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Choosing a vending supplier is not a purchase decision. In most cases you are not buying anything at all. You are deciding who gets a spot on your floor, who your staff deal with when a machine swallows a card payment, and who is responsible if something goes wrong on your site. That makes it a supplier and compliance decision, not a shopping one.
The questions below are the ones worth asking any vending company before you let a machine through the door. They apply whether you are talking to us or to someone else. Print the short list, ask the same questions of everyone, and compare the answers side by side.
The short checklist
Fifteen questions, in the order they usually matter:
- What does installation cost, and are there ongoing fees?
- Who pays for repairs and call-outs?
- Is there a lock-in contract, and how do we get out of it?
- Do you pay a commission, and what does that cost us elsewhere?
- Is the machine tested and tagged, and who does it?
- Do you carry public liability insurance?
- Can you provide SWMS and SOPs?
- Who owns the machine and who is responsible for it?
- How often do you restock, and how do you know when it is empty?
- How fast do you respond when a machine breaks down?
- What happens if a customer is charged and nothing drops?
- Are you local, and where does your service area actually end?
- Can we choose what goes in it, including healthy options?
- How many staff do we need to make it worth doing?
- What happens if we want the machine removed?
Cost and contract
1. What does installation cost, and are there ongoing fees?
Ask for the full list in writing: delivery, installation, hire or rental, servicing, restocking, call-outs and removal. Vending pricing varies enormously between suppliers, from a monthly rental on a machine you stock yourself through to a fully managed service at no charge to the host site.
A good answer sounds like: a clear breakdown of every line item, and a straight answer on whether the number can change later.
Watch out for: a headline rate with the servicing, delivery or call-out fees quoted separately, or a quote that cannot be given until after a site visit and a signature.
2. Who pays for repairs and call-outs?
This is where an apparently cheap arrangement usually turns expensive. A refrigerated machine has compressors, boards and bill validators, and something will eventually need attention.
A good answer sounds like: repairs, parts, labour and call-outs are all covered by the supplier, with no excess and no per-visit fee.
Watch out for: free repairs but a call-out fee, or parts covered but not labour. Ask specifically what a compressor failure would cost you.
3. Is there a lock-in contract, and how do we get out of it?
Ask for the term, the notice period, any automatic renewal clause, and what happens if the machine underperforms or your headcount drops.
A good answer sounds like: no lock-in, cancel whenever you like, machine removed at no cost.
Watch out for: multi-year terms with auto-renewal, exit fees, or a clause that lets the supplier keep the site even if service slips.
4. Do you pay a commission, and what does that cost us elsewhere?
Some suppliers offer the host site a percentage of sales. It sounds like the better deal, so it is worth doing the arithmetic. A commission is normally funded either by higher shelf prices for your staff or by charges elsewhere in the agreement.
A good answer sounds like: an honest explanation of how the commission is funded, and what the shelf prices will be.
Watch out for: a commission headline with no mention of the pricing that pays for it. Compare the total cost to your business and to your staff, not just the cheque you receive.
Safety, insurance and compliance
These four questions are the ones most workplaces forget to ask and most facilities and procurement teams end up needing. If you are on a construction site, a managed building, a school or a health facility, you will not get a machine through the gate without them.
5. Is the machine tested and tagged, and who does it?
Vending machines are electrical equipment on your site, and most workplaces require electrical equipment to be tested and tagged with a current tag.
A good answer sounds like: yes, we test and tag, here is how often, and the tag will be current on delivery.
Watch out for: a supplier who has not thought about it, or who expects your site to arrange it.
6. Do you carry public liability insurance?
Ask for a certificate of currency. Larger sites, government facilities and managed buildings usually require one on file before any equipment is installed.
A good answer sounds like: yes, and the certificate arrives without you having to chase it.
Watch out for: hesitation, or a promise to send it later that never arrives.
7. Can you provide SWMS and SOPs?
Safe Work Method Statements and Standard Operating Procedures are standard requirements for anyone working on a construction site or a managed facility. If your site inducts contractors, your vending supplier is a contractor.
A good answer sounds like: yes, available on request, and they already have them written.
Watch out for: a supplier who has never been asked, on a site where you know the induction process will ask.
8. Who owns the machine and who is responsible for it?
Clarify in writing who owns the asset, who insures it, who maintains it, and what happens if it is damaged or vandalised on your site.
A good answer sounds like: the supplier owns, insures, services and maintains it, and your business simply hosts it.
Watch out for: any arrangement where your business carries the risk on equipment it does not own or control.
Service and reliability
9. How often do you restock, and how do you know when it is empty?
An empty machine is worse than no machine. Ask how restock frequency is decided, and whether the supplier can see stock levels remotely or waits for someone at your site to phone up.
A good answer sounds like: a stated visit frequency based on your headcount, plus remote monitoring of sales so the run is adjusted as demand shows itself.
Watch out for: restocking on a fixed route with no data behind it, or a supplier who relies on your staff to report an empty machine.
10. How fast do you respond when a machine breaks down?
Get a stated response time, not a promise to be responsive. Then ask what happens on a Friday afternoon.
