What about enabling the owner or Manager to go away from the site for well deserved R&R?
Rest and relaxation is important in business. Not only does it provide the opportunity to re-charge, but rest and relaxation also stimulates inspiration and creativity. Many people report having great (perhaps even profitable) ideas whist doing something that is not mentally taxing and enabled the mind to relax. Examples of this are those people who have great ideas mowing lawns, vacuuming the house, jogging, or showering.

But sometimes it is very hard for an owner or Manager to leave site and take an extended break. Sometimes problems can come up beyond the ability of temporary or part time staff to deal with and the owner or Manager has to be called in. I have personally heard of Managers who report not having had more than 3-4 days off in a row in the past seven years because they had to be ever available to remedy any issues on site.

Good management software can connect you to your business from anywhere in the world.

What about being able to easily, efficiently, and effectively communicate with your customers through the post, email, and (in some states) SMS text?
If your customers are late paying, or if you want to encourage them to share a promotion with their friends and family, you can let them know without even having to pick up the phone or pay for postage.

A good management software package will help you to employ communications with your customers so you can make and save more money.

What about being able to get the support you need, when you need it?
Operating any software package can seem a little daunting at first. Operating a software package when your site has gone down and you cannot perform a simple business function like selling a roll of tape to a customer is downright stressful! This is when support access becomes critical and is a good case for considering carefully whether or not you wish to go with a web based system. Accessing support can be made difficult due to a number of issues. The first is time zones. The next is the workload on the support team in the offices of the software supplier concerned. Some storage management software companies have up to and in excess of 500-600 clients per support person. Another issue is the complexity of the system you have, the things you are trying to do with it, and the robustness of it. Robustness is critical to your profitability so having the cheapest solution is hardly ever the best idea.

A good management software package has lower customer to support staff numbers. The best we have heard of has a policy of no more than 150 clients per support person. Also, some of the best management software companies have multiple offices, all around the world, and a system to prioritise emailed support requests. This means you can receive support via email from the first available support person in the world at any time. Some support companies have taken up to 3.5 weeks to respond to a site down. The better companies have a policy of getting a site back up within 4 working hours. Lastly, the best software management packages integrate to those other systems such as access control and kiosk technology that has been developed, tried, and proven specifically for the storage industry. Having a system that is industry developed by experienced industry specialists brings the requirement for support to minimum levels in the first instance because of the fundamental integrity of the system itself.

What about making head or tail of all the software options out there? Do I go with web based or stand-alone?
It is widely assumed there are the only two options. Web based, or stand-alone. The truth is you can have a stand-alone solution with as much or as little web functionality as you desire your business to have. You own the software, you control the database 100%. You still get to introduce benefits such as web based searches, reservations, and payments to your customers, if you want to with some stand-alone software management systems.

A good management software package gives you as much or as little as you want or need, at a price break that is not dis-proportionate to your requirements.

What about the value of you and your employees being able to say that their place of work is a nice one?
Good storage management software makes operating and growing a storage facility a more successful and hence enjoyable experience. It is more than putting in place the business checks and balances mentioned herein. It is also about arranging said checks and balances so that it is part of the fun of being in business. In short, the checks and balances should to seem more like a lifestyle decision than a chore. In terms of loyalty, from both customers and staff, then job satisfaction on the part of your staff may well be one of the best reasons why even the smallest storage business should have good management software.