Choosing Software to Meet Self-Storage Business Needs

Once you have compiled your list, request demos and literature from each manufacturer. As you review trial software, compare it to your list of needs. Document your questions. Evaluate those items that are important to how you want your business to operate.

You may want to assess how you, as an owner, will receive or access data from the site. Some software programs have the ability to automatically e-mail reports to your home office every evening. You could even have a copy of your store’s entire database waiting for you on your computer at your office when you arrive in the morning.

Vendor Relationship

The software industry has become very lucrative for manufacturers. New self-storage suppliers appear every year. Many quickly come and go. Maybe they work in other industries that demand more of their attention, or perhaps success in the self-storage market is more difficult to achieve than they anticipated. They will likely sell some packages to operators during their short tenure, leaving some owners in the lurch.

With that in mind, seek vendors who have been around in the self-storage industry for while. If they have, and they have conducted themselves ethically, you will have no trouble finding customers who use their products and approve of their practices.

Ask yourself, "Does this vendor have enough industry knowledge?" Industry knowledge gives them the ability to write helpful software for your self-storage office. It needs to be rich in features specific to this industry. While QuickBooks is a valuable accounting program, comparing it to software written for self-storage exposes its shortcomings. The package written by a self-storage vendor would have so many more features to benefit your day-to-day operations, like rental activities, automatic lien processing, late-fee and mailing capabilities.

It is probably not a fair question to ask vendors how many software sets they have in use. Changes such as buyouts, different owners, new partners and management companies affect the program being utilized. A better question to ask might be how much of their business comes from existing customers and referrals. This will reveal the level of customer satisfaction with the product and supplier.

Beware of companies who make a living by trying to convince you to change your current program. They are desperate to make a name for themselves instead of going out and finding new business. Buy based on the needs of your business, not based on the needs of the vendor. Because programs are ever-changing, one vendor will not know everything about competitors. And no vendor should try to speak on behalf of a competitor’s product.