The most common search we see from owners is "how to get a vending machine in my business". The short answer: find out whether your site has enough people, pick a spot with an outlet, and get an operator's terms in writing before anyone brings a machine. The 34 answers below cover the rest, grouped by the order hosts usually ask them. Each answer links to the page where we sourced it, and each of those pages cites the primary source (a BC statute, a city bylaw, BC Hydro, a government notice or our own published data).
This page is for owners, office and facility managers, property managers and strata councils in British Columbia. It's built by a vending locator with years of experience placing machines across the Lower Mainland. Six answers are new to this site; they’re marked new.
Is my site a fit?
1. How many people does a site need? Operators usually look for about 30 to 40 people on site on a normal day, counting staff, residents or members and customers. The site-fit scorer runs the same rubric our /host qualifier uses. For site types with their own numbers, see self-storage, laundromats, student housing and construction sites.
2. How do I count a hybrid office? Count people for the days they're in: three days a week is 0.6 of a person. The people-on-site estimator does the arithmetic, using Statistics Canada's hybrid-work shares.
3. Do apartments need a minimum number of units? The usual rule of thumb is about 150 to 200 units with a busy common area. See vending in BC apartment and strata buildings.
4. Does a quiet-looking site on Google mean low traffic? No. In our count of 2,024 Burnaby and Richmond listings, industrial sites had a median of 8 to 11 Google reviews while clinics had 74 to 124, yet plants often have more people inside all day (reviews vs traffic).
5. Can a small clinic or a shop with few staff qualify? Yes, through customers who wait. A busy waiting room counts; see the Burnaby clinics page.
6. Can several small tenants share one machine? Yes. 46 Downtown Vancouver buildings reach 40 office workers only when tenants are added together (Downtown towers). The landlord decides on common areas.
What does it cost me?
7. Is it really $0? In a full-service placement the operator covers the machine, install, stocking, service and removal. You provide the spot and an outlet, and you pay the power.
8. How much is the power? A refrigerated drink machine uses about 1,354 to 1,456 kWh a year: roughly $16 to $17 a month at BC Hydro's Small General Service rate of 14.06¢ per kWh (power calculator, BC Hydro rates).
9. Should I own a machine instead? You'd keep the sales but take on the operator's jobs: city licence, PST registration if you sell soda, stock, refunds and repairs (own vs host).
10. Will I get commission? Published Canadian ranges run from 0% at small offices and clinics to 15 to 25% at large, busy sites, and no Lower Mainland operator publishes rates (commission guide, commission check). With VendFynd, most locations receive one, set per location and agreed in writing before install.
Contracts and getting out
11. How do placement contracts work? The operator owns and services the machine; you provide the spot and power; the agreement sets the term, renewal, exit, service and menu (how contracts work).
12. What should I compare between offers? Exit terms, removal cost, service response and menu control usually matter more than the commission rate. The agreement checklist compares up to three offers line by line.
13. Is a minimum-spend clause normal? It's uncommon and worth refusing: a host shouldn't underwrite the operator's sales.
14. What do Metro Vancouver companies publish? In our review of four local companies, only one published exit terms and none published commission rates or insurance (companies compared).
15. Does consumer protection law protect my business? (new) Generally not. BC's Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act defines a consumer as an individual and a consumer transaction as one for purposes that are "primarily personal, family or household". A placement agreement for business premises is outside that, so the contract's own terms are what protect you.
16. What if the operator disappears and leaves the machine? It's still the operator's property. Document, send written notice to its registered address, set a deadline and get legal advice before disposing of it (vanished operator steps).
Tax, licences and rules
17. Is there PST on vending drinks in BC? Yes, if the machine sells any soda: the Ministry of Finance says PST then applies to every beverage the machine dispenses (PST Notice 2021-002, PST and GST guide).
18. Who collects the tax? The seller. In a full-service placement that's the operator, not the host.
19. Do cities licence vending machines? Several do, per machine: Surrey $41 a year (By-law 13680), Richmond $37.50, Burnaby $39 for coin and $112 for card machines in 2026 (licence fees). Operators usually hold the licence.
20. Are Burnaby's fees changing? (new) Yes. The schedule Burnaby adopted on September 22, 2026 (Bylaw 14850) sets $41 for a coin or note machine and $117 for a card machine, in effect January 1, 2027 (Bylaw 14485, Schedule A2). Burnaby's open data lists 44 active coin-machine and 13 card-machine licences (Burnaby licence data).
21. Does a machine with sandwiches need a health permit? Likely. The Food Premises Regulation doesn't apply where only prepackaged, non-potentially hazardous food is sold (s.2(e)); refrigerated fresh food is outside that (micro market vs machine).
22. Is there an energy-drink ban? Not in Canadian federal law: Health Canada caps caffeine and requires warning labels but sets no age limit (energy drinks).
