- Framework for client training and documentation
| Phase | Duration | Activities |
|---|---|---|
| Planning | Week 1 | Customize template, review with management |
| Training | Weeks 2-3 | Staff education, practice procedures |
| Pilot | Weeks 4-6 | Monitor implementation, gather feedback |
| Full Deployment | Week 7+ | Complete rollout, regular reviews |
- Company name and contact information
- IT support provider details and escalation contacts
- Equipment and system names specific to your business
- Backup and data recovery procedures
- Emergency communication protocols
- Company branding and visual identity
- Industry-specific procedures and requirements
- Local emergency services information
- Role-specific versions for different departments
your-business-policies/
├── IT-Support-Policy.md (customized main policy)
├── emergency-contacts.md
├── training-records/
├── incident-reports/
└── quarterly-reviews/
We welcome contributions from the community! This template improves when businesses and IT professionals share their experiences.
- Fork this repository
- Create a feature branch (
git checkout -b feature/improvement) - Commit your changes (
git commit -am 'Add improvement') - Push to the branch (
git push origin feature/improvement) - Create a Pull Request
- 🔧 Additional troubleshooting procedures
- 🏭 Industry-specific customizations
- 📋 Improved documentation templates
- 📚 Training materials and resources
- 📊 Metrics and reporting templates
- 🌍 Translations to other languages
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
You are free to:
- ✅ Use this template for any business purpose
- ✅ Modify and customize for your needs
- ✅ Distribute and share with others
- ✅ Create derivative works
This template provides general guidance and should be:
- Customized for your specific business needs
- Reviewed by qualified IT professionals
- Tested before full implementation
- Updated regularly as your business changes
- This template does not constitute legal advice
- Compliance requirements vary by industry and location
- Consult with legal and compliance professionals as needed
- Consider cyber insurance and liability coverage
- This template helps structure your IT support relationship
- It does not replace professional IT services
- Final responsibility for implementation rests with your business
- Regular professional IT assessments are still recommended
- 📖 Documentation: Check the docs folder for detailed guides
- 💬 Discussions: Use GitHub Discussions for questions and sharing
- 🐛 Issues: Report bugs or request features via GitHub Issues
- 📧 Community: Connect with other users and contributors
- 🔗 Small Business IT Resources - Coming soon
- 📺 Training Videos - Community contributed
- 🎯 Best Practices Guide - Based on real implementations
- 📊 Success Stories - Learn from other businesses
- Star this repository if you find it helpful
- Download the IT Support Policy Template
- Follow the Customization Guide
- Share your success story with the community
Remember: Most technical issues have simple solutions, but serious incidents require immediate professional response. This template helps your team know the difference and respond appropriately.
