When it comes to understanding a want vs. a need for your rental company, there is so much more to it than just the accessibility to the software. How does this software set itself apart from the next? Can you access it easily from your phone or tablet when you are away from your office or laptop? Can your clients access their quotes, make payments, and send signatures easily? In the world of the digital age we are living in, these things matter.

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This is what will set you apart from the competition and in return, strengthen your team’s internal processes, set them up for success, and the ratio of bookings you are receiving. We have certainly navigated through platforms that have been great and then some that were not so great. In today’s episode, we chat about what we know and love to be our best tools for our success.

Things to Consider

First, you have to know what you are looking for with the services you are offering. We all know that we are living in a digital world where our phones are easily accessible to essentially anything we need, so having that online presence and access to your clients is important. Next, you should be considering how you can build out your quotes, and accept payment(s), and signatures. Long gone are the days of having to print, sign, scan, and email documents with signatures. If you are operating without online accessibility for your clients or potential bookings, that could turn into a missed opportunity. Now let’s think about how you are keeping track of tasks associated with your business. Being a business owner and having business hours does not mean you can always accomplish those tasks during your work day. With kids, having a family, and after-school activities, you may have to work while you are at practices or in the school pick-up line. Being able to see those tasks on your phone or tablet is a great way to stay on track with getting those tasks done. Last but not least, how are you communicating internally and externally with your team and clients? There are so many social media platforms now that setting those boundaries up front is very important. Having boundaries with your team and clients will only help you in the long run from not burning out with the overlap in ways to communicate. 

Okay, are you ready to decide which rental software you need for your rental company? Let’s start with a few things first:

1. Softwares You May Want
2. Your Non-Negotiables + Creating a Pros/Cons List
3. Understanding the Softwares You Need

Softwares You May Want

1. Social Media Planner — Rather than compounding your workload with the task of posting on your social media channels daily, schedule + plan ahead with Planoly. This can help streamline your processes and get ahead on your task load. 

2. Clocking In/Out System — Long gone are the days of having your team and staff signing in on a piece of paper or in a notebook for their hours worked, and then manually calculating their hours each pay period. We use the Deputy App and this does the work for us – calculates hours worked, you can input pay rates manually, and even assign future shifts and schedules for your team. 

3. Communication Tool for your Team — As we mentioned before, we are living in an age of more than a handful of social media platforms to communicate through. Set your team up for success and create that boundary of communication with a tool such as Slack. This mobile app allows you to set when you want to be notified and keep work communication all in one place. 

4. Higher End Creative Software — Having a consistent brand experience throughout your social media platforms is key to setting yourself up for success and brand awareness. We love utilizing Canva and Adobe Suite to create strong brand visibility for our clients and partners. 

5. Business Phone Number — Allow your clients to contact you without giving out your personal phone number. This aligns with your communication tool and establishes those boundaries. Rather than getting a separate phone plan, we use the Grasshopper App and it is great for what we need it to do. 

6. Scheduling Software — Setting up an online scheduling software through your website allows your clients or potential bookings to access your availability for meetings and calls. We have found that Acuity Scheduling integrates well with our online platform and allows us to brand it to fit our company’s aesthetic. 

Your Non-Negotiables + Creating a Pros/Cons List 

The next step to understanding what program or software you are ready to add is to sit down, look at your business and decipher a “measuring mark” for your company. Start with your non-negotiables to understand what you absolutely need to help run your business. When you have done this, it will help you clearly identify what will benefit your business. 

— Consider how easy the rental softwares or program is to use not only for yourself but for your team. Can everyone manage it on their own easily?

— Accessibility to an app on your phone and the ability to use it on the go. Can you access information and the files needed easily and when you are not at your computer? 

— Have you looked at the customization options to fit your branding? This is key for marketing and the creative side of your company. When all of your platforms or quotes, emails, etc. are branded, this allows your viewers and clients to connect with who your company is and allows you to create the same experience throughout all of your platforms.

— Make sure that you can tackle more than one function at a time and that this fits into streamlining your processes. Can you integrate this software into your current website? 

— Lastly, can you make changes or edit functions to best serve your business? Not all software is one size fits all and have the ability to edit its functionality of it is important to maximize the benefits for your business. 

Understanding the Softwares You Need

Now that we have gone through weighing the non-negotiables and understanding what you need, let’s dive into what softwares and programs you absolutely need to start your business on the right track! 

1. Inventory Software — Make sure you have rental inventory software that shows the varying sizes of your products, the counts, the cost to rent, and managing the counts of the inventory once rented. We use GoodShuffle Pro to manage our rental inventory, our quotes, secure payments and collect signatures. We also have an exclusive 30-Day Promo Link for you to try out for your rental business! 

2. Website — Having a website that not only properly shows what you offer and can create for an event, but also integrates well with your rental software is important. One big reason we love GoodShuffle Pro is that we can add new inventory with all of the details and it automatically integrates and uploads onto our website and streamlines our processes. 

3. Task Management System — What are you using to properly and efficiently manage the tasks in your business? Having accessibility to it is important and we love Asana for managing all of the tasks needing to be completed. 

4. Communication with Clients — GSuite is a great tool to use for your company email, storing files and documents while also being able to easily access them on the go. Upload event photos or files you may need while you are on site! 

5. Finance System — Probably the most important, have a finance system. Making sure you have a system in place from the start helps keep you in line with your money, where it is going, and where you are with your business. QuickBooks is a great financial tool that can also easily integrate with your website and software system(s).

To sum it up, we highly recommend these rental software programs and systems, mentioned above, as a must when it comes to systems you absolutely need. Keep in mind that you can always have a ‘measure mark’ in your business for when you can add more systems that are more of a want. These are our tried and true software that we know and love and think would be a great starting point for your business if you need to implement new systems!

Be sure to check out The Render Podcast on Apple or Spotify! Next week’s episode is all about When and How To Raise Prices and as always, we are grateful you are here!

Joyfully,

Raven Scott | Podcast Manager