23. Who approves a machine in a strata lobby? Council, unless it's a significant change to common property, which needs a 3/4 vote under Strata Property Act s.71 (condo machines).
Space, power and install
24. How big is a machine? 72 inches tall, 33 to 47 inches wide, 32 to 37.5 inches deep and 493 to 688 lb on the AMS and Crane spec sheets (space and power checklist).
25. Will it fit through my door? It goes through on its narrow side, so you need about 33 to 38.5 inches of clear width depending on the model. The door-fit checker tests doors, corners and elevators.
26. Can it go in a hallway? Only if the hallway stays clear: WorkSafeBC requires safe movement of people and materials and a safe way in and out (OHS Part 4, s.4.32–4.33).
27. What outlet does it need? A grounded 115 to 120 V outlet nearby; spec sheets list 3 A for snack machines and up to 7.5 A for refrigerated drink machines.
28. Do I need a permit to add an outlet? (new) Plugging in needs nothing. New wiring or a new outlet needs an electrical permit first. BC Hydro notes that Technical Safety BC authorizes electrical work across BC except in Burnaby, Maple Ridge, Victoria, Vancouver, the City and District of North Vancouver, West Vancouver and Surrey, which issue their own permits. Your electrician pulls it.
29. Does a card reader need Wi-Fi? It needs a connection: a cellular modem or the site's Wi-Fi. Test signal at the exact spot (cashless vending).
Safety and liability
30. Who is liable if someone is hurt at the machine? (new) Under the Occupiers Liability Act, an occupier, meaning whoever possesses or controls the premises, must take reasonable care that people and their property are reasonably safe there, including in relation to activities and third parties on the premises (s.3). The operator answers for its machine, so ask for its insurance certificate and keep the spot level and clear. Public buyers set the bar high: Esquimalt's 2025 vending RFP asked for $2 million of general liability and $5 million of professional liability covering food contamination (what BC rec-centre RFPs ask for).
31. Does my business have duties when the operator's staff restock? (new) Yes, as the owner of a workplace. The Workers Compensation Act s.25 says every owner must keep its premises safe for people at the workplace and give the employer information it knows about hazards there. Tell the operator about anything on the route: a loading-dock rule, a slippery ramp, a restricted area.
32. Should I check the operator's WorkSafeBC status? (new) It's cheap protection. WorkSafeBC says that if you hire a registered contractor that isn't making its payments, you could be liable for premiums relating to the work it did for you, and a clearance letter confirms the business is registered and paying.
Product choice and service
33. Who chooses the products? With VendFynd, your people do: a favourites survey to start, changes any time. For ideas by site type see gym stocking, condo essentials and care homes (and the Burnaby nursing-home page).
34. What happens when it breaks or runs empty? That's the operator's job, and it should be in writing: how to report a problem, how fast it's fixed, how refunds work. With VendFynd you have one contact; we reply within 1 business day and follow it through, and if an operator keeps missing restocks we bring in a different one.
How to get started
35. I have several sites. How do I get one quote for all of them? Send the list once. Start with one site on the qualifier and put the other addresses in its notes box, or email hello@vendfynd.com with each address, a rough headcount or daily visitors, and the hours. We say which sites qualify and match each one with an operator that serves that city, so a portfolio across cities can have more than one operator while you keep one contact. Each site is $0 to you with no minimum spend, and any commission is set per location and agreed in writing before install. Write the exit, service and insurance terms once and add sites to a schedule (portfolio guide); the agreement checklist compares offers line by line.
See if your site qualifies: a few questions about your people, hours, spot and outlet. If it's a fit, we match an operator that serves your area, your people pick the menu, and you sign a placement sheet under our published host terms. It's $0 to you: you provide the spot and an outlet (about $15–20 a month in power). A 30-day trial, then month to month with 30 days' notice and no-cost removal, and most sites receive a commission, agreed in writing.
Sources
- Occupiers Liability Act, s.1 and s.3: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96337_01, accessed 2026-10-12
- Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act, s.1: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/04002_01, accessed 2026-10-12
- Workers Compensation Act, s.25: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/19001_02, accessed 2026-10-12
- WorkSafeBC, Why you need a clearance letter: https://www.worksafebc.com/en/insurance/why-clearance-letter, accessed 2026-10-12
- BC Hydro, Contractor authorizations and permits: https://app.bchydro.com/accounts-billing/electrical-connections/contractor-authorizations-permits.html, accessed 2026-10-12
- City of Burnaby, Consolidated Fees and Charges Bylaw No. 14485, Schedule A2: https://bylaws.burnaby.ca/media/Consolidated/14485CC.pdf, consolidation 2026.7, accessed 2026-10-12
- Every other answer links to the page where it was sourced; those pages list their primary sources (BC Hydro, PST Notice 2021-002, Food Premises Regulation, Strata Property Act, WorkSafeBC OHS Regulation, Surrey By-law 13680 and others).