How to Audit Your Package Lockers: A Checklist for Property Managers

A package locker audit is a scheduled review of how well your locker system keeps up with the deliveries coming into your community. It checks four things: whether you have enough of the right locker sizes, how long packages sit before pickup, whether carriers and notifications are working the way they should, and how often your team has to step in by hand. This guide turns that review into a checklist a property manager can complete in an afternoon.

Why audit your package lockers at all?

Because volume keeps climbing. According to Luxer One (March 2026), nearly 24 billion packages were delivered in the U.S. in 2025, averaging more than 90 million deliveries every weekday. Luxer One also notes that communities are absorbing higher delivery volume without matching increases in on-site teams, and that residents now expect real-time notifications, secure delivery, and flexible pickup.

Small problems multiply at that scale. One missed scan or one misused locker looks minor, but repeated across hundreds of packages a week it turns into delivery delays, package pileups, and extra work at the leasing office. An audit catches those patterns before they become resident complaints.

What should a package locker audit cover?

Use the checklist below. Each section lists the questions to ask, the data to pull, and what a problem usually looks like. Most of the numbers you need are available in your locker system's property dashboard.

1. Capacity and locker size mix

• How often are the lockers completely full, and on which days?
• Which locker sizes are always taken, and which sit empty?
• Has your package volume changed since the lockers were installed (new units, lease-up, a change in resident mix)?

Red flag: constant overflow or one size that is always used up. That points to a size mix that no longer matches what residents order, or to packages staying too long (see section 2).

2. Pickup times and dwell

• What is the typical time between delivery and pickup?
• How many packages are still in a locker after several days?
• Are pickup reminders going out, and do residents respond to them?

Red flag: long dwell times. Luxer One points out that slow pickups reduce availability and create artificial capacity problems, so a building can look short on lockers when the real issue is uncollected packages.

3. Carrier access and delivery flow

• Are all of your regular carriers using the lockers correctly?
• Are deliveries being scanned in consistently?
• How often do packages end up handed to the office instead of placed in a locker?
• Do carriers have reliable access to the locker area at the hours they actually arrive?

Red flag: frequent manual handoffs or one carrier that routinely skips the system. According to Luxer One, breakdowns at this stage often lead to misplaced packages and frustrated residents.

4. Notification accuracy

• Do residents get a notification as soon as a package is delivered?
• Are there delayed or missed alerts?
• Are resident phone numbers and email addresses current?

Red flag: residents saying "I never got a code." Luxer One calls notification gaps one of the fastest ways to erode trust in a package system.

5. Peak periods and staff intervention

• Which days and times bring the most deliveries?
• How often does your team step in to manage overflow?
• What happened during the last holiday season or move-in rush?

Red flag: your team intervening every week. Luxer One notes that if your team is constantly intervening, the system is not fully optimized.

6. Oversized, perishable, and special deliveries

• Where do oversized boxes go when they do not fit a locker?
• How many grocery, meal kit, or medication deliveries arrive each week?
• Is there a clear process for items that need refrigeration?

Red flag: perishables waiting at room temperature or oversized items stacked in the office. These are signs you may need larger units or refrigerated lockers as part of your setup.

7. Hardware and screen condition

• Do all doors open, close, and latch properly?
• Is the touchscreen responsive and easy to read in the light it gets?
• Is the area clean, well lit, and clear of stored items?

Red flag: a door that sticks or a screen residents avoid. Out-of-service lockers quietly shrink your real capacity.

8. Software, resident data, and features you are not using

• Does the resident list in your locker software match your current rent roll, including recent move-ins and move-outs?
• Are you using the dashboard reports to track delivery trends and locker usage?
• Are there features your team has never turned on or reviewed?

Red flag: outdated resident records or untouched reports. If you need a record of who opened which door and when, see our guide to package locker audit logs. Luxer One lists underutilized system features among the most common issues audits uncover.

9. Resident communications

• Do new residents get clear pickup instructions at move-in?
• Do residents know what to do with oversized or perishable deliveries?
• Are package complaints going up or down since your last audit?

Red flag: the same questions reaching the office again and again. A short refresher email or updated signage often fixes this faster than any hardware change.

What problems do package locker audits usually find?

According to Luxer One (March 2026), the same patterns tend to show up when communities start auditing their lockers:

• Overflow during peak delivery periods
• Improper carrier use of the lockers
• Delayed or missed notifications
• Underutilized system features
• Team time consumed by manual processes

How do you turn audit findings into fixes?

1. Rank by resident impact. Fix missed notifications and carrier problems first, since they affect every delivery.
2. Address dwell before adding lockers. Tighter reminders and a clear pickup policy can free up capacity without new hardware.
3. Revisit the size mix with real data. If one size is always full even after dwell improves, it may be time to add or reconfigure smart package lockers for your community. Installation typically takes 4-6 weeks from a signed agreement.
4. Plan for peak season early. Use last year's holiday numbers to set expectations before November arrives.
5. Write down a baseline. Record dwell time, overflow days, and manual handoffs so the next audit has something to compare against.

Done consistently, audits help you maximize locker capacity, reduce delivery errors, improve resident satisfaction, and free up your team's time.

FAQ

How often should I audit my package lockers?

A good rhythm is once a quarter, plus a focused review before the holiday shipping season and after any big change in occupancy. Luxer One frames the audit as a regular, repeatable process rather than a one-time project.

What is dwell time for a package locker?

Dwell time is how long a package sits in a locker between delivery and resident pickup. Long dwell times keep lockers occupied, which can make a property look like it needs more lockers when the real fix is faster pickup.

My lockers are always full. Do I need more lockers?

Not necessarily. Check dwell time and reminder settings first. If lockers are still full after pickups speed up, or if one size is consistently in short supply, then expanding or changing the size mix makes sense.

What data do I need to run a package locker audit?

Pull delivery volume by day, locker utilization by size, average pickup time, notification delivery records, and a count of packages that were handed off manually. Most of this is available in your locker system's property dashboard.

Sources: Luxer One, "Spring Cleaning: How to Audit Package Lockers for More Efficient Deliveries" (March 20, 2026), luxerone.com/efficient-deliveries-with-regular-audits.