By Eddie Myers

Ask any self-storage operator what he thinks his customers want from a facility and, chances are, youll get a fairly predictable set of answers: rock-solid security, a clean and safe environment, storage options, fair prices, top-notch service. You could add a lot more items to this list. One you might not immediately think of is payment flexibility. Kudos to you if you did!

The methods and technologies consumers use to pay for services is crucial to business operation. Would you buy a car at a dealership where credit wasnt available? Would you use a cell-phone provider that mandated you only pay cash at the office downtown? Of course not. Consumers have more choices than ever, especially when it comes to self-storage. The payment options you provide can be the deciding factor as to whether a customer uses your facility or finds one that can meet his payment needs.

So how does the savvy self-storage operator offer payment flexibility? It starts with selecting a payment-processing partner or point-of-sale software system that offers robust technology and a suite of payment products covering the latest, most convenient methods. Here are a few of the payments options your business should provide.

Recurring Payments

Certainly something of a no-brainer, recurring payments are a virtual necessity in the self-storage business. A significant portion of your customers will rent a unit, then place payments on autopilot. Offering this service gives you the capability to securely collect credit card data and have the same amount charged to that account on a regular, predictable schedule moving forward. Naturally, the benefit to facility operators is the convenience of recording the information once, and then simply collecting automatic payments.

Automatic Credit Card Updates

Recurring payments reduces staff workload, right? Usually. That is, as long as the credit card information remains current so the transaction hits the proper account and collects the money. However, if that credit card info changes at any time, due to expiration, loss or theft, for instance, your office has a bigger headache. The payment will not process, and youre forced to contact the customer to collect or update the data.

If youve ever had to track down a customer (and who hasnt?), you know the time and the effort involved. Its not uncommon for tenants to be overseas or between situations. Facility operators should seek a service that tracks and updates credit card data that has changed, so payments continue uninterrupted. Between lost revenue and the staff time required to locate customers, the potential expense of not using this type of service is staggering.

Mobile Payments

Mobile payments are the next great wave in the constantly evolving payments-technology arena. In a setting like a self-storage facility, which can be spread out and where customers arent always right in the office, theres an undeniable need to take payments via a mobile device. This untethers your staff from the front office and lets you accept payments from the customer no matter where he might be.

When vetting mobile payments, select a service with encryption and advanced security features. Furthermore, you should be able to conduct card-present (swiped) as well as card-not-present (hand-keyed) transactions.

Automatic Clearing House (ACH)

Credit cards arent the only form of electronic payment. Many customers prefer to pay by check. Automatic Clearing House, or ACH, gives you the ability to collect checking information by phone, e-mail or a secure portal, and transfer funds by directly debiting a customers bank account.

Offering  payment flexibility and actively promoting it increases your chances to retain long-term accounts and attract new business. Self-storage is an intensely competitive industry and, all things being equal, letting a customer pay the way he wants may be enough to tip the scales in your favor.

Eddie Myers is president and chief operating officer of PayPros, a payments-technology developer that has established integrations with the top self-storage software packages. Offering secure, PCI-compliant payment-processing solutions through its Innovo payment platform, PayPros serves more than 7,000 self-storage facilities throughout North America. For more information, call 800.513.2579, e-mail [email protected] ; visit www.paypros.com/selfstorage .

The Texas Self Storage Association (TSSA) Board of Directors recently elected five members to its executive committee for 2012-13. The executive officers are President Mark Skeans of Mission Road Mini-Storage in San Antonio, Vice President Mike Gately of Daughtry Properties in San Antonio, Treasurer Amy Nolan of The Storage Place in Corpus Christi, Secretary Paul Glover of Storage Choice in Dallas, and Immediate Past President Tom McCloskey of MC Storage in Lytle.

Other TSSA board members include Larry Easley of Storage Management Associates, Jill Holbrook of Texas Self Storage in Wimberley, David Hunt of Access Self Storage in Lancaster, Ricky Jenkins of The Jenkins Organization in Houston, and Clint Wynn of Hixon Properties in San Antonio. Charles Plunkett of Capco Steel Inc. in San Antonio is the boards vendor representative.

Ex-officio board members are Robert Loeb of Castle Hills Self Storage in Victoria and Dan Small of Diamond Self Storage in Pearland.

New board members and officers will be formally introduced during the TSSAs annual convention and tradeshow, Oct. 14-16, in San Antonio.

Established in 1986, the TSSA is a nonprofit trade association dedicated to enhancing the quality of the self-storage industry in Texas. The association provides opportunities for members to increase their knowledge of the self-storage industry through education, research, discussion and exchange of information.

OpenTech Alliance Inc., a Phoenix-based provider of self-serve kiosks, call-center services and other technology solutions for the self-storage industry, has released OpenPortal v1.5, an updated version of its Self Storage Cloud service. Free to all OpenTech customers, OpenPortal allows self-storage managers to configure their OpenTech products and services, maintain facility content, view training guides and instructional videos, and generate real-time business intelligence.  

Enhancements on the 1.5 release include:

• A "copy to" feature that simplifies the management of multi-facility content
• A Live! Lead Tracking module that allows managers to follow and document progress on rental prospects
• A new customer-notification module
• Additional reporting features
• A new, easy-to-navigate interface
• A sales framework that stores facility policies, business hours, emergency alerts, special offers and facility attributes

OpenPortal users can also request real-time assistance from the OpenTech support team. The information stored allows facility managers to share detailed information with the company's storage counselors in real time.

"Navigation is user-friendly, reporting is accurate, and I like the feature of being able to copy information across all of my facilities at once. It really saves me time when I need to update content for multiple properties on the fly," said Connie Gowers, Manager of Allstate Self Storage in Phoenix and an OpenPortal user. "The sales features close the information gap between our onsite managers and the INSOMNIAC Live! Call Center."

In addition to OpenPortal, OpenTech provides INSOMNIAC self-storage kiosks, the INSOMNIAC Live! Call Center, INSOMNIAC Online Web and mobile applications, LiveAgent! software products and the INSOMNIAC ILock System.

Sovran Self Storage Inc., a real estate investment trust operating under the Uncle Bobs Self Storage brand name, recently acquired nine self-storage facilities in four states for $54.7 million. The properties are in markets where the company already has a presence, including four in Atlanta, one in Chicago, three in Jacksonville, Fla., and one in Cary, N.C. The facilities total more than 770,000 square feet of rental space.

The acquisitions were funded through the companys at-the-market equity program, an advance on its line of credit and operating cash flow.

These acquisitions are high-quality additions to our portfolio and allow us to provide our customers with premium, climate-controlled spaces in markets where there is high demand, said CEO David Rogers. We are especially pleased to expand our presence in the Chicago market.

The Cary, N.C., facility was purchased from JDR Self-Storage LLC of Nashville, Tenn., for $5 million. Located at 160 Havensite Court, A+ Self Storage was built in two phases in 2000 and in 2002.

The Chicago facility, Safe & Secure Self Storage, was purchased from a private investor. The property at 20765 West Grass Lake Road in Lindenhurst sits on 7.16 acres. It has 63,910 square square feet in 433 storage units, 110 of which are climate-controlled, and 27 outdoor parking spaces. The seller was represented by Sean Delaney, an asociate vice president of investments with Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services.

Each of the facilities will be rebranded as Uncle Bobs and integrated into the companys operating platforms. Sovran operates 443 properties in 25 states.