Run the whole vending business in one place

Operator X holds the fleet, the pipeline and the money: who you are pitching, what each machine earns, what your hosts are owed, what the stock cost, what you paid your crew, and what is actually left. This playbook is the order to do it in and the rules the numbers follow.

Start with your first hour How host commission works

Which kind of operator are you?

The features are the same for everyone; the order you should set them up in is not.

Solo route operator

One to three machines you fill yourself. One or two hosts on “20% of sales”. No crew, no warehouse system yet.

First move: Add each site under Venues with the machine serial and the percentage you agreed, then open P&L once. That single pass creates the first host statement.

Your first hour Paying hosts: commission, statements, clawbacks Revenue: what counts and when P&L: one identity, no surprises Payouts and the host statement

Multi-machine route with crew

Ten to a hundred machines, a paid refiller or two, purchase orders from a wholesaler, sales tax to file. The SP Vending shape.

First move: Put your sales tax rate on file before anything else, then receive your open purchase orders into the Warehouse so cost of goods is real from day one.

Your first hour Warehouse and FIFO cost Payroll for refillers and crew Sales tax Paying hosts: commission, statements, clawbacks P&L: one identity, no surprises Payouts and the host statement

Passive / Autopilot owner

You own machines that someone else placed and services. You care about the monthly number, not the route.

First move: Check that each machine shows the host deal Autopilot signed for you under Venues, then read P&L. Everything else runs without you.

Your first hour P&L: one identity, no surprises Paying hosts: commission, statements, clawbacks

Profit-share or referred sites

Hosts who share the margin rather than the revenue, or a partner who introduced the site and takes a cut.

First move: Profit share is only honest if product cost is real, so receive inventory lots first. Then set the venue to “Share of profit” and add the referrer.

Your first hour Warehouse and FIFO cost Paying hosts: commission, statements, clawbacks P&L: one identity, no surprises Payouts and the host statement

Not placed yet

You have machines coming, or you are still pitching sites. No revenue yet.

First move: Work the pipeline in Leads and Deals. Nothing accrues to a host until a serial is on the venue, so you can model deals safely before install.

Your first hour CRM: leads, venues, deals, tasks Paying hosts: commission, statements, clawbacks

The money rules, in five lines

Sales tax is backed out before anyone is paid a share, so a host is never paid on the state's money.
One machine pays exactly one host. Two venues cannot hold the same serial.
A bad month never invoices a host, and a signed monthly minimum is still honoured.
Money already sent is never rewritten. A late refund becomes a clawback on the next statement.
Full bank account and routing numbers are discarded on the way in. Only the last four digits are kept.