Frequently asked questions.

We start with a short conversation about how the operation works today, where information is held and what is slowing the team down. If SmartCo looks like a sensible fit, we then agree the next step and show you the most relevant parts of the platform.

A proven SmartCo sector build can be provisioned quickly. Full go-live depends on your data, configuration, integrations, testing and any bespoke requirements. We confirm the implementation timetable during discovery rather than publish one number that may not fit every client.

We prefer to understand what you need first so the demonstration is relevant to your operation. The website includes sample product views, and a tailored demo can be arranged when there is a genuine project to discuss.

Yes. If you need hands-on migration support, one prepared migration from an agreed source is available within the optional £499 managed onboarding service. We map and check the agreed data before go-live. Complex, multi-system or unstructured migrations are scoped separately.

Yes. We maintain the core platform and provide technical support for faults, access and managed updates. Everyday guidance is supported through our knowledge base, tutorials and growing AI help. Additional training, consultancy and future changes are agreed separately.

SmartCo already has the foundation for users, records, permissions, reporting, security and integrations. We configure and extend that platform around your operation, so development effort goes into the parts that are genuinely specific to your business.

Terminology, records, forms, permissions, dashboards, workflow, approvals, reporting, portals, specialist modules and integrations can all be shaped around the project where appropriate.

Yes, where the project needs a specialist data platform, automation or custom processing outside the core SmartCo CRM platform. SmartCo can coordinate Django and Python development through trusted specialist development partners, with the work scoped clearly as part of the wider solution.

They can be useful where the main requirement is centralising information from several systems, processing or validating large amounts of data, building specialist automation, creating a standalone operational application or providing an integration layer between existing platforms.

Yes. A specialist application can operate alongside SmartCo and exchange the agreed information through APIs or other controlled data interfaces. The aim is to use the right tool for each part of the operation rather than force every requirement into one technology.

The platform can be extended. The ongoing relationship is designed to stop the system becoming another piece of software the business eventually has to work around.

There is no compulsory setup fee. Customers who need hands-on configuration, data migration and administrator training can choose the optional £499 managed onboarding service. Complex migration, bespoke requirements, Operations and ERP deployments are scoped separately.

Ten staff users are included with Essential and Training and LMS. Additional staff users are £20 per month each. Learners on Training and LMS are counted separately, with up to 1,000 active learners included. Operations user numbers are agreed as part of the scope.

Learners are not counted as staff users. Up to 1,000 active learners are included. An active learner is someone on a live programme or who logged in that month; completed and archived learners do not count. Above 1,000, it is £3 per active learner a month from 1,001 to 2,000 and £2 from 2,001 to 5,000. Academies with more than 5,000 learners are quoted. We tell you 30 days before any learner charge starts. Standard document storage is included, while large video libraries are quoted.

Supported SmartCo connectors do not carry a separate per-connector licence fee. Third-party providers may charge their own fees, and bespoke connector development is scoped where needed.

Standard configuration is part of the monthly platform. New modules or substantial bespoke functionality are scoped and agreed before work begins, using the bespoke price bands below.

Most builds fall into three bands. A tailored CRM is £5,000 to £15,000 and is usually live in 4 to 8 weeks. A bespoke system with portals, compliance rules and integrations is £15,000 to £35,000, live in 8 to 12 weeks. Operations and ERP projects start from £35,000 and take 12 weeks or more. You get a fixed price in writing after a free discovery call, pay 40% to start, 40% at build sign-off and 20% at go-live, and support is from £150 a month. Prices exclude VAT.

Many well-known CRM platforms charge per user, commonly around £70 to £135 per user per month at professional level, and some add a compulsory onboarding fee. For a team of 10 that is roughly £8,000 to £16,000 a year, and it rises with every person you add. SmartCo Essential is £299 a month with 10 users included, which is £3,588 a year. Those platforms are excellent products; the difference is mainly in how the price scales as your team grows.

For businesses that plan to be running for many years, usually yes. As an example, a 20-person team on a per-user subscription at around £90 per user per month pays about £21,600 a year, or £108,000 over five years. A £22,000 bespoke system with support at £150 a month costs about £31,000 over the same five years, with no per-user fees and a system shaped around how you work. If your team is small and your process is standard, a monthly plan is usually the better value, and we will tell you so. Figures are illustrative, based on published list prices in 2026.

You own your copy of the system and all of your data, and you can keep using and adapting it. The underlying SmartCo code and tools we build with remain ours, which is what keeps updates, security fixes and support affordable for every client.

The range can be very wide. A single-site operation and a multi-site asset-heavy deployment need different levels of configuration, migration and integration. Projects start from £35,000, and we scope the work properly and agree the exact figure before you commit.

There is a staff portal that installs to the home screen on iOS and Android and is being extended. Offline support, so notes and check-ins queue when there is no signal in a property, is in active development. We will be straight with you about exactly what is ready at the time you ask.

Yes. If migration support is required, one standard prepared migration is available within the optional £299 care onboarding service. Complex, multi-system or unstructured migration work is reviewed and agreed separately.

Yes. UK hosting is available for SmartCo deployments, and we manage updates, backups and support as part of the managed service.

Yes. White-label deployment can put the system on your domain with your branding throughout.

