What can specialised software do for a self storage business?

Many British self storage companies use management software called
“Space Manager” for managing their billing and client records.  Customers
include Big Yellow, Safestore, Spacemaker, Storage King, Big Box and
Alligator. Access Storage uses another program and Shurgard have developed their
own systems.

Self storage operators may think specialised software is only for the
big boys who manage a portfolio of storage branches, as the main advantage is that all their information can be accessed centrally through programs like this.

In fact, many single centre storage centres use it and get most of the management
advantages.

Information on status of storage users

“Space Manager” allows you to know exactly what a particular tenant
owes in fees, gives you their financial history and information about move in
and move out dates.  It also produces invoices and receipts.

Such a program is useful when a customer is on the phone because the centre manager can
immediately check what they owe and can identify them from name, unit
number or even caller number (assuming there’s a number display feature on the
phone).

What does a package like this cost for a single storage centre?

RADical Systems, based in Guildford, produce the “Space Manager”
program and they charge by number of users so that for a single storage centre the
cost of using it is £110 per calendar month – the software is leased out
not sold, a bit like storage units themselves.

Support is free for the first 12 weeks, and
offered on the same basis after this but a “fair use” policy applies. An initial set-up cost which relates to installing the software and training the users is also charged; this amounts to about £1,500 including VAT.

Financial reporting for the self storage manager

From a financial reporting point of view, the advantage of programs like this is that they give
managers of storage outlets a terrific amount of information on their screen – Space Manager
tells them their occupancy, availability of different sizes of units, bad
debts and the overall picture.

RADical systems write their program in delphi, using an SQL based database – but most users probably don’t know this, nor do they need to.  What centre managers do need to know is that it is likely to remain fully supported because so many storage companies use it.

New features are constantly being developed for it. One recent improvement is the facility to accept and record payments made online by storage tenants.

Alasdair Lindsay is the operations director at RADical Systems and you
can phone him on 07973 880183 or less directly to the company at 01483
238730.

Their company motto, appropriately, is “making space work”.