14 KiB
LumaCMS — Digital Signage as a Service
Business Plan | IT Pro Partner LLC | July 30, 2026
Executive Summary
LumaCMS is a cloud-managed digital signage platform purpose-built for small and mid-market businesses (SMBs). Customers deploy LumaCMS on low-cost Raspberry Pi 4 hardware connected to any HDMI display, and manage their screen content through a web-based portal. IT Pro Partner owns the platform, the customer relationship, and the recurring revenue — no third-party license fees, no per-screen platform margins paid to OptiSigns, ScreenCloud, or competitors.
LumaCMS replaces the current OptiSigns subscription ($35-75/screen/month) with an in-house alternative at $49/screen/month, retaining $44+/screen in gross margin. At 20 screens managed, that's ~$880/mo net recurring revenue. At 200 screens (achievable within 12 months across the MSP customer base), it exceeds $8,800/mo.
Target market: Restaurants, retail stores, gyms, medical waiting rooms, auto dealerships, barbershops/salons, and churches within the IT Pro Partner MSP footprint (Savannah/Hinesville/Statesboro).
Domain & Brand Options
The following domains were checked for availability via Cloudflare Registrar (July 30, 2026):
| Domain | Available | Price/yr | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| lumacms.com | ❌ Taken | - | Not available for registration |
| lumasignage.com | ✅ Available | $10.46 | Primary domain recommendation |
| vistacms.com | ✅ Available | $10.46 | Strong alternative — "vista" = pleasing view |
Recommended primary domain: vistacms.com — available, clean, professional, and "VistaCMS" positions the product as premium enterprise software. Also lumasignage.com is available as backup.
Brand positioning:
LumaCMS — Display Intelligence. Content Management for Your Screens.
Product Overview
What LumaCMS Does
LumaCMS allows customers to:
- Design screen layouts using a drag-and-drop zone editor
- Manage content — images, videos, text, live data feeds, weather, clocks
- Schedule content changes by time of day, day of week, or date range
- Play content on any HDMI display via a $35 Raspberry Pi 4
- Monitor screen health, uptime, and playback status remotely
How It Works (Technical)
[Admin Portal] → API → [LumaCMS Cloud Server]
↓
[Customer Portal] — schedules → ↓
↓
[Raspberry Pi Player]
(polls API every 10s)
↓
[HDMI Display/TV]
- Players: Raspberry Pi 4 (4GB) running Chromium in kiosk mode — polls the cloud API every 10 seconds for updated content
- Cloud Server: Single-page HTML/CSS/JS admin + customer portal served via Caddy on ITPP infrastructure (netcup Core RS 2000)
- Storage: Content hosted on Core server, backed up to Wasabi S3
- Provisioning: Pre-flashed SD cards with auto-login and kiosk config — plug-and-play for customers
Zone Types (Built)
| Zone | Description |
|---|---|
| Image | Static or rotating images with transitions |
| Video | MP4 playback with auto-loop |
| Text/Rich Text | Formatted text with font, color, size controls |
| Clock | Live clock with configurable format (12/24h) |
| Weather | Live weather feed by zip code |
| iFrame Web | Embed any URL as a live content zone |
| Scrolling Ticker | Right-to-left scrolling text (marquee) |
| Countdown Timer | Countdown to a date/time (upcoming) |
Template Presets
| Template | Best For |
|---|---|
| Full Screen | Single image or video — full display |
| Split 50/50 | Two equal content zones side by side |
| Top Banner + Bottom Grid | Header with 2-3 content panels below |
| Menu Board | Optimized for restaurant menu pricing |
| Video + Text | Video on left, description on right |
| 3-Column | Three equal zones — e.g., Daily Specials, Events, Social Feed |
| 4-Quadrant | Four content zones in a grid (Pi-in-a-Pi, cameras, etc.) |
Pricing
Base Pricing (SMB)
| Tier | Screens | Monthly | Annual (2mo free) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 1 screen | $49/mo | $490/yr |
| Business | 5 screens | $199/mo | $1,990/yr |
| Growth | 15 screens | $499/mo | $4,990/yr |
| Enterprise | 25+ screens | Custom | Custom |
All prices are per-account. Each screen includes the Player software, cloud management, and support.
Hardware (One-Time)
| Item | Cost to ITPP | Markup | Price to Customer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raspberry Pi 4 (4GB) | $55 | +30% | $75 |
| 32GB microSD (pre-flashed) | $8 | +25% | $10 |
| PoE Hat + Case | $25 | +20% | $30 |
| Kit Total | $88 | - | $115 |
| HDMI Cable (6ft) | $6 | +66% | $10 |
| Total Deployed Kit | $94 | - | $125 |
Customers supply their own TV/monitor. LumaCMS provides the player hardware, pre-configured and tested.
