The rental form in Cubby is used to create both rentals and leads. You don't need to decide which one it will be before you start — three buttons at the top right let you switch at any point during the process. This article walks you through the full flow from opening the form to the success screen.
In this article
How to open the form
There are six ways to open the rental/lead form:
Keyboard shortcut — press R to start a rental or L to start a lead from any screen in Cubby.
+ Create button — click the + Create button in the top navigation bar, then choose Rental or Lead.
Leads page — go to the Leads tab and click + Add Lead.
Tenant's page — open a tenant's record and click + New Rental to pre-fill their details.
Sitemap — click any vacant unit to open its card, then click + Create rental.
Units tab — open a unit from the Units tab and click + Create rental from its detail view.
Choosing Rental or Lead from the menu doesn't lock you in — you can switch at any point using the buttons in the top right corner of the form.
Add or find the customer
Start by finding the customer in the search field on the left side of the form. Type their name, email, or phone number and select them from the dropdown.
Choosing a name from the dropdown links the rental to that existing account. Double-check the name and email before selecting to avoid accidentally creating a rental under the wrong person's record.
Customers with open leads show an N active leads badge in the dropdown, so you can spot a returning prospect before you pick them.
If the customer already has an open lead
When you pick a customer who already has an open lead, Cubby shows Active lead found (or Active leads found) before you go any further, so you don't create a duplicate. Each lead shows its pricing group, facility and status, when it was last updated, who created it, when, and the source.
Continue lead — loads that lead into the form. Anything you've already typed is kept. If there are several, pick the one you're working on first.
Create new lead (or Create new rental) — ignores the open leads and starts a fresh one.
Leads count as open when their status is New, In progress (hot or cold) or Reservation. Leads On hold don't trigger the check, and you only see leads at facilities you have access to. The customer card's Active leads section lists the same open leads.
Adding a new customer
If the customer doesn't exist yet, type their name and select Add "Name" from the dropdown. A modal will appear asking for their details.
Name is the only required field.
Adding an email and phone number lets Cubby send move-in confirmations and payment receipts.
Address is required for lien notices in most states — it's worth adding upfront.
Company name — optional field for business tenants.
This customer is active military personnel — toggle for SCRA tracking. Note: Cubby does not perform automatic SCRA checks.
Click Save to create the customer and return to the rental form with their details pre-filled.
Select a pricing group
The right side of the form shows your pricing groups. By default, only pricing groups with available units are shown. Rows are grouped by facility. Each row shows the group name, walk-in rate, web rate, unit size, included features, any active discounts, the number of available units and reservations.
Click + above the grid to add filters — you can narrow by size, features, facility, and more.
Find units at nearby facilities
If you can create rentals at more than one facility, each facility in the grid has a View nearby facilities link, and each pricing group has a map icon. Use them when the customer's first choice is full or too far away.
View nearby facilities opens a map with your facilities around the one you're working at:
Distance origin — measure from This facility, or choose Zip code and type the customer's US ZIP code (e.g. 32114 or 32114-1234) or Canadian postal code (e.g. K1A 0B1, or just the first three characters). If the code can't be found you'll see Invalid Zip code format.
Radius — 1, 3, 5, 10 or 25 miles. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
Facilities — tick the facilities you want, nearest first, then click Apply filter. The grid then shows pricing groups from those facilities only.
The map icon on a pricing group row opens [pricing group] at nearby facilities: groups of a similar size at your other facilities that have units available, nearest first, with their rates. Pick one and click Configure move-in (or Configure lead) to go straight to the next step with that group.
💡 Only enabled facilities you have access to are listed. If you see No geolocation data for [facility]. Nearby results can't be calculated., that facility's location isn't set — contact support@cubbystorage.com.
Creating a waitlist lead for a sold-out pricing group
A Pricing group is Available filter chip is applied by default — it hides pricing groups with zero available units. To save a lead for a fully occupied group, click the × on that chip to remove the filter.
Once the filter is removed, all pricing groups appear in the table — including those with zero available units. Select the sold-out group and proceed to save the lead.
Source (required)
Below the customer's details, select a Source from the dropdown. This field is required — it powers the lead source breakdown in Analytics → Leads. Available options include: Walk-in, Phone, SMS, Referral, Search engine, Digital ad, Billboard, Physical ad, Website, App, Kiosk, and Other.
