IT Support for Hospitality Businesses
Exodesk provides hospitality IT support for the systems behind daily service in cafés, restaurants and bars in Christchurch, Dunedin and across New Zealand. We agree the devices, networks and work covered alongside your POS and payment-provider responsibilities.
Support hours, site attendance and change windows are agreed around your trading hours before work starts.
Supporting New Zealand businesses since 1989
What does hospitality IT support cover?
Hospitality IT support covers the agreed devices, networks, WiFi, staff access and connectivity around venue operations: the IT environment that ordering screens, kitchen printers, tills and payment terminals rely on during service.
The scope can include staff computers, network equipment, WiFi and connectivity for tills, kitchen devices and payment terminals. POS software, payment processing and specialist equipment remain with their suppliers. The base support arrangement is set out on our managed IT services page.
Hotel rooms, bookings and property management are covered by our IT for accommodation guide. A hotel restaurant or bar can use this service for its food-and-beverage operations.
Exodesk has supported New Zealand businesses since 1989. Today, our Christchurch and Dunedin teams support businesses nationwide, with on-site attendance at other locations agreed for each venue.
What our hospitality IT support covers
Our hospitality IT support scope lists the venues, devices, connections and accounts we support, the suppliers responsible for the rest and the hours that apply.
Tills, printers and staff devices
Tills, kitchen printers and screens as devices, staff computers and back-office equipment, with supported hardware listed in the scope.
Venue networks and WiFi
Switching, firewalls, WiFi and internet connections for staff, equipment and guests, with access rules agreed for each venue.
Supplier coordination
Escalation routes to POS, payment and internet providers recorded, and supplier remote access agreed with you.
Staff accounts and email are set up and removed as people join and leave, with multi-factor authentication on the accounts that manage payments, reporting and administration.
Venue WiFi and network access
We plan coverage and capacity around staff work and busy-period guest demand. Access rules separate guest use from business systems while allowing approved equipment connections.
Guests can still share wireless airtime and the internet link, so separation alone does not reserve performance for staff. Coverage, capacity and traffic settings are checked against peak demand, and our business WiFi service covers wireless design, installation and testing.
Segmented networks can share the same equipment while traffic rules control which devices reach payment and business systems. The right design depends on the payment environment, and it reduces exposure rather than guaranteeing that every compromise is contained. Our network security work covers those access controls.
Exodesk and your specialist suppliers
We identify who supports each system, agree supplier access and record the escalation route for POS application, terminal and payment-service faults, so staff know whom to contact when service is affected.
We work alongside your specialist suppliers. POS software, menu and integration changes, payment terminals, settlement and acquiring stay with the POS and payment providers. Exodesk supports the hardware, connections and settings agreed in the scope and coordinates escalation, so a fault reaches the party that can fix it.
PCI DSS is the card industry security standard. Confirm your compliance and validation requirements with your merchant bank or payment provider: using a compliant provider can reduce what applies to the venue, but it does not remove merchant responsibility. The PCI Security Standards Council publishes scoping and segmentation guidance. Our agreed IT work can support the setup and is not a compliance certificate.
Planning for connection and system failures
A second connection may help if the primary internet link fails. We check whether the agreed POS and payment setup can use it and plan how it will be tested.
A power failure, supplier outage or equipment fault needs a different response. Cloud POS platforms differ in what they can do offline, so we confirm how yours behaves with its supplier.
Offline card payments on a terminal are separate from a backup connection. Eftpos NZ, for example, describes its offline mode as an emergency backup with limits that vary by terminal, so any offline process must follow your payment provider’s rules.
Support around trading hours
Our standard support runs in business hours, with any after-hours or weekend cover and on-site attendance agreed in the scope.
The arrangement states the covered hours, the urgent contact route and attendance options. Tell us when the venue trades so the arrangement can be checked against it, and which supplier handles an outage outside our scope.
We agree change windows around service and explain expected interruptions and fallback steps. Remote support resolves many issues without a visit, and monitoring helps identify problems early but cannot prevent every outage.
Changes and additional venues
For a new venue or upgrade, we review layout, demand, suppliers and equipment. Common configurations can simplify management, but each venue needs its own checks.
Map the venue and suppliers
Record devices, connections, WiFi needs, trading hours and the supplier responsible for each system.