Design Services (Optional)
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Basic template setup (1 screen) | $149 one-time |
| Custom screen design (per screen) | $249-499 one-time |
| Menu board data import (restaurants) | $99 one-time |
| Ongoing design retainer (monthly changes) | $49/mo |
Competitive Analysis
Direct Competitors (Digital Signage Platforms)
| Platform | Pricing | Min. Commitment | Hardware | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OptiSigns (current use) | $35-75/screen/mo | None | BYOD or their player | Good but third-party margin |
| ScreenCloud | $39-89/screen/mo | None | BYOD | Similar feature set |
| Yodeck | $29-89/screen/mo | None | Their $79 player | Good but locked to their hardware |
| PosterBooking | $15-39/screen/mo | None | BYOD | Budget competitor |
| LumaCMS | $49/screen/mo | None | BYOD (Pi $115) | Full margin retention |
Competitive Advantages vs OptiSigns
| Aspect | OptiSigns | LumaCMS |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | $35-75/screen/mo | $49/screen/mo (same ballpark) |
| Local support | None — ticket-only | In-person setup + phone support |
| Customization | Template-limited | Full DOM canvas editor |
| Integration with MSP | None | Full ITPP ecosystem (billing, monitoring, backup) |
| White-label | No (their branding on player) | Yes — LumaCMS branding or custom |
| Pi provisioning | Their app required | Our pre-flashed SD cards |
Indirect Competitors (Menu Board Alternatives)
- Canva (static designs, no live updates)
- PowerPoint slideshows (manual, no scheduling)
- Paper menus (no updates, reprint cost)
- TV with USB drive (manual, no remote)
Operations & Infrastructure
Cloud Architecture
Core Server (netcup RS 2000) — 152.53.192.33
├── Caddy → /var/www/mockup/lumacms/ (marketing site)
├── Caddy → /var/www/mockup/lumacms/portal/ (customer portal)
├── Caddy → /var/www/mockup/lumacms/admin/ (staff admin)
└── API → JSON content endpoints for players
Player Provisioning
- Pre-flash: Write Raspbian Lite + Chromium kiosk config to SD card
- Configure: Set player ID in config file (unique per screen)
- Ship: Customer plugs in Pi + Ethernet → boots → loads LumaCMS player page
- Activate: Customer portal shows new screen → assign template → content pushed
Backup & Redundancy
- All portal/config data backed up to Wasabi S3 via Hermes daily backup
- Player content cached locally on Pi (offline fallback — continues showing last content if internet drops)
- Core server monitored via Uptime Kuma
Sales & Marketing
Target Vertical Segments
| Vertical | Screens/Business | Pain Point | LumaCMS Solution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pizza shops | 2-4 | Menu pricing changes, lunch specials | Remote pricing updates, daypart scheduling |
| Restaurants | 3-6 | Multiple menus (happy hour, dinner, weekend brunch) | Time-scheduled playlists |
| Gyms/fitness | 4-10 | Class schedules, promotions, social feed | Multi-zone with class schedule + social |
| Retail | 2-8 | In-store promotions, product features | Image rotation with call-to-action |
| Auto dealers | 3-12 | Vehicle inventory, service specials | iFrame web zone + image rotation |
| Medical/dental | 2-4 | Patient education, wait time | Video + text zone combo |
| Churches | 2-6 | Service times, announcements, live feed | iFrame + text zones |
| Barbershops/salons | 2-4 | Pricing, wait time, product promos | Simple template rotation |
Costanzo's Pizzeria — Anchor Customer & Demo Case
Customer: Costanzo's Pizzeria — Dexter (owner) Location: Savannah, GA (Southside) Use case: 2 screens (menu board left + right) deployed as digital menus Value to LumaCMS: Real customer demo, pricing feedback, vertical template refinement Value to Costanzo's: Free hardware + 6 months service in exchange for case study
Pricing recommendation for demo:
- 2 screens @ $49/screen/mo = $98/mo
- Hardware: 2x Pi kits @ $125 = $250 one-time
- Design: Menu board setup (2 screens) @ $349 one-time
- First year total: $98 x 12 + $250 + $349 = $1,775
Costanzo's Competitive Advantage (from IntelSight analysis)
The IntelSight competitive analysis identified that Costanzo's can:
- Add a 14" pizza at $9.99 (bridges the price gap vs Allyanna's $10.99)
- Market the 18" as "The Big Deal" (50% more pizza for $2-4 more than competitors)
- Create a Family Feast bundle at $44.99 (Allyanna's comparable is $50.99)
- Add 3 more wing sauces at near-zero cost
When demoing LumaCMS to Dexter, showing how he can implement these pricing changes in real-time from his customer portal will close the sale.
