IT Support for HospitalityIT support for hospitality, built to keep trading when nobody is at a desk.

A venue's busiest hours are evenings and weekends, which is exactly when an IT helpdesk is closed. So the job is not to promise someone will answer at nine on a Saturday; it is to set the venue up so that a broadband fault, a dead tablet or a lost password does not stop it taking orders and payments. We run the IT for restaurants, pubs, bars and small hotel groups: networks that keep payments separate and online, head office on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace secured, and staff turnover handled without shared passwords.

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Priced per user per month, security included 4G backup so card payments keep working Guest Wi-Fi kept apart from EPOS and payments

Who this is for

Independent restaurants, pubs, bars, cafés and small hotels, and groups running several sites from a head office, on EPOS, booking and rota systems from a range of vendors, with managers on laptops, frontline staff on shared devices, and nobody whose job is IT.

Our hours, your hours, and designing for the gap

Our helpdesk is open Monday to Thursday 08:45 to 17:00 and Friday 08:45 to 16:00. Devices are monitored and patched around the clock, and alerts go to the helpdesk. We do not pretend that covers a Friday night service. If the EPOS or a card terminal fails out of hours, the first call is to the EPOS or payment provider's own support line, which is what they are there for, and we make sure every site has that number on the wall.

What we do is reduce how often that call is needed. A 4G backup on the broadband so card payments carry on when the line drops, a spare tablet or handheld configured and charged, a card terminal that can fall back to mobile data, and devices that can be swapped by a manager without an engineer. If you need an engineer on call outside office hours, that is available as an optional extra rather than part of the standard price; speak to the team about it.

Card payments, EPOS and the network underneath

Taking cards brings PCI DSS, the card industry's security standard, which your acquirer or payment provider will ask you to confirm each year. For most venues the practical basics are the same: EPOS and card terminals on their own network, guest Wi-Fi on another that cannot see either, staff devices and the back office on a third, CCTV on its own, and default passwords changed on everything. We design and install the network that way, so a guest on the Wi-Fi or a compromised laptop in the office cannot reach the tills.

We support EPOS and payment set-ups from a range of vendors by looking after the network, broadband and devices around them. The EPOS software and the terminals themselves are supported by their vendor; we work with them when a fault sits between the two.

Source: PCI Security Standards Council

Bookings, email and guest data

Booking systems such as OpenTable, ResDiary and SevenRooms send confirmations and reminders in your name and hold guest names, phone numbers, emails and sometimes dietary or allergy notes. We set up your domain's email records so those messages arrive rather than land in spam, put the booking and supplier logins behind multi-factor authentication where the platform allows it, and make sure only the right managers can export guest lists. Guest and staff details are personal data under UK GDPR, and the ICO's small business advice is a good plain-English starting point.

Source: Advice for small organisations (ICO)

Head office, managers and a revolving door of staff

Head office and site managers usually run on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace: email, the shared files for menus, rotas and health and safety records, and chat across sites. Managers' laptops are enrolled in device management, encrypted and wipeable, with multi-factor authentication on every account, because a manager's mailbox is where supplier invoices and payroll changes arrive, and invoice redirection fraud targets exactly that.

Frontline staff come and go every month. Shared tills and tablets get their own sign-in per person rather than one password on a sticky note, rota and payroll apps are linked to proper accounts that are closed when someone leaves, and on Microsoft 365, staff who only need a rota app and email may suit Microsoft's cheaper frontline licences, such as Microsoft 365 F1 or F3, instead of a full Business Premium seat. We price per user who needs supporting, and work out the right mix with you.

Source: Small Business Guide (NCSC)

On Google Workspace?

Plenty of venues and groups run head office on Google Workspace, and we support it as fully as Microsoft 365; nobody has to move. We enforce 2-Step Verification on every account, with security keys or passkeys for admins, keep admin roles to the minimum, turn on Gmail's phishing and malware protection, set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC, and alert on suspicious sign-ins and new forwarding rules, which is where invoice redirection fraud usually starts. Shared drives are set up per site with external sharing controlled, managers' phones and laptops are managed with Google endpoint management (Windows laptops can be managed and protected properly either way), and leavers are closed down the same day. Gmail, Drive, Calendar and Contacts can be backed up outside Google and kept for seven years in the UK.

What is included

Helpdesk and monitoring

Unlimited remote support from the helpdesk, Monday to Thursday 08:45 to 17:00 and Friday 08:45 to 16:00, with every device monitored and patched around the clock and alerts raised to the helpdesk.

Resilience built in

4G backup for broadband at each site, spare devices configured, and each site's EPOS, payment and broadband support numbers recorded so staff know who to call.