Agree responsibilities and hours
Set what Exodesk supports, how faults are escalated, support hours, attendance and change windows.
Set up and test
Configure the agreed network, WiFi and devices, then test equipment connections and any fallback with the relevant suppliers.
Support and review
Ongoing support within the agreed hours, with the scope updated as venues, staff and suppliers change.
A shared cloud platform, identity system or internet provider can affect several venues together, so the plan considers those dependencies. Handover records systems, contacts and responsibilities.
Backup and data responsibilities
We identify local and supplier-held data, available exports and recovery options, then agree backup, retention and recovery responsibilities for the systems in scope.
- Local systems. Back-office computers and files backed up through our backup as a service or your existing arrangement.
- Supplier-held data. POS and booking records held by their providers, with exports and retention confirmed.
- Recovery roles. Who restores each part, and what the venue does while that happens.
- Staff accounts. Supported accounts reviewed as people join and leave.
What affects hospitality IT support cost?
Cost depends on venue count, equipment, WiFi requirements, existing suppliers, support hours and any project work. The quote separates setup and equipment from ongoing support.
- Ongoing support. Venues, supported devices, connections and the hours agreed.
- After-hours cover. Any evening or weekend arrangements, agreed explicitly.
- Network and WiFi projects. Design, equipment and installation, quoted as project work.
- Licences and backup. Shown separately from support.
- Supplier charges. POS, payment and internet provider costs and exclusions stated.
Hospitality IT support questions
What does hospitality IT support cover?
The agreed devices, networks, WiFi, staff access and connectivity around venue operations. The scope identifies supported equipment, services and supplier responsibilities. POS application support and payment processing are not automatically included.
Do you replace our POS or EFTPOS provider?
No. The IT arrangement works alongside those suppliers, and we agree which hardware, connections and settings Exodesk supports and how faults are escalated. POS software, terminal services, settlement and specialist integrations remain with the responsible supplier unless explicitly agreed otherwise.
Can you support us during evening and weekend trading?
Support runs in business hours, and any after-hours or weekend cover, urgent contact route and on-site attendance are agreed in the service scope. Tell us when the venue trades so the arrangement can be checked against your needs. Do not assume all-hours attendance is included.
Will mobile data backup keep payments working?
It can help if the main internet link fails and the equipment and payment setup support the change. Signal, power and configuration matter, and a supplier or payment-network outage can still interrupt service. Test the agreed fallback with your providers.
Can we take card payments without internet?
Some terminals and platforms offer offline functions with limits and conditions. Confirm the permitted transactions and risks with your payment provider. Offline payment processing is different from a second internet connection and should not be assumed available for every payment.
Does using a compliant payment provider make us PCI compliant?
It does not automatically settle every merchant responsibility. Confirm the applicable requirements and validation with your merchant bank or payment provider. The IT work Exodesk agrees can support the setup, but it is not a compliance certificate.
Will a guest network stop visitors slowing staff down?
It controls access to business systems, but guests may still share radio airtime and the internet connection. Coverage, capacity and traffic settings need checking against peak demand as well. Network separation alone does not create extra capacity.
Can you manage IT across several venues?
Yes. An agreed arrangement can use common supported configurations, management and contact routes, and each site has its equipment and dependencies checked. Shared suppliers or cloud systems can still affect several venues, so the plan considers those risks.
Can all our POS and booking data be backed up?
That depends on where the data is held and what the supplier supports. Confirm local data, available exports, provider retention and restore options, then agree what Exodesk protects. Backup scope and recovery responsibilities should be written down.
How much does hospitality IT support cost?
Cost depends on sites, supported devices, connectivity, WiFi, suppliers and support hours. Project work, equipment, licences and backup can sit beside ongoing support charges. The quote identifies inclusions, exclusions and any separate supplier work.
Discuss your venue IT
Tell us your trading hours, sites, POS and payment providers, and where staff or guests lose service. We can then discuss the IT work and support arrangement your venue needs.
Talk to us about your venue
Tell us about your venues, your suppliers and when you trade, and we will be in touch to arrange a time that suits.
Prefer to talk?
Christchurch
Level 1, 85 Riccarton Road
Christchurch 8011
03 343 3124
Dunedin
Level 3, Bartons Building
2 Stafford Street, Dunedin 9016
03 479 2941