Save as a lead, create a reservation, or configure move-in
At this stage — after adding the customer and selecting a pricing group — three buttons appear in the top right:
Save lead — saves the inquiry without committing to a unit or move-in date. The lead appears in the Leads list where you can follow up, assign tasks, and track status.
Create reservation — holds a specific unit for the customer without starting a rental. See Reservations for how reservations work.
Configure move-in — proceeds to the next step to finalise the lease terms and create the rental.
💡 You can save as a lead or reservation even before selecting a pricing group — a unit interest is optional when parking a lead.
Configure the lease terms
Clicking Configure move-in opens the lease configuration screen. A live cost summary on the right updates as you change each option.
Unit, date, coverage, and rate
Unit — pick a specific unit from the pricing group. Available units appear in the dropdown.
Move-in date — defaults to today. You can backdate or forward-date the move-in.
Coverage — select the tenant protection plan. Options include the tenant's own insurance and Cubby's paid monthly tiers.
If your facility is configured to allow it, a No coverage option will also appear. The highest tier is selected by default — change it to match what the tenant wants.
Rate — choose Walk-in rate, Web rate, or a Custom rate. Custom lets you enter any price, and the amount is required: leave it blank and Cubby won't let you save. If you genuinely mean to give the unit away, type 0 — a deliberate $0 is accepted, a blank is not.
Pricing groups with value pricing tiers
If the pricing group sells "good, better & best" tiers, a tier picker opens instead of the plain unit list. It shows each tier side by side with its price and benefits. Tiers with no available unit are marked Sold out.
Choose Walk-in rate or Web rate at the top. Tier prices step up from that rate, the same way they do on your website.
Pick a tier. Cubby selects a unit in that tier for you (by default, the one that has been vacant longest). Use the Unit dropdown to switch to another unit in the same tier.
Click Continue. To change it later, use Edit unit and rate.
Any user can sell any tier. You don't need the custom-rate permission to choose a higher tier. Set a custom rate is still there if you need to override the tier price. A customer who reserved a tier on your website keeps that tier and price when you move them in. See How to set up "good, better & best" value pricing.
Optional fees and exemptions
Scroll down to see the optional waiver checkboxes:
Waive Security Deposit — removes the security deposit from the move-in cost.
Waive Move-in fee — removes the one-time admin or move-in fee.
Tax exempt — marks the tenant as tax-exempt. Make sure you have documentation before using this.
Tenant is storing a vehicle — flags the rental for vehicle storage requirements, prompting collection of the vehicle license plate and proof of insurance.
Add merchandise to the rental
When you create a rental, the configure screen has two tabs: Rental and Merchandise. Use Merchandise to sell a lock, boxes or other products in the same checkout as the move-in.
Open the Merchandise tab and click + Add products.
In Select products, tick the products the customer wants — the Inventory column shows what's in stock — and click Add.
Set the quantity on each line, or remove a line with ×. Each product appears in the cost summary with its quantity.
With products in the cart, payment is always collected at creation: the button becomes Pay and create rental (unless the total is $0), even if your lease configuration doesn't require payment.
The Merchandise tab is only in Create rental — not when saving a lead or a reservation.
Picking a pricing group at a different facility clears the products you've selected.
Paying for a rental and merchandise together creates a Merch fulfillment needed for unit [unit] task, due the day before move-in, so staff can get the items ready. You can turn this off in your Lease Configuration.
A payment that covers both the rental and merchandise can only be refunded in full.
Save lead, Create reservation, or Create rental
The same three action buttons remain available from the configure move-in screen. Once you're happy with the lease terms, choose what to do next:
Save lead — saves all the configured details (unit interest, dates, rate) alongside the lead. You can come back to Convert it to a rental at any time.
Create reservation — holds the specific unit for the customer and locks the configured lease terms.
Create rental — finalises the rental and creates the lease.
If you've added merchandise and then click Save lead or Create reservation, Cubby asks Save as a lead without the merchandise? Leads can't hold merchandise yet, so the products aren't saved — you can add them again when you convert the lead to a rental.
After creating a rental
When the rental is created successfully, Cubby shows a confirmation screen with three options for next steps:
Collect payment — go directly to the payment screen to collect the move-in balance. This is the most common next step.
Sell merchandise — open the merchandise sale screen to sell a lock, boxes, or other items to the tenant at move-in. You can also add products before creating the rental — see Add merchandise to the rental.
