City & enforcement systems

Lotably vs. IPS Group

IPS Group manufactures smart meters and pay stations with software around them. Lotably needs no hardware and runs enforcement, permits, and daily parking month to month.

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Facts about IPS Group checked October 2026. Sources at the bottom of the page.

The short answer

IPS Group is a meter company first: it designs and builds smart meters, pay stations, and sensors, and sells enforcement, permit, and mobile payment software around them, under standard terms that start at five years. Lotably needs no meters at all. Drivers pay by QR poster or online, officers scan plates from their phones, and permits, guest passes, and citations run in the same system, with published pricing and month-to-month plans.

What IPS Group is

Operating independently. Based in San Diego; acquired curb data company Populus in November 2025.

IPS Group designs and manufactures smart single-space parking meters, multi-space pay stations, and vehicle detection sensors, and sells cloud software around them: a data management system, mobile enforcement and citation management, permit management, the PARK SMARTER app and text-to-pay, and payment processing. It says it launched the world’s first smart parking meter in 2005, and its homepage claims more than 400 customers. It sells to cities, universities, and private operators, and holds cooperative purchasing contracts including Sourcewell.

IPS publishes its standard Parking Technology Terms and Conditions: a five-year initial term that can be extended to ten years, automatic one-year extensions unless the client gives notice at least 90 days before a term ends, and a requirement that the client maintain its own merchant account. A City of Oakland staff report from January 2025 lists Sourcewell-based IPS fees of $6.60 a month per single-space meter, $55 a month per multi-space meter, and $0.13 per card transaction.

Where Lotably is different

Month to month instead of a five-year term
IPS’s standard terms set a five-year initial term, extendable to ten years, that extends automatically by a year unless you give 90 days’ notice. Lotably’s Free and Starter plans are month to month, and you can cancel anytime.
No meters, kiosks, or sensors
IPS’s model is built around its meters and pay stations, with monthly fees per meter in public contracts. Lotably sells daily parking with a printed QR poster per lot, and drivers pay on their phones without an app.
No fees added for drivers
Cities set their own PARK SMARTER fees: Madison, Wisconsin, charges $0.45 per mobile payment, according to the city. By default, Lotably adds nothing to your posted price. Our fee comes out of what you collect online.
Integrations at no extra cost
IPS’s standard terms say it may charge an integration fee based on its standard customization fee. When your vendor offers an API, Lotably builds the connection at no extra cost (the vendor may charge for API access).
Sign up online, set up the same day
IPS sells through demos, consultations, and cooperative contracts. Lotably’s signup is online, and you can set up lots, fines, officers, and Stripe the same day. Your account is live as soon as you sign up.
Guest passes and towing included
IPS lists guest permits; its site doesn’t describe towing, and booting runs through a third-party Barnacle integration. Lotably includes resident guest passes, plus tow and boot records with one-tap calls to your tow company, on every plan.

Side by side

	Lotably	IPS Group
Best for	Lots, campuses, districts, and small to mid-size cities that want to collect without hardware	Cities that want metered on-street parking with matching software
Getting started	Self-serve signup online, set up the same day	Demo or consultation; Sourcewell, OMNIA, COSTARS, or CMAS contracts
Pricing	Free: $0/mo + 12% of online payments (up to 2 lots). Starter: $99/mo + 5% (up to 25 lots)	No price list; Oakland report lists $6.60/month per single-space meter
Contract	Month to month, cancel anytime	Standard terms: five-year initial term, up to ten years, auto-extends without 90 days’ notice
Fees on drivers	None added to your posted price	Set by each city; Madison charges $0.45 per mobile payment
Where payments settle	Your own Stripe account, as direct charges	The client’s own merchant account, required by its standard terms
Enforcement and citations	Phone plate scanning, photo-evidence citations, escalating fines, warnings, online contests	Mobile enforcement, citation portal, NLETS owner lookups, adjudication
Daily parking	Per-lot QR posters with hourly, rest-of-day, or until-a-set-time rates	Smart meters, pay stations, PARK SMARTER app, text-to-pay
Monthly permits and billing	Monthly parkers, self-service portal, Stripe billing by card, ACH, or invoice	Permit management: student, staff, residential, daily, and temporary
Guest passes	Residents issue time-limited passes from their portal, capped by a quota you set	Guest permits
Towing and booting	Tow and boot records with a one-tap call to your tow company, off by default	Booting through a Barnacle integration; towing not described
Hardware	None; officers use any phone	Its own meters, pay stations, sensors, and N5 Print handheld
Integrations	Parking BOXX and ParkMobile sync, manual and CSV session import; API connections built at no extra cost (vendor API fees may apply)	Integration fee based on its standard customization fee

