Top 9 Frequently Asked Questions about Equipment Rental Software

The equipment rental market is expected to be valued at 145.22 billion US dollars by 2026, according to a report by Fortune Business Insights. With the rental market booming and the demand at an all-time high, equipment rental companies must up their game to survive and thrive. And the right equipment rental software will help you achieve this.

With a vast experience of nearly two decades in the equipment rental industry, we at To-Increase offer rental software embedded in Microsoft Dynamics 365 to streamline end-to-end rental operations. We have been approached with different questions and queries about equipment rental software during our interactions with customers and prospects.

This blog shares answers to the most frequently asked questions about equipment rental software.

The need for equipment rental software today

Companies want to keep their capital outlay low but still work with the latest equipment, which translates to more demand for equipment rental as it means lesser capital outlay, fewer hassles with managing the equipment, and the option to move on to better technology in the market.

This boost in demand means greater competition among rental companies, with constantly evolving trends and needs. Without the right technology, you will find it challenging to maintain and grow in the market.

However, all is not dire, and you can digitalize your operations through equipment rental software that synchronizes with your ERP and additional factors like mobility, IoT, business intelligence, functional dashboards, etc.

Let's look at the frequently asked questions about equipment rental software.

Frequently asked questions about equipment rental software

1. What can I do to ensure that my equipment rental planning is immaculate?

As an equipment rental company, you will have several teams representing your rental business, and they all must have access to the latest information.

For instance, your field team should be well-equipped to answer queries related to equipment pickups and returns, directly impacting equipment planning. Similarly, your transportation team must stay updated with the equipment details to arrange the collection and delivery to and from the client's site.

You can ensure that all the teams involved with the equipment rental planning are in sync with equipment rental software that offers a holistic view of these details with a graphical planboard. Such graphical planboards share data on real-time scheduling, tracking, and transport management to minimize asset downtime.

With accurate planning features within your rental software, you have an overview to enable operational and transport-related planning with ease.

2. Is there a way I can manage package rental deals?

When companies conducting construction projects seek rental equipment, they often need more than one piece at a time. For instance, a rental project with cement mixers also requires tippers and trucks.

Renting an equipment package with several pieces of equipment can be complex and requires multiple entries in the system. This can be quickly addressed with equipment rental software supporting rental kits. With rental kits, you can anticipate your customer's needs and offer them packages that will be valuable to them.

By managing package rental deals, you can ease operations at the back end and ensure your customers have all the equipment required for a project.

3. What happens when I book one rental right after another, and the customer wants to extend the rental period?

In an ideal situation, customers would return the equipment they have rented as soon as the rental period ends. However, sometimes projects can extend beyond the set timelines, making customers want to keep the equipment longer.

You may have promised another customer the same equipment based on the set return date, which the previous customer has not yet returned. You cannot refuse the extension to your first customer, but you must also fulfill the booking you made for the next customer.

In such situations, an equipment rental software solution can help you assign another piece of equipment to the second customer. You can rent the equipment from a subsidiary within your (holding) company or use the sub-rental functionality to rent from a third party.

This helps ensure you can meet your commitments without negatively impacting client relations.

4. Can the equipment rental software help me view which equipment has a high demand and generates the most revenue?

Being in the equipment rental business, you must be familiar with the fact that not all equipment is in demand, and sometimes, even if there is immense demand, they may not generate high revenue.

As a rental business, you must have data that shows which equipment is in high demand and the assets that fetch the highest fees. An equipment rental software solution can offer this data through analytics and business intelligence, equipping you to plan better.

With KPI-based rental analytics, you can get insights into asset performance, utilization rates, booking trends, and more. It lets you view the demand trends, the repair and maintenance expenses, and the revenue generated.

Based on this data, you can make calculated predictions about the equipment demand and plan your portfolio better.

5. How do I ensure that I do not double-book the same asset for rental?

When you have several teams working with customers (the sales, transport, and field teams), it is likely to double-book some assets. With the right equipment rental software in place, different teams can view the latest updates from the system, as it stores all information in a single location.

Teams can also access data on the rental equipment, anytime and anywhere, on their mobile devices by using a mobile app.

Accessing the latest details on mobile reduces paperwork and ensures everyone works with the latest updates. Additionally, the equipment rental software will automatically sync with your ERP to provide the finance and administration teams with the latest details.

With consolidated information and mobility, you can ensure errors like missed booking, double booking of the same asset, or lost entries do not occur.

6. What happens when customers do not use the equipment as per the agreed terms?

When you enter into a rental agreement with the customer, you mutually agree on the location of the asset and the terms of usage. However, once the asset reaches the customer's site, you may not have complete access to how the customer uses the equipment.

When customers move the asset from one location to another or use it outside the set terms and conditions, it affects the transport arrangements you must make and the wear and tear of the asset.

Equipment rental software with IoT integration helps track and monitor the equipment's availability, location, and utilization. You can protect usage according to the rental contract and bill the customer for extra use.

7. How do I manage the health of the equipment to ensure maximum utilization?

As your equipment moves through multiple customers, sometimes across countries, you must ensure that your fleet is in the best condition when renting it out. To guarantee your equipment's health, you need to execute timely servicing, repair, and maintenance to maximize asset utilization.

Use the 'service and maintenance' feature of your equipment rental software to schedule and manage maintenance, ensuring maximum rental availability of the asset. You can get a comprehensive overview of rental equipment maintenance and increase the rental potential of the equipment.

8. Does equipment rental software offer the means to manage transport and fleets?

Transportation and fleet management is another aspect that equipment rental companies find challenging. You must deliver rented equipment to the customers on time while minimizing the costs.

Consequently, you have to ensure that your vehicles move with optimum loads, taking the shortest possible routes, especially with a diverse equipment portfolio.

The transport planning can be taken care of by your equipment rental software offering graphical transport planning tools that can streamline the planning and logistics of equipment across depots. You can also use a scanning solution that speeds up the logistics of your fleet with a quick scan and check feature.

9. How can equipment rental software help improve customer experience?

The experience you offer your equipment rental customers at every level of their buying journey can impact customer retention and repeat business. You must focus on providing an intuitive and easy buying experience.

An equipment rental software solution can help you ensure a consistent omnichannel experience by offering updated information to all the teams through the lead-to-cash journey. Some solutions provide artificial intelligence-based product recommendations to your customers, with which you can build stronger customer relationships by cross-selling and upselling.

You can also add more value to your customers by including a rental customer portal to empower them with information on their rented equipment and usage.

How can you get started with equipment rental software for your business?

We hope this list of curated FAQs about equipment rental software has given you insights into what kind of technology you must invest in.

Some of the next steps you can take are:

• Make a list of stakeholders in the decision-making process to finalize the equipment rental software.
• Address queries and questions from different teams using the above information.
• Note questions that require further discussion.
• Talk to your finance and administration teams to understand the scope of the budget.
• Request proposals from equipment rental software providers with a list of your requirements.
• Evaluate each option with the stakeholders to ensure the solution covers your requirements.
• Negotiate with the software provider to ensure your solution package includes training and support.

With the above steps, you will be able to make an informed decision for the purchase of equipment rental software.

To begin your journey on how to look for an equipment rental software solution, see this checklist which shares information on:

• The selection criteria to consider
• Crucial equipment rental ERP essentials
• Conditions to ensure the success of your software