Buyers Guide
This guide has been developed to help you when buying vending machines
or service.
Why choose vending?
How do we ensure the quality of service?
What can be vended?
How can we help you?
What service do you require?
How do I purchase the equipment?
How does the operating service work?
How do we calculate VAT?
Increasingly companies are being required by their employees to provide
a refreshment service seven days a week often twenty-four hours a day.
Company catering facilities are also being reviewed in an effort to reduce
fixed costs and in some cases are being closed. The alternative is
vended product. The vending machines can make product available 24
hours a day and machines can be sited just where you want them.
Branded beverage vending machines can deliver range of services from large
automatic machines to tabletop office machines. Beverages include black
and white coffee and tea and the machines are set up according to taste.
Freshly ground coffee, fresh brew tea, cappuccino, espresso and chocolate
drinks are also available.
Branded snack machines, food and cold drink and water machines are also available to provide an individually tailored refreshment service to your company.
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How do We Ensure the Quality of Service?
Vending Ltd is a member of the AVA (Automatic Vending Association) and AVS (Associated Vending Services) which is a buying group, which works together to provide competitive prices for equipment and commodities.
AVA has developed a quality management system ensure consistency of service and operation by member companies. We have also maintained accreditation to EN ISO 9001.
The requirements of the two standards means that we have systems in place to ensure that service engineers and operators make sure that day on day they consistently deliver what their company has promised. The management system is customer focused with areas covered including customer care and customer complaint control, contract control, document control, corrective action, operation control, purchasing of stock, depot hygiene control and training. The company has developed a management review and internal audit process to measure the company's performance and identify actions required to deliver the quality of products and service and ensure continuous improvement.
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The vending choices that we supply are:
- Hot beverages
- Cold drinks packed in bottles, cans or cartons
- Confectionery and savoury snacks
- Sandwiches and snack foods
- Bottle and Point of use water coolers
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How can We Help You?
Vending Ltd source and site the machine for
you and be able to provide an operating and/or maintenance contract to
ensure cleaning, filling and cash collecting as well as any necessary
maintenance. The individuals who attend to the cleaning and filling of
the machines are also called operators. Those who maintain and repair
the machines are field service engineers.
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You may find the following questions useful, as the response will affect the type of vending service that is required. We would be happy to talk to you about the machines available and then recommend those that we believe best suit your needs.
- How many people will be using the machine, during what hours?
- What product range do you want?
- How much will the people be prepared to pay for a drink or snack item?
- Will there be long periods when the machine is not in use (for example school holidays)?
- What other sources of supply are available locally, what do they charge and what do they offer?
- Where will the machine be located?
- Is it readily accessible to all those who want to use it?
- Do you want users to pay by cash, token, card or are you providing products free at the point of delivery?
- What is your budget for the machine?
- Do you know how VAT on the products sold through the machine is to be handled?
- Are you clear what machine (or machines) is to be provided? Have you checked whether they are new and that the length of lease or contract is appropriate?
- Do you know what ingredients are to be used to make fresh hot and cold drinks? Will you, and your staff, want to taste test the drinks or have a machine on trial?
- Which products and ingredients you want to offer either specialist vending ingredients or major international brands?
If you wish to purchase or lease a machine we will then carry out a site survey to cover areas such as:
- Is there a convenient supply of electricity nearby?
- If required, is there a convenient supply of potable water nearby?
- How will the machine be commissioned and are there any health and safety implications when placing the machine?
Contact us for more information.
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How Do I Purchase the Equipment?
The equipment can be financed in a number of ways. The cost of vending
machines varies with their complexity, capability and capacity. The capital
cost can be financed by outright purchase or by lease. A lease gives the
user (the lessee) use of the equipment in exchange for fixed payments
-paid over an agreed time period to the Finance House (the lessor).
Maintenance and Operating Contracts are available as an add-on package i.e. you may also wish to have a maintenance contract to limit down time if anything should go wrong or an operating contract to ensure the machine is filled, cleaned and cashed by one of our operators. A lease gives the user (the lessee) use of the equipment in exchange for rental payments -paid over an agreed time period to the Finance House (the lessor).
The main attraction of leasing is that it enables equipment to be obtained
by revenue expenditure rather than capital expenditure. Leases are normally
declared on the balance sheets of limited companies this a lease and separate
service contract is a good way of financing a vending machine if you are
not in a position to buy outright.
Checklist for Lessees:
- Make it clear within your own organisation who can sign such agreements.
- Ensure that the supplier of any equipment involved is reputable and an accredited supplier of the equipment involved.
- Check the supplying company is ISO9001 registered.
- Check the name of the leasing company, and where relevant its parent company, on the page of the lease agreement which you sign and whether this company is a member of the Finance & Leasing Association. FLA members are required to ensure that their contracts are clear and unambiguous.
- Ensure with the supplier that the equipment is new, or if not that you are content that used or refurbished equipment is suitable.
- Always ensure that the completed contract corresponds with any verbal or written quotation.
- Read your contract carefully before signing it and ensure it is correct, particularly in respect of the lease amount and the period of hire. Never sign an agreement, which is not fully completed.
- Make sure you understand and agree with all terms and conditions of the contract and, if you are unsure, seek advice.
- Make sure you understand the costs involved and whether the agreement allows for any automatic increases in charges.
- Check the period of hire and any notice period required for its termination and the settlement terms to be applied on early termination.
- Ensure that the length of the agreement is not longer than the expected working life of the equipment involved.
- Check whether the agreement includes the supply of service(s) and whether this will continue after any minimum or initial period of hire.
- If you are entering into a separate contract for the provision of maintenance and operating service you should check its terms carefully.
- If any amendments are made to your contract or a further contract is required to replace an existing agreement - do not sign until you have made the same checks as you did for the original agreement.
For more information regarding leasing please click here
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How Does The Operating Service Work?
We would supply the machines and then agree an operating contract to maintains, fill, clean and service the machines. Cups, commodities and products are supplied and an operator will fill and clean the machine and collect and account for the cash takings. The prices to be charged for the vended products are jointly agreed. The level of service required i.e. number of visits will vary depending on the type of machine, types of products, consumption patterns etc.
We can offer a complete commodity package supplying the leading brands of in-cup, capsule, filterpack branded beverage products, and other commodity ingredients including sugar, chocolate, cremer and tea. We also supply well recognized confectionery and snack lines which should meet your needs.
We sypply a complete food package which is tailored to your company needs.
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Everything that is sold through a vending machine is subject to Value Added Tax (VAT) at standard rate. This applies whether or not the product would attract VAT when sold through any other route. Make quite sure when you are discussing pricing and the cost of vended products whether you or the vending operator will be responsible for collecting the VAT and paying it over to the Revenue.
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