When IPS Group may be the better fit

If your city wants meters on the street, IPS makes them, and its software is built to run them, with NLETS registered-owner lookups, adjudication, and cooperative purchasing contracts that let agencies skip a formal RFP. Lotably sells no meters or pay stations, has no registered-owner lookups or hearing tools, and holds no cooperative contracts. Lotably fits lots, garages, campuses, districts, and smaller cities that want to collect daily parking and citations from a QR code and a phone, without capital hardware or a multi-year term.

Switching, or running both

You can run both. Keep meters where they make sense and put surface lots or a district on Lotably month to month with a QR poster per lot. Paid sessions from another system can come in by manual or CSV import, and when the vendor offers an API, we build the connection at no extra cost (the vendor may charge for API access).

One system, top to bottom

What every Lotably plan includes

Month to month, no lock-in
No annual contract and no multi-year commitment on Free or Starter. Cancel anytime.
Sign up yourself, set up the same day
Create your account online, add your lots, and connect Stripe in one sitting. You’re live as soon as you sign up.
Every feature on every plan
Enforcement, daily and event parking, monthly applications and plans, billing, scheduled guest passes, merchant validations, dispute evidence, and reports. Some workflows need configuration or enabling. No add-on modules. Booting and towing start off until you ask; you are responsible for following the law where you enforce and assume all risk of using them.
Money lands in your own Stripe account
Payments are direct charges on your Stripe account. Lotably never holds your money or pays you out later.
No app fee for drivers
By default, drivers pay exactly the price you post. Our fee comes out of what you collect online, never from the driver. If you ask, we can add a flat service fee per parking session that goes to you.
Integrations built at no extra cost
Parking BOXX, ParkMobile, and manual/CSV sessions work today. When another vendor offers an API, we build the connection at no extra cost (the vendor may charge for API access).
Published pricing
Free is $0/month plus 12% of online payments. Starter is $99/month for up to 25 lots, plus 5%. Daily parking is at most 35¢ or 25¢ a session. No quote required.
Runs on the phone you have
Plate reading is built into the officer app, which runs in the browser. Daily parking needs a printed QR poster and nothing else.

Questions about Lotably and IPS Group

Is Lotably a good alternative to IPS Group?

If you want to collect parking and fines without buying meters, yes. Lotably runs daily parking by QR poster, plate enforcement from any phone, permits, guest passes, and online citation payments, month to month. Cities that want metered on-street parking will still need a meter vendor like IPS.

Does Lotably require a multi-year contract?

No. Free and Starter are month to month, and you can cancel anytime. IPS’s published standard terms start with a five-year initial term.

Does Lotably charge integration fees?

No. Lotably syncs paid sessions from Parking BOXX and ParkMobile today and accepts manual or CSV session imports from any vendor. When your vendor offers an API, we build the connection at no extra cost (the vendor may charge for API access).

Do drivers need an app to pay with Lotably?

No. Drivers scan the QR poster or the code on a citation and pay in the browser, with nothing added to a fine and, by default, nothing added to your parking price.

Where does the money go?

Every Lotably payment is a direct charge on your own Stripe account, and Stripe pays out to your bank on your Stripe schedule. Stripe’s processing fees are separate.

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Sources

Information about IPS Group comes from its public website and the sources above, checked October 2026. IPS Group is a trademark of its owner, and Lotably is not affiliated with or endorsed by it. Spot something out of date? Email hello@lotably.com and we’ll correct it.

Put your whole parking operation in one system

Sign up online and set up the same day. Month to month, every feature on every plan, and the money lands in your own Stripe account.

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