The front counter · 192 Dwight St
the front counter for firms with a lock on their mind
Ring it, write it down, or bring it to the bench. Whichever door you use, a person reads it — and the first conversation is never billed.
Most firms reach us after something small: a sign-in alert from somewhere odd, an insurer’s renewal question about MFA, a client asking how their tax file is kept. Describe it the way you’d describe it to a colleague. We’ll take it from there, with a fixed fee written down before any work starts.
The enquiry slip
leave a note at the bench, in your own words
Three lines is plenty. Tell us the size of the office, what kind of practice it is, and what has been keeping a partner up at night. We reply from talent@hollistervane.com, signed by the person who read it.
some locks are easier to describe out loud than to type
If the note keeps getting longer, put it down and ring instead. Twenty minutes, no charge, and a fixed fee on paper by the end of the week.
The docket · before you ring
six things worth having on the desk when you call
None of these are required — we’ve scoped plenty of jobs from a single worried sentence. But with them to hand, the scoping call ends with a firm fee instead of a follow-up.
| No. | Bring | Why it matters | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|---|
| your Microsoft 365 licence | Business Basic, Standard or Premium decides which locks can even be fitted. Conditional access, for one, only arrives with Premium. | Where it livesAdmin centre → Billing → Your products | |
| a rough count of mailboxes | Including the shared ones and the accounts of people who left. Old mailboxes are the doors most often left on the latch. | Where it livesAdmin centre → Users → Active users | |
| who looks after your IT | An in-house person or a managed provider — the findings are written to be handed to them as a work list, so it helps to know who reads it. | Where it livesYour most recent IT invoice | |
| your cyber-insurance carrier and renewal date | Renewal questionnaires increasingly ask about MFA and a written response plan. The date tells us which engagement to start with. | Where it livesThe declarations page of your policy | |
| the thing that worried you | An odd sign-in alert, a strange forwarding rule, a client’s pointed question. Describe it — don’t forward attachments you aren’t sure of. | Where it livesYour own words are enough | |
| your heavy months | Tax season, quarter-end, a run of real-estate closings. Fieldwork and phishing rounds are scheduled around them, never through them. | Where it livesThe office calendar |
Bench hours & the way in
the bench keeps shop hours, five days a week
The telephone is answered and the door is open in the same window: weekdays, eleven until half past five, Eastern. Hand-over hours can be held here at Dwight St or across your own conference table — your choice, written into the scope letter.
a week at the bench
Eastern time
- Mon11am–5:30pm
- Tue11am–5:30pm
- Wed11am–5:30pm
- Thu11am–5:30pm
- Fri11am–5:30pm
- Satclosed
- Sunclosed
Notes left over the weekend are waiting on the bench when it opens at eleven on Monday.
before you call in
- Ring (475) 269-3473 first, so the bench is cleared and the kettle is on when you sit down.
- If you’ve had a folio from us before, bring it — we’ll pick up from the page you left off.
- Your IT person and office manager are always welcome at the table. Questions are cheaper asked together.
one email, and the fee comes back written in ink
Tell us the size of the office and what worries you. The scope letter returns signed and dated, with a fixed figure between $415 and $1,375 in its opening line.