You run, or sit on the board of, a small building: a walk-up, a converted house, a condo association or an HOA with somewhere between 8 and 40 units. There is no front desk and nobody on site during the day. Parcels end up in the lobby, on the stairs or outside doors, and some of them disappear. This page is about package lockers for exactly that building.
Quick answer
- One short bank is usually enough. Many small buildings need roughly 10 to 20 cells, with a few large ones. Size from your own parcel counts.
- No staff needed. Couriers drop off at the touchscreen; residents collect with a code.
- One administrator. A board member or the management company adds and removes residents from a phone or laptop.
- Predictable cost. A flat software fee per building, no per-parcel or resident fees.
- Get board sign-off first on location, cost and who administers it.
- Price: see the rough price guide; a small bank sits at the low end.
What actually goes wrong in a small building
Small buildings rarely have a volume problem. They have a custody problem: nobody is responsible for a parcel between the courier leaving it and the resident finding it. That shows up as:
- parcels left in an unlocked vestibule or outside the street door
- neighbours picking up each other’s parcels “to be helpful” and forgetting
- disputes about who took what, with no record to settle them
- couriers buzzing random units to be let in
A locker fixes custody: each parcel goes behind its own door, the resident is told, and every opening is logged.
Sizing for 8 to 40 units
Work from a fortnight of real counts rather than the unit number. Ask residents to note deliveries for two weeks, or count what lands in the lobby. Then:
| Step | Example for a 24-unit building |
|---|---|
| Parcels on an ordinary day | 8 |
| Average days before collection | 1 |
| Occupied cells on an ordinary day | 8 |
| Headroom for the busiest days (×2) | 16 |
| Split by size | about 12 standard, 3 large, 1 oversize |
The example numbers are illustrative only; use your own counts. The sizing guide explains the method in detail. Small buildings benefit most from a couple of large cells, because a single big parcel otherwise ends up back on the floor.
Who administers it
In a self-managed association, pick one person, and a backup, and give them the portal login. The work is:
- Move-ins and move-outs: add the resident’s name, unit, phone and email; remove them when they leave.
- Expired parcels: clear any parcel past the collection limit you set, with a staff code that is logged.
- Questions: “I didn’t get my code”, usually solved by checking the phone number on file.
The portal runs from a browser, so the administrator does not need to be in the building. If you use a management company, put the task in its contract.
Board approval checklist
- Location agreed: lobby wall, vestibule, mailroom or garage (see parking garage lockers)
- Power outlet and network at that spot
- Budget for the hardware, and how the monthly fee is paid from dues
- Administrator and backup named
- Courier entry method agreed and shared with regular carriers
- Collection rule: how long a parcel can sit before it is cleared
- House rules updated: no parcels left in common areas
Getting couriers inside
Most small buildings already have an entry keypad or intercom. Options:
- Courier code on the keypad, changed periodically.
- A vestibule couriers can already reach, with the locker inside the inner door’s line of sight.
- Locker outside, under cover, if there is no secure way in. That needs an outdoor-rated build; see outdoor smart lockers.
The locker itself needs no integration with any carrier. Whether a particular carrier’s drivers use it is their local practice, so tell them it is there.
Where this is the wrong answer
- Very few parcels and no losses. If nothing is going missing, a lockable cupboard and a sign-in sheet cost almost nothing.
- Nobody will administer it. A locker with stale resident data sends codes to people who moved out.
- No power or network in the lobby, and no budget to add them.
- The board wants zero up-front cost. Look at leasing, or at carrier-placed lockers, and compare the terms; see multifamily package lockers.
Rough price guide and quote
A small building usually sits at the lower end of the range below: one short bank and one touchscreen.
A small bank of about 10 cells with a courier touchscreen typically comes in at a few thousand US dollars, roughly US$2,000–5,000. A 50–100-cell building system is roughly US$8,000–20,000. Software is a flat monthly fee of around US$100 per location, with no per-parcel or resident fees. Freight, duties and installation are extra, and your quote fixes the price.
Price enquiry · 1 minute
Get a quote for your building
Tell us roughly what you need and we reply with a cell layout, a drawing and a firm price. For the full form with cell sizes and options, use the price enquiry page.
Frequently asked questions
How many package lockers does a 20-unit building need?
Size it from parcels, not units. Count how many parcels arrive on an ordinary day and on your busiest day, multiply by how many days a parcel usually waits before the resident collects it, and add headroom. Many small buildings land somewhere around 10 to 20 cells, with a few large cells. Our sizing guide explains the arithmetic.
Who manages the package lockers in a self-managed condo?
Usually one board member or the management company’s assigned manager. The tasks are light: adding residents when they move in, removing them when they leave, clearing parcels that have waited too long, and answering the occasional resident question. The locker’s web portal works from a phone or laptop, so nobody has to be on site.
Do residents have to pay per package?
Not with our pricing. KioskForce charges the building a flat software fee per location with no per-parcel fee and nothing charged to residents. How the association recovers that fee, for example through the regular dues, is up to the board.
How do couriers get into a small building with no doorman?
Through whatever the building uses today for deliveries, such as a courier code on the entry keypad or intercom, or a lobby that couriers can already reach. The locker needs no integration with any carrier, so a driver who reaches it can drop off. Tell your regular carriers where it is.
Is a package locker worth it for a building this small?
It is worth it when parcels are going missing, piling up in the lobby, or causing disputes between neighbours. It is not worth it if the building gets a handful of parcels a week and nothing goes missing: a lockable cupboard and a sign-in sheet will do.
Related
- Parcel lockers: the product and how a delivery runs
- Unattended building package lockers: remote administration in detail
- Package theft prevention for apartments
- Key exchange lockers: the same bank can hold keys for contractors
