Glossary
Self-storage terms, clearly explained.
From occupancy to overlock and from hold to Peppol: the key terms in self-storage, each in one or two sentences.
- Access code
- The personal code a tenant uses to open the gate or door. Access control →
- Access control
- The system that decides who may enter the facility or a unit and when, for example with codes, an app or a gate. In TheStorageControl, access follows contract and payment. Access control →
- Account statement
- An overview for a tenant of opening balance, charges, payments and closing balance over a period. Billing & collections →
- Ageing analysis
- Grouping open amounts by the number of days past the due date. TheStorageControl uses 1–7, 8–29, 30–59 and 60+ days. Billing & collections →
- Audit log
- A record of who changed what, when and why, including the before-and-after state. Audit trail →
- BEMS
- Building Energy Management System: measuring and managing a building's energy use. Facility & maintenance →
- Churn
- The percentage of tenants who leave in a given period.
- Climate-controlled unit
- A unit with regulated temperature and sometimes humidity, suited to sensitive items such as documents, furniture or electronics.
- Coverage rate
- The share of tenants with insurance out of all tenants. Rental contracts →
- Customer portal
- An online environment where tenants manage their own unit, contract, invoices and access. Customer portal →
- Delinquency
- Rent still unpaid after the due date. Usually expressed as a percentage of tenants or as an amount. Billing & collections →
- Drive-up unit
- A unit with a door on the outside of the building, so you can park a car or van right in front of it.
- Dynamic pricing
- Prices that move with occupancy and demand per unit size and facility. Nearly full sizes become more expensive; sizes with vacancies do not. Dynamic pricing →
- Economic occupancy
- Actual rental revenue as a percentage of the revenue possible if every unit were rented at standard price. Discounts and arrears lower economic occupancy. Occupancy explained: physical vs economic →
- Floor plan (unit map)
- A map of the facility showing each unit and its status. In TheStorageControl you import it from a PDF, SVG or scan. Live floor plan →
- Hold
- A temporary reservation of a unit for a customer, with an expiry date. When the hold expires, the unit becomes available again. Availability, reservations & waiting lists →
- Length of stay
- The average duration of a rental contract. A longer length of stay means fewer changeovers and steadier revenue.
- Move-in
- The moment a tenant starts using their unit. Contract, first payment and access need to be in order by then. Move-ins, move-outs & transfers →
- Move-out
- Ending the rental and emptying the unit, followed by inspection, revoking access and releasing the unit. Move-ins, move-outs & transfers →
- MRR
- Monthly recurring revenue: the monthly recurring income from running rental contracts. TheStorageControl shows MRR per facility. Reporting & dashboards →
- Online booking
- Reserving or renting a unit through the website, including payment and signing, without staff involvement. Online booking →
- Overlock
- An extra lock the operator places on a unit, usually because of payment arrears, so the tenant temporarily cannot reach their belongings.
- Payment rail
- The route a payment takes, such as a direct debit, an online payment, a bank transfer or a card payment at the desk. Payments & reconciliation →
- Peppol
- A European network for sending electronic invoices between businesses. TheStorageControl can deliver business invoices via Peppol. Billing & collections →
- Physical occupancy
- The share of rented units or rented square metres out of the total. 92 of 100 units rented is 92% physical occupancy. Occupancy explained: physical vs economic →
- Property management system (PMS)
- Software for managing units and tenants. An ERP goes further and also covers finance, integrations, reporting and control. What is self-storage software, and when do you need an ERP? →
- Reconciliation
- Matching received payments to the invoices they belong to. Payments & reconciliation →
- Rent increase
- An increase in the rent of a running contract, announced to the tenant in advance. Rental contracts →
- Rental agreement
- The contract between operator and tenant covering the unit, price, term and conditions. In TheStorageControl it is signed digitally. Rental contracts →
- Revenue management
- Managing revenue by looking at price, occupancy, discounts and rent increases together, rather than occupancy alone. Dynamic pricing →
- Role-based access control
- Assigning permissions to roles rather than to individuals, optionally limited to certain facilities. Users, roles & audit →
- Roll-up door
- A rolling shutter door, the most common door type on self-storage units.
- Self storage
- Renting out lockable storage spaces (units) where tenants store their own belongings, usually per month and without a long commitment.
- Self-storage ERP
- One system for all operational and financial processes of a self-storage business: from units and reservations to billing, access and reporting. What is self-storage software, and when do you need an ERP? →
- SEPA Direct Debit
- An automatic debit in euros from the tenant's bank account, within the SEPA countries.
- Single sign-on (SSO)
- Signing in with one existing account, such as a Microsoft account, instead of a separate password. Users, roles & audit →
- Street rate
- The current price a new tenant pays, separate from what existing tenants pay.
- Tenant insurance
- Insurance for the belongings a tenant keeps in the unit, often offered as an option with the rental contract. Rental contracts →
- Unit
- A lockable storage space with its own number, size and price. In TheStorageControl every unit has a status, such as occupied, vacant, overlocked or unavailable. Location & unit management →
- Unit mix
- The distribution of unit sizes within a facility, for example how many 2, 5, 10 and 20 m² units there are. A good unit mix matches local demand.
- Waiting list
- A list of customers waiting for a unit size or facility that is currently full. Availability, reservations & waiting lists →
- Walk-in
- A customer who comes to the desk without an appointment and rents a unit there.
See your own operation in TheStorageControl.
In a demo we show the platform using your situation: your facilities, your unit mix and the way you work today.
