Short answer: Decide whether you sell specific spaces or passes for a zone, collect each parker's plate at sign-up, bill monthly by card or bank debit automatically, group company parkers under business accounts, keep a waitlist when you're full, and keep an up-to-date list of permitted plates so unauthorized cars can be identified.
Monthly parking is steady income from an asset that's often underused: a lot behind a building, spaces in an apartment garage, or a yard near a train station. The work is mostly admin, and most of it can be automated.
1. Assigned spaces or zone passes?
| Assigned spaces | Zone passes | |
|---|---|---|
| What the parker gets | A specific numbered space | Any free space in a zone |
| Price | Higher | Lower |
| Capacity | One parker per space | You can sell slightly more passes than spaces if not everyone parks at once |
| Admin | Simple to check | Needs a rule for when the zone is full |
Many lots mix the two: a few premium assigned spaces near the entrance, and zone passes for the rest. If you oversell passes, track usage and be conservative.
2. Set prices
Check nearby garages and lots for monthly rates, and compare with daily rates in the area: monthly parking is usually priced below what a daily parker would pay over a month. Assigned, covered and EV-charging spaces earn a premium. Revisit prices when you have a waitlist.
3. Sign-up and permits
At sign-up collect:
- Name, email, phone
- Vehicle plate, make and color (allow more than one vehicle if you permit it)
- Start date and space or zone
- A payment method for automatic billing
- Agreement to your terms, including towing policy
Issue a digital permit tied to the plate. Avoid paper hang-tags if you can; they get lost and copied. If parkers change cars, let them update the plate themselves.
4. Billing
- Charge on the same day each month, automatically.
- Retry failed payments and send a payment link.
- Decide when a permit is suspended for non-payment, and say so in your terms.
- For business customers, put all their parkers on one monthly invoice.
5. Waitlist
When you're full, don't turn people away. Keep a waitlist with each person's preferred zone and start date, and offer spaces in order as they free up. A long waitlist is also your signal to raise prices.
6. Checking who is allowed to park
Keep a live list of permitted plates, accessible on a phone. If you work with a towing or enforcement company, give them access to it so they only act on cars that aren't on the list.
Tools
Small lots can start with a spreadsheet and payment links. Beyond 20 or so parkers, dedicated monthly parking software saves time. See the best monthly parking software for small lots. Unitgrove handles monthly parkers, plates and permits, business accounts and automatic billing. It launches in 2027.
FAQ
How do I charge monthly parkers automatically?
Collect a card or bank debit at sign-up and use software that charges it on the same day each month, retries failed payments and sends a payment link when needed.
Can I sell more parking passes than I have spaces?
Some operators sell slightly more zone passes than spaces because not every parker uses the lot at the same time. Track actual usage before you do, and be clear about what happens when the zone is full.
What should a monthly parking agreement include?
Parker and vehicle details, the space or zone, price and billing date, notice period, rules on vehicle changes, what happens if payment fails, and your towing policy.