IT Support for Wholesale & RetailIT support for businesses that cannot sell what the system cannot see.
Wholesale and retail run on stock figures, orders and card payments, and all three stop when a system does. We run the IT for wholesalers, distributors and retailers: the stock or ERP system kept patched and backed up, tills and card payments kept off the same network as everything else, warehouse Wi-Fi that reaches the back of the racking, and online store admin accounts that a stolen password cannot open.
Who this is for
Wholesalers and distributors, including food wholesale, with a warehouse, a trade counter and an office, and retailers with one or more shops, an online store or both. Small and medium-sized businesses running stock or ERP systems such as Sage 200, Business Central, Unleashed or Brightpearl, selling through Shopify or WooCommerce, with staff split between the office, the warehouse and the shop floor, and nobody whose job is IT.
Stock, orders and the system everything depends on
In a wholesale or retail business the stock or ERP system is the business. Orders come in from the trade counter, the online store, reps and EDI from larger customers, and all of them land in the same database. When it is slow, picking stops. When it is down, nobody knows what can be promised. We support systems such as Sage 200, Business Central, Unleashed and Brightpearl, cloud and on premises, and the integrations that connect them to Shopify, WooCommerce, couriers and customers' EDI. Where a server still runs the stock system, we keep it patched, backed up with tested restores and reachable only through the vendor's supported route.
Food wholesalers have a further reason to care. Food law expects a business to know where each product came from and where it went, and customers working to BRCGS ask for the same evidence. Traceability is a records discipline rather than an IT product, but it depends on the stock system being available, its data being backed up, and a restore having been tested before a recall makes it urgent.
Source: Food Standards Agency (GOV.UK)
Tills, card terminals and PCI DSS
Any business that takes card payments is expected to follow PCI DSS, the card industry's security standard, and most small merchants show it each year through a self-assessment questionnaire from their payment provider. The way to keep that questionnaire short is to keep card data out of your own systems: card terminals supplied by the payment provider, tills on their own network separated from the office and from guest Wi-Fi, no shared logins on till PCs, and default passwords changed. We set the network up that way, keep a record of it, and help you answer the questionnaire.
Shops trade at weekends and our helpdesk does not. It is open Monday to Thursday 08:45 to 17:00 and Friday 08:45 to 16:00. EPOS and card terminal faults go to the EPOS or payment provider's own support, which is what it is there for, and we design the set-up so a single fault does not stop trading: 4G failover on the broadband so card payments keep working when the line drops, a spare terminal or till PC ready to swap in, and a short written note on what to do and who to ring. Our RMM tooling monitors and patches devices 24/7 and raises alerts to the helpdesk. On-call engineering outside office hours is an optional extra and not part of the standard price; speak to the team if your trading pattern needs it.
Source: PCI Security Standards Council
Warehouse, trade counter and shared devices
Warehouses are hard places for Wi-Fi: metal racking, cold rooms and stock that changes the layout every season. Handheld scanners that drop their connection halfway down an aisle cost picking time all day. We survey the building, place access points for where the scanners are actually used, and keep the warehouse, office, till and guest networks separate. Trade counter and warehouse PCs are often shared, so they are set up for shared use: each person signs in as themselves, nothing is saved on the machine, and the device is managed and patched like any other.
Seasonal staff are a security question as well as a rota one. Frontline staff who only need email, Teams and a browser may suit Microsoft 365 F1 or F3 licences rather than a full business licence; on Google Workspace we check which edition each role actually needs in the same way. Accounts are created before the first shift and disabled on the last, so the Christmas temps are not still able to sign in at Easter.
Online store admin accounts and supplier fraud
The admin account of a Shopify or WooCommerce store can change prices, refund orders and export the customer list. It should belong to a named person, use multi-factor authentication, and be removed when that person leaves. Store apps and plugins should have an owner who keeps them updated. We make sure the identities behind your store, your marketplace accounts and your payment provider portals are protected with the same care as your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace accounts.
Wholesale is a target for supplier invoice fraud because it pays a lot of invoices to a lot of suppliers. A criminal reads a mailbox, or one of your suppliers' mailboxes, and sends new bank details just before a large payment run. On Microsoft 365 the controls are multi-factor authentication for everyone, Conditional Access, Defender for Office 365 tuned for impersonation, alerts on mailbox forwarding rules, and a rule that bank detail changes are confirmed by phone on a number you already hold.
Source: Small organisations guide (NCSC), Supply chain security (NCSC)
On Google Workspace? We look after that too
Many wholesalers and retailers run on Gmail and Google Drive, and we support Google Workspace as fully as Microsoft 365. We give honest advice on which fits and do not ask you to move. For a Google Workspace business we enforce 2-Step Verification on every account, with security keys or passkeys for admins, set Gmail's phishing, spoofing and malware protection along with SPF, DKIM and DMARC so fake supplier emails are easier to catch, alert on suspicious sign-ins and on mail forwarded outside the business, and control external sharing on Drive and shared drives so price lists and customer data go only where they should.
Third-party app access is restricted, which matters when store, marketplace and courier tools all ask to connect to your accounts. Office and trade counter devices are managed through Google endpoint management or Intune on a standalone licence, and Chrome browser policies keep shared PCs tidy. Gmail, Drive, Calendar and Contacts are backed up outside Google and kept for seven years in the UK, as a separate per user service. Networks, tills and Cyber Essentials work the same on either platform.
