With the One-Time Lock Charge, SiteLink users can apply a one-time fee for locks when customers rent their units on your website.
Let’s take a look at how the setting works and how to use it.
How the One-Time Lock Charge Setting Works
This setting applies a one-time charge at the time a unit is rented on the website. This charge is pulled from SiteLink via their API, including both the name of the charge and the value.
One-time lock charges can be turned on on a per-location basis. This means that you may have it turned on at one facility but off at another.
The lock charge is displayed to your customer during the checkout process on a separate line from the rental rate. It is also included in their receipt.
Because of SiteLink API limitations, this charge will be applied as a separate transaction from the main rental. This means a second transaction for both you and your customer.
Please be aware of the second transaction when it comes to your bookkeeping and any charges related to your payment processor.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Customers are not given a choice of whether or not to pay. Once the one-time lock charge is turned on, it becomes a mandatory charge during a rental. Only turn this setting on if you intend to make this a mandatory fee for every rental.
What This Setting IS NOT
The primary use of this setting is to apply lock fees during your checkout process. While there is some flexibility, there are some things it should not be used for:
Selling moving supplies or other merchandise to customers
Setting up recurring payments for services at the facility
Facilitating any purchases done after a rental is completed
Related Setting: Disable Lock Charge for parking or office units
There is one setting related to the one-time charges setting. This is the "Disable Lock Charge for parking or office units" toggle.
If this toggle is turned on, the lock charge will not be applied for units that include the following terms in their unit type name:
Park
Rv
Boat
Office
Camper
Truck
Trailer
What Your Customer Sees
There are three places your customer will see the one-time lock charge:
The checkout screen
Their rental receipt email
The transaction history for the card they used
The first place your customer will see this charge is during the checkout process. They will see all charges before even renting the storage unit, and the one-time lock charge is included on that screen.
Once renting a unit, the customer will receive a confirmation email that serves as a receipt for their rental. This email will also include their one-time lock charge.
Finally, when your customer checks their bank or credit card statement, they will see the charge reflected there.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Because of SiteLink’s API limitations, customers will see two separate transactions: one for the rental and one for the one-time lock charge.
How to Set Up the Charge in SiteLink
You need to set up the charge in SiteLink before you’ll be able to use it in Insights.
To do so, log into SiteLink and navigate to Setup.
On the next screen, click on Merchandise.
Click Add on the right-hand side of the screen, and set up all of the relevant details for your charge.
How to Turn On the Lock Charage in Insights
To turn on the One-time Lock Charge for your website, you’ll need to navigate to the Location Editor’s Software tab.
Here are the steps you need to follow:
Step 1. Log into Insights and click on Locations on the left side of your screen.
Step 2. Click the Edit button beside the location where you want to use the feature.
Step 3. Navigate to the Software tab.
Step 4. Click the toggle beside Enable One-time Lock Charge at website checkout.
Note: The toggle should turn purple to indicate the setting is turned on.
Step 5. Select your charge from the dropdown menu beside Charge to enable.
Step 6. Click Save Updates at the bottom of the page, and then click Publish changes at the top to finish up!
How to Troubleshoot Lock Charge Not Being Applied to Online Rentals
If you ever experience a situation where the lock charge was not processed during an online rental, it is likely that the inventory item was either removed from Sitelink or there was a price change on the inventory item.
When the lock charge is not successfully processed during an online rental, we call this out on the rental notification email that both the client and you as the operator get stating the charge was not processed:
If the inventory item in Sitelink is removed, or if the name or pricing details of the inventory item are changed, you need to re-add the charge in Insights by following step 5 as described above.
In Insights, if we do not see the inventory item in Sitelink, a warning message pops-up and states that we cannot find the item/charge. To fix the issue, you must select a valid charge on the dropdown menu and then click Save Updates:
If we see the price has changed on the inventory/charge item, a warning pop-up message appears. In this case, the charge/item is not removed and we simply ask you to click Save Updates so the new price is charged during an online rental.
If you need more help turning this feature on or want to know if it’s right for your facility, reach out to our Client Success team today at help@storagepug.com!