New for WooCommerce, with or without rentals

Rental Counter & POS for WooCommerce

The point of sale that rents by the date and sells everything else

Rental Counter turns a tablet, phone or computer into the counter of your WooCommerce store. Rent by the date and sell from the same stock and prices as your website, in one sale with one payment and one receipt. Then hand the items over, and take them back.

1 sale
rentals and sold items together, with one payment and one receipt
6 ways to pay
cash, Stripe card readers, your own terminal, a pay link, a typed card, the WooCommerce app
30 min
each rental unit is held while the customer pays (you choose how long)
0%
added to card payments: you pay your payment provider’s own rates
yourstore.com/counter/
The Counter on a laptop: the rental dates set for three days, a product grid with photos (Road bike 4 free, City e-bike 3 free, Bike helmet 20 in stock, Kayak day trip), and the sale for Sarah Miller with a road bike rental, a bike helmet and a water bottle, the hold message and Charge $144.00.
A walk-in sale: a three-day bike rental, a helmet and a water bottle, in one sale for one customer.

Rental Counter & POS

$99a year
Included in UltimateWorks on any WooCommerce storeTablet, phone or computer

One year of updates and support. Already on the Ultimate plan? Rental Counter is included: download it from your account.

The counter screen

Everything at the counter on one screen

Staff open /counter/ on your own domain. There’s no theme and no wp-admin around it: products and the rental dates on the left, the sale on the right, and one Charge button. It’s made for touch, and it works with a mouse and a barcode scanner too. Use as many registers, devices and staff as you like.

Every price, every free count and every total comes from your store as it is right now. The website and the counter sell from one stock, so a bike rented at the counter can’t be booked online for the same days.

The Counter on a tablet in landscape: the date bar set to Fri, Nov 13 to Mon, Nov 16 (3 days), product cards with what’s free and the price for the three days, and the sale for Sarah Miller with History, the road bike rental with its dates, the hold message, Discount on the sale, Add coupon, Park sale and Charge $144.00.
The same counter on a tablet: products on the left, the sale on the right.
  • Rentals, sold items and bundles in one sale, one payment and one receipt
  • The unit is held the moment it goes on the sale, so nobody else can take it
  • A normal WooCommerce order at the end, with your emails, reports and invoices
Why it matters

A rental counter isn’t a shop till

A till sells what’s on the shelf. A rental counter also has dates, deposits, contracts, and things coming back. Most point-of-sale apps only do the first part.

With a plain POS, or the WooCommerce admin

  • Rentals booked in wp-admin while the customer waits, sold items rung up on another till
  • Nothing stops the till from renting the last bike the website booked an hour ago
  • The contract, the ID check and the waiver on paper, in a folder
  • A return is a note on the order: no condition check, no late fee, no damage charge
  • At the end of the day, the cash in the drawer is anyone’s guess

With Rental Counter

  • Rentals and sold items in one sale, with one payment and one receipt
  • The same stock and prices as your website, with each unit held while you take the money
  • Signature, ID check, waiver and late-fee consent on the tablet, before payment
  • Hand-over and return by serial number, with checks, photos, late fees and damage charges
  • A shift with a float, every cash move recorded, and the difference shown when you close
How it works

From walk-in to hand-over in five steps

1
Set the dates

Pick them on the calendar, or tap Today, 1 day, 3 days or 1 week. Each rental shows what’s free and its price.

2
Add to the sale

Tap a product, search, or scan a barcode. Rentals, sold items and bundles go on one sale.

3
Before payment

The customer signs, staff check the ID, and the waiver and late-fee policy are agreed on the tablet.

4
Take the payment

Cash, a Stripe card reader, your own terminal, a pay link or your store’s payment page. Split it if you like.

5
Hand it over

Print or email the receipt and hand the units over. The order is in WooCommerce like any other.

Rentals by date

Pick the dates first, then see what’s free

A rental needs dates before it has a price, so the date bar sits above the products. Open the calendar and pick the first and last day, or tap a chip: Today, 1 day, 3 days, 1 week. Tap Times when the rental goes out and comes back at set times.

The calendar is the same one your customers see on the website, with your closed days, buffers and rules. Choose a product in it and the days it can’t go out are greyed: booked, closed, or too close to the next booking. If your product calendar shows prices or units left, so does this one.

Once the dates are set, every rental card shows how many are free for those dates and the price for the whole rental. The moment a rental goes on the sale, the unit is held for this sale (for 30 minutes unless you change it), so another counter or a website shopper can’t take the last one while the customer is paying.