We can change the software. If the way you work changes, the system can be extended rather than forcing the team into another workaround.

Yes. Each has their own portal with its own permissions. Teachers see their classes and learners; learners see only their own record, materials and fees.

Yes. Funding status is held against the learner, and reporting can be filtered by it, so mixed cohorts are handled without a parallel spreadsheet.

No. Migration can be planned around your intakes so it does not land mid-cohort. One standard prepared migration is available within the optional £499 managed onboarding service, while complex LMS or course-content migrations are scoped separately.

Yes. White-label deployment can put the platform on your domain with your branding, including the learner-facing experience.

We can build it. Bespoke development is scoped and priced before work begins, and the agreed functionality becomes part of your system rather than another external workaround.

Yes. Quick capture is designed for practical field use rather than simply shrinking a desktop form onto a phone.

Yes. The commission matrix can define the split and apply the agreed rules as jobs progress, including where several people worked on the same deal.

Yes, and for larger operations that can extend into stock and purchasing through the Operations platform.

Rounds and territories can be allocated to field staff, with duplicate checks helping to reduce two people working the same location.

If the provider exposes a suitable API or supported data exchange method, it may be connectable. Any bespoke connector work is scoped before it starts.

The range is too wide for one headline figure to be meaningful. A single-site operation and a multi-depot organisation are different deployments, so we scope the work and agree the figure before you commit.

Yes. Multi-site and multi-company structures can be supported where they form part of the agreed deployment.

Yes, where it is useful. A portal can give clients controlled access to project progress, documents or other agreed information without staff manually sending every update.

Yes, where the required API or supported connection is available. Xero, QuickBooks and Sage are examples of systems that can be considered during integration scoping.

The timetable is agreed at scoping. Asset-heavy deployments usually need more migration, configuration and testing than a standard CRM, so the plan is based on the real project rather than a generic promise.

Usually not. SmartCo handles clients, onboarding, portals, billing and reporting, and connects to Xero, QuickBooks or Sage where the required API access is available, so invoices and payments are entered once and your accountant keeps working as they do today.

Odoo is a capable platform that suits many businesses. SmartCo is for firms that want a system shaped around how they already work, with only the tools their team will use. We start by scoping your process, then set up what you need, from CRM and billing to client portals or a full ERP, supported by the team that builds it.

Yes, where the required access is available. If Odoo is working well for part of the business, we can connect SmartCo to it rather than replace it. Any integration work is scoped and agreed before it starts.

Yes. Where a business needs accounting, stock, assets and payroll in one system, we build it on proven open-source ERP foundations through our Operations and ERP platform, quoted after discovery.

Yes. A secure client portal can show invoices, statements, reports and document requests, so clients help themselves rather than emailing your team.

Yes. Compliance status can be set by the evidence held, and placement rules can flag or block a candidate whose right to work, DBS or training has expired, depending on how you want it to work.

Yes. Application forms and document upload can feed straight into the candidate record, ready for screening and verification.

Yes. Timesheets can be approved against placements, with pay rates, charge rates and margin calculated from the same record. Payroll exports and client invoicing are scoped around your process.

Yes. Partner agencies and their candidates can be recorded alongside your own, so every placement is traceable.

Yes. Tenants can report repairs with photos through a portal, and the request is logged against the property, assigned to a contractor and tracked to completion.

Yes. Certificates and inspections can be recorded against each property with reminders before they expire, so renewals are planned rather than rushed.

Yes. Owner statements and a landlord portal can be included, showing rent received, costs and open work on their properties.

Where the required API access is available, yes. Integrations are scoped and agreed before any work starts.

There is no separate per-connector licence charge for supported SmartCo integrations. Any third-party service still charges its own fees, and a genuinely bespoke connector may need development work that is scoped before it starts.

If the system exposes a usable API, webhook or supported data exchange method, it may still be connectable. We review the technical options before promising a specific integration.

Supported integrations are maintained as part of the SmartCo service. If a third-party provider makes a major change that requires new bespoke development, we explain that before any chargeable work starts.

Yes, where appropriate. Access is controlled by authentication and permissions, and we agree the data and actions that should be available.

No. Magento remains the storefront. SmartCo is used for the operational workflow behind the order where that adds value.

Yes, where the relevant APIs and business rules support it. The aim is to let each platform handle the job it is best at without re-keying the same information.

SmartCo can work alongside Web Solutions eCommerce capability, so a store and CRM can be discussed as one connected project where appropriate.

Supported SmartCo connectors do not carry a separate per-connector licence fee. Any bespoke work and third-party charges are agreed separately where needed.

Yes. Permissions are configured around the roles and responsibilities agreed for the deployment so staff only see and do what is appropriate to their work.

SmartCo workflows can record important activity and changes so the organisation has a clearer history of what happened and when. The exact audit requirements are agreed around the project.

Yes. Managed SmartCo deployments include platform maintenance and backup arrangements appropriate to the agreed hosting setup.

Yes. White-label deployment can use the client domain and branding where that is part of the chosen package.

SmartCo remains the point of contact for the managed platform. A nominated customer administrator can raise technical issues and short guidance queries with us. Knowledge-base articles, tutorials and growing AI help support everyday users, while additional training, consultancy and future changes are agreed separately.