Setting up a new property in ParkingPass involves coordinating across your team, your patrol vendor, and ParkingPass Support. This guide walks through the entire sequence — from the moment your property is first configured through your first week of live enforcement.
Once your property is live, your day-to-day work shifts to the routine described in Property Manager Quick Start: Your Daily Playbook. This article focuses on the one-time work that happens before that.
Before You Start
Most of the heavy lifting on initial configuration is done by your ParkingPass Account Manager during onboarding. Before launch, you should have:
A signed agreement with ParkingPass.
An identified patrol vendor (or be using ParkingPass's preferred vendor).
Decisions made on key configuration: parking rules, vehicle limits per unit, guest pass policy, paid public parking (if applicable), Free Roll Out period (if applicable).
A list of your initial residents and lease dates.
Login credentials for your ParkingPass property manager account.
If any of these are unclear, contact your Account Manager before working through this checklist.
Phase 1: Confirm Property Configuration
1. Verify your unit list
Open Property → Vehicle/Unit Management and confirm every unit, address, and building is represented correctly.
Missing units, wrong building numbers, or wrong addresses lead to resident registration issues. Catch them now.
Unit changes must be coordinated through ParkingPass Support — see Adding or Removing Units on a Property.
2. Confirm vehicle limits
Review the maximum vehicles allowed per unit. If a specific unit needs a different limit, set it now.
3. Review parking rules
Open Property → Parking Policy (or the Parking Policy dashboard quick-action) and read through every rule.
Confirm the severity level (warnings before enforcement) for each rule matches what was agreed during onboarding.
If a rule needs to change, request it through Support — see Updating Parking Rules.
4. Check guest parking configuration
Review the consecutive-day limits, reset periods, and any paid guest parking settings.
5. Confirm Free Roll Out (if applicable)
If your property is using Free Roll Out, confirm the start and end dates. This is your residents' window to register without being charged for resident permits.
6. Locate your property keyword
Your keyword is what residents use to self-register. Find it now and copy it somewhere you can paste into welcome emails, signs, and onboarding packets.
Phase 2: Add Your Team
1. Invite property management users
From the dashboard, click the Manage Staff quick-action button (or open Users from the left sidebar) and invite each team member who needs access.
Pick the right role for each user — Property Manager, Office Staff, Patrol Manager, etc.
2. Confirm each user's notification preferences
New users should check their notification settings so important alerts (new applications, vehicle changes, etc.) reach them.
3. Designate a primary point of contact
If your patrol vendor needs to reach someone in real time (especially for properties subject to Colorado Real-Time Tow Authorization), confirm who that is.
Phase 3: Patrol Setup
1. Confirm your patrol vendor
Your patrol vendor should already be in place from your contract. Verify their information is correct in ParkingPass.
2. Confirm patrol hours
Patrol coverage windows are agreed during onboarding. Confirm them with Support if uncertain.
3. Seed your Do-Not-Tow list
Before patrol starts, add vehicles that should be protected from enforcement:
Employee vehicles
Vendor vehicles (landscaping, maintenance, etc.)
Approved contractor vehicles
Any executive or VIP vehicles relevant to your property
4. Place any pre-launch Patrol Holds
If your property has a known event in the first week or two (move-in day, contractor work, holiday gathering), place a Patrol Hold for that window so enforcement doesn't conflict.
Phase 4: Onboard Residents
1. Decide on your onboarding approach
You can:
Bulk-import a rent-roll using the Resident Data Manager — fastest for established properties with many existing residents.
Invite individually from the dashboard's Invite Residents quick-action button — good for smaller properties or for adding new residents one at a time.
Share your property keyword for self-registration — good for ongoing intake or as a backup channel.
Most properties use a mix — bulk-import existing residents, then use the keyword for new move-ins.
2. Bulk-import your rent-roll
Use the Resident Data Manager to upload all existing residents, including lease dates and contact information.
3. Send welcome communication
Email or message your residents explaining:
That ParkingPass is your new (or active) parking management platform.
The launch date for enforcement.
Your property keyword and how to register.
What they need from them (vehicle info, registration documents, lease verification, etc.).
Where to go for help.
4. Post signs and physical materials
If your patrol vendor or property requires signage with your keyword or registration URL (my.parkingpass.com), post these visibly. New residents and visitors should see them before they need to park.
Phase 5: Test the Workflow
Before going fully live, walk through the most common workflows once each:
Approve a test application — Have a team member register and approve them. Confirm the flow end-to-end.
Create a guest pass — Confirm guest pass creation works and the pass appears as active.
Log a test DNT entry — Confirm it appears on the DNT list correctly.
Open the Reports menu — Familiarize yourself with where reports live (especially Patrol Analytics, Expired Leases, Future Move Outs).
Open Reading Your Dashboard — Walk through every widget so you know what to expect on day one.
Phase 6: Go Live and First Week
1. Confirm launch date
Your launch date — when patrol enforcement officially begins — is coordinated with your Account Manager and patrol vendor.
2. Watch for early applications
In the first 24–72 hours after launch, your dashboard will start showing resident applications, vehicle requests, and possibly your first guest passes. Review them promptly.
3. Communicate with your patrol vendor
Confirm with the vendor that their patrol scans are running and that they have the correct property configuration.
4. Switch to the daily routine
Once you're past launch day, transition to the Property Manager Quick Start: Your Daily Playbook — the recurring daily, weekly, and monthly tasks that keep your program running.
Common Launch-Day Issues
Residents aren't receiving invitation emails
Check that the email addresses uploaded to ParkingPass match the ones residents are using. See Trouble Receiving Email Notifications.
Residents see "wrong property" errors during self-registration
They likely entered the wrong keyword. Share the exact keyword (case-sensitive) again.
An employee's vehicle was towed on day one
The vehicle wasn't on the Do-Not-Tow list yet. Add it now and contact the tow vendor directly to resolve. See How to Handle Tow or Citation Disputes.
A resident says they registered but their vehicle still isn't authorized
Check whether their application is pending approval. New applications need property manager review — see Managing Resident Applications.
The dashboard isn't showing patrol activity
Either the patrol vendor hasn't started yet, or patrol scans aren't reaching the system. Confirm both with your vendor and ParkingPass Support.
Important Notes
Most one-time configuration (parking rules, billing, units) is finalized during onboarding with ParkingPass Account Management. This guide is about verifying that configuration and adding the operational layer on top.
Don't launch enforcement until you've reviewed the DNT list, confirmed your patrol vendor is ready, and onboarded at least your initial resident set.
If your property is in Florida or Colorado, review the relevant state-specific configuration — see State Compliance Overview.
If your property is enrolled in Revenue Share or uses the Parking Spot Marketplace, complete Stripe Connect setup before launch so payouts can flow.
Reach out to [email protected] at any stage if something doesn't match what's described here. Your Account Manager is your primary point of contact for first-time setup questions.