Every spring we get calls from people opening storefronts: a café in Simcoe, a salon in Port Dover, a retail unit in Hamilton. The lease is signed, the paint is chosen, opening day is six weeks out, and technology is the item on the list nobody has started. Some of it can be done in a week. One item on this list cannot, and it is the one everything else depends on. Here is the checklist we walk through with new shop owners, in the order that actually matters.
Order internet first, today
Business internet installs are not fast. Depending on the provider and whether the unit has ever had service, you are looking at anywhere from two to six weeks, and longer if the building needs construction: a new drop, a fibre build, a conduit that turns out to be crushed. Older main-street buildings in our area are exactly where surprises live.
So the day the lease is signed, order the connection. Ask specifically what facilities exist at the address, get the install date in writing, and book it well before your fit-out finishes so a delay does not eat opening week. Your point of sale, debit terminal, phones, cameras, and music all sit downstream of this one order.
While you wait, plan a fallback. A cellular backup for the payment system is cheap insurance; a shop that cannot take debit is closed in every way that counts.
Give the point of sale a proper network
The POS is the till, and it deserves better than "whatever Wi-Fi reaches the counter." Our strong preference is a wired connection for the POS terminal, the receipt printer, and the payment terminal wherever the hardware allows. Wired connections do not drop during the Saturday rush.
Behind that, the network should be segmented: the payment and POS gear on its own network, cameras on theirs, staff and guest Wi-Fi on others. Keeping card-handling equipment walled off from everything else is basic hygiene your payment processor will ask about. The equipment for this is modest, one small rack or backboard in a back room, and we laid out the broader thinking in our small office network guide.
Plan the counter early with your millwork: power and a network drop inside the cabinetry, not draped over it.
Cameras, before the shelving goes in
A storefront wants coverage of the entrance, the till, the floor, and the back door or receiving area. For most small shops that is four to six cameras and a small recorder in the back room, recording locally with no monthly fee.
Run the camera cabling while trades are still on site and ceilings are open. It is a one-day job during fit-out and a disruptive one after, when every cable has to be fished around finished bulkheads.
Since you will be recording staff and customers, signage and a simple retention policy are part of the install, not an afterthought. We covered what Ontario businesses need to know in our PIPEDA and security cameras post. The short version: post signs, have a purpose, keep footage briefly, and know who answers requests.
Wi-Fi: staff and guests are different networks
You likely want customer Wi-Fi, and you definitely do not want customers on the network that runs your business. Two networks, minimum: a staff network for tablets, laptops, and the office computer, and an isolated guest network with a bandwidth cap and a QR code at the counter. We wrote up the full recipe in Guest Wi-Fi done right.
One access point covers many small shops; a deeper unit or a patio might need two. Mount them on the ceiling, wired, and skip the router-on-a-shelf-behind-the-register arrangement we so often inherit.
Music, phones, and the small stuff
Music in a commercial space is licensed music. Playing your personal streaming account in a shop is against nearly every consumer service's terms, and public performance in Canada generally involves fees through SOCAN and Re:Sound, or a business streaming service that bundles the licensing. Budget a modest monthly amount and set it up properly; it is not a corner worth cutting.
A phone number still matters, even if it mostly catches "are you open?" calls. A simple VoIP line rides your internet connection, costs little, and can ring your cell after hours.
Round out the list with the unglamorous items: a UPS on the network and POS gear, a surge-protected circuit for the rack, an email address on your own domain rather than a personal Gmail, and door hardware decisions (keys, codes, or fobs) made before the locksmith's first visit rather than the third.
Six weeks out, in order
Internet ordered on day one. Network and camera cabling during fit-out. Rack, POS network, and Wi-Fi once the dust settles. Cameras aimed and signage up before the first customer. Music and phones the same week. It is a short list when it is sequenced, and a scramble when it is not.
We help new shops through this exact sequence across Norfolk County, Hamilton, and the rest of our service area, from the first call to the provider through opening day. If your lease is signed and the clock is running, get in touch and we will build the checklist around your space.
Cabling, networks, cameras, access control, smart homes, hosting and software for homes and small business across Southwestern Ontario. Twenty-plus years in the trade, and we still answer the phone.