Pumps authorizing, the forecourt locked down, every site on one playbook

Convenience Stores & Fuel Retail IT Services

If your dispensers stop authorizing cards, customers drive across the street, and you lose fuel margin and the inside sale that came with it.

Talk to Us About Convenience Stores & Fuel Retail IT 888.792.8080

SOC 2 Aligned

Responsive Support

20+ Years Experience

At a glance

A c-store runs on a crowded little back room: the POS and forecourt controller, EMV card readers at the pump, the automatic tank gauge, the lottery terminal, cameras and a router someone installed years ago.

We manage that stack for single-site operators and multi-store chains in Texas and nationwide.

We segment pay-at-the-pump and inside lanes for PCI DSS 4.0, lock down tank gauge and vendor access, watch the site circuits, and give you one standard build to roll out at every location.

Your fuel brand, POS dealer and dispenser service company keep their roles, and we work the IT side with them.

IT that keeps pumps authorizing, skimmers spotted, every site online.

Forecourt, back room and inside lanes managed together, so a dead circuit or a rogue card reader doesn’t empty your lot.

Forecourt to back room

Fuel sales ride on a closet-sized network

A convenience store sells fuel, food, lottery and tobacco from one tight footprint, often with a single clerk overnight. The forecourt controller, the dispensers’ card readers and the tank gauge all talk to a back-room network that also carries cameras and the manager’s PC. Here’s how that setup gets hurt, and how we fix it.

01 · The pressure

Every pump talks to one back-room box

Each fueling position sends card authorizations through the forecourt controller and POS to your processor or fuel brand network. The tank gauge reports inventory to your fuel supplier, price changes push from the back office, and the lottery terminal runs on its own state line. When the site router or controller drops, outside sales stop, the clerk can only take cash inside, and your loyalty fuel discounts fail. A slow outage on a holiday weekend means lost gallons you can’t sell back.

Pump authorizations route through one controller
Fuel price changes push from the back office
Overnight shifts run with a single clerk

02 · How it breaks

Skimmers, open gauges and shared logins

Card skimmers inside dispensers are the attack customers hear about, and older magnetic-stripe readers make them easier. Less visible: tank gauges left reachable from the internet, POS dealer remote tools with one password across every store, and a back-office PC where managers check personal email on the same network as the controller. Shared clerk logins blur who voided what. And a cheap router at a remote site can quietly drop the processor connection every afternoon without anyone noticing.

Skimmers on dispensers with older card readers
Tank gauges exposed straight to the internet
One dealer password shared across all stores

03 · What we change

Isolate the forecourt, standardize the site

We put the forecourt and pay-at-the-pump devices, inside lanes, tank gauge, cameras and office into separate network zones with a managed firewall at every site. Tank gauges come off the open internet and sit behind a controlled path your fuel supplier can still use. Dealer and dispenser-service access goes behind MFA. We add cellular failover for the payment circuit, alerting on dropped processor links, unique clerk logins, and a standard site build so store twelve looks exactly like store one.

Pumps, lanes, gauge and cameras in separate zones
Cellular failover on the payment circuit
One standard build copied to every site

04 · The after

A forecourt you can actually vouch for

Your pumps keep authorizing when the primary circuit fails. You can answer your fuel brand’s or acquirer’s security questions with a diagram and logs instead of a shrug. Skimmer checks are part of a routine with photos and dates. Adding a new site is a checklist, not a project. And when a clerk calls at midnight because the forecourt froze, there’s a known escalation path and a record of what happened, not a phone tree that ends in voicemail.

Pumps stay up when the main circuit fails
Answers ready for brand and acquirer reviews
New stores open on a proven checklist

Systems we keep running

Gilbarco Passport
Verifone Commander
Veeder-Root TLS-450PLUS
Dover Fueling Solutions Wayne Anthem
PDI Enterprise
Petrosoft

Rules we help you meet

PCI DSS 4.0
Card-brand EMV liability shift for automated fuel dispensers
PCI PIN Transaction Security (PTS) device requirements
FDA tobacco retail rules (21 CFR Part 1140)

What We Offer

Comprehensive solutions tailored for Houston-area businesses

Pay-at-the-Pump PCI Segmentation

Dispenser card readers and the forecourt controller handle cardholder data at every fueling position. We isolate them, along with inside PIN pads, from the office, cameras and guest Wi-Fi, then document the design for your PCI DSS 4.0 self-assessment. Your acquirer and fuel brand see a clear boundary, and a phished manager PC can’t reach the pumps.

EMV Dispenser Upgrade Coordination

Moving dispensers from mag-stripe to EMV readers touches the forecourt controller, POS software version, network and processor approval. We plan the IT side with your dispenser service company and POS dealer: firmware sequencing, network changes, testing windows and rollback, so an upgrade weekend doesn’t leave pumps showing see cashier for days.

Tank Gauge and Forecourt Hardening

Automatic tank gauges and forecourt controllers often ship with default access and get plugged straight into a public address. We take them off the open internet, put them behind a filtered path your fuel supplier and environmental compliance vendor can still reach, and monitor for changes. Configuration inside the gauge stays with your service company.

Site Circuits with Cellular Failover

We monitor each store’s primary circuit and processor connection and add an LTE or 5G failover link for payment traffic. When the cable provider has an outage, authorizations keep flowing. You get alerts when a site has been on backup for too long, and we chase the carrier so your district manager doesn’t have to.

Skimmer Inspection Routines

We help you set up a simple, repeatable dispenser inspection: tamper seals, internal photos, serial checks and a log your managers fill in on a schedule. Combined with Bluetooth scanning tools and EMV readers, it gives you evidence of diligence if a skimmer is found and a faster way to spot one before card complaints start.

