Straight answers, in writing.

1. What kind of property is this for?

   Storage rented by the month or the season: self-storage buildings, RV and boat storage, covered bays and fixed boat slips. It is built for facilities with a few hundred units, several buildings and staff at the desk, and a single small lot runs on it just as well. We tested it on a fictional facility with about 500 units across 11 buildings. If you run a seasonal campground, PineRoster is the product for that.

2. Do I need a server or an IT person?

   No. It runs on ordinary shared PHP hosting, which is part of the monthly package, so there is nothing for you to sign up for. There is no database to administer and no build step. I set it up for you.

3. What does it cost each month?

   $60 a month, covering all three pieces together: the real public website for your property, the hosting it runs on, and BayRoster behind it. Hosting is included, so there is no second bill and no separate account in your name. There is no per-unit SaaS toll, no seat charge, and no marketplace commission, and the bill does not rise as spaces fill or as people are added to the office. Setup is a separate one-time fee; see the next answer. If you switch online payments on, Stripe charges its own processing fee under your agreement with Stripe.

4. What does setup cost?

   Usually $1,000 to $4,000, paid once. It depends mostly on moving your records over from the system you use now. Building the website and map is straightforward; the size of the property matters less. Ben gives you a fixed quote once he has seen your current records.

5. What should I send to get set up quickly?

   Your tenant list or rent roll, with the unit, name, phone, email, rate, paid-through date or balance, and move-in date for each rental. Add a unit list with sizes or a site map, your current rates, and a cutoff date. An export from the software you use now is best, then a spreadsheet, then photos of the paper book. For the quote, a sample with names, phone numbers and emails changed is enough; leave out gate codes and card or bank details. The full list is under Get set up fast on the pricing page.

6. Where does my data actually live?

   In flat JSON files on the hosting that runs your site, not in a vendor database somewhere else. You can open them, read them, and back them up by copying them. CSV exports customers, assets, locations, and location history. Payments, charges, meters, inquiries, layout, and configuration are in the separate full backup, not that CSV.

7. What happens if I stop working with you?

   There is no license server that switches the installation off. Your records are plain files. Take the customer and location CSV and a separate full backup for payments, charges, meters, inquiries, layout, and configuration.

8. Do I have to take online payments?

   No. Online billing ships turned off. You can use the map and records while taking checks, cash or a card you took by hand, and the payment screen shows the new paid-until date before you save. If you enable payments, Stripe verifies every charge server-side and anything ambiguous goes to a review queue.

9. What happens when a payment does not match cleanly?

   It goes into a human review queue. For direct billing, automatic application requires a verified payment from this software and a clean whole-month match to one renter. Ledger payments are allocated against charges. Unclear matches and payments this software did not start wait for review.

10. How does a customer actually pay online?

    Each customer can hold a durable link to their own statement: what they rent, what has been charged and paid, and the date they are paid until. You hand the link out however you already reach them, and it still opens months later. If online billing is on, they pay from that page by card or bank transfer (ACH) on Stripe's secure page. There is no account to create and no password to reset, and one Regenerate revokes every link you have ever issued. A renter who owes money that is not yet due can pay the full balance from that page too.

11. Is there autopay?

    Scheduled autopay is not available. Renters choose when to pay from their statement. Optional saved-card authorization is off by default and does not enable automatic charges. You send statement emails yourself when you choose to; statement email is off by default, and nothing goes out on a schedule. The email to a paid-up renter mentions paying ahead.

12. What if somebody is several months behind?

    For an account billed by its paid-until date, the statement bills the months behind, added up across every space they rent, and it shows the months and the amount under each space so the total is explicable. An applied partial payment retires the oldest months and leaves the rest owing. Online checkout uses the quoted amount; a partial payment may need owner review. A space more than twenty-four months behind is quoted at twenty-four; the rest is a conversation with you, not a self-serve charge.

