Author

Patrick Clements

Co-founder and CEO, SherpaDesk

Patrick co-founded SherpaDesk and has led it as CEO since 2013. He has worked with IT service providers since 1998, first on network projects for schools and government offices, then on the help desk software their technicians use every day.

Portrait of Patrick Clements
Role
Co-founder and CEO
Company
SherpaDesk
Based in
San Francisco, California
In IT services since
1998
Education
BBA in Marketing, University of Georgia
Writing here since
2013
Articles
85

About Patrick

Patrick graduated from the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business with a marketing degree in 1997. A year later he joined Micajah ITS, the Atlanta network consultancy founded by his future partner Jon, and ran business development for its network projects with government organizations and with schools getting online through E-rate funding.

In 1999 Patrick and Jon co-founded bigWebApps in a basement in Atlanta. Its first help desk, BigWebDesk, was built for IT consultants serving K-12 schools and colleges, to cut response times, onsite visits and ticket escalations. It grew into SherpaDesk, which Patrick has run as CEO since January 2013.

In 2007 the company lost most of its development contracts in the recession. Patrick cut staff and gave up a new office lease in downtown Atlanta to keep the business alive. He still runs SherpaDesk on the same rule: take risks, but never bet the company.

Outside SherpaDesk, Patrick is a member of the Technology Executive Roundtable and serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations.

On this blog he writes about the parts of IT service work that rarely make a product page: hiring the first tier 1 technician, saying no to an executive who wants a security exception, building a support team, and billing for managed services. His writing on entrepreneurship has also appeared in AllBusiness.

The road to SherpaDesk

Since 1998: from network projects for schools to the help desk software MSPs and IT teams run on.

  1. University of Georgia

    BBA in Marketing from the Terry College of Business.

  2. Micajah ITS

    Business development at an Atlanta network consultancy serving government organizations and E-rate funded schools.

  3. bigWebApps

    Co-founds bigWebApps with Jon. Its first help desk, BigWebDesk, serves IT consultants to K-12 schools and colleges.

  4. Surviving the recession

    Loses most development contracts, cuts back and keeps the company running.

  5. Writing for founders

    Publishes "6 Valuable Lessons Every Entrepreneur Needs to Learn to Succeed" in AllBusiness.

  6. SherpaDesk launches

    Becomes co-founder and CEO as the help desk platform launches as SherpaDesk.

  7. Venture Atlanta and Intuit

    SherpaDesk is selected to present at Venture Atlanta and partners with Intuit on QuickBooks.

  8. Ask Our CEO

    Starts answering questions from IT and MSP professionals, including threads from r/MSP.

  9. Leading SherpaDesk

    SherpaDesk adds Smart Contracts and its first AI agent, CoPilot.

All articles by Patrick

85 articles, newest first
Help desk software for K-12 IT teams
Help Desk Software For Schools: Picks For Small K-12 IT Teams

Help desk software for schools, compared for one-to-three-person K-12 IT teams: Chromebook sync, loaners, intake, and how each tool is priced.

Patrick ClementsOct 30, 202614 min read
Ticket triage for a small IT team
Ticket Triage: How A Small IT Team Sorts And Routes The Queue

Ticket triage for a small helpdesk or MSP: two-axis classes, intake facts, ordered routing rules with fallbacks, exceptions, and the first reply.

Patrick ClementsOct 30, 202619 min read
MSP billing software, compared
Best MSP Billing Software For Small MSPs

MSP billing software for small MSPs: contracts, prepaid hours, overage, and the QuickBooks or Xero handoff, with what each tool costs a team of 3.

Patrick ClementsOct 30, 202617 min read
Email ticketing for small teams
Best Email Ticketing System For Small IT Teams And MSPs

An email ticketing system turns support@ into tickets. Eight picks for small IT teams and MSPs, plus forwarding setup for Microsoft 365 and Gmail.

Patrick ClementsOct 30, 202616 min read
Asset management for 1:1 programs
School Asset Management Software: A Guide For 1:1 Programs

School asset management software for 1:1 programs: student assignments, loaners, building audits, repair history, Google sync, six tools compared.

Patrick ClementsOct 30, 202613 min read
IT asset lifecycle management
Asset Lifecycle Management: A Guide For Small IT Teams

Asset lifecycle management for a small IT team or MSP: five stages, repair or replace, refresh cycles, depreciation, data wiping, and the disposal record.

Patrick ClementsOct 30, 202611 min read
The MSP QBR template
MSP QBR Template: Agenda, Data Sources, And A Filled-In Example

A free MSP QBR template for small MSPs: a 45-minute agenda, where each number comes from, and a completed example. Copy it or download the TXT.

Patrick ClementsOct 30, 202613 min read
Building an IT asset inventory
IT Asset Inventory: How To Build One And Keep It Current

How to build an IT asset inventory a small IT team can keep current: fields, IDs, reconciling sources, owners, statuses, location checks, and tickets.

Patrick ClementsOct 30, 202612 min read
The MSP onboarding checklist
MSP Onboarding Checklist For New Clients

An MSP onboarding checklist for new clients: seven phases with owners and timing, a filled-in example, and a free TXT template to copy.

Patrick ClementsOct 30, 202613 min read
IT support for schools
IT Support For Schools: What A Small IT Team Should Cover

IT support for schools, run by a small team: what to cover, FERPA, CIPA, and E-Rate basics, support models, teacher requests, and summer refresh.

Patrick ClementsOct 29, 202614 min read
Help desk metrics that matter
Help Desk Metrics A Small IT Team Should Actually Track

The help desk metrics a small IT team or MSP should track: the formula, how to read it, how to set a target, and the trap behind each one.

Patrick ClementsOct 29, 202614 min read
Incident priority levels
Incident Priority Levels: The P1–P4 Matrix For Small IT Teams

Incident priority levels for a small helpdesk or MSP: P1–P4 definitions, a copyable impact and urgency matrix, response targets, and worked examples.

Patrick ClementsOct 29, 202612 min read
MSP vs MSSP
MSP vs MSSP: What Each Does And When You Need Both

MSP vs MSSP: an MSP runs your day-to-day IT, an MSSP runs security monitoring and response. Side-by-side table, who owns what, and when to use both.

Patrick ClementsOct 29, 202613 min read