Best Rental Software

Entrepreneurs invest in business profusely and adapt to the changing consumer needs to get a strong foothold in the market.  One such business that is quite popular among entrepreneurs is Rental Business. The rental market place is broad and envelops various product categories such as home appliances, vehicles, travel gears, entertainment, dresses, etc. Some big names that have already become famous through their rental business ideas include Airbnb, Red Box, Chegg, Game Fly, and Cort.

Although the rental business appears to be simple and easy, there are challenges even in this business. The rental items take a lot of abrasion due to over usage and require timely maintenance for their functioning. The conventional method for business management does not follow a regular maintenance regime, which leads to bad customer experience and loss in business. Other challenges with rental businesses are managing rental inventory, overseeing rental contracts, and invoicing.

The traditional techniques for rental business management are unreliable and inaccurate.  However, usage of the best rental software can tackle these problems.  Rental software features can automate their maintenance work and monitor all their assets in real-time.  To make optimum use of rental software, it is essential that business owners choose the best rental software that meets all their business requirements.

This buyer’s guide on best rental software is intended to help business owners understand rental software capabilities from all angles and help them decide to buy rental software solutions.  It further sheds light on various software attributes such as pricing, benefits, future trends, etc.    

• Higher maintenance cost: Convention rental management system is not reliable, and it poses many challenges. One of the biggest challenges is the maintenance cost. The conventional management system does not have any planned maintenance work; all the maintenance tasks are carried out on an emergency basis. An unorganized maintenance job takes more time and expenses than a scheduled maintenance job. Also, there is no clear history of the previous job, so it is even more challenging to identify the problem and fix it.
• Unplanned or no inspection: Inspection of rental items is quintessential for its durability and rendering services. However, the conventional management system does not follow any strict inspection routine to check the health of rental items. Lack of inspection could add more maintenance costs or fatal incidents that can bring huge losses to the rental business.   
• Poor team coordination: Team coordination is necessary for conducting business smoothly. The conventional rental management system lacks team coordination, and all the communications that take place between team members are vague and inconsistent. It can lead to confusion and loss of business revenue.
• No centralized system: The conventional method for rental management does not have any centralized mechanism to store data or use the data to analyze the business performance. Also, the information around the rental business is not consistent.  
• Higher error rate: The traditional method or manual process is more prone to human errors.   
• Insufficient cash flow: Cash flow is critical for rental business. A systematic billing and payment process can keep business upbeat and functional, but a conventional billing system struggles with cash flow due to unpaid invoices and outstanding payments.

Rental software is a tool that helps in managing rental items and streamlining activities related to the rental business.  The rental software tools support features to conduct rental business at ease.  It comes with in-built features such as accounting, inventory management, billing, contract management, customer management, etc. The rental software is also referred to as a point of rental software.

Users can choose rental software as per their industry domain and can even customize the software to their needs. It can be categorized as per domain such as rental property management software, vacation rental software, equipment rental software, etc.

The software can be used by all the individuals that are involved in renting business or services. Some of the popular rental business services include,

• Property rental or Vacation rental business
• Vehicle rental
• Furniture rental
• Office equipment rental
• Heavy equipment and power tool rental
• Party supply rentals ( Photo Booth )
• Book rental
• Musical instrument rental
• Computer and electronic gadget rental
• Home decor rental

The current business environment has caused business owners to adopt technologies that can scale their business and help them deliver a better customer experience. Many business owners consider investing in software products that can make their business more profitable and resilient. Businesses such as rental businesses require clear visibility on their products usage and maintenance cycle. It keeps the rental business rolling without bearing heavy expenditure. It can be achieved only if the users have access to the right rental software. Rental management software helps to identify potential disruption in the business operations and mitigates them ahead of time. The rental management software facilitates easy payment collection, manages inventories, delivers better customer experience, tracks maintenance requests, etc.   Some rental software vendors give the flexibility to use SaaS-based rental software that can be accessed from anywhere. 

Rental business owners can make good use of their rental software, and if they want to know how they can do it, they should explore the benefits of rental software. 

