Who we are

About VendRoute

We make tools and guides for people who run one to thirty vending machines, and we are building the app that tracks the route. No hype about passive income, numbers with their assumptions, and the official source for anything legal.

Why VendRoute exists

Vending is a good small business and a terrible get-rich-quick scheme. Most of what shows up when you search for it is one or the other: a course selling the dream, or a forum thread full of people who bought a machine and never found a location. VendRoute sits in between. The tools do the arithmetic honestly. The guides explain how routes, locations, commissions, card fees and taxes actually work. The app, when it ships, tracks what each machine really makes.

Who writes it

The guides are written by the VendRoute team at Viral Labs, a small independent studio. We write the way one operator talks to another: short sentences, real costs, and the unglamorous parts included (restocking at 6 a.m., a refund request on a Sunday, a location that closes without telling you). We are not a machine dealer, a location broker or a course seller, and we take no commissions or affiliate payments from anyone named on this site.

Editorial and sources policy

• Every number has a source or an assumption. Industry figures link to the organization that published them. Prices come from named sellers' public listings and say when they were checked. Worked examples state every input so you can argue with them.
• Every dollar amount is dated. Prices, fees and taxes move. A figure on this site says "as of" the month it was checked, and a weekly task re-checks the ones most likely to change.
• No invented statistics. If we cannot find a reliable figure, we say so and describe the range in words. No made-up averages, success rates, ratings or user counts.
• Named companies get a disclosure. When a guide names a machine maker, card reader company or software product, it carries this line: VendRoute is made by Viral Labs and is not affiliated with any machine maker, card reader company or software named here.
• Corrections are welcome. If a rule changed, a price moved or we got something wrong, email us and we will fix it and note the update on the page.

Not legal or tax advice

Licenses, permits, health rules and sales tax for vending differ by state, county and city, and they change. Our guides explain what to look for and link to the official page (your state revenue department, your city clerk or health department, the IRS), but they are general information, not legal, tax or investment advice. Talk to a licensed professional before you borrow money, sign a location agreement or buy a route.

The app

The VendRoute app is in development, Android first, then iPhone. It will keep your machines on a map with par levels, log each restock visit (what went in, cash and card collected, waste pulled), show profit per machine and per location, and keep a prospecting list of locations. It is built for the small operator, not for enterprise telemetry. Read more on the app page or try the free profit calculator and route planner today.

Say hello

Spotted a mistake, a rule that changed, or a question we should answer? Email viral.b.tandel@gmail.com. We read everything.