  • Each rental goes through the same rules as on your website: closed days, buffers, minimum and set lengths, times
  • Prices come from your rental settings, seasons and length discounts included
  • Something the sale can’t take, like a booking with no order? One tap opens your rentals admin’s New booking screen
The date bar with the calendar open for the Road bike: November 13 to 16 picked, past and unavailable days greyed, “3 days” and the Use these dates button.
The calendar on the date bar: pick the first and last day.
Every standard product type

Sell what’s in your store, in the same sale

Rental Counter isn’t only for rentals. It sells the standard WooCommerce product types: simple products (virtual and downloadable too), variable products with their sizes and colours, and grouped products, sold as their parts. It sells bundles and kits from our Bundles & Composites and from WooCommerce Product Bundles and Composite Products, and our own subscriptions and memberships.

A product with options opens a sheet: a button for each size or colour, the price and the stock of the one you picked. A bundle or a kit shows each part, with the price for your dates, and goes on the sale with its parts underneath.

Prices are your shop prices, with sale prices, coupons and tax worked out by WooCommerce, exactly as at your online checkout. Product types added by other plugins (other subscription or booking plugins, gift cards) aren’t sold at the counter.

The options sheet of a cycling jersey: colour buttons Red, Blue and Green with Blue chosen, the quantity, $26.00 with 3 in stock, and Add to sale.
A variable product: pick the options, see the price and stock, add it.
The sheet of the Kayak day trip bundle: its parts, a single sit-on-top kayak and a paddle set with two paddles and two buoyancy aids, the quantity, $165.00 for the dates and Add to sale.
A rental kit with its parts, priced for your dates.
  • Sales Igniter Bundles & Composites, WooCommerce Product Bundles and Composite Products
  • An out-of-stock choice says so and can’t be added
  • External (affiliate) products are left out: they’re sold on another website
Scan, search or tap

Scan a barcode with a scanner or the camera

Plug in any USB or Bluetooth barcode scanner that types like a keyboard. You don’t have to click a box first: the Counter tells a fast scan from someone typing, and acts on it.

With Rentals & Bookings Regular on your store, the Counter also scans with the device’s camera. Tap Scan with camera, point it at the label, and the item goes on the sale. When the device has a torch, a button turns it on for dark back rooms; with two cameras, another switches between them.

One scan box understands every code in your shop:

  • A product or a variation, by its SKU or its barcode (GTIN, EAN, UPC)
  • A rental unit, by its serial number or QR label
  • A booking or an order, by its number, to hand it over, take it back or take the payment
  • The QR code on a receipt from an Epson or Star printer, to start a return
  • The camera needs your site on https, as every browser asks
The Counter on a phone with Scan with camera open: the live view of a product label with its barcode, “Point the camera at the code” and Close camera.
Scanning with the phone’s camera.
Customers

Find the customer, or add them in ten seconds

Type two letters of a name, an email or a phone number and tap the customer. New customer takes a first name, last name, email and phone, and refuses an email that already belongs to someone.

Selling a drink or a helmet? Leave it as a walk-in sale, with no account on the order. A subscription or a membership always needs a named customer, because the renewals belong to someone.

With a customer on the sale, History shows what they owe, what they have out (and whether it’s overdue), and their recent orders, online and at the counter, each with a button to take it back or refund it.

The Find customer sheet with “Sar” typed and three matches: Sarah Miller, Sarah Mitchell and Sara Milne, each with email, phone and town, and the Walk-in and New customer buttons.
Find a customer by name, email or phone.
Customer history for Sarah Miller: owes $55.00, a City e-bike overdue and two Kids helmets out, each with Pick up / return, and recent orders marked Counter or Online with Return / refund.
History: what the customer has out, owes and bought.
Before payment

The paperwork, done on the tablet

When a sale needs answers, Charge opens a Before payment sheet with one step at a time. Each add-on asks its questions here, at the moment it would ask them online.

The customer reads the contract and signs on the screen with a finger or a pen. Staff check the photo ID and take a picture of the front and back. The damage waiver is offered as a choice, or required with a tick, and the late-fee policy gets its own “The customer accepts”.

The sheet won’t close if someone taps outside it, so a drawn signature is never lost. A step that’s missing something says what, right on the step.

