Getting notified when a rental is overdue

Renta can notify your team the moment a rental runs past its scheduled return time, and optionally send the customer a courtesy reminder too.

Where to find it

Messages → Automated messages, then scroll to the Alerts & reports card below the template list. The late return alert options are at the top of it. Press Save at the bottom of that card after changing anything.

The Late return alerts fields in the Alerts & reports card

How it works

• Alert my team about late returns — on by default. When on, every active staff member gets a notification (in the bell icon and by email) once a booking passes its return time by the grace period below. It's one alert per booking, not a repeating alert.
• Grace period (minutes) — how long after the scheduled return time a rental is allowed before it counts as late. Default is 30 minutes. Can be set from 0 to 10,080 minutes (7 days). Set it to 0 to be alerted the instant the return time passes. Only usable when the alert toggle above is on.
• Also email the customer — off by default. When on, sends the customer a "your rental was due back" email as well as alerting your team. Off by design, since not every business wants to nudge customers directly.

Example

If a jet ski is due back at 2:00 PM and your grace period is 30 minutes, your team gets notified at 2:30 PM if it hasn't been checked in yet.

Good to know

• Turning off "Alert my team about late returns" also disables the Grace period and customer email options below it.
• This is separate from the late return fee, which is a charge you set up under Pricing → Fees & policies (the Late return fee card). The alert is only a notification and never charges anything.