Multi-Site Standard Builds

Every store gets the same firewall template, switch layout, camera network, clerk login policy and back-office image. That consistency is what makes a chain manageable. When you acquire a site, we bring it onto the standard, retire whatever the previous owner left, and give you an inventory of what’s actually in that back room.

Why Choose LayerLogix?

Serving businesses throughout the Greater Houston area including Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Atlanta, Nationwide.

Fuel Sales Through Circuit Outages

Failover connectivity on the payment path means a cut cable or carrier outage doesn’t send customers to the competitor across the intersection. Outside authorizations keep running while we work the primary circuit with the provider.

Clean Answers for Your Fuel Brand

Branded sites get security requirements from the brand, the acquirer and sometimes the jobber. Documented segmentation, access logs and inspection records let you answer those questionnaires with evidence instead of guesses, old screenshots or a call to whoever installed the router.

Accountability at the Register

Unique clerk logins and POS audit trails show who voided, refunded or ran no-sale on each shift. Shrink investigations get faster, and honest clerks stop sharing blame with a generic store login that half the staff knows.

Acquisitions Without Surprises

When you buy a store, we inventory its back room, flag unsupported hardware and unknown remote tools, and migrate it to your standard. You know what you bought on day one instead of learning it from the first outage.

Our Process

Survey each site’s back room: forecourt controller, dispensers and readers, tank gauge, POS, lottery line, cameras, router and every vendor remote tool.

Map card data from pump and inside lanes to the processor with your POS dealer, then confirm what your fuel brand requires at branded sites.

Install a managed firewall and switch template per store, cut over during overnight low-volume hours, and add cellular failover for payments.

Remove tank gauges and controllers from public exposure, and move dealer and dispenser-service access behind MFA with logging.

Set up unique clerk logins, endpoint security on the office PC, and a dispenser inspection log managers can complete in minutes.

Review every site quarterly: circuit health, failover use, scan results, inspection records and upcoming EMV or POS upgrades across the chain.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is PCI different for fuel retail than for a regular store?▼

You have two card environments instead of one. Inside lanes work like any retailer, but outdoor payment terminals at the dispensers add unattended devices that customers use with nobody watching, which is exactly where skimmers get planted. PCI DSS 4.0 still applies to both, and your acquirer will want to know how pump readers connect to the controller and processor. We segment both environments, document the flow, support your scans and help you complete the right questionnaire. The attestation itself stays with you as the merchant.

What does the EMV liability shift at the pump mean for us?▼

The card brands moved fraud liability for counterfeit card transactions at automated fuel dispensers to the merchant if the dispenser can’t read chip cards. In practice that means counterfeit fraud on a mag-stripe-only pump can land on you rather than the card issuer. Upgrading dispensers is a hardware and processor-approval job for your dispenser service company and POS dealer. We handle the IT side of that project: controller and POS compatibility, network changes and testing, so the cutover goes smoothly.

Why does it matter if our tank gauge is on the internet?▼

Automatic tank gauges report fuel levels, leak tests and alarms, and many were installed with remote access so a supplier or compliance vendor could check them. When they sit on a public address with weak or default settings, anyone who finds them can read inventory or change settings and alarms. That can mean false alarms, disrupted deliveries or a gauge that no longer reports a real leak. We move the gauge behind a controlled path, keep the vendor’s legitimate access working, and leave settings inside the gauge to your service company.

Can you work with our fuel brand and POS dealer?▼

Yes, and we expect to. Your brand sets payment and network requirements at branded sites, your POS dealer owns the store software and forecourt integration, and your dispenser service company owns the equipment. We own the network, firewalls, office PCs, failover, monitoring and security tooling. When a problem crosses lines, we gather logs, open the ticket with the right party and stay on it until it closes. You stop being the switchboard between four vendors.

We have one store. Is this overkill?▼

A single-site operator has the same pumps, card readers and tank gauge as a chain, with less margin to absorb a bad week. The core work scales down: a proper firewall with separate zones, failover for payments, the tank gauge off the internet, vendor access controlled, and a backup for the office PC that holds your books. You don’t need a huge program, just the pieces that keep pumps authorizing and keep a skimmer or ransomware incident from becoming the week that sinks your month.

Do you handle lottery terminals and age verification?▼

Lottery terminals usually belong to the state lottery or its contractor and run on their own connection, so we leave them alone and make sure they aren’t bridged into your network. For tobacco and alcohol sales, your POS handles ID prompts and scanning, and FDA rules set the federal minimum age for tobacco sales. What we do is make sure those scanners and prompts are configured on every lane, logged, and working after updates, since a missed POS update can quietly turn off an ID prompt.

Do you provide Convenience Stores & Fuel Retail IT Services in Houston and nearby areas?▼

Yes. LayerLogix is based in the Greater Houston area and delivers convenience stores & fuel retail IT services to businesses across Houston and the surrounding communities, including The Woodlands, Spring, Katy, Sugar Land, Conroe, Cypress, and Pearland. For most Houston-area clients we can be on-site the same day when something needs hands-on attention, and our help desk is available during business hours, with after-hours emergency support. Call 713-571-2390 to check coverage for your specific address.

What does Convenience Stores & Fuel Retail IT Services cost for a Houston business?▼

Pricing depends on your size and what you need, so we do not publish a one-size-fits-all number — but Houston businesses generally pay a flat, predictable monthly fee rather than surprise hourly bills. We start with a free, no-obligation assessment of your current setup, then give you a clear quote in plain English with no hidden costs. That way you know exactly what you are getting and what it costs before you commit.

Ready to Get Started?

Contact LayerLogix today for a free consultation. We serve businesses throughout Houston, Dallas, Austin, and the surrounding Greater Houston area.

Schedule Free Consultation Call 888.792.8080