Here's how to get a vending machine for your business, in short: confirm the site has enough people, pick a spot with an outlet, choose the machine type, get written offers from operators and read the agreement before anything is delivered. The operator usually owns, stocks and services the machine; your part is the space, the outlet and the power it draws.
Here are the six steps, the way we walk hosts through them across Canada and the US.
How to get a vending machine at work if you're not the manager
Ask whoever runs the space: the office manager, the owner or facilities. It's an easy request to say yes to when it already answers their first questions, so bring three things:
- How many people are on site on a normal day. The people-on-site estimator helps.
- Where it would go. The spot you have in mind and the nearest outlet.
- What it costs the company. Placement is usually free to the workplace. The operator owns, stocks and services the machine, and the power runs roughly $15–20 a month.
Our ask-at-work page writes a short note for your manager, or adds your vote for your workplace so coworkers can add theirs. Votes are counted, never shown with names. The six steps below are what your manager will want answered next, so send this page along with the note.
Step 1: Check that your site is a fit
Operators look for three things: about 20 or more people on site on a normal day, long hours, and no food a two-minute walk away. Count everyone who's there regularly: staff on each shift, residents, students, patients and visitors who wait.
Be honest about hybrid work. An office with 60 employees and 25 people in on a Friday is a 25-person site. The people-on-site estimator helps you work it out, and the best places guide shows which site types usually clear the bar. For an office, our office vending service guide covers cost and who to call.
Step 2: Pick the spot
Walk the building and find a spot that is:
- On the path people already use: the break room, lobby, laundry room or waiting area.
- Near a standard outlet, with space for the machine and its door. Our space and power checklist has dimensions and amp ratings from manufacturer spec sheets.
- Easy to reach. In the US, the ADA Standards put operable parts within a 15 to 48 inch reach range, with a clear floor space at least 30 by 48 inches in front.
- Through the door. Machines are large and heavy; measure doorways, corridors and elevators before delivery day. The vending machine dimensions and door-fit checker does the math.
Step 3: Work out what the power costs you
The power is usually the one cost on the host's side, so it's worth knowing the number.
Refrigerated drink machines are regulated. In the US, a glass-front drink machine (Class A, 25% or more of the front transparent) made since January 8, 2019 may use at most 0.052 × V + 2.43 kWh a day, where V is its refrigerated volume in cubic feet. Canada applies energy standards to refrigerated beverage vending machines made from the same date, under its Energy Efficiency Regulations.
A worked example, using the federal limit as a ceiling:
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Machine | Class A drink machine, 25 cubic feet refrigerated |
| Maximum daily use | 0.052 × 25 + 2.43 = 3.73 kWh |
| A 30-day month | about 113 kWh |
| At 14.53 cents/kWh (US commercial average, July 2026) | about $16 a month |
Your rate will differ, so multiply by your own. That ceiling is in line with the roughly $15–20 a month we tell hosts to expect. Snack-only machines have no refrigeration and fall outside the federal drink-machine standard; ask the operator for the spec sheet.
Step 4: Choose the machine type
- Snack machine: chips, bars and candy. Lowest power, fine for most sites.
- Drink machine: cold drinks only. This is what most people mean by a soda or pop machine.
- Combo machine: snacks and drinks in one cabinet, good where space is tight.
- Fresh food or smart cooler: sandwiches and meals; needs more people and more frequent restocking.
- Micro market: open shelves and a self-checkout kiosk; usually for larger workplaces.
The machine type chooser asks a few questions about your site and suggests one. For the full list, see types of vending machines.
Step 5: Get offers in writing and compare them
Ask two or three operators to see the site and send a written offer. Then compare them on the same lines:
- Term and exit: month to month, or a fixed term? How much notice to end it, and who pays for removal?
- Service: how you report a problem, how fast they respond, and how often they restock.
- Menu: can your people request items?
- Payment: card and phone payments, and refunds when the machine keeps the money.
- Commission: if offered, is it a share of gross or net sales, and how is it reported?
- Insurance and liability: who covers damage, and is the operator insured?
Our questions to ask a vending company covers each one in detail.
Two rules sit with the operator, not you. In the US, operators of 20 or more food machines must show calories for items whose label you can't see before buying. And the operator collects and remits sales tax on what the machine sells.
Step 6: The first 30 days
Install day is the start, not the end. In the first month:
- Ask your people what's missing and send the list to the operator.
- Report problems early: a jammed coil or a dead card reader fixed in a day keeps people using the machine.
- Check restocking: empty rows by midweek mean the visits are too far apart.
If the operator doesn't fix problems, your agreement's exit clause is what protects you, which is why step 5 matters.
Or let us do steps 1 to 6
VendFynd is your vending advocate. We check the site, find the right operator, put the terms in writing and stay your contact after install. It's $0 to you: you provide the spot and a standard outlet, and the machine uses roughly $15–20 a month in power. We reply within 1 business day, placements start with a 30-day trial, then run month to month with 30 days' notice and no-cost removal. Most locations receive a commission, set per location and agreed in writing before install. The full host terms are published, and the site check takes about 5 minutes. Have several sites? Send the list once and keep one contact.
Sources
- 10 CFR 431.292 (classes) and 431.296 (energy limits), refrigerated bottled or canned beverage vending machines: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-10/chapter-II/subchapter-D/part-431/subpart-Q/section-431.296, accessed 2026-10-16
- US Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A, July 2026 commercial average 14.53 cents/kWh: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_5_6_a, accessed 2026-10-16
- Natural Resources Canada, Refrigerated vending machines: https://natural-resources.canada.ca/energy-efficiency/energy-efficiency-regulations/refrigerated-vending-machines, accessed 2026-10-16
- 21 CFR 101.8, calorie labeling for articles of food in vending machines: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-101/subpart-A/section-101.8, accessed 2026-10-16
- US Access Board, Guide to the ADA Standards, Chapter 3: https://www.access-board.gov/ada/guides/chapter-3-operable-parts/, accessed 2026-10-16
Last updated: November 5, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.