VendFynd

Vending agreement checklist: compare up to three offers

A 16-point checklist for BC businesses comparing vending offers side by side: cost, exit terms, service, menu, city licence, PST and food rules. Printable.

By Mahdi DialdenRuns in your browser, stores nothing

How to use it: type the company names across the top, then tick each line an offer meets in writing. The totals update as you go, and the page prints cleanly for a meeting or a strata file. Nothing you enter is saved or sent. Without JavaScript the checklist still works on screen or on paper; only the totals need it.

This is for BC business owners, office managers, strata councils and property managers weighing two or three vending offers, or one offer against doing nothing.

Tick each line an offer meets. Works on paper too: print this page.

Vending agreement checklist: up to three offers
What to look for
1. The operator pays for the machine, install, stocking, service and removal
A standard full-service placement costs the host nothing but the spot, the outlet and the power.
2. You have a written power estimate
A refrigerated drink machine uses about 1,354–1,456 kWh a year (US DOE FEMP), roughly $16–17 a month at BC Hydro's Small General Service rate.
3. Month to month, or a short term with no automatic renewal
Auto-renewing multi-year terms are the most common lock-in.
4. 30 days' notice or less to remove the machine
Short notice means you can leave if service slips.
5. No removal or early-exit fee
Removal should cost the host nothing.
6. One named contact and a stated reply time for problems
Empty or broken machines are the top complaint hosts raise.
7. A refund number or process on the machine for customers
Otherwise lost-money complaints land on your front desk.
8. Your people choose the menu, and you can exclude items
Put exclusions (for example, products you already sell) in writing.
9. Card and tap payment, with a plan for weak signal
Cashless readers need cell signal or Wi-Fi at the spot.
10. Any commission is in writing, with its basis and sales reports
Gross or net, how often it's paid, and whether you see statements.
11. A certificate of insurance if your landlord, strata or employer requires one
Ask for your company to be named as an additional insured where required.
12. The operator holds the city licence for the machine
Per-machine fees: Surrey $41 a year, Richmond $37.50, Burnaby $39 (coin) or $112 (card).
13. The operator is registered to collect PST if the machine sells soda
BC requires sellers of vending machine beverages to register and collect PST.
14. Only prepackaged, shelf-stable food, or health approval for fresh food
BC's Food Premises Regulation exempts premises selling only prepackaged, non-potentially hazardous food.
15. No tobacco, vapour or cannabis products
Federal law bars tobacco vending where the public has access; BC bars cannabis sales by dispensing device.
16. The spot keeps walkways and exits clear
WorkSafeBC requires work areas arranged for safe movement and a safe way in and out.
Lines met0 of 160 of 160 of 16

Tick the lines each offer meets, and the totals and the gaps to ask about appear here.

Why each line is there

Cost, power and exit (lines 1–5). The host provides the spot, an outlet and the power. A full-size refrigerated drink machine uses about 1,354–1,456 kWh a year according to the US Department of Energy's FEMP, which is about $16–17 a month on BC Hydro's Small General Service rate. The BC vending power-cost calculator does the maths for your machine and rate. Terms, renewal, notice and removal fees decide whether you can leave if things go wrong.

Service, refunds and menu (lines 6–9). A machine is only as good as whoever services it. Get the contact, the reply time and the refund process in writing, and agree who picks the products.

Commission and insurance (lines 10–11). If there's a commission, the basis matters: in BC, a drink machine that sells any soda collects 7% PST on every drink plus GST, so "gross" can include tax. The commission reality check walks through it.

City licences (line 12). Metro Vancouver cities charge per machine, from their own bylaws:

CityFee per machineBylaw
Surrey$41.00 a year for each machineBusiness License By-law 13680, Schedule A
Richmond$37.50 (Group 1: vending machines except newspaper boxes and lockers)Fees Bylaw 8636
Burnaby$39.00 coin or note operated; $112.00 if it takes credit cardsFees and Charges Bylaw 14485, Schedule A2

None of the three bylaws says whether the host or the operator pays, so settle it in the agreement. Surrey also puts a duty on the premises owner: don't let the number of machines increase "without first notifying the Inspector in writing" (s.65(3)). We couldn't retrieve the City of Vancouver's licence bylaw for this page, so check with the City's licence office.

PST (line 13). BC's Notice 2021-002 says that if you sell "vending machine beverages", you must register to collect PST. The operator is normally the seller, so ask for its PST number.

Food and restricted products (lines 14–15). BC's Food Premises Regulation lists vending machines as food-premises equipment, and exempts premises that sell only whole fresh fruit and vegetables or "prepackaged, non-potentially hazardous food" (s.2(e)). Sandwiches, salads and other perishables are a different case: ask the operator what health approval it has. Tobacco vending is barred wherever the public has access (Tobacco and Vaping Products Act, s.12), and a BC cannabis licensee can't sell "by means of a dispensing device" (Cannabis Control and Licensing Act, s.48).

Exits (line 16). WorkSafeBC's regulation requires work areas to be arranged "to allow the safe movement of people, equipment and materials" and a safe way in and out of each work area (s.4.32–4.33). A machine is about 72 inches tall and roughly a metre wide and deep, so pick the spot before you sign.

About this data

The 16 lines combine VendFynd's published host terms with BC and federal rules that apply to a vending machine at a business. Licence fees are quoted from each city's consolidated bylaw as retrieved on 2026-09-26; the Surrey bylaw is consolidated to By-law 21963 (2026-04-13) and Burnaby's Schedule A has been in effect since 2026-01-01. Fees change, so confirm with the city. This is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

What belongs in a written vending placement agreement in BC?

At minimum: who pays for what, the term and how it ends, notice and cost to remove the machine, who to call and how fast they respond, who chooses the products, any commission and how it's calculated, insurance where your property requires it, and who holds the licences.

Who pays the city licence for a vending machine in Surrey, Richmond or Burnaby?

The bylaws set per-machine fees (Surrey $41 a year, Richmond $37.50, Burnaby $39 for coin machines or $112 for card machines) but don't say whether host or operator pays. Most operators hold the licence for their own machines. Ask, and put it in the agreement.

Can I compare offers from different vending companies fairly?

Yes, if you ask every company the same questions and get the answers in writing. Commission rates are hard to compare on their own; exit terms, service promises and menu control usually decide whether the placement works.

Does a host have any legal duty when a machine is added?

In Surrey, yes: the business licence bylaw says a premises owner must not let the number of vending machines on the premises increase without first notifying the city's licence inspector in writing (s.65(3)).