A manual rental is a rental created by your team directly in Stortech, without going through the public storefront. Use this flow when a customer calls, comes to the office, or when you want to create the rental yourself.
Unlike online sign-up, the operator chooses the customer, unit, move-in date, and payment method. Before confirming, take a moment to verify each field: a mistake on the customer, unit, or payment method can create confusion around invoices and access.
Video
This video shows how to create a rental from the Stortech dashboard: choose or create the customer, select the unit, set the move-in date, choose the payment method, and verify the rental record after creation.
Who this article is for
Creating a manual rental usually requires the Owner or Manager role. Users with the Employee role can often view rentals, but may not be able to create or edit them. If the Create button is missing or disabled, ask an Owner on your team.
Before you start
Before creating the rental, prepare the customer's name, email, and phone number, the unit or unit type requested, the move-in date, and the planned payment method. Also plan the rate to apply if you do not want to use the unit's default rate, the promotion or protection plan to add, the one-time fees to keep or disable, whether to send an electronic lease or attach a manually signed lease, and any document to attach to the rental.
The email address is especially important: it is used for invoices, the customer portal, automated emails, and payment links.
Create the manual rental
Open the form
Step 1.
From the left menu, click Rentals.
Step 2.
Click Create at the top right. The Create rental page opens.
From the Rentals page, the Create button opens the manual rental form.
If the button does not appear, verify your user role or ask a facility Owner.
Select or create the customer, then the unit
Step 1.
Under Customer Information, click Select a contact and search by name, email, or phone number. If the customer already exists, select the record; otherwise click New contact and create it.
Step 2.
Under Unit Information, click Select an available unit and choose the unit. Verify the unit type, number, and price shown.
The contact search field filters the list as you type; the unit selector only lists available units.
Verify the email address before continuing. If it is wrong, the customer may not receive invoices, their portal link, or welcome emails. To edit the customer record later, see Contacts. Only available units in Stortech appear in the selector; if the unit you want does not appear, verify its status in Units before creating the rental.
Verify or customize the rate
The rate is prefilled from the selected unit or unit type. If you agreed on a different rate with the customer, check Set a custom rate to adjust it directly in the form before creating the rental. Use a custom rate only when intentional: for a general price change that should apply to new rentals, update the unit type instead.
Choose the move-in date
The move-in date controls when the rental starts. If the customer moves in today, keep today's date; if they are booking for later, choose the planned date. The date can affect the first invoice, especially if your facility bills at the start of the month with prorations. Before confirming, make sure the date matches the agreement with the customer.
Choose the payment method
The Payment Information section controls how future invoices are paid. Depending on your facility configuration, you may see Credit card, Offline payment, or Pre-authorized debit if ACSS/PAD is enabled.
The payment section lets you choose automatic card billing or offline payment, depending on the customer's payment method.
For the general payment rules, see Payment methods and autopay.
Credit card
Choose Credit card if the customer wants to be billed automatically through Stripe. When you click Create rental, Stortech redirects you to Stripe to save the customer's card — useful when the customer is with you at the office or on the phone. Future invoices are then charged automatically; a failed payment may leave an invoice Open or Overdue, and gate access may depend on payment depending on your facility configuration.
Stortech never stores the full card number: the card entry happens in Stripe. For card and autopay management, see Payment methods and autopay.
Pre-authorized debit
If Pre-authorized debit is active for your facility, it may also appear in the form. This method is for Canadian bank debits (ACSS/PAD). It is automated like card billing, but the first payment can take several business days to confirm.
Offline payment
Choose Offline payment if the customer pays outside Stripe: cash, cheque, Interac/debit, bank transfer, or another manual method. Stortech then creates the rental without collecting the payment automatically, and cannot know by itself whether the customer actually paid. Your team must record received payments in Stortech according to your process.
A rental created with Offline payment can later be converted to automatic billing if the customer adds a payment method. See Payment labels and conversion to autopay.
First invoice and received payment
Use Mark the first invoice as paid carefully. Check it only if the customer already paid the first cycle, if you are importing or continuing a situation that was already paid, or if you want Stortech to create the initial invoice as already paid.
Do not check it if the customer still needs to pay: otherwise, the rental may look paid in Stortech even though the money has not been received. To understand invoice statuses, see Invoices.
Add useful options
These options depend on your facility configuration. Add only what applies to this rental: an electronic lease for signature, an existing promotion, a monthly protection plan if offered, one-time or monthly fees to keep or remove, and documents (signed lease, PDF, scan, or image) to attach.
Electronic lease or manually signed lease
The electronic lease is optional. If the customer is with you and signs a paper lease, or if they do not have a computer or smartphone, you can attach a PDF, scan, or image of the manually signed lease to the rental. To configure the template sent for signature, see Electronic lease template. If you attach a document, use a clear file tied to this rental: existing lease, signed agreement, supporting document, or operational note.