• Contract management: Users can digitize their contracts and manage more efficiently with the point of rental software. It makes drafting and sharing contract details easy. Users can access contract-related documents from different locations, track changes made on a contract, communicate about the contract to the client, etc.
• Rental tracking: Top rental software enables the user to track rental items and their location. It reduces the chance of losing or misplacing the rental items. Users can also keep track of their items that are under maintenance or repair.
• Fast invoicing and billing: By having unique ids or barcodes on the rental items, it becomes easy to scan rental items and generate invoices or billing. Point of rental software can make the billing process simple, just like any POS software in a retail store.
• Data analysis: Rental software provides a centralized system to store and manage all the data related to rental items. These data could be helpful in analyzing important information about the rental business such as frequent buyers, most rented items, payment delay, mode of payment, etc. This information is also useful in identifying all the loopholes in the system and improving the business.
• Better team coordination and work scheduling: Rental business often requires employee coordination for smooth functioning. With rental software, the team members can work from anywhere and access work-related files anytime. They can even adjust their work schedule through rental software. 
• Inventory management: Rental software gives a clear view of the inventories and tracks inventories all the time. It takes all the guesswork and hassle of managing the inventory manually. Inventory management features intertwined with equipment rental software can make rental business straightforward and effortless.
• Automation: Setting up automatic reminders about product maintenance or rent collection could help users to manage the rental business efficiently. Besides that, it can reduce administrative work by updating the data into the system and generating reports automatically.
• Reduce costs: Rental software can aid users in streamlining business activities and help them to reduce the operation costs they incur due to manual tasks. 
• Better Visibility: With rental management software, the users can have better visibility on the product; for instance, they can view the product under repair or track the product that is underused.

• Tracking rental items
• Inventory management
• Invoicing
• Asset management
• Accounting (invoicing/ payment)
• Sales management
• Hiring management
• Fleet tracking
• Third-party integration
• Digital signature
• Delivery confirmation
• Automation

• User-friendly interface: Rental software can have multiple features from inventory management to tracking rental items, from generating invoices to order management. If the software does not have a user-friendly interface, it can easily confuse the users. Therefore the best rental software must have a user-friendly interface.
• Third-party tool integration: Rental software can add more value to business if they have additional features such as CRM, accounting, tasks scheduling, etc. Most rental software tools come with an in-built feature, but rental software that does not support these tools allows importing them externally. Top rental software should support third-party tool integration.
• Data-analytics and reporting: Reports and data analytics are crucial components for any business to analyze the performance. Income reports, sales reports, asset depreciation reports, customer feedback reports, etc., are essential metrics to map rental business progress. If these reports are presented in a graphical view, the business owners can derive valuable information, which they can use to enhance the business performance.
• Reliable: There are dozens of rental management systems available in the market, but not all of them fit all businesses. The users should align their business requirements first with the software and then make a decision on the rental software. There are multiple ways to select the best rental software; the users can compare various software solutions, research software on review and rating platforms, or use the software’s trial version. Also, check that the rental software vendor has a solid presence on various community forums. A reliable rental software solution can lead to higher ROI and business performance.
• Maintenance ticket automation: In the rental business, the wear and tear of rental items are pretty common, and maintenance work could be a usual scenario. If the rental software supports the maintenance ticket automation feature, it can take away a lot of workload from the business owners by remembering the maintenance date and sending rental items for repair. The automatic maintenance work can take care of repair requests, send alerts, track maintenance history, share reports in real-time, etc. The rental software users should consider maintenance work automation the priority while short-listing the top rental software solutions.

It is quite interesting to understand the significance of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tools in rental software. CRM can be equally beneficial for rental business as well.  Though they are not involved in direct sales, they can use CRM software for boosting customer experience.  The business owners can send alerts and notifications to the customer, and they can view the details about all the items they have rented, cost, and due back time. Top rental management software with a CRM tool can help customers reduce their waiting time and avoid double-booking on a single item.  It can help large and small business owners in retaining loyal customers.

CRM tools allow rental business owners to gather customer data and manage potential customers, deals, and contacts from a single interface.  Business owners can comprehend from the customer data about which rental items or resources are most in-demand and accordingly can plan future buying.

There is no doubt that a strong customer relationship enables rental business owners to thrive their business, but over the long run, the business owners also have to tap on the future trends to grow, expand and respond to the evolving market trends.

