TowingBossPro Blog — Invoicing & Payments

Adding Storage Days to the Invoice: Start Dates, Daily Rates and Release

Storage is quiet money. Nobody calls about it until they come to pick up the vehicle, and then everyone wants to know how the number was calculated.

If your storage billing depends on someone counting days on a wall calendar, you are almost certainly leaving money on the table and inviting arguments at the release window.

Start the Clock on the Call

Accident vehicles from Invoicing Accident and Recovery Calls: Cleanup, Labor and Waiting Time often land in storage, and so do impounds and abandoned vehicles. In TowingBossPro, Impound & Storage calls carry a storage start date and a daily rate. That's the beginning of a clean storage charge.

Set the start date the day the vehicle enters your yard, not the day someone remembers to enter it. A start date that's off by a few days is either lost revenue or a dispute.

Photos at intake help too. A vehicle photographed when it enters storage gives you a record of its condition from day one, which matters if it sits for weeks and the owner later claims something changed.

Storage Days on the Invoice

Storage days are added to the invoice based on the start date and the daily rate. The invoice shows the number of days and the rate, so the customer can see how the total was reached.

That removes the release-window arithmetic. The person at the counter isn't counting days on their fingers while a frustrated owner watches. The total is already there.

Because the count comes from the record, two staff members working the counter will always get the same answer. That consistency alone removes a surprising number of arguments, because customers can't play one employee against another.

Know Your Local Storage Rules

Many states and cities regulate storage: how days are counted, whether partial days count, what notices are required and how long before other steps can be taken. Those rules vary widely, so check them before you set your daily rate and your counting method.

TowingBossPro tracks storage days and puts them on the invoice. It doesn't process liens, titles or auctions, so those steps stay with whatever process your local rules require.

Write your counting rule down in a sentence: when the first day starts, whether the release day counts, and whether partial days count. Then make sure the daily rate and start dates you enter follow it.

Some yards also charge a different daily rate for heavy units or for indoor storage. If you do, make sure the rate on each call matches the vehicle and the space it occupies, and that the rate is shown on the invoice.

Explain Storage Up Front

When someone calls looking for their vehicle, tell them the storage rate and that it accrues daily. Customers who know the clock is running come sooner, and storage disputes drop.

If the vehicle came in from an account — a property manager, a police agency — note who requested the tow on the call. When the owner asks why their car was taken, you can answer from the record.

Say it in writing as well. If the owner contacts you by text, a short reply with the daily rate and the current total gives them a reason to come quickly and gives you a record that they were told.

Release and Payment

At release, the invoice includes the tow, any extras and the storage days. Take payment before the vehicle leaves, either at the window or online. Make sure the payment lands on the invoice so the call shows as paid in your reports.

For vehicles released to a body shop or dealer account, decide whether storage bills to the account or the owner, and keep it consistent.

Double-check the start date and daily rate before release. A wrong start date is the most common storage error, and it is far easier to correct before the owner pays than after they've driven away and called to complain.

Watch the Long-Stay Vehicles

Review vehicles that have been in storage a long time every week. They tie up space and often have the largest balances. A storage invoice that grows every day isn't money in the bank until someone pays it.

Long-stay vehicles are also where your local rules on notices and next steps come into play. Keep a simple list of which vehicles are approaching the timelines your area sets, so nothing important gets missed.

Storage billing is built into TowingBossPro's impound and storage calls. See how it fits with the rest of your billing on the towing invoicing software page.