Promotions, protection, and fees
You can add a promotion if it has already been created in Promotions. Protection plans and other monthly fees may also be available depending on your configuration. For protection and admin fees, see Protection plans and Fees & Charges. Configured one-time fees, such as a setup fee, may apply automatically: if a fee appears in the form but should not be charged to this customer, disable it before creating the rental.
Finalize and verify
Verify before creating
Before clicking Create rental, verify the correct customer, the correct email, the correct unit, the correct rate, the correct move-in date, the correct payment method, whether Mark the first invoice as paid is checked, the promotion and protection plan if applicable, and the electronic lease or attached documents if applicable. It is easier to fix an error before creation than after invoices, emails, and access are generated. Use the form summary, on the left, to confirm the important details.
Create the rental
Step 1.
Click Create rental.
Step 2.
If the method is Credit card, follow the redirect to Stripe to save the customer's card. If the method is Offline payment, the rental is created directly.
Step 3.
Wait for confirmation, then open the new rental record.
Once the payment method is chosen, Create rental finishes the flow and opens the new record.
Verify the record after creation
After creation, open the rental record and check the Summary (customer, unit, status, and main information), the Invoices (first invoice, payment status, amount, and taxes — see Invoices), the Deposits if applicable, the Activity (history of automated actions), and the Documents (lease or attached files).
The rental record brings together the summary, rate, invoices, and the Activity and Documents tabs.
If something looks wrong, check the rental details and related invoice before creating a new action.
What happens automatically
When a manual rental is created, Stortech can create the rental record, associate the customer and unit, generate a first invoice, send a welcome or contract email depending on configuration, save the payment method, and trigger gate access provisioning through the configured provider. These actions may take a moment: to verify what happened, check the rental's Activity tab. The customer can then use the Customer portal, depending on the access and emails sent.
Important statuses and fields
Item | Meaning |
Manual rental | Rental created by an operator, without the public storefront. |
Select a contact | Customer linked to the rental. |
New contact | Customer record created during the flow. |
Available unit | Free unit that can be assigned to a rental. |
Move-in date | Rental start date. |
Custom rate | Rate different from the unit's default price, applied to this rental. |
Credit card | Automatic billing through Stripe. |
Pre-authorized debit | Automated ACSS/PAD bank debit, visible only if enabled. |
Offline payment | Manual payment: cash, cheque, Interac, transfer, or other. |
Mark the first invoice as paid | Creates the first invoice as already paid; use only if already received. |
Electronic lease | Sends a lease for e-signature, depending on facility configuration. |
Documents | PDF, scan, image, or file tied to the rental (e.g. a hand-signed lease). |
Common issues
The Create button does not appear.
What to check: does your role allow creating rentals?
What to do: ask an Owner or Manager to verify your permissions.
The customer does not appear in search.
What to check: does the contact already exist in this facility?
What to do: create a New contact before continuing.
The desired unit does not appear.
What to check: is the unit marked available in Stortech?
What to do: check its status in Units. If it is occupied or unavailable, it should not be selectable.
The displayed rate is not the rate agreed with the customer.
What to check: does the price come from the unit type or a custom rate?
What to do: change the rate in the form before creating the rental.
A setup fee or another fee applies but should not.
What to check: is the fee checked in the form?
What to do: uncheck the fee before creating the rental.
The first invoice was marked paid by mistake.
What to check: was Mark the first invoice as paid checked?
What to do: check the invoice and contact support if an offline payment needs to be corrected.
The customer did not receive the welcome email.
What to check: is the email address correct? Does the Emails tab show a send?
What to do: correct the email if needed and resend the message from the related record.
Gate access is not active immediately.
What to check: is the access provider configured? Does Activity show a command?
What to do: provisioning can be asynchronous. Check activity before contacting support.
Common questions
When should I create a manual rental? — When you create the rental for the customer from the Stortech dashboard: phone call, walk-in customer, booking taken by your team, or any case where the customer does not go through the storefront.
How is this different from online sign-up? — In online sign-up, the customer enters their own contact and payment information on the storefront. In a manual rental, you complete those steps in the operator dashboard.
Can I create a new customer during the rental flow? — Yes. In the form, you can select an existing contact or create a new contact.
Which payment method should I choose? — Choose Credit card for automatic billing through Stripe. Choose Offline payment for cash, cheque, Interac, transfer, or another manual payment. For the general rules, see Payment methods and autopay.
When should I mark the first invoice as paid? — Only if you have already received payment for the first cycle. Do not use this option if the customer still needs to pay.
What should I verify after creation? — Open the rental record and check the unit, customer, status, first invoice, deposits, activity, and documents.