Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for equipment rental companies.
A checklist built from how equipment rental companies work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Equipment register and availability
- Quotations and rental contracts
- Delivery, collection and condition checks
- Workshop and service schedule
- Billing, extensions and deposits
- Utilisation and earnings reports
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For owners
- For the rental counter
- For yard and drivers
- For the workshop
- For accounts
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Utilisation and idle days by machine and class
- Earnings by machine, customer and branch
- Contracts due back and overdue returns
- Servicing due by hours or by date
- Repair, spares and attachment cost against each machine
- Deposits held and dues by customer
- Quotations won and lost
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- SMS
- WhatsApp or other messaging
- Payment gateway
- Accounting software export
- Telematics data import
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Can it manage several yards or branches?
- Can we bill by hours run as well as by days?
- How are damage and missing parts handled?
- Does it plan servicing?
- Can customers extend a hire by phone?
- Does it track machines by GPS?
- Can open contracts and balances be moved?
- Who owns the data?
- What does it cost?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Availability is held in someone’s head
- Condition at return is argued
- Servicing runs by guesswork
- Extensions slip past the invoice
- Utilisation is never measured
Prefer to talk it through? See the equipment rental companies page.