Early returns - when gear comes back before the end date

Sometimes a customer brings the equipment back before the booked end date. Renta handles this in three separate ways, and none of them refunds the unused days automatically. Which one you use depends on what you want to happen.

• To close out the rental now, use Finish.
• To make one unit available again while the rest of the booking is still out, use Mark returned early.
• To charge for the days actually used and refund the rest, use Reschedule to shorten the dates, then refund.

Where to find it

• Finish: Bookings → open an active booking → Finish (top right).
• Mark returned early: Bookings → open an active booking → the Early unit returns card on the Overview tab. It only shows on an active booking that has units assigned.
• Shorten the dates: Bookings → open the booking → More menu → Reschedule. This works while the booking is pending, pending payment, confirmed or active.

How it works

Finishing early Press Finish when the gear is back, even if that is before the end date. It moves the booking to completed and works through the return checkout. It does not change the price, so the customer is still charged for the days they booked. See Finishing a rental.

Marking one unit back early The Early unit returns card lists each assigned unit, for example "Trail bike - Unit #2". Press Mark returned early beside a unit when it comes back before the others. The unit then shows "Returned" with the time.

• The unit is available to rent again from that moment, on your availability calendar and your booking page, until the booking's original end. The other units on the booking stay out.
• It stops adding wear to that unit's maintenance counters for the days it was not out.
• It does not change the price and does not refund anything. It is useful for groups, such as one rider of five coming back on day 2.

Refunding unused days Renta has no "unused days" or prorated refund button. To charge only for the time used: 1. Open More → Reschedule and move the return to the actual return date and time. 2. The window shows Current total and New estimated total, with Estimated refund underneath. Renta prices the shorter rental from your normal rates, so the new total follows your rules, for example multi-day discounts, rather than a simple day-by-day split. 3. Press Reschedule. Because the new total is lower than what was paid, a box titled "Booking now has $X credit" appears with two buttons: Refund $X and Leave as credit. 4. Press Refund $X to send the difference back, or Leave as credit to decide later. The refund then follows the normal refund steps, including the short wait before it is sent. See Refunding or cancelling a booking.

If you would rather give back a set amount without recalculating the price, use More → Refund and type it. Tick This is a price reduction if you also want the booking's total to go down by that amount.

Example

A group of five books five e-bikes for four days and pays $1,000. On the evening of day 2 they bring everything back. At More → Reschedule you move the return to day 2. Say the window shows a new total of $520 and an estimated refund of $480 (your own rates and discounts decide the real figures). You press Reschedule, then Refund $480.

Good to know

• A typed price stays. If you typed a price on a booking line yourself, shortening the rental does not lower it. The line keeps its price. Change the price on the line or refund an amount by hand instead. See Changing a booking's dates.
• Minimums can get in the way. If shortening breaks an item's minimum rental length or other booking rules, the Reschedule window may refuse. Staff with permission can tick Override availability rules.
• The opposite case. For a customer who returns late, see Charging a late return fee.
• Early pickup is different. Picking gear up before the start time is covered in Early pickup settings (saved, not yet in use).