Short answer: if you searched for a vending machine contract template because you want out of the agreement you already have, the date that matters is the last day to give notice. Miss it on an auto-renewing contract and you may be locked in for another full term. Enter your agreement's dates below and the planner counts that deadline the way BC's Interpretation Act counts days, then fills in a plain-language notice letter you can print. Below the tool is model wording for the clauses a host-side contract should have. Nothing you type leaves the page.
It's for business owners, office managers and property managers with a vending placement agreement, especially one that renews itself. The date counting follows BC law.
Outside BC? The notice letter and the model clause wording work anywhere in Canada or the US, but other provinces and states count days and holidays differently, so treat the planner's deadline as a rough guide there: count back from your agreement's end date, check whether the contract sets its own counting rule, and send your notice a few days early by the method the notice clause names, with proof of sending. Or send us your agreement's dates and we'll work out the timing with you.
The planner needs JavaScript. The counting rules and the letter are written out below, so you can do it with a calendar.
How the planner counts
BC's Interpretation Act sets the rules for counting periods of days, months and years, and s.25(2) says they "also apply to a deed, conveyance or other legal instrument unless specifically provided otherwise" in it. If your agreement has its own counting rule, that wins. The planner applies the Act's rules:
| Rule | Interpretation Act | What the planner does |
|---|---|---|
| Counting back from an end date | s.25.2(2)(b): count backward from and including the day before the reference day | 60 days' notice before an end date of December 31 means notice by November 1 |
| "At least", "not less than" or "clear" days | s.25.2(3): the period starts one day earlier | The deadline moves one day earlier |
| Months and years | s.25.3, 25.4: go to the same date number; if the month is shorter, its last day | Renewal terms roll forward by whole months |
| Deadline on a holiday | s.25(3)(b): the previous day that isn't a holiday | Moved back to the previous working day |
| Business office closed | s.25(4)(b): the previous day the office is open | Saturdays are treated as closed |
"Holiday" in the Act (s.29) includes Sundays, New Year's Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, British Columbia Day, Labour Day, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Thanksgiving (a proclaimed day of thanksgiving), Remembrance Day, Christmas Day and December 26. The planner uses all of these.
Worked example. A 12-month agreement that started on November 1, 2025 ends on October 31, 2026. With 60 days' notice, counting back from October 30 gives September 1, 2026, the last day to give notice. If the clause said "at least 60 days", it's August 31, which is a Monday, so it stands. Miss it on a self-renewing agreement and the next window is 60 days before October 31, 2027.
The planner then recommends sending a week earlier by a method you can prove, because many notice clauses count from the day notice is received, not the day it's sent, and the week also covers differences in how a clause can be read.
The notice letter template
[Your business name] [Address of the machine] [Date sent]
To: [Operator's name]
Re: Notice of termination, vending placement agreement dated [start date]
This letter is our written notice that we are ending the vending placement agreement between [operator] and [your business] for the machine(s) at [address].
The agreement requires [N] days' notice. This notice is given on [date sent], and the agreement will end on [end date]. We do not wish it to renew.
Please remove your machine(s) by [removal date] and contact us to arrange access. Please send a final statement of any commission owed, and confirm receipt of this notice in writing.
[Name, title, phone, email]
Send it to the address and by the method your notice clause names, and keep proof. For a BC company, the registered office address is public through OrgBook BC or BC Registries' search services. The Business Corporations Act (s.9) lets records in legal proceedings be served on a company by delivery or registered mail to that registered office, so it's the address that reaches a company even when nobody answers.
Model wording for a host-side contract
If you're the one being asked to sign, these are the clauses to look for, in plain language. They match the five clauses in our guide to how vending machine contracts work.
| Clause | Model wording a host can ask for |
|---|---|
| Term | "This agreement runs month to month from the install date." |
| Notice | "Either party may end this agreement with 30 days' written notice, for any reason." |
| Removal | "The operator removes its equipment within [X] days of the end date, at its own cost, and repairs any damage caused by removal." |
| Service | "The operator names one contact, replies within one business day and restocks and repairs on a schedule agreed in writing." |
| Menu | "The host may ask for any product to be added or removed." |
| Money | "Any commission is set out here, in writing, before install. The host pays nothing and has no minimum spend." |
Score any offer against those lines with the vending agreement checklist, and see which Metro Vancouver operators publish their exit terms at all.
The city licence when you switch
Cities licence vending machines one by one. In Surrey, the business licence bylaw says a premises owner must not permit the number of vending machines on the premises to increase "without first notifying the Inspector in writing" (s.65(3)), and charges $41 a year per machine (Schedule A). Book the new install for the day the old machine leaves, so the count never goes up, and tell the new operator about the rule.
What a switch with VendFynd looks like
Our own host terms are the model above: month to month, 30 days' notice, no-cost removal, a reply within 1 business day, your people choosing the menu, and a commission at most locations, agreed in writing before install. Placement is $0 to you: you provide the spot and an outlet (about $15–20 a month in power for a drink machine).
About this data
- Planner: the Interpretation Act counting rules above, run in your browser. It stores and sends nothing, including the names you type for the letter.
- Laws: Interpretation Act and Business Corporations Act as published on BC Laws, read 2026-10-12; Surrey bylaw 13680 read the same day.
- Model wording and letter: written by VendFynd as a plain-language starting point. General information, not legal advice; for a long or complicated agreement, talk to a lawyer.
Sources
- Interpretation Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 238: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96238_01
- Business Corporations Act, S.B.C. 2002, c. 57: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/02057_01
- City of Surrey, Business License By-law No. 13680: https://www.surrey.ca/city-government/bylaws/13680
- Government of BC, BC Registries searches and certificates: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/employment-business/business/managing-a-business/permits-licences/businesses-incorporated-companies/searches-certificates
- OrgBook BC: https://www.orgbook.gov.bc.ca/