What is included
Helpdesk and monitoring
Unlimited support answered by an engineer, Monday to Thursday 08:45 to 17:00 and Friday 08:45 to 16:00. Office, warehouse and till PCs monitored and patched 24/7 by our RMM tooling, with alerts raised to the helpdesk and changes scheduled away from your busiest trading periods.
Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace secured
On Microsoft 365, Business Premium for office staff, F1 or F3 where they suit frontline staff, multi-factor authentication for everyone, Conditional Access, and Defender for Office 365 tuned for supplier impersonation and bank detail fraud. On Google Workspace, the right edition for each role, 2-Step Verification enforced, Gmail phishing and spoofing protection set and alerts on forwarding.
Stock, ERP and online store
Systems such as Sage 200, Business Central, Unleashed and Brightpearl kept patched, integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce and EDI watched, store admin accounts protected, and any remaining server maintained or retired.
Networks for shop, warehouse and office
Wi-Fi designed for handheld scanners, tills on their own network separated from office and guest Wi-Fi, and the same design repeated across every shop.
Device management
Laptops enrolled in Intune or Google endpoint management, encrypted and wipeable; shared trade counter and warehouse PCs set up so each person signs in as themselves.
Backup, tested
Stock, order, server and Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace data backed up outside the vendor, 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.
Joiners, leavers and seasonal staff
New starters and temps set up before their first shift, accounts disabled on their last, with a record of both.
What is not included, and why
- EPOS, card terminal and ERP licences, and the vendors' own support. EPOS and card terminal faults go to the provider's support line, including at weekends; we work with them on anything that touches your network or PCs.
- PCI DSS and food safety compliance sign-off. We configure the network, accounts and backups and help with the questionnaire; your payment provider sets the requirements and you sign the attestation, and traceability procedures remain yours.
- On-call engineering outside office hours, out-of-hours security monitoring through the optional 24/7 SOC powered by Barracuda XDR, and broadband with 4G failover are separate options, quoted on request or covered on the broadband page.
What it costs
Managed IT support for wholesale and retail businesses is priced per user per month, with security monitoring and device management included, so it moves with your headcount. Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace backup is a separate service, also priced per user per month. 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; frontline staff may suit Microsoft 365 F1 or F3 licences instead, which we price with you. Onboarding, Wi-Fi surveys, network work across shops 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.
Questions people ask before signing
Our shops trade at weekends. What happens if a till goes down on a Saturday?
Our helpdesk is open Monday to Thursday 08:45 to 17:00 and Friday 08:45 to 16:00, so a Saturday till or card terminal fault goes to your EPOS or payment provider's support line. We design for that: 4G failover so card payments survive a broadband outage, a spare terminal or till PC ready to swap in, and a one-page note for the shop on who to ring. RMM monitoring runs 24/7 and anything it flags is picked up by the helpdesk. On-call engineering outside office hours is an optional extra; speak to the team if you need it.
Do you support our stock or ERP system?
We support systems such as Sage 200, Business Central, Unleashed and Brightpearl, cloud and on premises, along with their links to Shopify, WooCommerce and EDI. We are not the vendor's helpdesk and will not pretend to be, but we keep the servers, PCs, network and integrations they depend on working, and deal with the vendor on your behalf where the fault is theirs.
Do we need to worry about PCI DSS?
If you take card payments, yes, and your payment provider will ask you to confirm it each year. The less card data touches your own systems, the shorter that job is. Terminals from the payment provider, tills on a separate network and no shared admin passwords cover most of what a small merchant is asked. We set that up and help you answer the questionnaire.
How do we stop fake supplier bank detail changes?
Protect the mailboxes and add a process. Multi-factor authentication and Conditional Access stop most account takeovers, impersonation protection catches lookalike supplier domains, and alerts on forwarding rules catch the rest. The process is simple: no bank detail change is accepted until it is confirmed by phone on a number you already hold.
Our scanners keep dropping off the Wi-Fi in the warehouse. Can you fix it?
Usually, once we have surveyed the building. Racking, cold rooms and the stock itself all block signal, and access points placed for an office rarely suit a warehouse. We plan coverage for where the scanners are used, separate the scanner network from the office and tills, and test it with the devices you actually use.
What licences do seasonal and shop floor staff need?
Often not a full business licence. Staff who only need email, Teams, shift information and a browser may suit Microsoft 365 F1 or F3, and shared PCs can be set up so each person signs in as themselves. On Google Workspace we check which edition each role needs in the same way. We work out the mix with you and make sure temporary accounts are disabled when the season ends.
We use Google Workspace. Can you still help?
Yes. We support Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 and will not push you to switch. We enforce 2-Step Verification, set Gmail protection against supplier impersonation, alert on forwarding, control Drive sharing and third-party apps, manage office and shared devices and back up Gmail and Drive outside Google. Shop, warehouse and till networks are designed the same way whichever you use.
How much does IT support cost for a wholesale or retail business?
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. Shop staff may suit cheaper Microsoft frontline licences, which we work out with you. 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.