Managing bookings

Covers after-hours pickup and return, and overtime charges, everything about one booking, in one place, finding a booking, booking statuses explained.

• After-hours pickup and return, and overtime chargesHow opening hours limit pickup and return times, how staff can allow an off-hours pickup, how customers let themselves in with a kiosk door code, and how late or overtime returns are charged.
• Everything about one booking, in one placeCustomer, rental period, shop, line items with their units, notes, and checkout answers all live on the booking's Overview tab.
• Finding a bookingOn a computer, search above the availability calendar to jump to a booking; on a phone, search and filter a list by status.
• Booking statuses explainedWhat the status badges mean (Pending, Confirmed, Active, Returned, Cancelled, Expired), and what the calendar colours mean.
• Warning banners on a booking, explainedWhat the coloured notes at the top of a booking mean right after you create it in the admin, and what to redo by hand.
• The change log on a bookingA running, read-only history of every edit, refund, and status change made to one booking.
• Common questions: refundsQuick answers on sending money back to a customer, why a refund has not gone out yet, how much you can refund, what happens to Renta's fee, gift cards and cash, and the difference between refunding and releasing a deposit.
• Creating a booking yourself (front-desk / phone booking)Walk a walk-in or phone customer through a booking yourself, from picking items to collecting payment.
• Releasing vs. capturing a deposit holdRelease gives an authorized deposit hold back; capture keeps it as a charge. You decide when you finish the rental, or later from the open deposit banner.
• Adding a discount or an extra charge to a bookingKnock money off a booking with a discount, or bill for something extra with a custom charge.
• Early returns - when gear comes back before the end dateRenta does not refund unused days automatically. You can finish the rental early, mark one unit back early so it can be rented again, and shorten the booking's dates to lower the price and refund the difference.
• Finishing a rental: the return checkoutThe Finish button opens a return checkout with the checklist, damage and extra charges, reviews, and a required decision about the security deposit.
• Managing bookings: common questionsQuick answers on finding a booking, creating one, blocking dates, the Start/Finish/Cancel buttons, refunds, discounts, rescheduling, statuses, and what customers can change themselves.
• Booking separate days and the overnight rulePick days that are not back to back in one booking, choose which items go out on which days, and see how the overnight rule turns days into blocks that are priced and held on their own.
• What to do when a customer doesn't show up (no-shows)Renta has no no-show status or automatic no-show fee. A no-show booking turns red on the calendar, and you decide what to do - cancel it, keep or refund the payment, and release or keep the deposit hold.
• Paying in parts: split payments, down payments and paying the rest laterThree ways to collect one booking's money in pieces - split one payment across cash and card, take a deposit or down payment now and the rest later, or let customers pay only a down payment online.
• Payment plans, installments and pay later: what Renta supportsRenta has no automatic installment plan and no pay-later button for customers, but you can take a down payment, stage the balance with scheduled charges, or send a payment link whenever the customer is ready.
• Payment history and signed documents on a bookingWhere to find the Payment Log (charges, refunds, deposit, and the Renta booking fee) and signed waivers for one rental.
• Starting a rental: the pickup checkout and the payment checkThe Start button opens a pickup checkout. With the payment check on, Start stays blocked until the rental is paid, unless an allowed person starts it anyway with a reason.
• Printing or emailing a receiptPreview a booking's receipt before any payment, print it, and email the issued receipt from the booking's Documents area.
• Refunding or cancelling a bookingCancelling voids a booking but never refunds automatically. You send any money back yourself, as its own step, from the Refund item in the More menu.
• Changing a booking's datesMove a booking's pickup or return, see the new price first, and know what happens to add-ons, the deposit hold, typed prices, and past dates.
• Upcoming and pending charge attemptsSee charges and deposit holds that are queued to run later, and any that stopped and need a person to check.
• Sending a customer a payment linkCreate a secure Stripe payment link for a booking and send it by email, so a customer can pay without you taking their card over the phone.
• Moving a booking through its lifecycleThe Confirm, Start, Finish, Cancel, and Reopen buttons move a booking to its next stage. Start and Finish open their own checkouts.
• Notifying customers when a sold-out item opens upSee who asked to be notified about a sold-out item, and when Renta automatically emails them.
• Weather and rain-outs - rescheduling, closing dates or refundingRenta has no weather setting or automatic weather cancellation. When bad weather hits, you can reschedule bookings, block dates so nobody new books, or cancel and refund, using the same tools you use for any change.
• Writing off an unpaid balanceMark a stuck, unpaid balance as uncollectible instead of chasing it forever.