Parking: June 2010 - 16

Tech Talk Blake Laufer
Creating a System for Revenue Control
Can you spot the difference between a “revenue control system” and a “system for revenue control?” There was a time, many moons ago, when these phrases were interchangeable. But that’s not the case today. Buying a revenue control system is the act of purchasing software and hardware from one of the many providers out there. Couple this with some installation and configuration services, and you’ve got a revenue control system in place. But what you do not have is a system for revenue control. While the software and hardware play a vital role in tracking your revenue, they don’t make for a complete system around controlling your revenue. Basically, a system for revenue control is a process for managing revenues. This isn’t something you can buy; it’s something that you need to direct. This process involves measuring, auditing, managing and improving an entire parking operation. These four elements are somewhat cyclical. For every improvement, one must go back to measuring results, thus starting over the process.

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“Managing a system for revenue control involves converting measurements into true performance indicators.”

Stage one is measurement. There’s an old adage that says “you can’t manage what you can’t measure.” Measurement entails the day-to-day tracking of individual sales. For most parking operations this usually involves a significant quantity of cash, along with credit cards, coupons, validations and other payment methods. It’s difficult to get good numbers out of your system, not just because it requires effort, but your cashiers aren’t always tracking correctly (more on this later). Additionally, your initial selection of system software and hardware is significant not just for administering the day-to-day parking operation, but more so for producing the right information needed in later stages of systemization, specifically the steps for auditing and management. As improvements are made to the system, the revenue control equipment must be flexible enough to alter the output of reports, and collect previously unmeasured results. That’s a Catch-22 situation. It’s difficult to plan in advance what features you’ll need of your system before you know what the system is capable of providing. Buy a system that is open and extensible so that it can be upgraded to your future needs. Stage two is auditing your numbers. Audit is an intimidating term, and auditors are sometimes intimidating people. The fact is, however, that audit control is critically important to the health of the entire system. Audit is simply a means of putting checks and balances in place to ensure that the information on record is a precise reflection of actual events. Vendors often include features for control and security of revenues (both physical and electronic) during the data collection stage, as well as after the day’s receipts have been closed. These features make the audit job significantly better.

National Parking Association PArkINg June 2010

Parking: June 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Parking: June 2010