Networks kept apart

EPOS and card terminals, guest Wi-Fi, staff devices and CCTV on separate networks, designed the same way across every site in a group.

Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace for head office and managers

MFA for everyone, phishing and payment fraud protection tuned (Conditional Access and Defender for Office 365 on Microsoft 365, 2-Step Verification and Gmail protection settings on Google Workspace), and shared files organised for multi-site working.

Device management

Managers' laptops and shared tablets enrolled in Intune or Google endpoint management, encrypted and wipeable, with shared devices set up so each person signs in as themselves.

Joiners and leavers

Accounts for new staff set up quickly, leavers closed down the same day across Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, booking, rota and supplier logins, with a record of both.

Backup, tested

Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace mailboxes and files backed up outside Microsoft or Google, kept in the UK, restores tested every quarter with the result shown to you. Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace backup is a separate service, priced per user per month on top of support.

What is not included, and why

Out-of-hours support as standard. The helpdesk works office hours; EPOS and card terminal faults out of hours go to the provider's own support, and on-call engineering is an optional extra.
The EPOS, card terminals, booking and rota subscriptions themselves. You buy those from the vendor, who supports the software; we look after everything around them.
Network, Wi-Fi, CCTV and broadband installations are quoted separately, on the networking and broadband pages.

What it costs

Managed IT support for hospitality is priced per user per month, with security monitoring and device management included, counted per user who needs supporting rather than everyone on the payroll. Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace backup is a separate service, also priced per user per month. Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace licences are extra, at Microsoft's or Google's price; Microsoft 365 Business Premium is £16.90 per user per month at Microsoft's UK price, and frontline staff who only need a rota app and email may suit cheaper Microsoft frontline licences. Onboarding, network and 4G backup installation, and Cyber Essentials certification are quoted as fixed projects. We quote after a short discovery call, once we know your setup.

How it starts

1Free IT Health CheckA short online check that benchmarks your security and business risk and tells you where you stand.
2Discovery callAn engineer, not a salesperson. What you have, what is broken, what it would cost to fix, in writing.
3OnboardingEverything moves across on a plan, with no gap in cover and nothing lost.

Run the free IT Health Check Book a discovery call

Questions people ask before signing

Can we call you on a Saturday night if the tills go down?

Not as standard. The helpdesk is open Monday to Thursday 08:45 to 17:00 and Friday 08:45 to 16:00. EPOS and card terminal faults out of hours go to the provider's own support line, and we put that number and the basic checks on a sheet at every site. On-call engineering outside office hours is available as an optional extra; speak to the team if you need it.

What happens to card payments when the broadband goes down?

With a 4G backup fitted, the router switches to mobile data and payments carry on. Many terminals can also fall back to their own mobile connection. We test the failover when we install it, so the first time it is used is not during a busy service.

Do you support our EPOS?

We support the network, broadband, devices and Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace around EPOS systems from a range of vendors. The EPOS software and card terminals are supported by their vendor; when a fault sits between their system and our network, we work it through with them.

Do all our staff need a Microsoft 365 licence?

No. Staff who only need a rota app may not need one at all, and those who need email and Teams but not a full desktop set-up may suit Microsoft's frontline licences such as F1 or F3. Managers and head office usually need Business Premium. We work out the mix in the discovery call.

Our head office uses Google Workspace. Can you support us?

Yes. We support Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, on the same per user pricing, with licences at Google's price. We enforce 2-Step Verification, tune Gmail's phishing protection, control sharing on your shared drives, manage devices and close leavers' accounts the same day. You do not have to move to Microsoft, and we will give you honest advice if you ever ask which fits.

How do you keep guest Wi-Fi separate from the tills?

By putting them on different networks that cannot see each other, with the card terminals and EPOS on their own segment, staff devices on another, and CCTV on its own. It is set up once per site, the same way across a group, and documented.

We have several sites. How does that work?

Each site gets the same network design, the same backup and the same out-of-hours sheet, so a manager moving between sites knows what to expect. Head office runs on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace with shared files and chat across all of them. Support is remote first, with on-site visits where they are needed.

How much does IT support cost for a restaurant or pub group?

Managed support is priced per user per month with security included, so it moves with your headcount. What changes the figure is the number of users and devices, any servers, the security options you choose and any specialist software. We price per person who needs supporting rather than everyone on the payroll, and frontline staff may suit cheaper Microsoft frontline licences. Backup is a separate per user service, Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace licences are at Microsoft's or Google's price, and projects such as onboarding are quoted as fixed pieces of work. We quote after a short discovery call, once we know your setup.