The Burden of Manual Contract Management for Airports and Their Retailers

Airports thrive on partnerships with their concessionaires. From global luxury brands to local coffee shops, every retailer plays a role in shaping the passenger experience—and in driving airport revenue.

But behind the glossy storefronts lies a messy reality: contract management. For many airports, managing concession agreements is still a manual, paper-heavy process. Spreadsheets, emails, and PDFs become the “system of record.” Finance and commercial teams juggle multiple files, often across different departments.

The result? Confusion, delays, and in many cases, disputes.

Manual contract management isn’t just an administrative headache—it’s a serious drag on both airport operations and retailer relationships.

Let’s break down the hidden costs of keeping contracts manual:

1. Scattered Information
Concession contracts typically outline minimum annual guarantees (MAG), revenue-share percentages, rent terms, and performance obligations. When these details live in PDFs and Excel files across inboxes, it’s easy for critical terms to be overlooked.

2. Billing Bottlenecks
Finance teams often spend weeks reconciling sales reports against contract terms. Manual calculations increase the risk of errors, leading to overbilling, underbilling, or delays that hurt airport revenue management.

3. Disputes with Retailers
When invoicing isn’t transparent, concessionaires push back. Disputes slow down collections and create tension between airports and their partners.

4. Limited Flexibility
Manual systems make it difficult to track dynamic elements like promotions, category-based revenue shares, or adjustments tied to traffic fluctuations. In today’s volatile travel environment, agility matters.

5. Lost Growth Opportunities
With so much time spent on reconciliation, airports have less bandwidth to focus on insights, POS analytics, and strategies to increase non-aero revenue.

In short, manual contract management consumes valuable resources while holding airports back from optimizing retail performance.

A modern concession management system should take the pain out of contracts, not add to it. That means:

• Centralized Contract Repository
  All agreements stored in one place, with terms easily searchable and trackable.
• Automated Billing
  Instead of reconciling by hand, a system should automatically generate invoices based on actual real-time sales data capture.
• Revenue Assurance
  Automated validation ensures every concessionaire’s sales are captured correctly, supporting accurate airport revenue management.
• Transparency for Retailers
  Retailers can see how their invoices were calculated, reducing disputes and strengthening trust.
• Integration with Business Intelligence
  Linking contracts with retail business intelligence solutions enables airports to measure sales performance against contract terms, optimize layouts, and plan for future growth.

This is where StoreSense for Airports makes a measurable difference. It doesn’t just capture sales—it transforms how airports manage contracts.

• Automated Contract Management
  StoreSense centralizes all concession agreements into one digital repository. No more digging through emails or PDF attachments. Every term—MAG, revenue share, rent—is digitized and easy to reference.
• Real-Time Sales Data Integration
  Contracts are linked directly to live POS data capture solutions. That means billing isn’t based on delayed reports—it’s based on actual real-time POS data analytics.
• Seamless Automated Billing
  Invoices are generated automatically according to contract rules. Finance teams can bill weekly, monthly, or even on-demand. This boosts cash flow and eliminates reconciliation bottlenecks.
• Retail Revenue Assurance
  Every transaction is validated, giving airports confidence that billed amounts reflect true sales. It’s POS analytics software applied to financial accuracy.
• Transparency for Retailers
  With StoreSense, concessionaires see how invoices are calculated, line by line. This reduces disputes and builds stronger, more collaborative partnerships.
• Smarter Insights
  By connecting contracts with airport data analytics, StoreSense provides insights into KPIs like sales per passenger, revenue per square meter, and category performance. That means airports don’t just manage contracts—they optimize them.

Let’s imagine two different scenarios:

• Airport X (Manual): Finance spends three weeks reconciling spreadsheets. Concessionaires complain about errors in their invoices. By the time revenue data is reviewed, the quarter is nearly over. Marketing and commercial teams are left flying blind.
• Airport Y (With StoreSense): Every transaction is captured in real time. Contracts live in one digital hub. Invoices are generated automatically, with a clear breakdown for retailers. Finance has time to focus on strategy, not manual work. Commercial teams get live dashboards with point of sale analytics. Campaigns are launched in sync with traffic and purchase data.

Which airport would you rather run—or shop in?

While automated billing and revenue assurance solve the immediate pain points, the real win is long-term growth. With StoreSense, airports can:

• Launch targeted retail digital campaigns and up sell / cross sell campaigns triggered by live sales and contract terms.
• Use a digital receipts platform to connect with passengers after purchase, driving loyalty and repeat spend.
• Apply airport business intelligence to spot underperforming categories and renegotiate contracts with confidence.
• Provide retailers with performance dashboards that create transparency and shared accountability.

It’s not just about eliminating manual work—it’s about reimagining how airports and retailers grow together.

1. Why is manual contract management a problem for airports?
Because it’s slow, error-prone, and lacks transparency. Manual processes lead to billing delays, disputes with concessionaires, and lost revenue.

2. How does StoreSense improve contract management?
StoreSense digitizes contracts, links them to real-time sales data capture, and automates billing. This ensures accuracy, transparency, and faster cash flow.

3. Can StoreSense work with multiple PoS systems?
Yes. StoreSense is a POS data capture solution that integrates seamlessly with different concessionaire systems without requiring a single vendor.

4. How does this benefit retailers?
Retailers get transparent invoices, faster settlements, and access to sales data through dashboards—reducing disputes and building trust.

5. Is it just about billing?
No. StoreSense is a full retail business intelligence solution. Beyond billing, it enables airport retail campaign management, digital receipts, and insights to grow airport revenue.