Self-storage software provider Centreforce Technology has released an updated version of RapidStor, its online reservations system for the self-storage industry. RapidStor enables customers to view real-time prices for spaces available at participating self-storage facilities and gives them an option to move in now or reserve a space for later. Since it was launched in June 2011, the system has assisted more than 1,000 online move-ins and reservations at facilities across Australia, company officials said.

Based in Strathpine, Queensland, Australia, Centreforce spent 12 months working on RapidStor V2, using market analysis and customer feedback to improve the product. Our in-house development team redeveloped the application to account for the change in consumer demand and new features requested by customers, said Dallas Dogger, managing director of technology. Self-storage suffers from a lack of awareness in the [Australian] community, and this lack of awareness translates to understanding what self-storage is all about on the Web.

Centreforce created RapidStor specifically to use the application programming interface (API) from SiteLink Web Edition self-storage management software to access real-time data. The system interacts with the SiteLink API and the facilitys database to complete the move-in task, including the acceptance of the storage agreement, payment processing, e-mail invoicing and updates to the facility software.

The new version includes a custom space calculator. Storage units are broadly defined as small, medium or large and display inventory based on the size selected by the customer. The system will display a standard rate or push rate along with any discount. Push rates are displayed dynamically as they change in SiteLink.

Customers can also purchase storage supplies and tenant insurance through RapidStor. Once they decide to rent a space, they receive a prefilled copy of their rental agreement and their first-month invoice, including information about their chosen facility. SiteLink automatically completes the transaction in the back end and notifies the manager at the storage property.

Some self-storage websites offer a reservation system for self-storage spaces, but these systems rely on a response from an e-mail, sent from the form on the website, Dogger said. These are not automated systems, don't take payments and do not complete the move-in process in the operational software, and are not secure. They are just e-mail systems. If sites don't respond within two minutes, customers go elsewhere.

RapidStor V2 is optimized to work on mobile devices as well as desktop computers.

SiteLink Web Edition is a product of Raleigh, N.C.-based SMD Software Inc. SiteLink software is used by more than 9,500 users worldwide.

Centreforce has provided sales and support for SiteLink in Australia and Southeast Asia since 2007 and offers RapidStor to users in Australia, New Zealand and the United States. The company also provides Access Ezy access-control and digital-alarm systems, builds websites for self-storage operators, and provides mobile technology services.