Imagine being able to check rewards-card points before grocery shopping to take advantage of fuel perks and other special offers.

Heath resident Chris Abrams not only imagined it, he developed software to implement it.

“If you know your rewards ahead of time, it can take less time (in the store) and you might spend a little more,” Abrams said.

Abrams is a computer consultant whose background is in software development. He is working at Inc@8000, the New Albany business incubator, to promote Kayred, the company he’s developed to sell the rewards-card software.

The software could be accessed on a special kiosk at the front of a grocery store, he said, or shoppers could check rewards points online and then create their shopping lists.

Some grocery stores offer shoppers money off gasoline after purchasing a certain amount in the store. Abrams said a shopper who needs 50 cents in credits to obtain an extra dollar off gasoline would not leave the store without a pack of gum if the shopper checks the reward points before shopping.

Abrams said he is done with research and testing. He said he’s working at Inc@8000 to market the idea and another software package for law enforcement.

The law-enforcement application, called the confinement manager, is an idea he’s developing with another small business, Mwa Enterprises of Columbus.

The confinement manager will help law enforcement agencies find open jail cells.

Abrams said police departments would post available jail cells to a website and county sheriff’s departments and, eventually, the U.S. Marshals would access that information to use cells as needed.

“We are working to manage invoicing, payment processing and notifications, as well,” he said.

Abrams said he is working out of Inc@8000 because Licking County has no business incubator. The incubator provides an office, Internet service and access to other small business owners for $150 a month.

“This is a place for lean startups,” he said.

Cheri Hottinger, president of the Licking County Chamber of Commerce, confirmed Licking County has no business incubators.

“It’s something that we’ve talked about a lot,” she said. “We’d love to have something like that here.”

Hottinger said she’s toured Inc@8000. To develop an incubator, Licking County needs some necessary conditions, she said.

“You have to have the right facility and the right owner, who doesn’t need current pricing to make it work,” she said.