Before payment, step 2 of 3: late returns already accepted, then the rental agreement with its terms, the customer’s full name, a signature drawn on the screen and the tick “The customer agrees to sign electronically”.
The rental agreement, signed on the screen.
Before payment, step 3 of 3: the ID check with Driver’s licence chosen, the name on the ID, the expiry date (valid past the return date) and date of birth, and photos of a sample card, front and back.
The ID check, with the expiry checked against the return date.
  • Contracts with PDF Rental Contract Signing: signed before payment, or later on the same tablet with staff as witness
  • ID checks with Custom Fields: the Counter warns when the ID runs out before the return date
  • Questions, damage waivers and late-fee consent from your add-ons (questions that ask for a file stay on the website)
  • Subscriptions: the customer agrees to the renewals before paying
Ways to pay

Take the money the way the customer wants to pay

The payment screen lists every way to pay your store has, and you can use several one after the other: half in cash, the rest by card.

Card reader. The Counter sends the amount to a Stripe smart reader (WisePOS E, S700, S710) from your server, through your WooCommerce Stripe plugin. The customer taps, inserts or swipes; the reader handles the card, so card details never reach WordPress. In test mode a simulated reader lets you practise with Test: approve and Test: decline.

No reader? Charge the card on your own card machine and record it. Or show a QR code, so the customer pays on their phone. You can also open your store’s own payment page and type the card in, or hand the order to the WooCommerce app and its Tap to Pay.

The payment screen for a $144 sale: To pay, buttons to split the rest in halves, thirds or quarters, and the ways to pay: Cash, Card (own terminal), Card reader, Pay link / QR, Card (typed in) and WooCommerce app.
Every way to pay on one screen.
The Card reader tab waiting for the card: the reader showing $144.00 and “Tap, insert or swipe”, Sent to the reader, Waiting for the card, the Test: approve and Test: decline buttons of test mode, and Cancel on the reader.
Waiting for the card on a Stripe smart reader (test mode).
  • Split the rest in halves, thirds or quarters, or take part now and the rest later
  • A booking deposit now and the balance later, when your rental settings take deposits
  • Pay later: the order waits in WooCommerce as pending payment
  • A card paid on the reader can be kept for late fees or renewals, only when the customer agrees
Cash and receipts

Cash with the change worked out, and a receipt to match

Tap Exact or a banknote, or type what the customer handed over. The Counter shows the change, rounds cash to your smallest coin if you set it, and opens the cash drawer when the register has one.

When the order is paid, print the receipt, email it, hand the rentals over or start the next sale. The receipt carries your store name and the register’s address and tax number. Then each line with its rental dates, discounts and tax, every payment with the cash handed over and the change, what’s still to pay, and your own text at the bottom.

Print through the browser to any printer the device can reach, on an 80 mm or 58 mm roll or an A4 or Letter page. Or print straight to an Epson (ePOS-Print) or Star (WebPRNT) receipt printer on your network, with no print dialog, a QR code of the order on the receipt, and the cash drawer kicked open.

The Cash tab for $144: shortcuts for Exact, $145, $150, $160 and $200, $200 typed as cash received, Change: $56.00, and the Take $144.00 button.
Cash: type what was handed over, see the change.
The receipt: Brightside Rentals with its address and phone, order 1043 with the date, the register and the cashier, the road bike rental with its dates and length, the bike helmet, the water bottle, the total, Cash $144.00, Cash handed over $200.00, Change $56.00, and the thank-you line.
The receipt, printed or emailed.
Pick up and return

Hand the units over, and take them back with a check

Find the order by its number, a booking number or a scan, and every rental on it is listed with its dates and where it stands: “1 booked, 0 out, 0 back”, due back today, or overdue.

Hand over: tap the serial numbers going out, or scan their labels; for items without serials, set the number. Mark a pick-up as ready the evening before, so the morning shift sees what’s been packed.

Take back: tap or scan the serials coming back. For each one, fill in the checks you set up for that item (a meter reading, Good or Worn, a yes or no) and take a photo with the device camera. With Maintenance & Inspections, tick Needs service and say what’s wrong. If it’s late, the late fee is worked out and shown on the spot.

Pick up and return for order 1042, Sarah Miller: the City e-bike overdue by one day with Take back open on serial EB-0412 (battery at 80, tyres Good, clean Yes, a photo, a condition note, Needs service ticked with “Rear brake rubs”), and the Kids helmets due back today with Take back, Extend, Swap item and Damage; on the right, Still owed $55.00 for a late fee, the $200 security deposit and the kept card.
Take back by serial, with the checks, a photo and the late fee.
  • Hand-over and return by serial number or by count, with notes
  • Meter readings, condition choices and photos for each unit
  • No connection in the yard? The scan is saved on the device and sent when the connection is back
  • With Maintenance & Inspections, Needs service sends the unit to maintenance
After the sale

Extensions, swaps, late fees, damage and deposits

Everything that happens after a rental goes out is on the same order screen, under the rental it belongs to.

