Charging a Fee to Reprint a Parking Ticket: Why a Free Copy Is an Open Door
A ticket reprint fee puts a price you choose, say $1.00, on every copy of the entry ticket. The attendant charges it like any other sale, with a payment method, and out comes a ticket identical to the original plus a receipt for the copy. If a copy has to be free, it takes your PIN and a reason. The money goes into the shift's cash, shows up on its own line in the reports, and you get a tab that tells you who reprinted, when and why.
You turn it on in Settings → Features → “Charge for reprinting the ticket”. It's included in every plan, the free one too.
The problem: a free copy is a forged ticket
The entry ticket is the proof that a car is in the lot and what it owes. If anyone can print another copy for free, with no trace, anyone can make themselves a ticket.
The classic version: the customer pays cash, the attendant pockets it, and the car leaves on a copy the attendant printed. Or the ticket "got lost" and a copy shows up right when it's needed. If you already require a ticket scan on exit, the car can't leave without the paper. An unlimited free reprint hands that paper right back to the attendant.
We measured it across the lots that use Parqueadero.app: 1,271 entry-ticket reprints in 30 days, at 64 parking lots. Only 65 went through the owner's PIN. The rest were free, and nobody asked.
Not every reprint is a scam. Paper jams, a customer's ticket gets wet, a plate was typed wrong. But with no cost and no record, there's no way to tell the honest copy from the other kind.
How to turn it on
The owner does it, in Settings → Features:
- Turn on “Charge for reprinting the ticket”.
- In “Price per copy”, type the amount, say $1.00, and tap “Save”.
You need the security PIN set up first, because that's how you approve free copies. Without it, the row shows “Go to Security” and the switch won't turn on until you set one.
If you turn it off, reprints are free again. The price stays saved for next time, and the copies already charged stay visible.
The reprint PIN under Security is a separate setting and still works: if it's on, even a paid copy asks for the PIN.
What the attendant sees
From the car's menu they tap “Reprint Ticket”, and the “Reprint ticket · ABC1234” dialog opens with two paths:
| “Charge for copy” | “Free copy” | |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Any attendant | Any attendant, with your PIN |
| What it asks for | Payment method | “Reason” (at least 3 letters) and “Owner's PIN” |
| Button | “Charge $1.00 and reprint” | “Reprint without charge” |
| What prints | The ticket, identical to the original, plus the copy's receipt | The ticket, identical to the original |
| Money | Goes into the shift's cash | None; the reason is logged |
If you set up a fee on the payment method, it applies the same way it does on any charge: the attendant sees the total before tapping the button.
The car keeps its entry time. The copy is a separate sale and doesn't change what the car pays on the way out. It also works for the ticket of a car that already left: the copy is charged to the current shift and the car's payment isn't touched.
Where the money shows up
A paid copy is a payment in the shift, under its payment method. Nobody has to add it up by hand:
| Where | How it shows up |
|---|---|
| Cash and shift balance | In the expected amount for the method it was paid with |
| Reports and daily summary | Its own line: “Ticket reprints” |
| Shift close | A “Shift reprints” section |
| WhatsApp summary | Its own line |
It doesn't count as a car or as an exit, so the counts in Movements still tell you how many cars actually left.
What the owner sees
Movements → “Reprints today”. A tab only the owner can see. Each row is one copy: time, plate, who printed it, whether it was paid (with amount and method), free (with the reason) or a regular reprint, and whether it was delivered or voided. You can step back to earlier days.
Tickets reprinted 3 or more times in the same day are highlighted. A ticket reprinted three times in one day is almost never a paper jam. That's the row to look at first.
The shift close includes a “Shift reprints” section: paid copies by payment method, free copies with their reason and who approved them, voided copies, and tickets reprinted 3 or more times. The money from paid copies is already in the balance; the section only breaks it out, it doesn't count it twice.
Edge cases already handled
| Case | What happens |
|---|---|
| The printer fails after the charge | The charge is recorded and the attendant taps “Retry without charge”. No PIN and no second charge, as long as they haven't tapped “Done” |
| The dialog was closed before handing over the copy | The copy stays “Not delivered”. From “View copies” it reprints for free with “Reprint for free” |
| A paid copy has to be refunded | “Void charge” asks for a reason and the owner's PIN. The charge leaves the cash; the printed copy can't be taken back |
| The shift for that charge is already closed | Only the owner can void it |
| The customer downloads their ticket from the link | That ticket no longer has a barcode or QR code, so it can't be scanned at the exit |
| No internet | With the fee on, reprints are blocked until the connection is back, free ones too. The menu shows “Reprint ticket · needs internet” |
The internet part is on purpose. Offline there's no way to check the PIN or record the charge, and an unverified copy is exactly what this is meant to stop. With the fee off, reprinting offline works as it always did.
What it doesn't do yet
- It's coming soon to the new Android app. Today it works on the web, on a computer or a phone's browser, and in the older Android app, which loads the web version.
- It only covers the entry ticket. Reprinting a payment receipt works the same as before.
- The receipt is the system's receipt, not a tax invoice.
How much does it cost?
Nothing extra. The reprint fee is in every Parqueadero.app plan, the free one included. All it needs is the security PIN.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still give out a free copy of the ticket? Yes, but only with the owner's PIN and a reason of at least 3 letters. The copy is logged with who asked for it, when and why.
What if the printer fails after the attendant charges? The charge stays recorded and the attendant retries for free, with no PIN and no second charge, until they tap “Done”.
Does it work without internet? No. With the fee turned on, reprints are blocked until the connection comes back, including free copies with the PIN. The menu shows “Reprint ticket · needs internet”. With the fee turned off, nothing changes.
Does it work in the Android app? Yes. It works on the web, on a computer or a phone's browser, and in the older Android app, which loads the web version. It's coming soon to the new Android app.
Is it a Premium feature? No. It's included in every plan, the free one too. The only requirement is having the security PIN set up.
The short version
A free, untracked reprint is a forged ticket. With a reprint fee, every copy costs what you decide, lands in the cash drawer and shows up in the reports. A free copy takes your PIN and a reason, and “Reprints today” shows you who reprinted and which ticket keeps coming back.
If you want to close that gap at your lot, Parqueadero.app is free and the fee takes a minute to set up.
Published October 8, 2026.