Small Vending Machine Route

Employees, residents, students and visitors buy items one at a time. The host site usually pays nothing but may ask for a share of sales.

You earn the gap between what you pay wholesale for stock and the machine price, minus any commission to the site owner and your running costs.

• Negotiating with property managers
• Basic bookkeeping and stock tracking
• Reliable routines and route planning
• Simple machine troubleshooting

• Commercial general liability insurance, and check whether host sites ask for proof of cover
• Check your municipality for any business licence, and whether a home-based business licence applies if you store stock at home
• Packaged food rules and any health unit requirements, which vary by province
• Check whether deposit-return or beverage container rules apply to drinks in your province
• Register for GST/HST once revenue passes the small supplier threshold
• Poor locations can earn very little, so test the site before buying more machines
• Winter driving and heated storage for drinks and snacks

Startup costs are typically around $8,000 to $30,000, depending on how many machines you buy or lease and the stock you load. These are estimates, so get real machine and supplier quotes before you commit.

Check commercial general liability insurance and whether host sites want proof of cover. Check municipal licence rules, packaged food and health unit requirements in your province, and whether deposit-return or beverage container rules apply to drinks.

Monthly revenue is typically estimated at around $500 to $3,500, depending on your locations and machine count. Poor locations can earn very little, so test a site before buying more machines. Hours start at about 6 a week.