Frequently asked questions

We are based in St. Helena Bay and cover the wider West Coast. Distance changes what makes sense for a callout, so tell us where you are when you phone. We will be honest about whether a site visit is worth it, or whether the job can be sorted remotely instead. Plenty of work gets done without anyone driving anywhere.

Phone 066 220 8423 or email info@imsservices.co.za and describe what you need. Useful details are the make of the machine, the wording of any error message, when the problem started, and whether it affects one person or everybody. For hardware we quote in Rand before anything is ordered. For repairs we usually need to look at the machine first, and we will say so rather than guess at a number.

Both. A retiree with one laptop and a printer is as welcome as a twelve-person office, and the work is done to the same standard either way. What changes is what we recommend, not how carefully we do it. Single-machine jobs are normal for us, and nobody gets treated as an inconvenience for having a small problem.

A lot of problems can be fixed remotely, and we start there whenever it is possible. Software faults, email setup, Microsoft 365 problems and most Windows trouble can be sorted over a remote session while you watch. Anything physical needs someone on site: a failed drive, a dead power supply, cabling, a switch that has stopped passing traffic, or Wi-Fi that has to be measured in the actual building.

Most slow or unreliable laptops are worth repairing, and we will tell you when yours is not. A drive swap, more memory or a clean reinstall often buys several more years for a fraction of what a replacement costs. Replacement makes more sense when the screen, board or hinges have gone on an older machine, because the parts start approaching the price of something new. We give you both numbers and you decide.

Yes. We supply desktops, laptops, printers and accessories from Asus, HP, Dell, Epson and Canon. Before quoting we ask what the machine is actually for, because a till computer and a laptop used mostly for email are different purchases and the most expensive option is often the wrong one. Buying through us means the machine arrives set up, licensed in your name, with your files already moved across.

Repair time is driven by two things: what the fault turns out to be, and whether a part has to be ordered in. A clean reinstall or a memory upgrade with the part on hand is often a same-visit job. Waiting on a component from a supplier is out of our hands. We give you a realistic estimate once the machine has been looked at, not before.

Yes, and it is part of every machine we set up. We move your documents, photos and data across, set email up so it collects the way it did before, reconnect the printer, install your software and check the backup is running before we hand the machine over. We can also do the migration on a computer you bought elsewhere. Bring both machines, or the old drive if the laptop no longer starts.

Windows is where most of our repair work sits, and the rest of what we do is not tied to one operating system. Microsoft 365, email, file migration, printers, Wi-Fi and network faults are handled the same way on a Mac. For a hardware fault on an Apple machine, phone us with the model and what it is doing, and we will tell you honestly whether it is a job for us or one to send elsewhere.

Probably not. Plenty of small businesses are sold a server they never fully use, and a network drive with a properly configured Microsoft 365 tenant will do the job for less money and less maintenance. A server starts to earn its keep when you run software that has to live in-house, or when you need tight control over who can open what. We would rather sell you the right thing once.

Yes, and we start by finding out what is actually on it. That means checking the backups are running and restorable, seeing which security patches have been missed, looking at disk health, and going through the user accounts to find people who left months ago and still have access. You get a written summary of what needs attention and what it will cost to put right, before we change anything.

You do not, until someone restores from them. An untested backup is a hope. We restore from your backups periodically and check what actually comes back, because the common failures are quiet ones: a job that has been skipping a folder for months, or a backup sitting on the same machine as the data it is meant to protect. The answer you want in a crisis is how long it takes to get trading again, and that should already be known.

Phone 066 220 8423 and tell us what the machine is doing. What happens next depends on the fault and on what was put in place beforehand, which is the real answer to this question. A business with tested backups and a documented setup gets restored from a known position. A business with neither is starting an investigation on a Friday afternoon. That difference is decided long before the server fails.

Almost always because one access point is being asked to cover more building than it can reach. Thick walls, a router hidden in a cupboard behind a cabinet, and distance from the room where people actually sit will beat any amount of expensive equipment. Adding a booster sometimes helps and sometimes makes it worse by creating a second weak network. We measure the coverage you have now, find the dead spots and fix the layout rather than guessing.

Yes. Cable where you can, wireless where you must. A cable run to the outbuilding with its own access point at the far end is more reliable than trying to push signal through two sets of walls and open ground. On coastal properties we specify equipment that can take salt air, because outdoor gear that was fine inland corrodes here. The distance and what sits between the buildings decide the method.

No. Guests should be on a separate network from the machine that holds your bookings and your banking. It is not about trusting people, it is that you have no idea what is on a visitor's laptop or cellphone. We set up a guest network with its own password that is easy to hand out, put sensible limits on it, and keep it walled off from the business side.

Yes. Part of fault-finding is proving where the problem sits, and once we can show the line is the issue rather than your equipment, we take it up with the provider on your behalf. That is usually faster than a business owner repeating the same story to a call centre. You stay the account holder, so we may need you to authorise us, and we will tell you what to say if the provider insists on speaking to you directly.

The plan you need depends on two things: whether your staff need the desktop Office apps installed, and whether you have laptops leaving the premises that need device management and extra security. Microsoft sells several business plans and the differences between them are real. We work out what you will actually use, quote it in Rand per user, and register the subscription in your name so you own it rather than us.

No. Mail keeps arriving throughout a properly run migration. We move mailboxes, contacts and calendars across first, then change the domain records so new mail routes to the new mailboxes, and set devices up on both sides while the changeover settles. The usual experience is a short period where mail is running behind, not a gap where messages go missing. We schedule the switch for a quiet time and stay reachable while it happens.

Yes, that is one of the main reasons small businesses move to Microsoft 365. Email, files in OneDrive and SharePoint, and Teams calls all work from any internet connection, so someone at home is signing in to the same accounts they use at the desk. We set up multi-factor authentication before anyone works remotely, because an account reachable from anywhere needs more than a password on it. Remote access to an office machine is also possible where the work requires it.

Files kept in OneDrive or SharePoint survive the theft, because the laptop was only a window onto them. The account gets signed out remotely, the password is reset, and the person carries on from another machine. Files that only ever existed on that laptop are gone with it unless it was backed up. This is why we encrypt laptops that leave the premises, so a stolen machine costs you hardware and nothing else.

Someone gets into an email account, usually with a password stolen or guessed, then reads quietly for weeks without changing anything. When an invoice goes out, they send a follow-up from a lookalike address with one character different, saying the banking details have changed. Your client pays the wrong account and the money is gone before anyone checks. The rule that stops it is simple: confirm banking details by phone, on a number you already had.

No. Antivirus stops known malware and does nothing about the attacks that actually cost small businesses money. A fake invoice from a lookalike address is not a virus. A reused password used to sign in to your email is not a virus. You need multi-factor authentication on the accounts that matter, mail filtering that catches the impersonation attempts, and backups that are separate from the machines they protect. Keep the antivirus, and do not treat it as the whole of your protection.

Yes, and mostly because nobody is watching. Attacks on small businesses are not personal, they are automated sweeps looking for an email account with a weak password or a machine that has not been updated. A guesthouse, a two-person accounting practice and a fishing supply business all have the same things worth stealing: a bank account and an email address people trust. Size is not the protection people assume it is.

Phone 066 220 8423 before you do anything else. Do not delete anything, do not pay anything, and do not carry on using a machine you suspect is compromised, because both the evidence and the recovery depend on what is still there. If money has moved, phone your bank immediately as well, since the window to stop a payment is short. We work through containing it, finding how it got in, and getting you back to work.