IT support for importers and exporters
Trade businesses work across time zones, currencies and a long chain of brokers, forwarders and banks. We keep the email, documents and systems that hold that chain together secure and dependable.

IT for importers & exporters
An import or export business lives in its inbox. Purchase orders go to overseas factories, pro forma invoices come back, freight forwarders send booking confirmations, customs brokers ask for commercial invoices and packing lists, and banks need the right documents before money moves. Much of this happens overnight New Zealand time, so the team often starts the day with a pile of messages that must be read, checked and actioned before the next shipment can leave port or clear the wharf.
That reliance on email makes trade businesses a favourite target for payment fraud. A criminal who gets into a supplier's mailbox, or registers a domain one letter away from it, can send a perfectly worded note saying the factory has changed banks. Overseas payments are hard to recall once sent. Alongside fraud risk sit the everyday headaches: document versions scattered across inboxes, staff travelling to trade shows on hotel Wi-Fi, and landed cost spreadsheets that only one person really understands or can update.
Office IT supports importers and exporters with three to seventy-five staff. Auckland and Hamilton offices get onsite technicians when needed, and businesses elsewhere in New Zealand are supported remotely. We secure email and sign-in, organise trade documents so they can be found by shipment, set up laptops and phones for staff who travel, and keep your accounting and inventory systems linked to the portals your broker and forwarder use. Customs requirements themselves are for your licensed broker; we make sure the documents and systems behind them are in order.
Common IT problems in this industry
Overseas payment fraud
Changed bank detail requests from suppliers are the classic trade scam. International transfers are fast to send and slow or impossible to recover.
Documents spread across inboxes
Commercial invoices, packing lists, certificates of origin and bills of lading sit in individual mailboxes, so finding the papers for one shipment takes far too long.
Time zone working
Suppliers and customers reply overnight. Staff check email at odd hours on personal phones, which brings its own security gaps.
Travel and trade shows
Staff take laptops through foreign airports and onto public networks. A lost or seized device can expose pricing, supplier lists and customer data.
Landed cost and currency spreadsheets
Critical costing often lives in a complex workbook on one computer, with no version history and no backup if that machine fails.
Many outside portals
Banks, forwarders, brokers, shipping lines and government services each have their own login, often shared between staff and never reviewed.
What we set up for you
Shipment-based document storage
We set up SharePoint or Teams so every shipment or order has one place for its documents, shared with the right staff and searchable by reference number.
Email defences for trade fraud
Advanced filtering, lookalike domain alerts, external sender warnings and multi-factor sign-in reduce the risk of a fake supplier message reaching your accounts team.
Secure travel kit
Encrypted laptops, a mobile hotspot or secure connection for travel, and remote lock and wipe mean a lost device is an inconvenience rather than a breach.
Password manager for portals
Shared portal logins move into a business password manager, with access per person and an easy way to remove it when someone leaves.
Protected costing workbooks
Landed cost and pricing files live in OneDrive or SharePoint with version history, so a bad edit can be undone and the file is backed up daily.
Managed mobile phones
Work email on phones is kept inside a managed app, so business data can be removed from a personal device without touching the owner's photos or messages.
Systems we support
We work with the software and equipment your business already relies on, and with your software vendors when something needs their help.
- Xero and MYOB with multi-currency and inventory
- Inventory and purchasing systems with landed cost tracking
- Customs broker and freight forwarder tracking portals
- NZ Customs Trade Single Window, used through your broker or directly
- Online banking and foreign exchange platforms
- Microsoft 365, Outlook, Teams and SharePoint
- Business password managers
Start with a free IT health check
A technician reviews your computers, accounts, backups, security and network, then gives you a short written report with the risks ranked and a price to fix them. No charge, no obligation.
Book the health checkServices that fit

Email security & deliverability
Phishing filtering, SPF, DKIM and DMARC set up so scams stay out and your own email stops landing in junk.
Email security & deliverability
Microsoft 365
Licences, email, Teams and SharePoint set up properly, moved across safely and managed for you.
Microsoft 365
Cyber security
Practical protection against scams, ransomware and account takeover, set up and kept current.
Cyber securityIT for importers & exporters: questions
Can you handle our customs entries?
No. Customs declarations and tariff classification are the work of your licensed customs broker. What we do is make sure the documents they need are organised, the systems that produce commercial invoices and packing lists work, and the email channel between you and the broker is secure.
How do we confirm a supplier really changed banks?
Never act on the email alone. Call the supplier on a number you already hold, or confirm through a contact you have dealt with before, and record who checked it. We support that process with filtering that flags lookalike domains and warnings on messages from outside your organisation.
Is it safe to take work laptops overseas?
It can be, with preparation. We encrypt the drive, make sure files are in the cloud rather than only on the device, enable remote wipe and set up a secure way to connect on hotel or conference Wi-Fi. For some destinations a cleaner travel laptop with limited data is the better choice.
Our team checks email at night on their own phones. Is that a problem?
It can be if the mailbox sits unprotected on the phone. We place work email inside a managed app with a PIN and multi-factor sign-in. If the phone is lost or the person leaves, we remove the business data without touching anything personal.
Do you support businesses outside Auckland and Hamilton?
Yes. Most of this work is remote by nature, and our help desk can reach any office in New Zealand. Onsite visits are standard in Auckland and Hamilton; elsewhere we arrange a visit for planned project work.
Which plan is a good fit?
Trade businesses usually choose the Managed plan at $119 per user per month plus GST, because it includes email security and Microsoft 365 backup. Where staff handle large payments, the Complete plan at $169 adds security awareness training, which is well worth having.
Other industries we work with
- Accountants & bookkeepers
- Law firms
- Medical & dental clinics
- Construction & trades
- Manufacturing
- Logistics & warehousing
- Retail & hospitality
- Property management
- Professional services
- Engineering & architecture
- Creative agencies
- Education & not-for-profit
- Insurance brokers
- Mortgage advisers
- Financial advisers
- Real estate agencies
- Body corporate managers
- Property developers
- Quantity surveyors
- Surveyors & planners
- Recruitment agencies
- HR consultancies
- Marketing & PR agencies
- Event companies
- Physiotherapy clinics
- Optometrists
- Pharmacies
- Veterinary clinics
- Specialist & private clinics
- Aged care & retirement villages
- Home & community care providers
- Counselling & psychology practices
- Chiropractors & osteopaths
- Beauty & skin clinics
- Gyms & fitness studios
- Early childhood centres
- Wholesale & distribution
- Transport & freight companies
- Engineering workshops & fabricators
- Food & beverage manufacturers
- Horticulture & packhouses
- Wineries & vineyards
- Farms & agribusiness
- Aquaculture & seafood
- Electrical & plumbing contractors
- Civil construction & infrastructure
- Facilities management companies
- Schools
- Iwi & Māori organisations
- Councils & public sector agencies
- Churches & faith organisations
- Sports clubs & associations
- Hotels & motels
- Restaurants & cafes
- Car dealerships
- Automotive workshops
- Travel agencies
- Barristers & chambers
- Membership & industry associations