Extend: pick the new return date, see the price for the extra days, and take it at the counter or charge the card on file. Swap: change a faulty unit for another one, or change the item itself, and choose what happens to the price difference. Damage: type the amount and what was damaged, then take it at the counter, charge the kept card or keep it from the deposit.

The Still owed panel lists what the order owes (a balance, an extension, a late fee) with a button to take each one. The security deposit shows what’s held; keep part of it with a reason, and give the rest back to the card, in cash from the drawer or another way.

  • A damage charge is its own order, linked to the rental
  • With Maintenance & Inspections, each damage charge is recorded there too
  • Late fees from your Rentals & Bookings policy: take at the counter, charge the card, or take from the deposit
  • A card is only charged after the sale when the customer agreed to it
The Damage charge sheet for City e-bike EB-0412: amount $35.00, “Cracked mudguard”, and the three ways to take it: at the counter, charge the kept card, or keep it from the deposit.
A damage charge: at the counter, on the kept card, or from the deposit.
Returns and refunds

Take sold items back and refund them the way they were paid

Type the order number, or scan the QR code on a receipt from a receipt printer. Choose how many of each item come back, and tick Back in stock for what goes back on the shelf.

Pick how the money goes back: the way it was paid (the Counter splits it for you), cash from the drawer, your own card terminal, or back to the card. Check refund shows the exact plan before anything moves; then print the refund slip.

An exchange turns the returned items into credit on a new sale: add the new items, and the customer pays the difference or gets it back.

  • Rentals come back through Pick up and return, with late fees and the deposit, never as a refund by mistake
  • Money goes back to each way it was paid, never more than that way took; a manager can give cash when the card is lost
  • A refund is safe to retry: it never pays out twice
  • Every refund needs the refund permission
The Return / refund sheet for order 1043: one bike helmet coming back with Back in stock ticked, the water bottle, the road bike rental that goes back through Pick up and return, Money back set to The way it was paid, and the refund check: $29.00 cash from the drawer to hand back, before Refund $29.00.
A refund, checked before anything moves.
Prices and parked sales

Discounts with a reason, and sales put aside

Staff who may change prices can set a new price on a line, take an amount or a percentage off, or discount the whole sale. A reason is required every time, and it goes on the order line and in an order note with who did it. Coupons work as they do online.

Customer gone to fetch their partner? Park the sale under a name you’ll recognise (“Blue jacket, two kids”) and serve the next person. The rentals on a parked sale stay held (for an hour unless you change it), and come back with the sale when you resume it.

The price sheet for the Road bike at $105.00 each: New price each, Amount off or % off, with Amount off chosen, 5 typed, the reason “Scuffed frame, staff OK”, and Change price.
A price change needs a reason.
Parked sales for This register or Every register: Sarah Miller, 3 items, $186.00, with her rentals held, and “Blue jacket, two kids”, 2 items, $64.50, each with who parked it, Throw away and Resume.
Parked sales, with their rentals held.
Shifts and the cash drawer

Open with a float, close with a count

Each register opens a shift with the cash already in the drawer. Paid in, paid out, cash drops to the safe and a no-sale open are recorded with the time and who did it, and nothing can be edited afterwards.

The Shift sheet shows the cash expected in the drawer at any moment. At closing, type what you counted: the Counter shows the difference, short or over, gives the closure a number and freezes it.

The day report adds it all up for one register or every register: takings by each way to pay, refunds, the cash drawer, the counter orders and what’s still owed. With Rentals & Bookings Regular it also counts the units out, going out today, due back today and overdue. Print it, or download it as a CSV.

The day report for November 12, every register: takings of $1,631.50 from 28 payments, split into cash, card reader, card terminal and online payment; the cash drawer from the float to the cash expected; the rental desk with units out, going out today, due back today and overdue; the orders with what’s still owed; and the shifts of the day, one open and one closed short.
The day report: every register, every way to pay, and the rental desk.
  • A closed shift is frozen: no edits, no payments, no cash moves
  • Card, pay-link and app payments never count as drawer cash
  • A manager can close any shift; staff close their own
  • Download the same report as a CSV from WooCommerce > Counter
Back room board

A screen on the wall for what to get ready

Pair a TV, a tablet or a spare computer as the pick-up and returns board. It shows three columns for the register’s location: what to get ready for pick-up (today and tomorrow morning), what’s due back today, and what’s overdue, with the time, the order number and the item.

