LotWaitRunning an RV and boat storage yard from a spreadsheet
Updated October 26, 2026 · For RV and boat storage yards
A storage yard spreadsheet usually starts as a list of spaces with a tenant name next to each. Then rent gets a column, then gate codes, then a second tab for the waitlist, and a few years later it is the most important file the business has.
Spreadsheets are a reasonable way to run a small yard. They fail in predictable places: rent that nobody noticed was late, a space that looked open but was promised, and gate codes in a file anyone can forward. Here is a layout that holds up, and when to move on.
A layout that works
Keep one row per space, not per tenant. Columns:
- Space label, size (length and width) and covered or open.
- Status: open, on hold or occupied.
- Tenant name, email and phone.
- Monthly rent.
- Paid this month: the date it came in, cleared on the 1st.
- Gate code, on a separate protected tab if your sheet allows it.
Where spreadsheets cost money
- Late rent hides in a column nobody filters on.
- “On hold” spaces get offered twice because the hold lives in someone’s inbox.
- The waitlist tab doesn’t say what size each person needs, so the right person isn’t called when a space opens.
- Gate codes travel with every copy of the file.
Spreadsheet vs LotWait
- Spaces
- Spreadsheet Rows you filter
- LotWait Every space with size, rent and status, filtered by open, on hold or occupied
- Waitlist
- Spreadsheet Another tab
- LotWait Who’s waiting and the size they need, moved from waiting to offered to placed
- Rent
- Spreadsheet Mark it paid by hand
- LotWait Each tenant has a rent page with a pay button for your own payment link; see who still owes this month
- Rent reminders
- Spreadsheet You send them
- LotWait Optional: rent link on the 1st, one more reminder on the 5th if unpaid
- Gate codes
- Spreadsheet In the file
- LotWait Stored with the space, visible to you and staff, never on tenant pages
- Moving in
- Spreadsheet Start from scratch
- LotWait Import spaces and tenants from your spreadsheet as CSV
- Cost
- Spreadsheet Free
- LotWait $45/mo Yard, $89/mo with staff logins
| Spreadsheet | LotWait | |
|---|---|---|
| Spaces | Rows you filter | Every space with size, rent and status, filtered by open, on hold or occupied |
| Waitlist | Another tab | Who’s waiting and the size they need, moved from waiting to offered to placed |
| Rent | Mark it paid by hand | Each tenant has a rent page with a pay button for your own payment link; see who still owes this month |
| Rent reminders | You send them | Optional: rent link on the 1st, one more reminder on the 5th if unpaid |
| Gate codes | In the file | Stored with the space, visible to you and staff, never on tenant pages |
| Moving in | Start from scratch | Import spaces and tenants from your spreadsheet as CSV |
| Cost | Free | $45/mo Yard, $89/mo with staff logins |
When to keep the spreadsheet
Under about 30 spaces, with rent on autopay through your bank or processor and no real waitlist, a tidy sheet is fine. Switch when you are chasing rent by hand every month, when someone else needs to answer “is anything open?”, or when the waitlist is long enough that it decides who gets the next space.
Common questions
- Does LotWait take card payments itself?
- No. Each rent page sends the tenant to your own payment link, such as Square or Stripe, so the money goes straight to you.
- Can I export my data back out?
- Yes. Every list exports to CSV at any time.