Ararat doesn’t make many tech headlines. But small businesses here are quietly adopting technology that’s making real differences to their operations.

I caught up with three Ararat businesses to hear about their recent tech investments—the good, the challenging, and the lessons learned.

Ararat Farm Supplies

The business: Family-owned rural supplies store. Three generations, loyal customer base, about $2M annual revenue.

The problem: Their inventory system was a combination of handwritten records, spreadsheets, and one employee’s memory. When that employee took leave, chaos followed.

What they did: Invested in Unleashed inventory management software integrated with their existing Xero accounting. New barcode scanners, updated computer systems.

Total investment: Approximately $15,000 including software, hardware, and setup assistance.

What happened:

“The first month was rough,” admits owner David. “Staff resisted change. The data migration had errors. I wondered if we’d made a mistake.”

But three months in, things improved. Stock counts became accurate. Reordering happened automatically when items hit minimum levels. Staff could check stock across the system rather than physically searching.

“We identified $40,000 in slow-moving inventory we didn’t realise we had. That alone justified the investment.”

Lesson learned: “Budget time for the transition, not just money. We underestimated how long it would take staff to adapt.”

Harvest Moon Café

The business: Central Ararat café. Popular breakfast and lunch spot, about 200 customers daily.

The problem: Taking phone orders during busy periods was chaotic. Errors, delays, and stressed staff.

What they did: Implemented Square for Restaurants with online ordering. Customers can order ahead via app, and the orders go straight to kitchen display.

Total investment: About $3,000 for hardware and setup. Ongoing transaction fees.

What happened:

“Morning rush used to be crazy. Phone ringing, counter queue, trying to remember who ordered what,” explains owner Sarah.

Online orders now account for about 25% of their business. Kitchen gets orders automatically. Staff can focus on customers in the shop.

“Ticket accuracy improved immediately. Fewer wrong orders means happier customers and less waste.”

Unexpected benefit: The data showed that certain items sold much better for online orders than dine-in. They adjusted their menu promotion accordingly.

Lesson learned: “Don’t try to implement during your busy season. We started in January when it was quieter and had time to figure things out.”

Michael’s Auto Electrical

The business: One-person auto electrical business operating from a workshop.

The problem: Michael was losing jobs because he couldn’t answer calls while working on vehicles. Callbacks weren’t converting.

What they did: Set up a simple system: calls forward to a voicemail service that transcribes messages and sends them as text. Basic CRM (Jobber) to track enquiries and schedule work.

Total investment: About $80/month for software subscriptions.

What happened:

“I’d miss calls, then try to call back hours later when I finished a job. Half the time people had already called someone else.”

Now Michael sees messages immediately on his phone. He can send a quick text response even while working: “Saw your message. Can quote tomorrow morning.”

“I’m converting maybe 30% more enquiries into actual jobs. The subscription pays for itself many times over.”

The CRM also helped with organisation. No more forgotten quotes or double-bookings.

Lesson learned: “I put this off for years thinking it was too complicated. Wish I’d done it sooner. The setup wasn’t hard.”

Common Themes

Talking to these three businesses, patterns emerged:

Problem-driven investment. Each started with a specific frustration, not general technology enthusiasm. The tech solved actual problems.

Transition challenges. All mentioned difficult transition periods. New systems take time to embed.

Unexpected benefits. Each discovered advantages they hadn’t anticipated—data insights, workflow improvements, customer experience gains.

Modest investments. None spent huge amounts. These were pragmatic investments with clear expectations.

Ongoing costs matter. Monthly subscriptions add up. All three factored this into their decisions and judged the ongoing value.

Getting Started

If you’re an Ararat business (or any regional business) considering technology investment:

Start with your biggest pain point. What frustrates you most? What costs you time or money? Focus there first.

Talk to other local businesses. The insights from peers are often more valuable than vendor promises.

Budget for transition time. Implementation takes longer than software demos suggest.

Start small, prove value, expand. You don’t need to transform everything at once.

Consider local support. Having someone you can call when things go wrong matters. Regional businesses sometimes find Melbourne-based support lacking in understanding of local conditions.

Business Victoria offers grants and support programs for small businesses making technology investments—worth checking before you spend.

Technology isn’t about keeping up with trends. It’s about solving problems. These three Ararat businesses found solutions that work for them—and that’s what matters.