Every business has software it can’t trade without. The accounts package, the practice management system, the booking system or the design software. We don’t make any of it, but when it stops, staff ring us first.
Between 19 August 2025 and 18 August 2026, clients raised 31 tickets naming a specific business application in the title. They came from 17 clients and took 9.1 hours. The count only catches tickets where someone typed the software’s name, so the true number is higher.
Which software came up
Accounting software led the list. MYOB came up six times, including helping one business through updates and a migration, and moving a company file. Sage also came up six times, from a window that wouldn’t open and a certificate error to remote access for a team working away from the office.
Smokeball, the legal practice management software, came up five times: a planning meeting, a connection problem, an installation, a check before travel that it would work over a secure connection, and its calendar not syncing with Outlook.
The rest were spread across design software that couldn’t reach its server, travel booking software that wouldn’t launch or needed an upgrade, printers missing inside a travel back-office system, veterinary practice software, a construction drawing tool, Xero email, trading software on new laptops, and a changeover where an accounts vendor moved its software to a new PC.
Where our support stops and the vendor’s starts
The split is usually clear once you think about what each side can see.
We look after what the software sits on: the PC, Windows, the network, printers, Microsoft 365 sign-in, remote access, and the link between the software and Outlook. We install and update it, fix it when it can’t reach its server or database, and set up new machines to run it.
The vendor looks after the software itself: bugs, how features work, the data inside it, licensing, and upgrades that change the database.
Plenty of problems sit in the middle. A calendar that won’t sync might be an Outlook setting or a problem in the software. A certificate error might be Windows or the vendor’s server.
How the handoff works
The worst outcome is staff stuck between two helpdesks, each saying it’s the other’s problem. The fix is for us to make the call to the vendor, with the details they’ll ask for.
A concrete plant needed its batching software moved onto a new PC. We set up the new machine, rang the software vendor’s support line, waited on hold, and then spent two hours on the call. The vendor’s technician connected to the old PC to collect its settings, then to the new one. We transferred the installation files, configured it to use the right database, and had the plant confirm it was working.
Nobody at the plant had to explain the problem twice.
What to send us
Make a list of the software your business can’t run without. For each one, note:
- The vendor’s name and support phone line or portal.
- Your customer or licence details, kept somewhere we can find them.
- Whether it runs on a server, on each PC, or in the browser.
- Who in your business is the main contact with the vendor.
Then send us the list. The next time something breaks, we can get the right people on the call straight away.