Service line S–02 · Retail networks
Built for the holiday rush.
If your register and card reader share WiFi with your customers, your payment network is one bad actor away from a very expensive December — and your processor can hold you liable. We separate it properly, document all of it, and watch it every day you’re open.
For cloud POS retailers — Square · Clover · Shopify
Run a restaurant? See the restaurant version01 The problem nobody mentions
One WiFi network, doing three jobs badly.
Most independent shops run the register, the back office, and customer devices on the same network the internet company installed years ago. That puts your entire network — guest phones included — in PCI scope, and it means anyone on your customer WiFi shares a network with the machine that takes credit cards. Cloud POS systems like Square and Shopify handle the card data, but the network segmentation is still your responsibility.
Before — typical setup
ONE NETWORK: register · card reader · back-office laptop · inventory scanner · staff phones · every customer who ever asked for the password
After — our deployment
VLAN 10 — REGISTER · payments only, isolated
VLAN 20 — STAFF · back office, no register access
VLAN 30 — CUSTOMERS · filtered, fully isolated
+ firewall rules enforced · IDS/IPS on · documented for PCI
02 Retail Network Essentials
What the flat monthly buys.
Enterprise-grade hardware, owned by you outright and quoted up front as its own line item — we’re not in the hardware business. One setup fee, one flat monthly, exact numbers in writing before we touch a cable. And everything below is the standard build — no tiers, no security sold back to you as an add-on.
Three isolated networks
Register, staff, and customer traffic fully separated with enforced firewall rules. Your payment devices live alone — exactly as PCI expects.
PCI documentation package
Network diagram, firewall rule summary, and written access policy — the evidence package your PCI self-assessment asks for, delivered at deployment and reviewed annually.
Filtered customer WiFi
Managed guest WiFi with content protection — adult content, malware, and bandwidth hogs blocked. A family-friendly sales floor, and clean pipes for your register.
Monthly health report
An email each month with uptime, alerts, and device status. Proof the quiet is earned, not luck.
Credential vault
Every network password stored securely and always available to you. Seasonal staff come and go — your credentials don’t walk out with them.
Proactive monitoring
Firmware updates pushed remotely, devices watched for outages. We usually reach out before you notice anything.
How the quote reads
Network hardware
gateway · switch · access point — quoted up front
yours to own
Setup & deployment
one-time
Managed service
flat monthly
The monthly covers
+ monitoring & firmware updates
+ customer WiFi filtering
+ PCI documentation on file
+ health report to your inbox
Flat means flat — December doesn’t change the number.
Add-on — holiday weekend insurance
Backup internet — automatic LTE failover. If your ISP dies mid-rush, cellular takes over automatically — so a dead line doesn’t close the register. A small monthly add-on.
03 Bundle it
The whole operation, one invoice.
Add your website, domain, and email to the network — one relationship covering everything your store runs on besides the inventory.
The bundle — Network + Managed Website
Everything but the shelves.
bundled rate · one invoice
Retail Network Essentials plus the Managed Website — new arrivals and sale banners handled by email and live within a business day, the year’s holiday hours collected once and scheduled ahead of the rush, your domain renewed at cost, a professional email address customers write to that lands in the inbox you already check, and a plain-language site report each quarter. Bundling trims the combined monthly — you’ll see both numbers side by side in your quote — and it’s the only vendor relationship your store needs.
What we’ll always do
Reach out the moment we spot a problem — usually before you notice it. Explain what happened in plain language. And never bill you for fixing something the monthly fee already covers.
04 Questions we get
The things people ask before they call.
Don’t see yours? Email it to us — a real person reads it and answers in plain language.
Do I own the equipment?
Yes. Hardware is quoted up front as its own line item and you own it outright — we’re not in the hardware business.
The internet company installed our WiFi. Isn’t that enough?
It gets you online, but it usually puts your register, staff devices, and customer phones on one network. That pulls everything — customer phones included — into PCI scope, and means anyone on your customer WiFi shares a network with the machine that takes cards.
We use Square, Clover, or Shopify. Doesn’t that cover security?
Cloud POS systems handle the card data, but the network your payment devices sit on is still your responsibility. That part is what we separate, document, and watch.
Will the install shut us down?
We schedule the install around your business hours, so the switch-over happens while you’re closed — not in the middle of business.
Does this make us PCI compliant?
It covers the network side: payment devices isolated, plus the network diagram, firewall rule summary, and written access policy your PCI self-assessment asks for, reviewed every year. PCI also covers how cards are handled day to day — that part stays with you and your processor.
What if our internet goes down during the holiday rush?
There’s an optional add-on for that: if your internet line dies, cellular takes over automatically, so a dead line doesn’t stop the register.
What happens when someone on staff leaves?
Every network password is stored securely and always available to you. Seasonal staff come and go — your credentials don’t walk out with them.
The conversation costs nothing
One walkthrough. One honest answer.
We’ll walk your store, check how your register is actually connected, and tell you exactly where you stand — even if the answer is “you’re fine.”
no sales script · no obligation · you talk to the person who does the work