Send and Return are how you check rentals out and back in. Rentals → Send lists the bookings that are due to go out, and you mark them sent when the customer collects them or they leave on delivery. Rentals → Return lists what is still out, and you mark it returned when it comes back. Every movement records the date and time, the quantity, the serial numbers of the units and who recorded it, and the customer gets an email.
Both screens are optional. A booking reserves stock for its dates whether or not you ever send it, so a shop that doesn’t need to track handovers can ignore them. Use them when you want to know what is actually out with customers, what is late coming back and which unit went to whom.
Send and Return are part of Rentals & Bookings Regular and Pro. They are not in the free Lite edition.
Start from the dashboard #
Rentals → Dashboard shows one day at a time. The Going out card lists the orders that start that day and the Due back card lists the orders that end that day. Each order has a Send or Return button that opens the right screen on that order. Once it has been done, the button turns into a Sent or Returned label.
The Send rentals and Return rentals buttons at the top of the dashboard, and the links on the two cards, open Send and Return on the day the dashboard is showing. If you have moved to another day with the arrows, that day appears as its own filter next to Due today.
Send rentals out #
Rentals → Send lists every booking that still has units to go out. The buttons above the list choose which ones you see:
- Due today: bookings that start today. The screen opens on this one.
- Overdue: bookings whose start date has passed but that haven’t all gone out yet.
- Next 7 days: bookings that start between today and a week from today.
- All: everything still waiting to go out.
Each button shows how many bookings it holds. Next to them are a product filter and a search box that finds a booking by order number or product name.
Each row is one product on an order. It shows the order number and customer, the product, how many units were booked and how many have gone (Booked · sent), Qty to send, a Serials box for products that track serials, and the start and end of the rental.
- Tick the bookings that are going out. A bar appears above the list with the number selected and a Send selected button.
- Check Qty to send. It starts at the number of units still to go out, and the − and + buttons won’t take it past that.
- If the product tracks serials, click its Serials box and click the code of each unit you are handing over. Only that product’s Available units are listed.
- Click Send selected.
The page confirms how many bookings were sent, for example “2 bookings have been sent.” For each booking it records the date and time, the quantity, the serials and who sent it, and it marks each serial Not Available. The customer gets an email; when you send several products from the same order together, one email lists them all. A booking that has gone out in full leaves the Send list and moves to Return.
Sending part of a booking #
If only some units are leaving now, lower Qty to send before you click Send selected. The booking stays on the list with the rest still to go. In the screenshot, Noah Fischer’s hire shows 1 of 3 sent and its Qty to send is 2. Send the remaining units when they leave, as many times as you need.
Products with serials #
The Serials box appears only on products that have serial tracking switched on and at least one serial. Choose one serial for each unit you send; the box won’t take more codes than there are units left to go. You can send a tracked product without choosing serials, but then no unit is tied to the hire. Rows without a Serials box, like the Baby Crib above, are sent by quantity alone. Setting up serials and printing their labels is covered in Serials.
Take rentals back #
Rentals → Return lists every booking that still has units out. Its filters work on the date each rental is due back:
- Due back today: rentals that end today. The screen opens on this one.
- Overdue: rentals whose end date has passed and that still have units out.
- Next 7 days: rentals due back between today and a week from today.
- All: everything that is out.
The Status column reads Out while a rental is within its dates and Overdue once its end date has passed, for example Overdue · 3 days.
- Tick the bookings that have come back.
- Check Qty to return. It starts at the number of units still out.
- For products with serials, click the Serials box and choose the units that came back. It only offers the serials that went out on that booking and haven’t been returned yet.
- Click Return selected.
Returning records the date and time, the quantity, the serials and who took them back, puts each returned serial back to Available and emails the customer. A rental that comes back in pieces works like a part send: return what you have, and the booking stays on the list until the last unit is in. If a unit comes back damaged, return it first and then change its status on the serial (see Serials).
Overdue rentals #
Click Overdue to see what should already be back. Click the Due back column heading to sort the list by due date. The dashboard’s Overdue card lists the same rentals and links here.
Aisha Rahman’s hire shows 1 of 2 back: one stroller has been returned and the other is still out.
A late rental doesn’t hold on to its stock. Availability comes from the booking’s dates, so once the end date and any turnover time have passed, the item can be booked again even if it hasn’t come back. Check the Overdue list before you promise that item to another customer.
Movement history #
Every send and return is kept. Open the history with Send history › on the Send screen or Return history › on the Return screen. The Sent and Returned buttons at the top switch between the two lists.
Each record shows when it happened, the order and customer, the product, how many units moved out of the number booked, the serials, the rental period and who recorded it (Sent by or Returned by). Search by order number, serial or product name. Searching for one serial code follows that unit through every hire it has been on.
The list starts with the oldest records. To see the latest first, sort by the Sent or Returned column; clicking the heading again reverses the order.
Send pick list #
The Send pick list button on the Send screen opens a list of everything sent between two dates: when it went, the customer, the product, the quantity and the serials. It opens on today. Choose the dates, click Show, and use Download CSV or Download PDF to print the list or hand it to a driver. It only includes rentals you have already marked as sent, not the ones still waiting to go out.
The customer emails #
Sending and returning email the customer through WooCommerce. Both emails are under WooCommerce → Settings → Emails:
- Rentals Shipped goes out when you send. Its heading is “Rental Shipped for Order #” and the order number, unless you change it.
- Rentals Returned goes out when you return. Its heading is “Rental Returned for Order #” and the order number, unless you change it.
Each email lists the products and quantities that moved, followed by the customer’s billing address. Serial numbers aren’t included. In each email’s settings you can switch it off, change the subject and heading, add your own text under the list, and enter addresses in BCC Admin Recipient(s) to receive a copy.
The Send and Return screens send these emails every time, as long as they are switched on. Sends and returns made through the REST API only email the customer when the request asks for it.
Early sends and early returns #
A booking normally reserves stock for its booked dates, whatever day it actually leaves or comes back. Two settings under Rentals → Settings → Inventory Rules change that. Both are off until you tick them.
- Update Start Date With Turnover On Early Send: when a booking goes out before its start, including the turnover time before it, the stock is reserved from the moment you sent it instead of from the booked start.
- Update End Date With Turnover On Early Return: when a booking comes back before its end, including the turnover time after it, its reservation ends at the moment you returned it, so the item can be rented again straight away. No turnover time is added after the early return, so allow for cleaning or checks before you take the next booking.
Both take effect when the last unit of a booking is sent or returned. A part send or part return leaves the dates as they were. The Inventory Rules tab is also covered in Rentals & Bookings Settings.
Barcode scanners and apps #
To send and return by scanning serial labels with a phone or handheld app, or to connect a warehouse system, use the REST API. Sending & Returning Rentals, and Serial Codes describes its work queues and the scan endpoints that find the booking from a serial code. Sends and returns made through the API show up on these screens and in the movement history like any other.
Related #
- Serials: track individual units, print labels and see what each one earns.
- Inventory Report: what is booked and free, day by day.
- Sending & Returning Rentals, and Serial Codes: send, return and scan through the REST API.
- Rentals & Bookings Settings: every store-wide setting, including Inventory Rules.