The board needs no sign-in and can’t change anything. It shows first names and last initials only, refreshes every 30 seconds, and says so when it can’t reach the store. Staff mark a pick-up as ready from the Counter, and the board shows the tick.

The pick-up and returns board for Front desk at 9:40 AM: To get ready with four pick-ups and their times (one of them 1 of 2 ready), Due back today with five rentals, and Overdue with one, each with the order number, first name and last initial, and the items.
The pick-up and returns board, made to be read across the room.
  • Pair it with a link or a QR code from the Counter; stop every board in one tap
  • The link works for 30 days, then you pair it again
  • Needs Rentals & Bookings Regular
Customer screen

Let the customer watch the sale add up

Turn a second monitor, or a tablet or phone facing the customer, into a customer screen. It shows the lines with their rental dates and options, the total and what’s left to pay, then “Paid, thank you” with the change.

It never shows the customer’s name or contact details. A paired device needs no sign-in and its link lasts 12 hours. A Stripe S700 or WisePOS E reader can show the cart on its own screen, too.

  • Open on a second monitor from the Shift sheet, or pair a device with a QR code
  • Stop every customer screen of a register in one tap
A tablet facing the customer: the Road bike rental with its dates, the Bike helmet and the Water bottle, the total and the amount to pay.
The customer screen on a tablet facing the counter.
Staff

Counter staff use the counter, and nothing else

Rental Counter adds a Counter staff role that opens the Counter and nothing else: no orders, products, settings or reports in wp-admin, only their own profile. Shop managers and administrators can already do everything.

Five permissions keep each person to their job: use the counter, refund, change prices, use the cash drawer and the day report, and manage the registers and settings. Counter staff can use the counter; shop managers have all five. To give a senior cashier refunds and price changes, add those permissions to a role with a role editor plugin (WordPress has no screen for it on its own).

On a shared tablet, staff switch to a colleague with the colleague’s PIN instead of a password. A PIN opens the Counter only, never wp-admin.

The Switch staff sheet: a button for each colleague, Maya Chen and Tom Alvarez, and My PIN to set your own.
Switch staff: tap a colleague.
The PIN box for Maya Chen, with Back and Switch.
Then type their PIN.
  • Every price change, refund, cash move and payment is saved with the person and the register
  • PIN switching is off until you turn it on; administrators can’t have a PIN
  • Too many wrong PINs lock it for 15 minutes
Phones and tablets

The same counter in your pocket

On a phone, the Counter has tabs at the bottom: Products, Sale and, with Rentals & Bookings Regular, Pick up & return. The sheets are the same as on a tablet. Take it into the yard to hand units over and check them back in, or to sell from a pop-up stand.

On a tablet in landscape, the products and the sale sit side by side. On a laptop or a desktop, the screen just has more room.

The Counter on a phone: the rental dates and the product grid with photos.The Sale tab on a phone: the road bike rental with its dates, the bike helmet and the water bottle, with the $144.00 total and Charge $144.00 kept in view above the tabs.Pick up and return on a phone: order 1042 with its rentals and Take back buttons.
Sell, check the sale and take rentals back from a phone.
  • Any browser: iPad, Android tablets, phones, Windows and Mac
  • Touch targets sized for a thumb
  • Works with a Bluetooth barcode scanner on a tablet
Registers and locations

One register per desk, van or location

A register is one counter desk: the front desk, the rental desk, the van. Each has its own shift and cash drawer, and its own address and tax number for receipts and tax, its own Stripe reader, and its own receipt printer.

With Multi Location Inventory, each register belongs to a location: its sales take stock from that location, tax is worked out at its address, the receipt shows it, and staff tied to a location only see its registers.

WooCommerce > Counter, editing the Front desk register: the tax number, the Stripe reader id, and the receipt printer and cash drawer: an Epson printer at 192.168.1.50, https, an 80 mm roll and the cash drawer option.
A register: its tax number, card reader, receipt printer and cash drawer.
  • Settings live in WooCommerce > Counter: receipt text and paper, cash rounding, how long rentals stay held
  • Change any word customers see (receipts, refund slips, the customer screen) on the Text screen
  • Translation-ready: every word goes through WordPress translations
Rentals and sales

Works on any WooCommerce store, and does more with ours

Rental Counter sells on any WooCommerce store. Each of our plugins you run switches on more at the counter, and a job your store can’t do simply has no button.

