CodeStep UK

01268 451 696

Start for free, then we can make you unique

Our quick start guide is here for micro businesses and traders needing a free solution to get their business online – right now

As simply as possible, we're here to help you get started fast and for the very small, for free. 

We know running a business can be incredibly challenging, and the world right now has shifted in ways many could not predict.

So - our guide is designed to help you give you a simple boost to working with others online.  And when you're ready to expand, we can take it further for you with our Software Deveopment Service

Below we have provided a list of online solutions you can sign up to right now:  We will update this list with more options shortly.  For now, we hope this gives you a quick start you can be sure is scalable for the future.

Please note CodeStep UK are NOT affiliated with any of the 3rd party vendors below nor do we provide any guarantee or warranty on any 3rd party solution you sign up to.  All prices are for illustration only and you should check with each vendor before signing up to any subscription.

Need Assistance ?

Most businesses need more than the free solutions offer, and often something more tailored than an off the shelf app.

We can help deliver a custom solution tuned and designed to exactly the way you work

 Quick Contact

  (Open in new window)

Free Packages

Free Email Services with Microsoft Outlook

Stay in touch with customers and suppliers without being held on long phone queues

Get instant email addresses and free email hosting.  With an easy process to transition to more sophisticated systems later, this can be a great starting place for any business that just needs a single email fast to help stay in touch.

Group Calling and Desktop Sharing

Free calling and work from anywhere options with an online Voice Service

Get instant voice calls between remote workers and even customers for free over the internet and work together using desktop sharing.  Phone Numbers can be purchased directly to give you an instant phone number so that customers without internet can call you anywhere.  Microsoft Skype has both free and payable services. 

Group Conferences with Zoom or Microsoft Teams

For many users Zooms is a great place to start video calling with your team of staff - no matter where they are located.  Yopu can sign up for both Free and Paid for packages

For those of you with selected Office 365 - Microsoft Teams provides similar functionality, and can be a great place to start for corporate meetings as well as smaller teams.

Free File Sharing with Microsoft OneDrive

Continue working with colleagues just like in the office with simple but effective document sharing

Instantly store files online and share with colleagues – with each device syncing up with the Microsoft Cloud.  A great start for any small business that needs to run minimal online storage for the current workload.

Start as you mean to go on

Starting with a single online supplier, your long term digital business needs can start here and now for free, but grow as you do to a more professional solution, whenever you are ready.

We're ready to transform the off the shelf basic tools into something unique and efficient for you and your teams.

Non-Free or Temporary Solutions

Contactless Card Payments with iZettle

Within a matter of days you could be up and running taking contactless card payments in person to help reduce the need for customers to hand over cash at this time.

Whilst there is no signup cost you will need a compatible mobile phone and need to order the basic card reader which costs £29.and should be delivered in a matter of days (Ours was!). 

It's a very simple and very easy to start taking payments with and very cost effective for startups / small business owners.  It can even scale to a complete in-store POS system for when you're up and running again.

Terms and Conditions as well as some usage restrictions do apply to iZettle.  You will need to read their T&C's carefully.

Microsoft Office 365 with Group Email, Calendars and File Sharing

Currently from £5.99 per user for personal versions (£7.90 for business): Instantly migrate old email systems and access from any device! 

Create and Share documents in your browser or with Office on your PC and keep your employees, partners and customers connected.

Our partners can help you deploy large teams if necessary, with remote services back to your office and providing desktop support for your users.

Skype for Business for Professional VoIP calling

Allowing up to 250 people in a single online meeting, Skype for Business provides anhanced sharing capabilities, securely through Microsoft's VoIP service.  With built-in integration to Office 365 and your office environment, Skype for Business can let you transform your call operations.

With both desktop and mobile versions - you can stay connected anywhere securely.

Need a cheap terminal for remote desktop working ?

Need an extra computer but don't have the budget? – With a Raspberry Pi – you could connect to your company Remote Desktop’s or basic web portals with ease and not need an expensive noisy PC. 

For as little as £25 you can connect it to a HD TV and a keyboard / mouse for a quick and cheap but effective terminal using the Raspberry Pi 3 with Wifi and Bluetooth.  There is a more powerful version (Pi 4) but we have not tested this one yet and some users complain it can get very hot without additional cooling.

There are many other "System On Chip" based devices that are more powerful.  We haven't tested those yet though but check out online forums to see how cheap you can make your systems.

The Raspberry Pi however has a complete education ecosystem and is a great teaching platform if you happen to be home with the kids.  Plus, if you happen to have some Lego and a Mindstorms NXT - It could keep them quiet for hours and they could learn maths, languages, coding and robotics skills!

Need Assistance with hardware or deployment ?

Our partners can help you deploy your systems and maintain them regularly - ensuring peace of mind and simplicity from the very start.  Please contact us and we'll put you in touch with the right partner for your long term needs.

Effective Tools, Scaleable as Needed

Not everyone can spend lots on IT.  For most, it's just a tool.  But if you start with the right basics, you can scale to hundreds or thousands of users.

We can help you do it.

Moving to a Permanent and Transformative State

When things get busier and your business and team need a more structured solution, we can streamline your working ways and take it further for you. 

Many businesses end up relying on multiple software tools, each with separate logins, ways of working and even causing double entry.  Some businesses are left wondering where there data even lives or who can access it.  This isn’t right for the long term.

CodeStep UK can transform multiple disjointed systems into a custom solution designed specifically for you and your team, ready to change and scale the way you want.  You won't have to depend on what Public Apps have to offer.  We can make them do more, specifically for you.

Create a long term impression

Our design partners can help develop your brand, online presence and e-commerce systems to deliver long term e-retail solutions and we can connect your data systems and integrate solutions to give your business a truely unique operating process.

For more information on how CodeStep UK can deliver your long term solutions, please see the following pages:-