Convenience: Reserve or Move In?

If a Self Storage operator lives by this motto then few problems can exist with Move ins. It’s a little bit different for a business Move in where the business moving in may require an invoice to be paid by head office. It’s up to the operator if they are prepared to accept this type of Move in. Living by this procedure reduces admin errors and account changes.

Some operators attempt to move customers in for future dates without payment. This practice can cause problems, especially if the Move in date is more than 48 to 72 hours into the future. Once the Move in has been completed even without payment, that unit is removed from the rental pool. For the days up to the Move in date, no revenue is received for that space, it’s not vacant and in reality, because it is not paid for it is not rented either. Now you have a unit in limbo. The right procedure for someone that wants to Move in on a future date is to take a paid reservation which could even be the full amount. Upon Move in, convert the Reservation to a Move in. SiteLink has this convenient feature.

Importantly, following this process ensures that a Reservation can be modified should they not Move in, a units revenue is tied to the Move in date and is reported accurately because the money paid applies from the first date of Move in and most importantly there are not modifications made to Move in dates and credits to be issued because of an advanced Move in without payment.

Another important aspect of understanding the relationship between Reservations and Move ins are your rights as an operator with respect to recovery and charging for storage under the standard Self Storage agreement. It’s important to understand that if a Storer has not signed a storage agreement then you have no right to seek payment for the use of the space or sell any items if payment is not made, so it’s critical to get the agreement signed. There is no contract for storage without a signed storage agreement.

Part of the agreement for Self Storage is that fees for Self Storage spaces are to be kept paid in advance. For every customer that moves into Self Storage, ideally a Move in should only be processed if the payment has been made. It’s clear that there are contractual issues between the operator and the Storer once the agreement has been signed one of those terms is that storage fees are to be paid in advance.

So the right process to consider is:

• If a customer wants to Move in on a future date more than 48 hours into the future, process a Reservation and take a full deposit.
• If a customer wants to Move in today or tomorrow, process a Move in and take the payment.

If you process a Move in into the future without taking a payment, with the exception of permitted business use, credits may need to be issued and adjustments need to be made if the move in does not happen as planned. This can be avoided by following the above procedures, keeping reporting accurate.