How to Refill a Vending Machine — The Right Way
A step-by-step for new operators — stock rotation, product placement, till reconciliation and the mistakes that lose you money.
2 March 2026 · 6 min read · Reviewed and updated 13 September 2026
The 10-minute restock 1. **Cash out first** — before touching stock. Record coin, note and cashless totals. 2. **Rotate FIFO** — new stock goes behind old stock, always. 3. **Face products forward** — labels visible, no gaps. 4. **Wipe glass, keypad, door handle** — takes 60 seconds, doubles perceived quality. 5. **Test-vend one item per column** — catches spiral misfeeds before customers do. 6. **Check refrigeration temp** — cold drink machines should read 3–5°C at the vend point.
The mistakes that cost you - Overfilling spirals (jams). - Mixing product sizes on the same spiral (double-vends). - Forgetting to update the DEX/cashless catalogue when you change products. - Not refilling change tubes — kills coin sales.
Start with our operator business guide or upgrade to cashless to skip half of this.
Build the run around the drive, not the machine
In Australian conditions the cost of restocking is mostly fuel and time. A tight cluster in one suburb beats scattered sites across a metro area, and in regional areas — the Hunter, the Illawarra, Geelong and the Bellarine, the Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba and the Darling Downs — a planned loop once a fortnight beats reactive trips.
Two habits save the most time: pre-pick stock into per-site tubs before leaving, and let telemetry tell you which sites can be skipped this week.
Stock handling in a hot country
- Never leave stock in the vehicle. A car boot in a Queensland or Northern Territory summer will ruin chocolate and shorten the life of everything else. Use insulated tubs and load in the order you will unload.
- Rotate strictly. New stock behind old, every visit, no exceptions. Check date codes as you go and pull anything inside two weeks of expiry on a slow line.
- Log what you pulled. Wastage by line is the fastest way to find a planogram mistake.
- Wipe as you go. A clean delivery bin and glass sells more than a full machine that looks neglected.
If you would rather not run the route at all, free placement puts the stocking, servicing and wastage on the operator — see free vending machines.
Frequently asked questions
- How often should a vending machine be restocked?
- Driven by sales, not the calendar. Busy workplace and gym sites often need weekly visits; quieter sites run fortnightly. Telemetry removes the guesswork.
- What is the right way to rotate vending stock?
- New stock behind existing stock every visit, check date codes as you load, and pull slow lines that are within a couple of weeks of expiry rather than hoping they sell.
- How do I make a vending route more efficient?
- Cluster sites geographically, pre-pick stock per site before leaving, and use telemetry to skip sites that do not need a visit.