Comparing live pricing and terms from 400+ carriers and platforms
100% carrier and supplier residuals. You pay us nothing directly, not for advice and not for project work. Different carriers pay us different rates, and we will tell you which is which — here is the whole math.
When you choose a carrier or platform we recommend, that provider pays us a residual, and only for as long as you stay a happy customer. Our income depends on getting it right for you over the long run, not on selling you anything.
100% of our revenue is residual and commission paid by the carriers, platforms, and suppliers you buy through. The quote you get is the same whether you go direct or through us. Our share comes out of the provider's margin, never added on top of yours.
Internet, SIP, and hosted voice bought through us pay a standard residual on the monthly recurring charge, and the rate is closely matched from carrier to carrier. Your price is identical to going direct.
When you engage a managed or security partner we place, that partner bills you and pays us a residual. You write the partner a check, never Buckeye, and we stay accountable for the outcome.
Cabling, network design, and migrations are sourced through distribution and our partners. The supplier compensates us. There is no separate Buckeye invoice.
| What you buy | Who invoices you | What Buckeye is paid | What you pay Buckeye |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet, SIP, hosted voice | The carrier | 3–12% residual on the monthly recurring | $0 |
| Managed security or managed IT | The partner we place | Residual from the partner | $0 |
| Cabling, hardware, migrations | The supplier or distributor | Supplier compensation | $0 |
| vCIO strategy, AI readiness, bill audits | Nobody | Nothing, unless you place business | $0 |
We have two. Here they are, and here is what sits against each.
What sits against it is that, for any given service, providers pay us about the same. Buy an internet circuit and the residual lands within a couple of percentage points whichever carrier wins it, so there is no version of this where steering you toward one carrier over another meaningfully changes what we earn. Rates do differ between types of service, and we will tell you what any specific placement pays if you ask. What sits against that is the shape of the payment. A residual only continues while you remain a customer. Put you on the wrong platform and you leave at renewal and we lose the entire stream, which is far worse for us than any difference in rate. One-time commissions reward the sale. Residuals only reward the ones that last. We also take no spiffs, the one-time bonuses carriers pay to push a specific product inside a window, because those genuinely do reward the sale over the fit.
Both are true. What sits against it is the time horizon. We are not trying to inflate one invoice — we are trying to be the advisor you still use in 2035. The growth we want is your growth: more locations, more seats, more of your business placed through us because the first thing worked. Overbuying at the sites you already have gets us a slightly larger check this year and costs us the relationship.
The practical answer to both is the same, and you should hold us to it: ask what we are paid on any specific recommendation, at any point, and we will tell you before you sign. If that answer ever makes you uncomfortable, every contract is in your name and you can take it somewhere else.
vCIO strategy, AI readiness, bill audits. Same answer, same model.
Think of us like an insurance agent. We are the outside sales team for 400+ carriers and platforms, and they pay us when you place business with them. That covers everything we do: the readiness assessments, the roadmaps, the audits, the renewals.
There is no separate consulting fee hiding behind the free advice, and no scenario where a bill from Buckeye shows up. For the difference between a fee consultant, a broker, and a residual advisor, see consultant vs broker vs master agent. If you take our plan and place it through someone else, we have lost a deal, not sent you an invoice. One clarification, because it is the obvious question: where a partner delivers ongoing work — a vCIO engagement, a managed IT contract, a SOC — that partner bills you directly at their rate, you sign with them, and we do not mark it up. The number you see quoted on those pages is theirs, not ours.
The MSP and telecom industry has trained buyers to be cynical about neutral claims, for good reason.
We would rather earn your trust by showing you the math than by repeating a slogan. Ask us at any point in an engagement what we are paid on a given recommendation, and we will tell you.
Every contract is in your name. If the answer ever makes you uncomfortable, you can take it somewhere else.