In mid-October, two gatherings of Indonesian business people reached almost the same sentence. In Jakarta, at Indonesia Digital MeetUp 2026 (15 to 16 October), Deputy Minister for MSMEs Helvi Yuni Moraza described today's paradox: digital activity among the public is high, but monetisation remains low. In Surabaya, at the TDA entrepreneur community's national meeting (13 to 15 October), the message was similar: "Go Digital is not the final goal. Technology must produce productivity, open markets, and create opportunities."
If you run a shop, a cafe, or several branches, that sentence lands close to home. You already have a digital till, you accept QRIS, perhaps you have an online shop too. Yet every night someone still retypes the day's sales into a spreadsheet, and the branch report only becomes trustworthy after a second check.
The numbers show how wide the digital door already is. According to Bank Indonesia data cited at those events, there are about 45 million QRIS merchants, and 96.68 percent of them are MSMEs. SMESCO said about 27 million MSMEs have entered the digital ecosystem. These figures come from speakers and organiser press material, so read them as a broad picture, not an audit.
In other words, getting onto a digital rail is now relatively easy. The harder part is having a system that actually fits how your business works. At that point the question shifts from "which app should I install" to "do I need a system of my own". Very often the honest answer is: not yet.
Start with the honest answer: a packaged app is often enough
We build custom systems, but we would not tell you to build anything if an existing app does the job. A single-outlet cafe with a stable menu and transactions you could still tally by hand is usually fine with a packaged till app, even a tidy spreadsheet. Building your own system at that stage only adds cost and work.
Two things decide whether you have crossed that line: how unusual your workflow is, and how large your operation is.
Common workflow and low volume: use what exists. Common workflow but high volume: a packaged app still makes sense, just track the bill whenever you add a branch. Unusual workflow but a small business: a lean custom build can help if your rules are what set you apart. Unusual workflow and large scale: this is where packaged apps start needing many patches, and the cost climbs with them.
Six signs from the floor
Your position on that matrix usually shows up in daily habits, not in strategy meetings. These are the six signs we hear most often from shop and cafe owners.
The easiest sign to check is double entry. If the till already recorded the sale but someone still retypes it into a spreadsheet each night, that is not a bad habit of your staff. It means the system does not answer the questions you need answered.
The second sign is pricing rules. Different prices per branch, happy-hour promotions, or special discounts for regulars often trigger it. A packaged app usually has a settings menu for one or two rules. Once the rules stack up, the vendor's answer becomes "possible, but it needs customisation".
The third sign is the bill. Per-user or per-branch fees feel light with a single outlet. After you add branches, check again whether the annual bill is growing faster than revenue.
The practical rule is simple: two signs or more means it is time to map the workflow. Not to add another app.
A system of your own comes in many sizes
"Custom system" sounds big, but it can be small. At XETUP our services fall into three pillars, and for retail and F&B they usually play different roles.
Digital Engineering & Growth is the most relevant most often. It covers custom software, from web and mobile apps and interface design to e-commerce. Think of a till, stock, and online shop that are connected, instead of three apps running alone.
Enterprise Infrastructure matters once your business needs to connect to others: payment systems, suppliers, or integration between systems. It also covers ERP and data pipelines.
Cognitive AI Innovation is the next layer, for example automating routine work or analysis that supports decisions. It makes the most sense once your data is tidy and kept in one place. Even here the yardstick is the one from the TDA meeting: technology has to produce something you can measure.
Five steps from the first conversation to a system that is looked after
Owners' biggest worry is usually not the technology but the process: where do we start, when do I see results, and who looks after it once it is done. This is how an engagement runs with us.
- Discovery & Scoping. We turn goals, constraints, and success measures into a defined scope with realistic estimates.
- Design & Architecture. Interface and system architecture are settled before major development starts, so there are no surprises midway.
- Build & Iterate. Work happens in short cycles. You regularly receive working software to try, so feedback arrives early.
- Launch & Hardening. Deployment, security hardening, and performance tuning before the system goes onto the shop floor.
- Partnership Beyond Launch. Monitoring, maintenance, and ongoing improvements, because a system used every day needs looking after.
What to prepare before you talk to any vendor
You do not need a technical specification. Three things are enough:
- One working day from opening to closing, written as it really happens, including the parts done outside any app.
- Three reports you want to see without building them by hand, such as sales per branch, low stock, or cash differences.
- A list of today's patches: spreadsheets, notes in group chats, or rules only one person knows.
With those three, the first conversation can already answer the most important question: does your business need a system of its own, or just a tidier version of what you have?
Want to talk about your business?
If you recognise two or more of the signs above, send us a message on WhatsApp at +62 823 1499 5005. Describe how your business works, and we will give you an honest assessment of whether you need a custom system or whether an existing app will do.
News sources: InvestorTrust (15 October 2026), Purnamanews/VRITIMES (16 October 2026), and detikJatim (17 October 2026).