A good answer sounds like: a clear timeframe, contact details displayed on the machine itself, and monitoring that flags a fault before your staff do.
Watch out for: a generic support email, or a response time that is only quoted in business days.
11. What happens if a customer is charged and nothing drops?
It happens occasionally on every machine ever made. What matters is the process for fixing it, because your staff will judge the machine by that moment.
A good answer sounds like: contact the supplier directly, they check the transaction against their monitoring, and refund the card or return the cash on the next visit. No admin for your team.
Watch out for: any process that makes your reception or office manager the complaints desk.
12. Are you local, and where does your service area actually end?
Plenty of vending companies list a city and service it from several hours away. Ask where the nearest service vehicle is based and where the run genuinely finishes.
A good answer sounds like: a specific, named service boundary and a local team.
Watch out for: national coverage claims with no local depot, or a service area that goes vague when you name your suburb.
Stock, fit and getting out
13. Can we choose what goes in it, including healthy options?
Your site knows what your people will actually buy. Ask whether the range is fixed, and whether it can be adjusted once real sales data exists.
A good answer sounds like: stock customised to your site, and adjusted after a few weeks based on what sells. Healthy options, meals and drinks available if you want them.
Watch out for: a fixed planogram that cannot change, or healthy options that are technically available but never actually offered.
14. How many staff do we need to make it worth doing?
A machine that nobody uses helps nobody. A good supplier will tell you honestly if your site is too small, rather than installing one and letting it sit.
A good answer sounds like: an honest read on your headcount and foot traffic, and a recommendation that might be no.
Watch out for: a supplier who says yes to every site regardless of size, especially if a minimum spend or rental applies.
15. What happens if we want the machine removed?
Ask before you sign, not after. Removal cost, notice period and timeframe.
A good answer sounds like: removed at no cost, whenever you ask.
Watch out for: removal fees, long notice periods, or a machine that stays until the term expires.
Five red flags
- A quote you cannot get in writing. If the pricing only exists in a conversation, it can change after installation.
- Free service with a call-out fee. Free until the moment you actually need something is not free.
- A long term with automatic renewal. If the service is good, the supplier does not need to trap you.
- No certificate of currency. A supplier who cannot produce insurance paperwork has not worked on a managed site.
- No local presence. Response times are a function of distance, whatever the website says.
How Xvend answers these questions
We wrote this checklist because we are happy to be measured against it. Here are our answers, in the same order.
- Cost. Nothing. Vending machine hire with Xvend is $0 for the host business: free delivery, free installation, free restocking and free servicing, with no hire fee and no hidden charges.
- Repairs. Covered, with no call-out fees. Free 24 hour or same day repairs.
- Contract. No lock-in. Change providers or have the machine removed whenever you like, at no cost.
- Commission. We do not pay one. We keep the entire service free instead, which for most sites is worth considerably more.
- Test and tag. Xvend can test and tag machines in-house.
- Insurance. We carry public liability insurance and can provide a certificate of currency.
- SWMS and SOPs. Available on request.
- Ownership. We own, stock, service, repair and maintain the machine. You host it.
- Restocking. Most sites are visited from once a week up to three times a week, and sales are monitored daily so machines do not sit empty.
- Breakdowns. Our contact details are on every machine, and remote monitoring often flags a fault before anyone reports it.
- Failed vends. Contact us, we check the live monitoring, and we refund the card or return the cash on the next service visit.
- Service area. Caboolture in the north to Murwillumbah in the south. Check the locations map for your suburb.
- Stock. Customised to your site and adjusted as sales data comes in, including healthy options and ready-to-eat meals. See the full product list.
- Headcount. No strict minimum, and we will tell you honestly if a site is too small.
- Removal. At no cost, whenever you ask.
You can see the machines we install, the workplaces we work with, and the full Xvend FAQs.
Choosing a vending supplier: FAQs
Ask what installation and ongoing fees apply, who pays for repairs and call-outs, whether there is a lock-in contract, whether the machine is tested and tagged, whether the supplier carries public liability insurance, how often the machine is restocked, and how fast they respond to a breakdown. Ask every supplier the same list and compare the answers.
It varies from a monthly rental on a machine you stock yourself through to a fully managed service at no charge to the host site. With Xvend it is $0: free delivery, installation, restocking, servicing and repairs, with no lock-in contract.
It depends entirely on the supplier, which is why it is worth asking for every fee in writing. Some free offers carry call-out fees, minimum terms or removal charges. With Xvend there is no hire fee, no installation charge, no restocking or servicing fee, no call-out fee and no lock-in contract.
On most managed sites, yes. Construction sites, government facilities, schools and larger workplaces generally require a certificate of currency for public liability insurance, and often SWMS and SOPs, before any contractor installs equipment. Ask for these before you commit.
Do the arithmetic first. A commission is usually funded by higher shelf prices for your staff or by charges elsewhere in the agreement. Compare the total cost to your business and to your team against a service that is free with no commission.
Ask us the same fifteen questions
Completely free, fully managed, no lock-in contract. Contact Xvend and we will answer every question on this page for your site, in writing.
