GarageDoorBossPro Blog — Commercial Doors

Storage Facility Accounts: Scheduling Door Service Across Rows of Units

A self-storage facility is a lot of doors in a small space. Rows of roll-up unit doors, a gate opener at the entrance, maybe a sectional door on a drive-through building and a few larger rolling doors on vehicle storage. The facility manager doesn't want a door company that needs a tour every time. They want someone who knows the layout, shows up when units need work and sends a bill the owner can understand.

Start With How the Facility Is Laid Out

Warehouse accounts, with many doors on one address, are covered in Warehouse Accounts: Running Many Doors at One Address Without Losing Track. Storage facilities follow the same idea, with one twist: the number of doors is usually much larger, and the units are what people talk about, not the doors.

In GarageDoorBossPro, every address keeps a list of its doors and hardware. For a storage facility, you have a choice. Record every unit door as its own item, or record the doors that get regular service and add the rest as they come up. Many door companies start with the gate opener, any large rolling or sectional doors, and whatever units the manager calls about, and let the record fill in over time.

Labeling Units So Techs Find Them

The bay field on each door is where the location goes. For storage, that usually means the building letter and unit number: “Building C · Unit 214.” Use the facility's own numbering exactly as it is painted on the doors.

Add a layout note to the address access notes so a tech who has never been there can find their way:

• “Buildings A–D run front to back from the office. Units numbered left to right.”
• “Vehicle storage in the back lot, enter through the second gate.”
• “Climate-controlled units are inside Building E, use the side door.”

Gate Codes and the Office

Storage facilities are locked down, which means the tech needs a way in. Access notes stored on the address show on the job card every visit:

• “Vendor gate code in office, check in at the counter first.”
• “Office hours 9–5. After hours, call the on-call manager number in notes.”
• “Do not open occupied units. Manager will open them if needed.”

Because the notes live on the address and the tech app sits behind a company login and personal PIN, the code is on the phone of whoever is working the job and nowhere else. When the facility changes the vendor code, the office updates it once.

Batching Unit Work Into Visits

Storage managers often collect a list of problem units — doors that stick, latches that need attention, a door that came off its track after a tenant moved out — and want them handled in one trip. The office can add one job for the visit and write the list of units in the job notes, or add separate jobs for each unit door if each one needs its own line on the bill.

A regular cycle works too. Set a recurring visit by minimum days between visits, such as every 90 days, and the facility comes due on the Waiting List map on its own. On that visit the tech can check the gate opener, the large doors and whatever units are on the manager's list. For more on recurring commercial work, see Commercial Door Maintenance Every 90 Days: Recurring Visits That Come Due on Their Own.

Photos for an Owner Who Isn't There

Storage facilities are often owned by someone who rarely visits. The on-site manager approves small work, and the owner sees the bill. Before-and-after photos from the tech app stay on the job, so the owner can see the damaged door and the repaired door without driving out. A photo that includes the unit number painted on the door makes the record clear.

For larger doors, the door safety inspection checklist gives a written condition and recommendations, and the office can print a Garage Door Safety Inspection report to send along.

Billing a Storage Facility

A facility with one location might pay per visit with a card on file. A company with several facilities usually wants one bill. In GarageDoorBossPro, set the account to Monthly and it gets one statement each month covering every address, with each line labeled with the address. If the owner has four facilities across town, all four show on the same statement, separated by location.

Line items come from your own service list, so a visit can show the service call, each repair and any parts or labor lines you use, with sales tax applied.

A Steady Account Once It's Set Up

Storage work is rarely glamorous, but it is steady. Units turn over, tenants are hard on doors and gates get used all day. A door company that knows the layout, has the gate code on the phone and sends clean paperwork tends to keep the account. The setup work up front is what makes that possible.

To see how storage facilities fit with warehouses, property managers and the rest of your commercial clients, return to the commercial garage door software page.