Paper hangtags vs. digital parking passes: what your process really costs
The tag itself is the cheapest part of a paper system. A side-by-side comparison, a four-step way to estimate your own cost, and an honest note on when paper is still enough.
Built for condos, HOAs and apartment buildings. Visitors type the 6-digit code on your sign, residents approve from their phone, and patrol verifies by plate. No paper passes, no hang tags, no concierge queue.
ParkHere is built and supported in Canada. Plans are billed in Canadian dollars and driver sign-in currently needs a Canadian mobile number. Managing property in the US? Book a demo and we will talk it through.
5 min
For the resident to approve before a visitor request expires
24 h
Maximum pass length, set per property
$0
Hardware - no meters, gates or hang tags
10
Free manager seats per account
ParkHere Residential is visitor parking management for HOAs, condos, strata and apartment buildings. Visitors type the 6-digit code from your sign, residents approve on their ParkHere dashboard, patrol verifies by plate, and it costs $1.99 per unit per month with no hardware.
The binder, the hang tags and the elevator trips cost your board time and your residents patience.
A photocopied pass looks exactly like a real one. Once passes leave the office you have no idea who is parking, or how often.
Directors and site staff end up handing out passes, fielding complaints and arguing about whose car that is. Nobody volunteered for that.
Guests wait at the door while the resident goes down to the desk, and the concierge keeps a binder nobody can search.
Patrol has no reliable list, so every tow is a guess and every complaint lands on the board. Without a record, you cannot defend the decision.
Set the rules once. Residents and visitors do the rest.
Add your units, set free passes per unit per month and the pass length, and print the permanent 6-digit location code on your own signage. Codes never change.
A visitor types the code from your sign, picks the unit and their vehicle. The request appears on the resident's ParkHere dashboard; they tap Approve and the visitor sees the pass on screen. Requests expire after 5 minutes.
Officers sign in by phone, type the location code and see every plate with an active or expired pass, refreshed every 30 seconds. One tap sends a tow request to your tow company.
A permanent 6-digit location code per building. Print it on your own signage once; visitors, residents and patrol simply type it.
Residents claim their unit, keep up to 3 vehicles and answer visitor requests on their dashboard. Nobody prints or hands out anything.
Free passes per unit per calendar month (0 to 99), pass length up to 24 hours, the hours a pass is required, and a grace period.
Once a unit's free passes are used, residents can buy extra passes at the price you set ($0 to $999.99), paid to your own Stripe account.
Patrol officers see active and expired plates per location on their phone, refreshed every 30 seconds. Unlimited officers, no charge.
An officer picks your tow company; it gets an email with one-click Accept or Reject. Tow operators never need an account.
Nothing to download, nothing to print. Everyone signs in with a Canadian mobile number and a 6-digit code sent by text - the only text message ParkHere sends.
infoRequests appear on the resident's dashboard while it is open; there is no text or push. Most guests simply call or text their host, who opens the page and taps Approve. Your managers can also create a pass for a resident from the portal.
Best for boards that want a rulebook instead of a binder: passes per unit, pass length and hours, and a plate record that makes every tow decision defensible. Works with the patrol and tow company you already have.
Best for portfolios. Run every building from one account with up to 10 free manager seats, unlimited properties, per-building rules and CSV upload for large buildings.
Best for communities without a concierge. Self-serve visitor parking for townhome and HOA communities, strata councils in BC, and apartment owners who want fewer complaints and a resident-friendly amenity.
Residential is $1.99 per unit per month, plus tax. No setup fees, no contracts.
For residential communities
$1.99 /unit / mo
Residential is $1.99 per unit per month, plus tax, billed monthly through Stripe. No setup fees, no contracts; cancel from your Billing page at any time. Book a demo and we will size a quote to your buildings and set up your account with you.
| Paper passes and binders | ParkHere | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuing a visitor pass | Resident visits the desk or a director prints one | Visitor types the code, resident taps Approve on their dashboard |
| Copying and sharing | Photocopies look identical | Each pass is tied to a plate and an expiry time; nothing to copy |
| Monthly limits | Tracked by hand, if at all | 0 to 99 free passes per unit per calendar month, applied automatically |
| Compliance | Officer inspects windshields and guesses | Live active and expired plate list on the officer's phone, refreshed every 30 seconds |
| Towing | Phone calls, no record | One-tap request; tow company gets an email with Accept and Reject; every request logged |
| Hardware | Hang tags, printers, sometimes gates | None - your own sign with a 6-digit code |
| Extra passes | Cash, or nothing | Optional, paid by card, settled to your own Stripe account |
| Staff access | Whoever holds the binder | Up to 10 free manager seats; only the owner touches billing |
The short answers boards and managers ask first.
The tag itself is the cheapest part of a paper system. A side-by-side comparison, a four-step way to estimate your own cost, and an honest note on when paper is still enough.
One HOA has hangtags, the condo down the road a binder, a third a board member who texts plates to the tow company. How to bring every community onto one system while each board keeps its own rules.
Guest parking sits on the expense side of the ledger. It is also one of the few amenities a community controls completely. Where the value leaks, how to decide whether charging fits, and how to collect without new work.
Book a walkthrough and we will show your board the resident, visitor and patrol flows, then set up your first building with you.
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