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Task guide

Build a Self-Storage document

Use Unit Inventory, monthly or annual rent, unit occupancy, Price/Unit, and storage-specific income and reserve labels.

20 to 50 minutesFor Self-Storage investment sales teamsIntermediateLast verified September 6, 2026

Outcome

The document presents storage inventory, occupancy, rents, and operating analysis with accurate unit-based metrics.

Navigation path

Create New > Self-Storage > Document wizard

Access

Document creation access

On this page

Before you start

Data, sources, and access to prepare

  • Storage unit count by type
  • Average rent and occupancy
  • Operating statement when Full Financials is used

Use Unit Inventory

Populated self storage editor showing the property-specific fields used in this example.
Review the populated self storage example and verify the units, property facts, and applicable model before preparing your own document.

Self-Storage analysis

Storage category inventory drives unit occupancy and rent.

  • Unit InventoryUnit Occupancy
  • Unit InventoryStorage Income
  • Unit OccupancyStorage Metrics
  • Storage IncomeStorage Metrics
Use Unit Inventory
AreaSelf-Storage behavior
Rent Roll labelUnit Inventory
OccupancyBy unit count
Price metricsPrice/Unit and Price/SF
Rent basesMonthly or Annual
Lease datesHidden
ReimbursementsHidden
VacanciesSupported

Enter category economics

Enter category economics field reference
FieldRequirementWhat it meansFormatUnitsSave behaviorDownstream effect
Unit TypeRequiredStorage size or product category.Plain-text storage category labelNot applicableSaved when the storage unit or Unit Mix drawer Save action succeeds.Labels the row in Unit Inventory and the Self-Storage presentation.
Number of UnitsRequiredCount represented by a Unit Mix row.Positive whole numberStorage unitsSaved when the Unit Mix drawer Save action succeeds.Multiplies per-unit rent and area and contributes to total-unit occupancy and Price/Unit.
Average SFRecommendedAverage rentable area for the category.Nonnegative numberSquare feet per storage unitSaved when the storage unit or Unit Mix drawer Save action succeeds.Contributes to row area, total rentable area context, and applicable Price/SF output.
Monthly or Annual RentRecommendedPer-unit current rent.Currency amount plus Monthly or Annual basisCurrency per storage unit per month or per yearSaved when the storage unit or Unit Mix drawer Save action succeeds.Annualizes per-unit rent, multiplies grouped rows by count, and feeds storage base rent.
Facility MaintenanceOptionalStorage-specific Cap Ex reserve label.Nonnegative currency rateCurrency per unit per yearBegins the Assumptions 800 ms autosave after entry; reopen assumptions to verify persistence.Creates the storage-labeled facility-maintenance reserve deduction using the occupied and vacant inventory quantity for the displayed reserve basis.
Cap ImprovementsOptionalStorage-specific TI reserve label.Nonnegative currency rateCurrency per unit per yearBegins the Assumptions 800 ms autosave after entry; reopen assumptions to verify persistence.Creates the storage-labeled capital-improvements reserve deduction using the occupied and vacant inventory quantity for the displayed reserve basis.
Marketing/LeasingOptionalStorage-specific leasing reserve label.Nonnegative currency rateCurrency per unit per yearBegins the Assumptions 800 ms autosave after entry; reopen assumptions to verify persistence.Creates the storage-labeled marketing or leasing reserve deduction using the occupied and vacant inventory quantity for the displayed reserve basis.

Required means the field is needed to complete or support this workflow. Some screens allow a draft to save before every required item is complete. The steps and troubleshooting call out controls the product actively blocks.

Suggested other income

  • Late fees
  • Administration fees
  • Insurance income
  • Truck rental
  • Retail sales

Complete the Self-Storage workflow

Self-Storage steps

  1. 1

    Select Self-Storage

    Create New, Select Property Type

    Choose Self-Storage.

    Expected result: Unit Inventory and storage labels activate.

    If this does not happen: Change the property type in Property Details if needed.

  2. 2

    Verify total units and price

    Property Details

    Enter accurate unit count, area, and selling price.

    Expected result: Price/Unit and Price/SF have valid denominators.

    If this does not happen: Correct property totals before entering grouped inventory.

  3. 3

    Choose the inventory layout

    Rent Roll, Unit Inventory > layout selector

    Select individual input or Unit Mix.

    Expected result: The inventory table matches the source schedule structure.

    If this does not happen: Use Unit Mix when the source provides repeated category averages.

  4. 4

    Build Unit Inventory

    Rent Roll, Unit Inventory

    Enter occupied and vacant categories with count, SF, and per-unit rent.

    Expected result: Inventory count and annual rent reconcile.

    If this does not happen: Check that grouped rent is per unit, not the category total.

  5. 5

    Enter storage income and expenses

    Income & Expenses

    Add verified fee, insurance, truck, retail, and operating-expense rows.

    Expected result: EGI and NOI reconcile.

    If this does not happen: Do not enter generic tenant reimbursements because the storage configuration hides them.

  6. 6

    Verify output

    Review & Customize

    Check unit count, occupancy, Price/Unit, Price/SF, inventory labels, reserves, and financial pages.

    Expected result: The final document uses Self-Storage terminology throughout.

    If this does not happen: Return to the source field for the first mismatch.

Resolve Self-Storage issues

Inventory rent is overstated

Likely cause: A total category rent was entered as per-unit rent and multiplied by unit count.

  1. Enter per-unit rent.
  2. Confirm category count.
  3. Recheck annual total.
Lease-date fields are missing

Likely cause: Self-Storage intentionally hides commercial lease dates.

  1. Use Unit Inventory fields.
  2. Add material operating context in notes if necessary.
Reserve dollars do not match per-unit math

Likely cause: Current generation applies reserve rates using total SF.

  1. Independently calculate the intended reserve.
  2. Approve or escalate the displayed output before publishing.
  • Unit count verified
  • Occupied and vacant inventory reconciled
  • Per-unit rent correct
  • Other income sourced
  • Price metrics checked
  • Reserve dollars reviewed

Related guides

Build unit, storage, and pad rent rolls

Use property-specific unit inventory for Multifamily, Self-Storage, and Mobile Home Park documents.

Open guide

Enter income and operating expenses

Build the non-rental income and operating expense statement used to calculate effective gross income and NOI.

Open guide

Verify financial pages before publishing

Confirm scope-based page inclusion, property-specific exceptions, calculations, footnotes, and final document presentation.

Open guide

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