• Mobile device optimization: Mobile devices have equipped humans with powerful and portable computing power. There are already mobile apps that assist business owners in taking control of their business processes from anywhere. The rental business is no different, and in the future, mobile devices' role could be more intense in streamlining the rental business instantly and in real-time. The growth of mobile-friendly rental software could be enormous. It can be used for mobile inspection, managing inventory, training staff online, or sending rental item details to customers in real-time. Further advancement in big data and VR technology can unlock the avenues of rental software solutions that are not explored yet.
• Telematics for fleet management:  Fleet management is an integral part of rental software solutions. Rental business owners with intelligent fleet management can undoubtedly manage their resources more efficiently. The future rental software can enhance their fleet management by incorporating telematics. Telematics has already influenced many industries, and in the coming days, the rental business would add to the list. It can help them to boost the bottom line and enhance customer service. The rental business owners who are in renting vehicles and the commercial fleet could take great advantage of telematics in the future.
• Blockchain: Blockchain decentralized system can power rental businesses to get better control of their assets. The business owners can conduct all their activities through a single distributed ledger. The users can sign a smart contract, track repairs, transfer ownerships, etc. Blockchain can reduce the dispute between the service provider and end-client; all the charges could be collected as per the pre-defined terms of smart contracts. Besides that, there would be no scope for fraud as there is a transparent working system.

The average cost of rental software depends on the industry type and features.  However, the average cost of rental software could be anywhere from $1.99/month to $240/month. These software pricing vary based on the features, the number of users, and business scope. For instance, a small business generally looks for basic features and does not need high end-tools.  They might not need fleet tracking, sales management, or transaction management but simple inventory management or payment gateway.  Also, the software users in small businesses could be much lesser in numbers compared to the large size company.

• Rental software for startups and small businesses: Rental software comes in various prices, and small businesses or startups can easily find a software solution that fits in their budget. One of the rental software that could stand out as the best option for startups or small businesses is GuestHug at a starting price of $1.99. This property rental software is ideal for users involved in the rental property business. They can enhance their customer’s experience by delivering smart check-in and checkout, intelligent navigation, on-demand hotel style services, etc. If users are looking for an equipment rental software solution for tracking their niche products or equipment, Brentiv for $19/month is an ideal solution. Both tools offer a free trial.  Many other tools could turn productive for small businesses, and startups include anySharing, iGMS, NQuo, BookFull, etc. Few of these software vendors also offer free rental software, which makes them more suitable tools for startups.

• Rental software for mid-size and large scale businesses:  The mid-size and large-scale rental businesses need software that is comprehensive and addresses their broad requirements.  They require top rental management software that, besides basic features, offers services such as sub renting, tax accounting, consolidated invoicing, line item discounts, bookings and reservation, etc. EZRentOut at a price of $49.98 meets all the requirements of mid-size and large-scale business needs.  It allows tracking unlimited rental and sale items. Another mid-range tool that gives business owners complete control over their rental business is Reservety at $49/month.  It is a complete rental solution based on WordPress and Woocommerce platforms. It makes the software capable of handling physical rental shops as well as an online website.  The other tools that fall in the same category include Booqable, Viberent, Rentman etc. There are also high-end rental software to meet the business owners' exclusive needs, such as online training, customization, upgrade and enhancements.  TCR is one of the popular rental software in the high-end rental software category at a price of $240/month.  The tool provides complete training with full customer support. Users can leverage their add-on services by paying extra. Other premium rental software tools that users can consider are iRent, Rent it Biz, and RentalTrax.

• Free and Open Source Rental Software: Free and open source rental software provides an option for users to customize the software features for better performance. The free and open source rental software also stands out as a good alternative for startups and small businesses as they don’t have to invest in buying expensive tools or develop the software from scratch. 

Goodfirms is a popular review and rating platform for IT solutions. It has been listing software products from various industries and sectors.  Scouting the best software from the list prepared by Goodfirms can be the best way as the team prepares the list following strict review and rating rules.  It ensures that customers get access to all the necessary information to make the right choice on software products. Companies can choose the best software product by comparing them using various filters such as pricing, features, and services.

Rental software or rental management systems can aid rental business owners to mitigate all the challenges involved with the traditional systems, and perform efficiently.  Moreover, by integrating with other tools like;  Accounting, Inventory Management, and CRM, they can further streamline the rental business. There are more advantages that users can leverage through rental software for which users have to choose the best rental software. In case you are in the rental business and searching for the right rental software, then do not miss to check the list of the top rental management software prepared by Goodfirms’ expert team.