13. Can a customer pay for several months at once?

    Yes, with online payments configured and nothing owed. On an account run on the paid-until date, a customer with nothing owed can choose one to twenty-four months and pay forward from where their date already stood, and the map colors the space accordingly. An account with anything past due does not get that option, because what is owed comes first.

14. Can I move somebody to a different space?

    Drag them there. Within an area, an editor opens with the new position filled in for you to save. Across areas, a transfer confirms the date and rate. The software refuses to drop two customers into one space.

15. What happens to a customer who leaves and comes back?

    You can reactivate an eligible former renter with no active occupancy onto their existing record. Their payment history and notes carry forward. Closing an occupancy is a dated event, never a delete.

16. Is a public website included?

    Yes. Every setup includes a real website for your property. Its availability form can send requests into the inquiry queue. That form does not reserve space. Separate online booking is optional and off by default.

17. Can a new renter book and pay online?

    Yes, if you turn online booking on. It is off by default, and installing or updating the software does not turn it on. On your own website, the renter chooses from the spaces you offer, picks a move-in date, reads the price and your agreement, passes a spam check, and pays by card through Stripe. The space is held for 15 minutes while they pay, and only a verified Stripe payment confirms the booking. When the payment, your payment setup and the space all agree, a confirmed prepaid booking puts the renter on the map, records the payment on their account and sets their paid-until date to the end of the paid stay. If a check fails, the booking waits as confirmed but unplaced, with the reason, for you to place it. The public demo has a booking page where you can try a booking. When booking is available, this demo uses TEST payments and made-up records. It cannot reserve a real space or charge real money.

18. Can returning renters request space online?

    Yes, if optional online booking has been configured and enabled. It is off by default. A request whose email, phone or name matches a customer on file waits for owner review without holding space, and the review shows which detail matched. You choose that customer, or create a new one from the request if the match is someone else. Approval checks current availability and terms, then emails a private payment link that holds the space for two hours. A verified payment confirms the booking, and it is placed the same way as a booking from a new renter, or left confirmed but unplaced with the reason.

19. What if a rig is too tall or too long for the space?

    You can give each class of spaces a published height limit, and a call-first height for a door that cannot take more. Once a limit is entered, the booking page asks the rig's length and height. A rig over the limit, or longer than the space it would get, is warned in your words and must tick an acknowledgement before it can book. A rig over the call-first height is asked to phone you and cannot book that space online. With no limit entered, the page asks no size. The demo property has no limits entered, so its booking page does not ask.

20. Can I change my prices or agreement later?

    Yes. New rates apply to new rentals only; a current renter's rate changes only when you edit it on their record. While a renter's unpaid booking hold is open, the agreement wording and its version stay locked. After that you can change them, and new wording needs a new version number. Each confirmed booking keeps the quote and agreement it accepted. Cancelling a booking never refunds it; any refund is made by you in Stripe.

21. Can renters read my agreement from their statement?

    Yes, when a link to your published rental agreement is configured. Private signed documents are not exposed. If the document is not posted, the statement tells the renter to ask you for a copy.

22. Does it open my gate or run my locks?

    No. BayRoster tracks who is in which space and who has paid. It does not control gate hardware, keypads, or locks.

23. Is there an app to install?

    No. It is a website that works in a phone browser, so there is nothing to install and nothing to keep updated on everyone's phone.

24. Can my staff have their own logins?

    Yes. Each person can have their own named login as Manager or Administrator, and the activity log records who did what by name. Staff can record offline payments, batch payments and one-time bills.

25. How do I see it before deciding?

    Open the live demo. It is real software with fictional customers, the password is published on this site, and demo changes reset. It has the map, the records, payment review and a renter statement. The public demo has a booking page where you can try a booking. When booking is available, this demo uses TEST payments and made-up records. It cannot reserve a real space or charge real money.

Already using storage software?

Start with the switching desk, or open the export guide for Storable Easy, SiteLink or storEDGE. A sample review comes before a cutover date. To get set up fast, see what to send.