Getting started with Rentals & Bookings

The Rentals & Bookings app turns Shopify products into rentals. You say how a product is rented, what it costs and how many you own. Customers pick dates on a calendar on the product page, the price is worked out for those dates, and checkout checks the dates and the price again before the order goes through. Bookings, a calendar, stock by day, the Send & Return desk, reminders and reports all live in the app, inside your Shopify admin.

This page walks you through the setup guide. Each step links to a page with the details.

Before you start #

• Your store needs the Online Store sales channel. The calendar is added to your theme.
• The app works on every Shopify plan. A few extras only appear on Shopify Plus stores; nothing on this page needs Plus.
• Rent variants don’t use Shopify’s own stock count. The app counts rental stock per date itself (see Inventory and stock).

Install the app #

1. Open the app’s page on the Shopify App Store and click Install.
2. Shopify lists what the app can see and change in your store. Click Install again.
3. The app opens in your Shopify admin. Later you’ll find it under Apps in the left-hand menu.

The setup guide #

Open the app. The Dashboard shows the Setup guide as one slim row: how many steps are done, the next step and its button. Click All steps to see the whole list, or the cross to hide the guide. There are eight steps.

Step	What you do	Done when
Set up your first rental product	Click Pick a product and fill in its Rental Settings: how it’s rented, what it costs and how many you own.	At least one product is rentable.
Add the Rental card to your product page	Open a product. In the Blocks section, click + Block, choose Rental, then click its pin icon. Customer pages have a card too; add it the same way.	You tick I’ve added it.
Show the calendar on your product page	Click Open theme editor, add the Rental calendar block to your product template and save. Also turn on the Rentals app embed.	The app finds the block, or you tick I’ve added it.
Opening hours and closed days	Click Set hours. Customers can only start or end a rental while you’re open.	Open and close times are set.
Show rental dates in your order emails	Click Show the snippet, copy it and paste it once into your Shopify order emails, so they list each rental’s dates.	You tick I’ve added it.
Place a test rental	Click View your store and book a rentable product as a customer would.	Your first booking arrives.
Add the Rental card to your order page	Open an order. In the Blocks section at the bottom of the page, click + Block, choose the Rental card, then click its pin icon.	You tick I’ve added it.
Add the My rentals page to customer accounts	Click Open checkout settings, add the My rentals page in Shopify’s editor, then add it to your customer account menu.	You tick I’ve added it.

1. Set up your first rental product #

Pick a product and answer three questions: Rented by (1), Price (2) and Units owned (3). Turnaround time and “Sell it too” are optional. Setting up a rental product explains every setting.

2. Add the Rental card to your product page #

Shopify asks each store to add an app’s cards to its admin pages once. Add these three and they stay there for all staff:

• Rental on product pages: the full rental settings form, right on the product page.
• Rental on order pages: check out, check in and edit dates.
• Rentals on customer pages: the customer’s current, upcoming and past rentals.

1. Open a product. In the Blocks section near the foot of the page, click + Block and choose Rental.
2. The card appears with a Preview label. Click its pin icon to keep it: a pinned card shows on every product, for all staff.
3. Do the same on a customer page (Rentals). The order page has its own step, below.

Some admins show a Customize button at the top of the page instead; add the card there and save. Cards show in the Shopify admin on desktop.

More actions › Rental Settings on a product is something else: an action that opens a form, so it never needs adding or pinning.

3. Show the calendar on your product page #

Click Open theme editor in the guide. The Rental calendar block is added to your default product template. Place it where you want it and click Save.

To add it by hand: open Online Store › Themes and click Edit theme. In the theme editor, open Products › Default product from the menu at the top, click Add block under Product information, choose the Apps tab and pick Rental calendar. Drag it above the Buy buttons and click Save.

Then click Turn on the app embed in the guide. It opens App embeds in the theme editor. Make sure Rentals is switched on and click Save. The embed keeps rental carts correct, and shows the calendar on older themes that can’t add blocks.

