What is the Rentals module for?
Rentals is for things you hire out and expect back. Each row is one hire of one item to one customer. It answers where your equipment is and who has it. Nothing you do here reaches the Profit and Loss, Trial Balance, or Balance Sheet.
How do I hire an item out?
- Press Rent out at the top right.
- Pick the Item. Only products with the Rental type appear here.
- Pick the Customer. It is optional, but leave it blank and you will not know who to chase.
- Type the Qty. The line under the item tells you how many are available.
- Set the Out date and the Due date. The due date makes a hire show as Overdue later.
- Fill in the Rate and the Deposit in RM if you took them, add any Notes, then press Save.
How do I record the rental fee?
- If the customer pays on the spot, go to Cash In and Out and add a cash in row for the fee under a sales category, dated the day you received it.
- If you are billing them later, raise an invoice on the Invoices screen, then add the matching entry on the Debtor and Creditor screen.
- Put the rental number, such as RENT-0001, in the reference so the money and the hire can be matched later.
How do I record a security deposit?
- Add a separate cash in row under the Deposit Received category.
- Do not lump the deposit in with the fee.
- The deposit is a liability, not income, because you may have to give it back.
How do I take an item back?
- Find the hire in the list. On loan means it is still out, Overdue means the due date has passed.
- Press the return arrow on the row.
- Type the Quantity to return. Leave it as it is to bring the whole lot back.
- Press Return. The row shows returned over hired, such as 3 of 5.
How do I settle the deposit?
- Once everything is back and undamaged, pay the deposit back to the customer.
- Record it in Cash In and Out as a cash out row under the Deposit Refunded category.
- If you keep part of it for damage, refund only the part you are giving back.
- Record the part you keep as a separate cash in under a sales category.
What this does to your books
Saving a hire or a return posts nothing; the Rate and Deposit are for reference only. The money is posted by the rows you add: a fee as cash in under a sales category (Cash & Bank 1000 to Sales 4000), and a deposit as cash in under Deposit Received (Cash & Bank 1000 to Deposits Received / Unearned Revenue 2100). Refunding the deposit under Deposit Refunded unwinds that liability. Only the part you keep is income, on the day you decide to keep it.