Insights
Notes from building software for hospitality and retail.
Practical writing for operators and the people who build for them. No hot takes - just what we have learned shipping software that has to survive a Friday-night rush. Browse by topic or start with the most-read pieces below.
- Payments & POS· 28 May 2026· 3 min read
Choosing a POS for a multi-site hospitality group: what actually matters
Most POS comparisons rank features. For a multi-site group, the things that decide success are rarely on the feature list. Here is what to weigh instead.
- Product & build· 14 May 2026· 2 min read
Five signs your venue has outgrown off-the-shelf software
Off-the-shelf tools are the right call until they quietly become the thing holding you back. Here is how to tell when you have crossed that line.
- Retail· 30 April 2026· 2 min read
Click-and-collect that actually works: a retailer’s guide
Buy online, pick up in store is simple to promise and hard to deliver. The difference is almost always one thing: whether your website knows what is really on the shelf.
- Product & build· 20 May 2026· 3 min read
How much does a custom app cost? A straight answer for hospitality and retail
The honest answer is "it depends" - but that is useless on its own. Here is what actually drives the cost of a custom app, and the ranges to expect.
- Integrations· 8 May 2026· 2 min read
What good POS and payments integration actually looks like
Anyone can claim two systems are "integrated". Whether it holds up at volume, recovers from failure and never drops a sale is a different question. Here is the bar.
- Hospitality· 22 April 2026· 2 min read
Online ordering without the commissions: what it really takes
Third-party delivery apps are convenient and expensive. Owning your online ordering can claw back margin - if you handle the parts the apps quietly do for you.
- Hospitality· 10 April 2026· 2 min read
Cutting food waste with better data, not more guesswork
Most kitchens already produce the data they need to waste less - it is just trapped in receipts and gut feel. Joining it up is cheaper than the waste itself.
- Retail· 28 March 2026· 2 min read
Inventory accuracy across multiple stores: the foundation everything sits on
Almost every retail problem - oversells, dead stock, failed click-and-collect - traces back to one number being wrong. Getting stock accurate is the highest-leverage fix there is.
- Product & build· 15 March 2026· 2 min read
Build vs buy: a practical way to decide on software
Build everything and you reinvent wheels; buy everything and you bend your business to someone else’s product. The useful question is which parts to do which way.
- Product & build· 2 March 2026· 3 min read
How to choose a software development partner (without getting burned)
The technology matters less than who you trust to build it. Here is how to tell a partner who will tell you the truth from one who will just take the brief.
- Payments & POS· 18 February 2026· 4 min read
Card surcharging is being banned in Australia from 1 October 2026: what it means
From 1 October 2026 the RBA is removing surcharging on eftpos, Mastercard and Visa - debit and credit. Here is what the ban means for hospitality and retail, and how to get ready before it starts.