On your storeWhat the Counter does
WooCommerce on its ownSells the standard product types with cash, card and every way to pay above; receipts, refunds and exchanges, parked sales, discounts, shifts, the day report, the customer screen and staff roles.
Rentals & Bookings Lite (free)Rentals by date: the date bar and calendar, free counts and prices for the dates, units held on the sale, and the New booking screen for anything the sale can’t take.
Rentals & Bookings RegularHand-over and return by serial with checks and photos, late fees, extensions, swaps, booking deposits and balances, card-on-file charges, camera scanning, the pick-up and returns board, and the rental desk in the day report.
Refundable Security DepositsThe deposit on the order, kept in part or given back when the rental comes in.
PDF Rental Contract SigningThe contract signed on the tablet before payment, or after payment when you allow it.
Custom Fields, Damage Waiver, ID VerificationYour questions, the damage waiver and the ID check with photos, on the Before payment sheet.
Subscriptions & MembershipsSubscribe at the counter; renewals go on the card kept from the reader, when the customer agrees.
Bundles & CompositesKits and bundles with their choices, rental kits too. WooCommerce Product Bundles and Composite Products work as well.
Maintenance & InspectionsNeeds service at the return, and every damage charge recorded with the unit.
Multi Location InventoryA register per location, with its stock, tax address, receipts and staff.
Payments

Every way to pay, and what each one needs

Card data never touches WordPress or the Counter: the reader, the payment provider or your own terminal handles the card.

Way to payHow it worksWhat it needs
CashExact, a banknote or the amount handed over; change shown, cash rounding, the drawer opens.An open shift on the register
Card readerThe Counter sends the amount to a Stripe smart reader from your server; the customer taps, inserts or swipes.The WooCommerce Stripe Gateway plugin, a WisePOS E, S700 or S710 reader, and a Stripe account in a country where Stripe Terminal works
Card on your own terminalCharge it on your bank’s machine, then record the amount and the slip number.Nothing
Pay link / QRA QR code of your store’s payment page for the order; the screen moves on when it’s paid.Any online payment method on your store
Card typed inYour store’s own payment page opens on the device for the card to be typed in. Online card fees apply, and the bank may ask the customer to approve.A card payment method on your store (bank transfer and cash on delivery aren’t offered here)
WooCommerce appThe order goes to the WooCommerce app on a phone: tap Collect payment, with Tap to Pay or a paired reader.The WooCommerce app and an in-person payment provider it supports
Hardware

What it works with, and what we’ve tested

We name only what we’ve run. We haven’t run a physical printer, drawer or card reader yet, so tell us your model before you buy and we’ll check it.

HardwareHow the Counter uses itTested so far
Barcode scannerAny USB or Bluetooth scanner that types like a keyboard and sends EnterTested with simulated scans
CameraThe device’s camera, through the scanner of Rentals & Bookings Regular; needs httpsTested in Chrome on phones and tablets
Receipt printer, browserThe browser’s print dialog: 80 mm, 58 mm, A4 or LetterAny printer the device can print to
Receipt printer, directEpson ePOS-Print and Star WebPRNT over your shop networkNot on a real printer yet
Cash drawerOpened by the receipt printer’s drawer portNot on a real drawer yet
Card readerStripe smart readers, driven from your serverStripe’s test reader only
Customer screenA second monitor, or a paired tablet or phoneTested in Chrome

Checked hardware is added to the hardware page in the docs as we run it.

Staff roles

Who can do what at the counter

PermissionWhat it allowsWho has it
Use the counterSell, take payments, park and resume, hand over and take back, extend and swap, look up customers, open and close their own shift.Counter staff, shop managers, administrators
RefundReturns and refunds, exchanges, giving back a deposit or a swap difference.Shop managers, administrators; others through a role editor plugin
Change pricesA new price on a line, or a discount on the sale, always with a reason.Shop managers, administrators; others through a role editor plugin
Cash drawerPaid in, paid out, cash drops, opening the drawer, the day report and its CSV.Shop managers, administrators; others through a role editor plugin
ManageSettings and registers, closing any shift, every register’s parked sales.Shop managers, administrators
Compare

Rental Counter, a POS plugin, or a separate POS app

How the usual choices for a WooCommerce shop with a counter compare. The middle columns describe the common case, not one product.

