For determining popularity of a game and ball times, take advantage of the build-in bookkeeping functions.

Depending how much coinage you're going through, weighing it in bins on a small scale could be an option. Then dump the change into large canvas deposit bags.

just count them manually
this is not the 80's, and you are not operating Space invaderes

He might not be causing a yen shortage but the operator where we play league has WOZ, DI and AC/DC set for $1 and has no bill acceptors. So I’ve witnessed this guy take out a 5 gallon bucket of quarters every week. Guy is an asshole for still not bucking up and putting in a bill acceptor. The bar is actually complaining cuz of how many quarters they’re burning through. 75 rolls a week or something?

I hate carrying coins tbh. I also feel bad going up to bar staff asking for $20+ worth of coins - it messes with their float. Surely a PayPass style unit would work best - if they exist?

No thanks. There are much easier and faster ways to count out a big pile of quarters.

He probably sees the cost of a bill acceptor as eating into profits. New ones cost $150-$300 each, after all.

I'm surprised that a location will let you take the complete collection out for off-site counting. You count it out at the location in an office or behind the counter/bar and sit it right there.

I realize it's different with a card system where skimming is more difficult.

counting should be done on-site. if you’re not willing to install bill acceptors, sell the bar rolls of quarters, so they can keep plenty on hand, and they can keep a separate till for quarters used for the games.

Invest in a new/used Klopp Coin Counter. I prefered the manual (with hand crank) over the electric one as I could count anywhere without having to search for an outlet to plug it in at. The coin counter has a meter on it, so it is a breeze to count over $100 in quarters in less than 1 minute.

I would also suggest if this is going to be a high volume place to invest in a change machine. I always liked the Change machine made by American Changer as it worked well and was less expensive than a Rowe.

When counting at the location. I would line item each game and count what each machine earned on a piece of paper. Add it all up and give a copy to the location and their cut by check or cash (bills).

I kept the keys to the change machine, not the location. At the end of the count I would replenish the change machine with the quarters I harvested from the games after they were counted and pull the bills out for me to take to deposit in the bank. Typically I would count how much cash (bills) were pulled out of the changer and replenish that same amount in coins back to the changer.

I operated for several years for supplemental income while my wife stayed home before our kiddos were in school. If you ever want to pick my brain on the ins and outs of operating. Feel free to send me a PM, I’m happy to chat on the subject.
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This is exactly why full-line, full-service distributors are such an asset to route operators. They help you with all of this.

If you can't afford a Klopp coin counter (don't waste your money on a Chinese knock-off) right away, buy the good quarter count/wrap orange tubes. Not from a dollar store either, Buy from a bank supply company.
Don't forget quarter wrappers.

I sure miss Wico, they had it all. And, like Steve Young, they gave everyone a Net-10 account. Even a 17 year old kid who repaired machines in homes while in high school.

Replay Magazine's future Operator of the year from Pennsylvania would have a $1M credit line there by now......

When I operated, our route had a couple locations where the location put their small padlock on the coin box, inside the coin door to which they did not have the key. At collection time, we would need to have a representative of both the operator and location to get at the coins. The counting was done on-site, using either the Major Metalfab plastic tubes or the Klopp counter, at a time when the location was closed to the public.
.................David Marston

We take a picture of the menu audits, total sales and totals of every coin from the menu. We make an receipt (1 for us and one for the location) where the amounts for both parties are mentioned. We have rolls with coins for quick and easy payment at location. Some locations we transfer the money and we keep all the coins. We count the coins with an coincounter in the car for extra secure. Just with an adaptor for the cigaretplug so the coincounter can be used in the car or at an location-home.
We take a picture of the coincounter per coin and so we have it all 100% correct. We have a paper card in the machine with all counters (from menu) so we keep a track record of it.

If you show one time the location the counters in the pinball machine they know that they can trust you.

Also an option is a bill acceptor (not common in our country, nobody use them) or a cashless system, but that costst extra for you but solves the coin problems. But start simple with coins and perhaps an billacceptor.

depends on the location but in general, we trust them with thousands of dollars worth of games and they trust us with keys to the building.

We go at off hours to clean, fix, and pull coin.
At most locations, a change machine is mandatory.
We refill the change machine with coins from games.

Use a scale to tare out and count coins (lots of good options for under $100 and they can weigh up to $500 in coins with good accuracy of only being off 1 quarter IME). Keep a tally and worthwhile to check game audits to make sure they match.
Make decisions on what games stay and what ones go as the drop changes over time (part of the fun of operating is seeing the data and how things change)

Pay the location their split and say thanks to your players by leaving some free credits.

on hassellcastle 's post above, there are restocking costs for some of the crane and candy machines that come out of the joint take. When repairing pinball machines do the parts costs typically come out of the joint coin take, or does the operator usually cover those parts costs?

Correct. Part of the service you as an operator provide is to maintain the games and repair them as needed. This is typically an expense
of the operator.

every location and contract is different.

I have seen and heard of all sorts of deals worked out.

Come up with something that works for you and for the location.

I recently spoke with a guy that said he gets 100% of drop at a specific location until game is paid off, then it goes to 70/30.
That location likes new games and understands the value of a new game so he keeps taking them all the new stuff and leaves it there till paid off, then rotates it elsewhere.

That location gets all the good new stuff and he gets all the drop till paid off.

Other locations he has a less favorable split so they get the older stuff that is already paid off/older.

My location above was a hamburger restaurant that does lots of community fund raisers (almost on a weekly basis).
Primary clientele in the gameroom was school age children.

My cash cow as you can see from the clip above was the Bulk Vending capsule rack. This thing killed it week after week.
I counted every two weeks at this location. $250 was the average for the bulk vending rack. Loved that piece. No monitor to go out,
no power supply to fail..just keep it stocked with good products that the kids enjoyed. I had one similar to the one in this pic.

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Change machines upped my coin drop enough to be worth buying the used machines.

I count my main location 3 weeks a month, right after tournaments. Each location has its own section of my Google Sheets file so I know how much each location would get in split. I pay my splits every quarter.

I'm considering an electronic coin counter to make collection go a little faster. I'm not counting a ton of coins each time, but am planning for optimistic growth.

I used a k- scale back in the day. This device is very accurate and weighs the coins. Saves alot of time. They are expensive but in the amount of time saved in counting are worth it.

You will be shocked what bill acceptors or a change machine will do for your earnings. It's a big deal.

It hurts so bad to spend that money on something that isn't "earning" but the value is definitely there.

I collect on location (1 money bag labeled per location so I can track split) and do a data dump on a USB or take pics of the audit to have numbers. My bank has a free coin sorter so I throw it all in the machine and get a little receipt and then track in an excel. I send the location a collection update between 1-4 weeks in a month and then do a split (after GST - Canada taxes - is taken out of calculation) and send them an etransfer once a month.

Do you use any fancy equations in Excel? My spreadsheet skills are weak so I was looking for a cheap template to track earnings

The best advice I can give is to collect your games yourself. Dont trust others to do it for you.