# IT Support for Shops and Retailers

Source: https://dijitulsupport.co.uk/it-support-for-retail/
Updated: 2026-10-10

> dijitul support provides IT support for UK shops and independent retailers: reliable networks for EPOS and card terminals, help with the technical side of PCI DSS, secure Wi-Fi, CCTV and back-office PCs, and care for your Shopify or WooCommerce store. Website care starts at £25 a month + VAT, and one-off fixes are £45 an hour + VAT.

## Common symptoms

- Card terminals drop connection or time out on busy Saturdays
- The till, CCTV recorder and customer Wi-Fi all share one network and one password
- Your acquirer has asked you to complete a PCI DSS self-assessment questionnaire
- Stock levels in the shop and the online store do not match
- Your WooCommerce checkout shows errors after a plugin update
- Staff all log in to the back-office PC with the same password

## Key facts

- PCI DSS v4.0.1 applies in full: its future-dated requirements became mandatory on 31 March 2025
- Card terminals and EPOS kept on their own network segment, away from guest Wi-Fi and CCTV
- Support for the network and devices behind EPOS such as Lightspeed, Epos Now, Square and Shopify POS
- Online shop care for Shopify and WooCommerce, including payment page scripts and checkout fixes
- Help-desk identity checks before password resets, the weakness used in the 2025 attacks on UK retailers
- Essential £25, Business £50 or Complete £99 a month + VAT; ad-hoc £45 an hour + VAT

## PCI DSS for small retailers

If you take card payments, your bank or payment provider expects you to comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. Version 4.0.1 is now the standard, and the 51 requirements originally marked as future-dated became mandatory on 31 March 2025. For most small shops, compliance is confirmed each year through a self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ) that your acquirer or payment provider asks you to complete.

Which SAQ applies depends on how you take payments. A shop using standalone terminals from a provider such as Dojo, SumUp or Worldpay has a much smaller scope than one running card payments through a PC-based till. Online, a fully hosted Shopify checkout keeps most card handling off your systems, while a self-hosted WooCommerce shop has more to check, including the scripts that run on payment pages.

We cannot sign your SAQ for you, but we can answer the technical questions: how your network is separated, who can access the tills, whether default passwords have been changed, and how updates are applied. See online payments support.

## Networks for tills, terminals and CCTV

In many shops the router supplied by the broadband provider runs everything: EPOS, card terminals, CCTV, the music system, staff phones and customer Wi-Fi. That is both a security risk and a reliability problem. A customer streaming video or a CCTV recorder uploading footage can slow card payments at the busiest moment.

- Put tills and card terminals on their own network or VLAN.
- Give customers a separate guest Wi-Fi with its own password and bandwidth limit.
- Change default passwords on the CCTV recorder and keep its firmware updated.
- Consider a 4G or 5G backup connection so card payments survive a broadband outage.

See network support and Wi-Fi support.

## Lessons from the 2025 retail cyber attacks

In spring 2025, Marks and Spencer and the Co-op were hit by cyber attacks that disrupted online orders, payments and deliveries. Reporting and the retailers' own statements described social engineering of IT help desks: attackers phoned up pretending to be staff and persuaded the help desk to reset passwords and MFA.

Small retailers can learn from that. We verify identity before resetting any password or MFA method for your team, use phishing-resistant sign-in where possible, give each member of staff their own account rather than a shared till login, and keep an offline copy of key data so you can trade even if a system is unavailable. See cyber security support.

## Online shops and stock

Many independent shops sell online through Shopify or WooCommerce alongside the counter. When stock does not sync, customers buy items that are already gone. We check the connection between your EPOS and your online store, fix webhook and app errors, and keep WooCommerce, its payment plugins and PHP versions up to date. A slow checkout loses sales, so we also look at page speed on phones.

See WooCommerce support and Shopify support for more.

## Back office, staff and seasonal peaks

The back-office PC handles supplier orders, rotas, email and often the accounts. It is usually the machine most exposed to fake supplier invoices and phishing. We keep it updated, give each person their own Windows and Microsoft 365 login, turn on MFA and back up the files that matter, such as price lists, supplier contacts and product photos.

Retail has seasonal staff. Before Christmas or summer, we set up temporary accounts with only the access they need and make sure they are removed when the season ends. We also check broadband and backup connections before your busiest weeks rather than during them, because a till that cannot take cards on the last Saturday before Christmas is the most expensive outage of the year.

## Plans and prices for retailers

Shops that mainly need their online store looked after usually choose **Essential at £25 a month + VAT** or **Business at £50 a month + VAT**, which adds an hour of fixes and changes each month and priority support. Retailers with several staff and back-office PCs often choose **Complete at £99 a month + VAT**, which adds 3 hours a month and an IT and Microsoft 365 helpdesk.

One-off jobs are £45 an hour + VAT. New shop fit-outs, cabling and network installs are quoted. See pricing.

## FAQs

### Do small shops need to comply with PCI DSS?

Yes. Any business that accepts card payments is expected to comply, usually by completing an annual self-assessment questionnaire for its acquirer. The scope is much smaller with standalone terminals or hosted checkouts. dijitul helps answer the technical questions about networks, access and updates.

### Should our card terminals be on the same Wi-Fi as customers?

No. Card terminals and tills should be on a separate network from customer Wi-Fi and CCTV. dijitul can split your network so a customer's device can never reach your payment systems, and so heavy guest use does not slow card payments.

### Can you fix stock sync between our till and online shop?

Often, yes. dijitul checks the integration app, webhooks, product identifiers and error logs between your EPOS and Shopify or WooCommerce. If the fault is with the EPOS supplier, we give them the evidence so it gets resolved.

### How much is IT support for a small shop?

dijitul plans cost £25, £50 or £99 a month + VAT depending on how much help you need, with a staff helpdesk on the £99 Complete plan. Ad-hoc work is £45 an hour + VAT. Shop fit-outs and cabling are quoted.

### What can a small retailer learn from the M&S and Co-op attacks?

That attackers often target people, not just systems. dijitul verifies identity before any password or MFA reset, gives each staff member their own login, and helps you keep offline copies of key data so you can keep trading if a system goes down.

## Pricing and contact

Support plans from £25 a month + VAT, or £45 an hour + VAT for one-off fixes. Plans: Essential £25/month + VAT (Website software updates (core, plugins, themes) applied and checked, Daily backups, Uptime monitoring, Security monitoring); Business £50/month + VAT (Everything in Essential, 1 hour of fixes or changes every month, Priority support); Complete £99/month + VAT (Everything in Business, 3 hours of fixes or changes every month, IT and Microsoft 365 helpdesk for your team). Ad-hoc support is £45 an hour + VAT. The first 30 minutes are the minimum charge, then we bill in 15-minute blocks. Contact: 01623 650333, support@dijitul.uk, https://dijitulsupport.co.uk/contact/