Most WooCommerce POS pluginsA separate POS appRental Counter
Sells your WooCommerce productsYesFrom its own catalogue, synced or typed twiceYes, the standard types, bundles and kits
Rentals by date with live availabilityNoNoYes, the same stock and prices as your website
Holds the unit during the saleNoNoYes
Hand-over and return by serial, with checks and photosNoNoYes, with Rentals & Bookings Regular
Late fees, extensions, swaps, damage, depositsNoNoYes
Contract, ID check and waiver before paymentNoNoYes, with our add-ons
Card readersOften, through an add-onThe app maker’s own readersStripe smart readers, plus pay link, typed card and the WooCommerce app
Shifts, cash drawer and day reportOftenYesYes
Selling with no internetSome canUsuallyNo: prices and availability come live from your store
Where the orders end upWooCommerceThe app, then syncedWooCommerce, as normal orders
PriceFree, a one-time licence, or a yearly or monthly planA monthly plan, often with its own card fees$99 a year, or included in Ultimate
Who it’s for

Made for shops where people walk in to rent

Bike and e-bike hire

Rent the bikes, sell the helmets, locks and drinks, check the battery when they come back.

Kayaks, paddle boards and boats

Kits with paddles and life jackets, a waiver signed at the dock, the deposit back at the end of the day.

Ski and snowboard shops

Packages by the day, sizes for each person, wax and goggles on the same sale.

Tool and equipment hire

Serial numbers out and back, meter readings, damage charges and deposits.

Party and event rental pick-ups

Tables, chairs and tents collected at the counter, with balloons and plates sold alongside.

Cameras and AV

Kits with their parts, an ID check for high-value gear, and a careful return check.

Costumes and formal wear

Sizes and colours to pick, a damage waiver, and a damage charge when something comes back torn.

Baby gear and travel rentals

Strollers and car seats handed over at a desk, returned on the last day.

Any shop with a counter

No rentals at all? It’s a WooCommerce point of sale for your products, with cash, cards and shifts.

Everything it does

The full list

Selling

  • Standard product types, bundles and kits in one sale
  • Search, tap, keyboard scanner and camera scanning
  • Variations, bundles, composites, grouped products
  • Coupons, price changes and discounts with a reason
  • Walk-in sales, customer search and quick create
  • Parked sales, resumed later
  • Customer history

Rentals

  • Date bar and calendar with prices and free counts
  • Units held the moment they go on the sale
  • Days, nights, hours and fixed lengths
  • Hand-over and return by serial or count
  • Checks, meter readings and photos on return
  • Extensions, swaps, late fees and damage
  • Security deposits kept or given back
  • Mark ready, and the pick-up board

Payments

  • Cash with change and rounding
  • Stripe smart readers from your server
  • Card on your own terminal
  • Pay link or QR, and the card typed in
  • The WooCommerce app
  • Split payments, part payments, pay later
  • Booking deposits and balances
  • A card kept on file, with consent

Paperwork

  • Contracts signed on the tablet
  • ID checks with photos
  • Damage waivers and questions
  • Late-fee and renewal consent
  • Receipts printed or emailed
  • Refund slips

Counter and back office

  • Registers per desk, van or location
  • Shifts with a float, counted close and closure numbers
  • Paid in, paid out, cash drops
  • Day report on screen, printed or as a CSV
  • Epson and Star receipt printers and the cash drawer
  • Customer screen, and the cart on the card reader
  • Saved scans when the connection drops

Staff and setup

  • Counter staff role and five permissions
  • PIN switching on shared tablets
  • Every action saved with the person and the register
  • Change any word customers see
  • Translation-ready
  • Normal WooCommerce orders, with either order storage (HPOS or posts)
Questions

Questions about Rental Counter

Do I need a rental plugin to use it?

No. Without one, it’s a point of sale for your WooCommerce products: cash, cards, receipts, refunds, exchanges, shifts and the day report, and the rental parts simply don’t show. With Rentals & Bookings Lite (free) it also rents by date, and with Regular it does the hand-overs, returns, late fees and the rest.

What do I need to run it?

WordPress 6.6, WooCommerce 9.0 and PHP 8.1 or newer, and a browser on a tablet, phone or computer. For rentals, Rentals & Bookings Lite 1.0.26 or Regular 1.0.90 or newer: hand-over and return, the camera, extensions, swaps and late fees need Regular 1.0.90. The deposit panel needs Refundable Security Deposits 1.0.9, and damage records need Maintenance & Inspections 1.0.7. For card readers, the WooCommerce Stripe Gateway plugin and a Stripe smart reader.

How many registers, devices and staff can I use?

As many as you like. There’s no limit on registers, devices or staff accounts, and each register can show the sale on up to five customer screens.

Which card readers work?

