Physical rental products¶
The Odoo Rental app allows users to customize scheduling, pricing, and inventory for physical rental products that require stock movement, otherwise known as Goods. Users can set up multiple pickup and drop-off locations and track rental products by serial number.
Settings¶
The Rental app offers many app-integration features. Depending on the installed Odoo apps, specific settings are available. To learn more about the default settings for rental products, refer to the Configuration section on the Rental product types page.
To access the Rental app’s settings, navigate to . If only the Rental app is installed, then the Configuration menu is disabled and can’t be accessed.
The following configurations assume the Rental, Inventory, and Sales apps are installed.
Create a new physical product¶
To set up a new physical rental product, go to the , then click New. The new product form displays with the General Information tab open as default.
Initial product configuration¶
In the new product form, the Sales checkbox is selected by default. In the General Information tab, set the Product Type as Goods.
The Track Inventory toggle is enabled by default. Enter the number of products that are available to rent in the Quantity On Hand field. For the Category field, select Goods from the drop-down menu or create a new category by typing in the name and clicking Create.
Note
For products that have By Lots or By Unique Serial Number enabled, refer to the Configure product tracking section.
Set a base rental period and price¶
Set up a base rental rate by entering the lowest rental price in the Sales Price field of the General Information tab. Next, click the Sales tab, then in the Rental section, select a unit of time from the Periodicity drop-down menu.
The Pickup and Return fields are displayed for every Periodicity field option except Hours (which only displays the Padding Time field). The Pickup and Return times only apply to online rental orders. The Padding Time field makes the product unavailable to rent for the selected duration (in hours).
Additional rental rates can be configured on the Prices tab, though these rates are restricted to the Periodicity value selected in the Sales tab. In other words, a rental product can only have one Periodicity value (or unit of time) configured at a time.
Optional: specify rental variants¶
Important
The Variants feature in the Inventory app must be enabled for this tab to display.
In the Attributes & Variants tab, add the appropriate attribute and its values by clicking Add a line. Attributes and values are useful for keeping the product library manageable, tracking and differentiating the inventory, and providing more detailed reports. Examples of rental variants for a Goods product are: sizes, brand, color, and material.
Add multiple rental prices¶
Important
The Sales app must be installed and the Pricelists feature enabled for this tab to display.
There are two ways to configure additional rental rates in the Rental app: Pricelists method and the Prices tab method. The Rental app follows specific conditions when using pricelists. Refer to the Rental pricelist rules section on the Rental page.
Tip
It is recommended to create a new Pricelist first, then select the customized Pricelist in the Prices tab instead of using the Default pricelist. Keeping the Default pricelist blank ensures there is a clean pricelist for the base rental rate.
Using the Pricelists method¶
Creating a new pricelist allows for better customization when applying rental rates to specific time periods, products, or customers by using Pricelist Rules. It is a separate form that users can apply on quotations or select on the rental product form to add new price rules to.
Navigate to and click New. The Create Pricelist Rules window displays.
Using the Prices tab method¶
Rental rates can also be configured as a new price rule to an existing pricelist using the Prices tab on the product form. If there is no configured pricelist created beforehand, then the Default pricelist is selected.
Note
It is recommended to create a new Pricelist first instead of using the Default pricelist. Keeping the Default pricelist blank ensures there is a clean pricelist for the base rental rate.
Navigate to , then click the desired product. Click the Prices tab and click Add a price.
Select the desired Pricelist. In the Min. Quantity column, enter the minimum amount needed to trigger the price change. The Min. Quantity column is based on the unit of time selected in the Periodicity field in the Sales tab.
Lastly, enter the Price rate.
Example
A bike rental business rents out its bikes on an hourly basis but offers a 20% discount for summer break. The regular hourly rate for their bikes is $20.
Enter the Sales Price in the General Information tab of the product form, then click the Sales tab to configure the Periodicity and Padding Time.
Using the Pricelist method, navigate to and click New. Configure Pricelist Rules for the 20% discount.
Using the Prices tab method, navigate to and click the bike product. Click the Prices tab, then add a new discounted price for the hourly rate. To add the Validity column, click the (Settings adjust) icon and select Validity. Then enter the date range in which the discount is applicable.
Configure product tracking¶
Important
To configure a physical rental product for product tracking, the Inventory app must be installed, and Lots & Serial Numbers must be enabled.
Go to the , then click New. In the new product window, the Sales checkbox is already selected by default. Select Goods as the Product Type. The Tracking field defaults to By Quantity.
Click into the Tracking field and select either By Lots or By Unique Serial Number. Enter the number of products available to rent in the Quantity On Hand field.
For the Category field, select Goods from the drop-down menu or create a new category by typing in the name and clicking Create. Configure basic rental rate and any additional rates.
Rental Transfers feature¶
The Rental Transfers feature automatically creates a delivery receipt when the rental product is picked up and a return receipt when it is returned to stock. Documenting stock movement creates a clean paper trail and has a variety of uses:
Tracking high-value products.
Tracking stock levels across multiple stores or warehouse locations.
Tracking products between different store locations that allow pick up and returns.
To enable the Rental Transfers feature, navigate to the and in the Inventory section, select the Rental Transfers checkbox.
Note
The Inventory app automatically creates an internal default location once the Rental Transfers feature is enabled. Odoo uses the new default location, Customer/Rental, to track products during the rental period (moving them from Stock to Customer/Rental upon rental, and back upon return).
Do not modify Customer/Rental to avoid corrupting inventory tracking.
Multi-location management and transfers¶
Important
Refer to the Rental Transfers note for information about internal location configuration and inventory tracking.
Tracking the location of high-value physical products between locations is essential. The Rental app helps with the Rental Transfers feature. Activating rental transfers means the system treats rental movements similarly to sales, requiring a receipt and a delivery order every time a physical product is rented or returned.
For multi-location management and rental item transfer tracking, navigate to the and in the Inventory section, select the Rental Transfers checkbox.
Next, go to the and in the Warehouse section, select the Storage Locations checkbox. Click Save to apply the changes.
Create a new location and on the new location page, enter the Location Name and ensure the Parent Location field is set to WH.
Example
A bike rental business has two store locations within the same city. Both locations allow for pickup and dropoff of their bikes. The company wants to track its bikes accurately at each location.
Ensure the Rental and Inventory apps are configured by enabling Rental Transfers in the Rental app and Storage Locations in the Inventory app.
Next, go to the . Create a new location for each storefront.
Process physical pickups¶
When a customer picks up rental products, navigate to the desired rental order and click Pickup. The Rental app displays a warehouse delivery form listing the reserved rental products. Verify the list, then click Validate to move the order to the Done stage.
Doing so places a Pickedup status banner on the rental order.
Process physical returns¶
When a customer returns products, navigate to the desired rental order and click Return. The Rental app displays a warehouse receipt form listing the checked-out rental products.
Enter the same amount of each product being returned by the customer in the Quantity column. If any of the products have serial numbers, enter them in the Serial Numbers column.
Click Validate to move the order to the Done stage. A Returned status banner appears on the rental order.
Print pickup and return receipts¶
Pickup and return receipts can be created and downloaded for customers when they pick up and/or return rental products.
To create pickup and/or return receipts, navigate to the desired rental order, click the (Actions) icon to reveal a drop-down menu.
From this drop-down menu, hover over the Print option to reveal a sub-menu. Then select Pickup and Return Receipt.
Odoo downloads a PDF detailing all information about the current status of the rented items.