DepotCMS

DepotCMS is a lightweight, self-hosted content management system designed for small businesses and transport operators who want a simple, internal tool without the complexity of logins, roles, or cloud syncing.

Built to run locally on XAMPP, DepotCMS puts full control in your hands — no accounts, no subscriptions, no nonsense.

Key Features

Built using the popular PHP

Quote Calculator
Automatically calculate delivery pricing based on real-world fuel, labour, and mileage data.
Simple Installer
Set up in seconds with a clean install.php script — just point it at your MySQL database and load your postcodes.sql.
Customer Database
Add, view, and edit customer records including name, company, contact details, and notes.
Completed Job Log
Record pickup/delivery details, cost, paid status, and attach internal notes for each completed job.
Bootstrap-Styled Interface
Clean, responsive layout using Bootstrap 5 — no learning curve, just click and go.
No Admin System (yet)
DepotCMS is for internal use only — no login system, no roles, no user management. Everything is stored and visible on your local machine.
Runs on XAMPP
Clean, responsive layout using Bootstrap 5 — no learning curve, just click and go.
No Admin System (yet)
Designed to be hosted locally by small businesses with no need for cloud hosting or developer maintenance.

Built with;

PHP - fast, widely supported scripting language
MySQL - reliable relational database for storing jobs, customers, and settings
Bootstrap 5 - clean, responsive interface with minimal styling overhead
XAMPP - local server stack for Windows/macOS, making it easy to run offline
Google Maps API - used to calculate real-world UK driving distances

How It’s Used

DepotCMS is ideal for:

Independent couriers tracking delivery jobs
Small teams managing customer interactions
Local operations where privacy, control, and simplicity matter

Philosophy

DepotCMS is built around transparency, simplicity, and integrity:

Completely free and open source
No overbuilt interfaces
No online dependencies

Installation

DepotCMS requires the software package Xampp to run, this is free software, that's easy to install and use. When downloading choose version 8.2.12.

Download Xampp

Once Xampp is downloaded run the installer, choose the C: drive to install, and click next untill the installation completes.

Database Settings

Because the postcodes.sql file is too big (74Mb) for a standard MySQL installation we need to change settings in the php.ini file. Navigate to;

C: Xampp / php /

And open the file php.ini

Scroll to the very bottom and add;

upload_max_filesize = 256M
post_max_size = 256M
max_execution_time = 900
max_input_time = 900
memory_limit = 1024M

Start Xampp Control Panel

Type Xampp in the windows search bar (bottom left) and open.

Once open select "start" for Apache and MySQL, as shown below.

DepotCMS Installer

DepotCMS is hosted at the popular repository GitHub.

Download DepotCMS

Create a folder in C: Xampp / htdocs called calculator, move the zipped DepotCMS file to the calculator folder and extract.

Run the Installer

Using your preferred web browser, visit;

http://localhost/calculator/install/install.php

This will open the installer script.

Complete the fields as shown, leaving the password field empty.

In the calculator folder you'll find a zipped folder called postcodes.zip, extract this file.

For the "Initial SQL File" field navigate to the calculator folder and select "postcodes.sql"

Click "install"

Important note: The installer can run for about 5 minutes (normally 2 minutes), this is normal because of the large postcodes.sql file.

If everything went well, you'll see this page.