Getting Started

Are you just getting started on VendSoft? Here are the steps you should take to ensure your vending business takes full advantage of the system right away.

The first thing you should do is create your products and set up initial inventory quantities and costs. This is done on the Inventory screen.

You can add your products individually or in bulk using the Import from file functionality.

After you create your products, you will be able to view and manage them on the Inventory screen:

Go to the Locations section and create records for the locations where your vending machines are placed.

Define the location’s address and position it on the map. Optionally, you can set up commission rates, if any, choose a service pattern to visit the location, etc.

Read more detailed guidelines in the Create Location article.

Go to the Machines section and create records for the machines.

Besides the machine’s general data like type and description, you have to define the machine’s configuration: what products are placed in the machine, at what positions, product quantities, and vend prices.

Read more detailed guidelines in Create Machine article.

Once your machines are set up, this is the stage where you connect your telemetry—if you’re using card readers on any or all of them.

To complete the integration with your telemetry provider, refer to our detailed help section here:

👉 Telemetry Integration Articles

Go to the Planogram tab of each machine and add the products. You can specify the selection, capacity, vend price, and last fill level.

Read more detailed guidelines in the Add Products to Machine article.

With this step, you define at which location belongs a particular machine.

Every location has to have at least one machine assigned to it, and also, each machine has to be placed at exactly one location.

You can define this connection from the Machines section and the Locations section.

Now that your master data is set up, you can create a trip and service your machines.

Go to the Trips screen. This is the place where you can view and manage your trips.

The Create Trip article provides more info on the process.

Download the mobile application from the App store on iOS or the Google Play store on Android.

In the mobile app, click the “Download Trip” button to receive the trip on your device.

Here, one team member can use the Picklist functionality to prepare ahead of time exactly which products need loading for each machine, while the driver—or the same person—services the machines next. This is done through the Confirm Ending Inventory screen where you can log fills, cash and notes . At the end, go back to the home screen and Upload the Trip to sync its data with the web interface—all without a single sheet of paper.

See the full process of how to use the mobile app in this step-by-step video guide.

Check your results on the Reports screen.

You can check out the Reports article to get familiar with the reports that the VendSoft system can provide to you.