Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for storage facilities.
A checklist built from how storage facilities work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Unit register and site plan
- Reservations and enquiries
- Agreements and move-in
- Recurring rent and billing
- Overdue and lien steps
- Move-out and unit turnover
- Rates, offers and insurance
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For owners
- For the front desk
- For site managers
- For accounts
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Occupancy by site and unit mix
- Rent invoiced and collected by period
- Arrears by tenant, oldest first
- Move-ins against move-outs
- Reservations open and converted
- Street rate against in-place rate
- Failed automatic collections
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Payment gateway
- SMS
- WhatsApp or other messaging
- Gate and access control systems
- Accounting export
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Is it for self storage or warehouse space?
- Does rent follow each tenant’s own date?
- Can it control the gate?
- How are overdue tenants handled?
- Can customers reserve online?
- Can we run several sites?
- Can current tenants be moved in?
- Who owns the data?
- What does it cost?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Occupancy and the ledger disagree
- Rent dates differ for every tenant
- Access control sits apart from billing
- Overdue follow-up is inconsistent
- Rates change without a record
Prefer to talk it through? See the storage facilities page.