Financial Projections
Startup Costs
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Domain registration (vistacms.com) | $10.46/yr |
| Caddy config + deployment (existing infra) | $0 |
| Player provisioning (3 test Pis) | $282 |
| Total startup | ~$293 |
Monthly Revenue Model (Projection)
| Month | Screens | MRR | Hardware Revenue | Total Revenue | Gross Margin* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 (Costanzo's anchor) | $98 | $250 | $348 | ~$300 |
| 3 | 8 | $392 | $500 | $892 | ~$780 |
| 6 | 25 | $1,225 | $1,250 | $2,475 | ~$2,200 |
| 12 | 60 | $2,940 | $2,500 | $5,440 | ~$4,900 |
| 24 | 150 | $7,350 | $3,750 | $11,100 | ~$10,000 |
*Gross margin excludes existing ITPP infrastructure costs (servers already paid for, Caddy/licensing $0)
Break-Even Analysis
At 2 screens (Costanzo's), LumaCMS breaks even in month 1 on subscription alone. The platform runs on existing ITPP infrastructure with near-zero marginal cost.
Domain & Hosting Plan
Domain Strategy
| Domain | Use | Status | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| vistacms.com | Primary product domain | ✅ Available $10.46 | Register immediately |
| lumacms.com | Product name (brand) | ❌ Taken | N/A — use vistacms or lumasignage |
| lumasignage.com | Descriptive/SEO | ✅ Available $10.46 | Register as backup/redirect |
Hosting (MVP)
LumaCMS runs entirely on existing ITPP infrastructure:
- Marketing site: Served from Core server (netcup RS 2000) behind Caddy
- Customer portal: Same server, different path
- API: JSON endpoints on same server
- Content storage: Server filesystem → Wasabi S3 backup
- Player CDN: Cloudflare proxy (grey-cloud via Caddy)
No additional hosting costs for MVP phase. Server has 15GB RAM with ~3GB free — sufficient for 500+ screen API endpoints.
Risk Analysis
Risks & Mitigations
| Risk | Probability | Impact | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer Pi fails | Low | Medium | Pre-flash spare SD cards, ship overnight |
| Internet outage at customer | Medium | Medium | Local caching — Pi plays last content indefinitely |
| Browser compatibility issues | Low | High | Test on Chromium (Pi) exclusively — single-browser target |
| Customer wants complex animation | Medium | Low | Support static + video zones; custom designs for premium |
| OptiSigns lowers price | Low | Medium | LumaCMS competes on service + local support, not price |
| Pi supply shortage | Medium | Medium | Stock 10-20 units; Pi 5 alternatives available |
Development Roadmap
Phase 1: MVP (Complete)
- ✅ DOM-based canvas editor (drag/resize zones)
- ✅ 7 zone types (image, video, text, clock, weather, iFrame, ticker)
- ✅ Template presets
- ✅ Pi player single-page app (auto-refresh)
- ✅ Admin portal
Phase 2: Customer Portal (In Progress)
- White-label customer login
- Screen management dashboard
- Content upload & scheduling
- Template library
- Billing & subscription management
Phase 3: Production (Next 30 Days)
- Domain registration (vistacms.com or lumasignage.com)
- Live marketing site deployment
- Customer onboarding flow
- Pi provisioning kit documentation
- Hardware inventory
Phase 4: Scale (60-90 Days)
- Multi-tenant architecture (100+ accounts)
- Analytics dashboard (play count, viewer stats)
- Social media feed zone (Instagram, Facebook)
- QR code generation per screen
- Weather alerts integration
- Emergency alert override (code red, weather warning)
Proposal — Next Steps
For IT Pro Partner:
- ✅ Register domain (vistacms.com or lumasignage.com at $10.46 via Cloudflare)
- Deploy LumaCMS marketing site to domain
- Build customer portal (white-label for Costanzo's)
- Demo with Dexter at Costanzo's Pizzeria
- Refine pricing & templates based on real feedback
- Launch to MSP customer base
Immediate cost to proceed: $10.46 (domain registration) No additional infrastructure cost — runs on existing servers.
Prepared by Sho'Nuff Brown | IT Pro Partner LLC
Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Acceptable Use Policy available at /legal on the LumaCMS marketing site.