Vending

Your Vending Machine Isn't a Spreadsheet. Stop Managing It Like One.

Most vending operators still run their machines from a spreadsheet. Dryline VMS founder Austin Kunz explains why that breaks down, and how showing each machine as its real front, scan-to-fill setup, and automatic DEX reconciliation make the day a lot simpler.

Photo: Dryline VMS

September 24, 2026

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Quick question. When you want to know what's running low in a machine across town, what do you open?

For a lot of operators, the honest answer is a spreadsheet. Rows for machines, columns for selections, maybe a tab per location, and a color-coding system that made total sense to whoever built it. It works. Until it doesn't.

We built Dryline VMS because we kept running into the same problem: a vending machine is a physical thing with a front, slots, and products you can see. A spreadsheet is a grid of numbers. Every time you go from one to the other, you're translating in your head, and that's where the mistakes creep in.

The spreadsheet tax

You probably know the feeling. Somebody swapped Cheetos into B3 last Tuesday but the sheet still says Pretzels. A driver restocked but forgot to update the count. The card processor says one number, the DEX says another, and your cash count says a third. Now you're squinting at three reports trying to figure out which one is lying.

None of that is anyone being careless. It's just what happens when the records don't look anything like the machine they're supposed to describe.

So we made the screen look like the machine

In Dryline VMS, every machine shows up as its real front. Each slot shows the product, the price, and how full it is. Low and empty slots get flagged so they jump out at you. If A4 is down to two bags of Ruffles, you see it the same way you'd see it standing in front of the glass.

That one change does a lot of work. New staff get it right away. Drivers stop guessing. And when something looks off, you can usually spot it in a couple of seconds instead of scrolling through rows.

Setting up a machine shouldn't take an afternoon

Typing selection numbers into a form is nobody's idea of a good time. In Dryline you set up a machine by scanning each product's barcode, and it drops into the slot with its price. Got ten of the same machine? Save the layout as a template and reuse it. Before any change goes live, Dryline shows you what's changing in plain English, and if you change your mind later, you can roll back to any earlier version.

Making the numbers agree

This is the part operators ask about most. Every machine has three stories about what it sold: the DEX meter, the dispense records, and the money that actually landed. Dryline checks all three against each other, per machine, and flags anything that doesn't line up. You don't have to reconcile by hand at the end of the month. You just look at the exceptions.

If you're taking cards with our Rain Pay reader, the DEX reads come in automatically, and every card vend is tied to the product in the slot. So you're not just seeing "$2.25 at machine 7." You're seeing "$2.25, A4, Ruffles Cheddar."

Start the day knowing

Most mornings you don't need a report. You need to know what needs attention. The Dryline overview shows sales today, which machines are online, what's low or empty, and a short list of things to fix. We also send a once-a-day email so you know what's up before you even open the app.

No mystery pricing

We publish our prices because we'd want the same thing. DrylineVMS Core is $14.95 per machine per month. Pro, which adds routes, a warehouse with prekitting, forecasting, and alerts, is $34.95 per machine per month, all-in. The Rain Pay reader is $499 per machine. No activation fee, no contract. If it's not working for you, you can leave, and your data comes with you as CSV and NAMA VDI 2.0 exports.

Want to see it?

The easiest way to get a feel for Dryline is to see your own kind of machine on screen. Book a 20-minute demo and we'll walk through it on real screens. Or grab the Dryline VMS app from the App Store or Google Play and poke around the demo, no account needed.

Your machines aren't spreadsheets. Your software shouldn't treat them like one.

Austin Kunz is the founder of Dryline VMS, a product of Cactus Wash Systems. Reach him at 844-723-9732 or sales@drylinevms.com.

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DrylineVMS

Run Unattended. Stay in Control.

Dryline VMS is vending management software for unattended retail operators. It shows each machine as its real front with product, price, and fill level per slot; builds planograms by scanning barcodes; reconciles DEX and settlement; and reports sales tied to the actual product sold. It imports and exports NAMA VDI 2.0.

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