Complete documents — collect the tenant's signature on the lease agreement and any required forms.
⚠️ Applying a discount? Assign it to the pricing group first.
A discount only appears as an option during lease creation if it has been assigned to that pricing group. If you're expecting a discount dropdown and there isn't one, that's why — see Pricing groups.
After saving as a lead
After clicking Save lead, Cubby shows a lead summary screen with two options:
View lead — opens the lead's detail panel where you can see all the lead information, add notes, assign tasks, and track follow-ups.
Send quote — generates a shareable quote link to send to the lead by email or text. The lead can view their full quote online. See How to share a quote with a lead for details.
You can also find the lead in the Leads tab at any time to follow up, change its status, or convert it to a rental when the customer is ready.
The Home dashboard shows a counter — "N leads with no follow-up in over a day — awaiting action" — your daily cue to keep the pipeline moving.
Online self-serve rentals
When a tenant completes a rental through the Storefront, the following applies:
The customer will not receive their unit number, gate access code, or overlock combination until they have signed their lease.
If a customer selects a future move-in date, their gate access code remains disabled until that date.
If you have notifications enabled in Cubby, you'll be notified in real time as the customer completes each step.
Unfinished online checkouts become leads. As soon as a visitor types a valid phone number or email address at checkout, Cubby saves them as a lead, even if they leave before entering a name. Until a name is known, the lead is named after that phone number or email address. If the same person comes back and completes the rental, Cubby matches them to the same customer and closes the abandoned lead as a duplicate.
Related articles
Manage a lead — statuses, tasks, notes, and converting a lead to a rental
Reservations — how to hold a unit for a customer
How to share a quote with a lead — send a shareable link for the customer to review their quote
FAQ
Q. Can I create a lead for a sold-out pricing group?
A. Yes. The pricing group table defaults to showing only groups with available units. Click the × on the Pricing group is Available filter chip above the table to remove it — this reveals all pricing groups, including sold-out ones. Select the group and click Save lead.
Q. Can I change a lead to a rental later?
A. Yes. Open the lead from the Leads tab, click More actions, and select Convert to rental. The customer and unit interest details will pre-fill the form.
Q. Do I have to select a unit to save a lead?
A. No. The unit selection is optional when saving a lead. You can save a lead with just a customer and a source, then add a unit interest later from the lead's detail panel.
Q. Is Source required?
A. Yes. Source is a required field for both rentals and leads. If you don't see the source you need, select Other — it appears as the last option in the dropdown.
Q. What happens to the held unit when I create a reservation?
A. The unit is marked as Reserved and removed from the available unit count. See Reservations for how to manage, cancel, or convert a reservation.
Q. Can I backdate a move-in?
A. Yes. Change the Move-in date field during the configure move-in step to any past date. The invoice and first billing cycle will be calculated from that date.
Q. What is "Sell merchandise" on the success screen?
A. Sell merchandise lets you process a merchandise sale — a lock, moving boxes, or any item from your merchandise catalogue — at the same time as the move-in. The charge is added to the tenant's account. You can also sell merchandise at any time from the tenant's page.
Q. What if I choose the wrong unit?
A. Click Change pricing group to go back and pick a different pricing group, then reselect a unit. Alternatively, after the rental is created you can use Unit transfer to move the tenant to the correct unit.
Q. Will the tenant receive a confirmation email automatically?
A. Yes, unless the tenant has no email on file.
How do I set up AutoPay for the new rental?
Go to the tenant's profile, find the rental card, click Rental actions, and select Set up AutoPay. The tenant can also set it up themselves via the tenant portal.
Can I create a rental for a customer who already has one?
Yes — search for the existing customer and proceed through the rental form as normal. The new rental is added to their account.
What's the difference between a reservation and a rental?
A reservation holds the unit and removes it from available inventory, but the lease isn't active — no charges accrue and the tenant isn't billed.
Q. Why did Cubby show "Active leads found"?
A. The customer you picked already has an open lead (New, In progress or Reservation) at a facility you can access. Continue it to keep one record per enquiry, or create a new one if this really is a separate enquiry.
Q. Why don't I see "View nearby facilities"?
A. It only appears if you can create rentals at more than one facility.
Q. Can I refund just the merchandise from a move-in payment?
A. No. A payment that covered both the rental and merchandise can only be refunded in full. To refund products on their own, sell them separately from the Shop tab — Shop sales can be refunded item by item.