On your store, the product page now shows the calendar. Customers pick a start and an end date and see the price for those dates. See The rental calendar on your store.

4. Opening hours and closed days #

Click Set hours to open Settings › General. Set Opens at and Closes at (1), then add your closed days under Settings › Closed days (2). See Opening hours, closed days and booking rules.

5. Show rental dates in your order emails #

Shopify’s own order emails don’t list a rental’s dates until you add a snippet to them once. In the guide, click Show the snippet, then Copy snippet. Paste it into each email like this:

1. In Shopify, go to Settings › Notifications › Customer notifications › Order confirmation and click Edit code.
2. Find {{ line.variant.title }} inside the line item loop.
3. Paste the snippet right after its closing {% endif %}, then save.
4. Do the same in Order edited, Order invoice and POS and mobile receipt.
5. Shipping confirmation and Shipping update need the shipping version: click Copy shipping version and paste it in the same place.

Then click I’ve added it. Your test rental’s confirmation email shows its dates. The same snippet is on Settings › Emails in the app, if you hid the guide.

6. Place a test rental #

Open the product on your store, pick dates, add it to the cart and check out. The booking shows up in the app within a minute. You’ll find it under Bookings, on the order page in the Rental card, and on the dashboard.

7. Add the Rental card to your order page #

The Rental card on an order lets you check out, check in and edit dates. Add it once and it shows on every order, for all staff.

1. Click Open orders in the guide and open an order.
2. In the Blocks section at the bottom of the page, click + Block and choose the Rental card.
3. Click its pin icon.

Draft orders have a card too, called Rental dates. Add it the same way. Then click I’ve added it.

8. Add the My rentals page to customer accounts #

Customers see their rentals on this page in their account. Shopify shows it only once you add it.

1. Click Open checkout settings, then click Edit (some stores show Customize).
2. Click the Apps icon at the top left of the editor.
3. Click the + on the My rentals row, then click Accounts.
4. At the top of the left sidebar, click Add to menu, then click Save. Scroll the sidebar up if you don’t see it.
5. Shopify opens your customer account menu with My rentals filled in. Click Save, then close it with the X.

Right after you save, the menu can still list only Orders and Profile. Close it and My rentals shows in the editor’s preview.

Then click I’ve added it. My rentals and rental extensions covers what customers see. On classic customer accounts, add /apps/rentals/my to your store’s menu as a “My rentals” link instead.

The app’s menu #

The app opens from Apps in the left-hand menu of your Shopify admin.

Menu item	What it’s for
Dashboard	Today’s rentals going out, due back and overdue, the next 7 days, revenue and the setup guide.
Bookings	Every booking, with tabs for Upcoming, Out, Overdue, Returned and Conflicts. Manual bookings and blocked dates.
Calendar	A month or week view of rentals going out and coming back.
Inventory	Units still free per day for every rental product.
Serial numbers	Where each serial number is. Only shows once a product tracks serial numbers.
Kits	Rental kits: several items rented as one product.
Send & Return	The desk where staff check rentals out and in.
Reminders	Every reminder and rental email, scheduled, sent or skipped.
Balances	Rentals paid in part at checkout, with the rest still due.
Reports	Usage by product and exports.
Settings	Opening hours, the calendar look, rules, closed days, locations, delivery and pickup, payments, notifications, API and privacy.

Check the setup line #

At the foot of the dashboard, Setup: all good means the app’s checkout checks are active, your calendar settings reached the storefront, the calendar block is on your product page and your rent variants don’t track Shopify inventory. When something needs fixing, the line says what and how.

Good to know #

• The app’s pages and the admin cards follow your Shopify admin language. The storefront calendar and customer emails follow the customer’s language.
• When a customer asks your store for their data, Shopify tells the app. Settings › Privacy lists these requests with a file to download and send to the customer.
• A Help and support link sits at the foot of the dashboard and of every settings tab.
• Looking for what is next? See the Shopify rental app roadmap, or send us a feature request.