Stripe smart readers (WisePOS E, S700 and S710), driven from your server through your WooCommerce Stripe plugin. We’ve tested the flow with Stripe’s simulated reader; no physical reader is on our tested list yet. For Tap to Pay on a phone, or a reader paired with the WooCommerce app, the Counter hands the order to the app.

Do I have to use Stripe?

No. Cash, your own card terminal, a pay link or QR code, and the card typed into your store’s payment page all work with the payment methods your store already has. Only the card reader route needs Stripe, through the WooCommerce Stripe Gateway plugin. On WooPayments, take cards in person through the WooCommerce app (Tap to Pay or its reader): the Counter hands the order to the app.

Do you take a cut of card payments?

No. The Counter adds nothing to any payment. You pay your payment provider’s own rates, for example Stripe’s in-person rates for the card reader, or your bank’s for your own terminal.

Does it work offline?

Selling needs a connection, because the price and what’s free come live from your store and two counters must never rent the same unit. Hand-overs and returns scanned without a connection are saved on the device and sent when it’s back.

Does the website see what the counter rents?

Yes, at once. The Counter books from the same stock as your website, and holds each unit from the moment it goes on the sale, so a shopper online can’t book it for the same dates.

Can counter staff get into wp-admin?

Only to their own profile. The Counter staff role opens the Counter and the profile page, nothing else: no orders, products or settings. A staff PIN signs in to the Counter only.

Can a cashier give refunds without being a shop manager?

Yes. Add the Refund permission to their role with a role editor plugin; WordPress has no screen for this on its own. Price changes and the cash drawer work the same way. Who can do what lists them.

Where are signatures and ID photos kept?

On your own site, with the order, by the add-on that asked for them, exactly as when a customer fills them in online: PDF Rental Contract Signing keeps the signature, its audit trail and the signed PDF, and Custom Fields keeps the ID details and photos. Rental Counter doesn’t send them anywhere else.

What happens to the orders?

Each sale is a normal WooCommerce order, marked as made at the counter, with the register and the staff member on it. Your emails, reports, invoices and accounting sync see it like any other order.

Can I print receipts without a dialog?

Yes, to Epson printers that speak ePOS-Print and Star printers that speak WebPRNT, on your shop network. Otherwise the receipt prints through the browser to any printer, on a roll or a page.

Does it scan with the camera?

Yes, when Rentals & Bookings Regular is on your store: the Counter uses its scanner. Without it, scan with a USB or Bluetooth scanner, or type the code.

Can I change the words on the receipt?

Yes. Add your own text under the receipt on the settings page, and change any word customers see on the Text screen, in each language your store uses.

Is it included in my plan?

It’s included in the Ultimate plan for WooCommerce. On Regular or Pro, or on a store without our rental plugin, buy it on its own for $99 a year.

What if my licence expires?

Nothing locks. The Counter keeps working with everything you set up; you stop getting updates and support until you renew.

Can I try it first?

Read the getting started guide to see every screen. Questions before you buy? Talk to sales.

Pricing

Rental Counter & POS for WooCommerce

On its own for any WooCommerce store, or included in the Ultimate plan.

Rental Counter

Everything on this page.

$99a year
  • Your products and rentals by date, in one sale
  • Cash, Stripe card readers, pay links and the WooCommerce app
  • Hand-over, return, late fees, damage and deposits
  • Shifts, the cash drawer and the day report
  • Receipt printers, customer screen and pick-up board
  • Counter staff role, permissions and PIN switching
Buy Rental Counter

Included in Ultimate

With Rentals & Bookings.

  • Rental Counter comes with the Ultimate plan for WooCommerce
  • Ultimate has everything in Pro: security deposits, contract signing, subscriptions, custom fields with ID checks, PDF invoices
  • And adds Multi Location Inventory, Maintenance & Inspections, Request a Quote and more
  • Already on Ultimate? Download it from your account
Compare the plans

Before you buy

  • WordPress 6.6, WooCommerce 9.0 and PHP 8.1 or newer
  • For rentals: Rentals & Bookings Lite 1.0.26 (free) or Regular 1.0.90 or newer; Regular for hand-overs, returns, extensions, swaps, late fees and camera scanning
  • For the deposit panel, Refundable Security Deposits 1.0.9; for damage records, Maintenance & Inspections 1.0.7
  • For card readers: the WooCommerce Stripe Gateway plugin and a Stripe smart reader (WisePOS E, S700 or S710)
  • A browser on each tablet, phone or computer you use as a counter, and your site on https for the camera

Open your counter on a tablet tomorrow

Rent by the date and sell everything else, from the same stock as your website.