How to Process Full and Partial Returns
When equipment comes back, you receive it against the order. Rentablez lets you take back everything in one go or just the items that arrived — the rest stay out on rent until they return. Each return restores stock to available, records who received it and when, and can capture inspection results and damage charges in the same step.
How Returns Work
You process returns from the order itself, using the Return action. It opens the Rentals In panel, where you tick the items that came back and confirm. Rentablez then:
- Puts the returned stock back into available inventory.
- Records the return date and the Received By name against each item.
- Moves the order forward: Rented Out → Partially Received → Received, then on to Completed.
A full return is simply a return where every remaining item is selected. A partial return is one where only some items — or a smaller quantity — are received. You can process as many partial returns as you need until the order is fully back.
You need the Operations – Write permission to receive items. The Return action only appears once an order is Rented Out (or Partially Received) and still has items out on rent.
Open the Return Panel
Open the order you want to receive against. When the order is Rented Out or Partially Received, a Return button appears in the order’s operations bar.
Click Return to open the Rentals In panel on the right. Its header shows the order number, customer, and rental dates so you can confirm you’re on the right order.
Record Who Received the Items
At the top of the panel:
- Return Mode is shown for reference. It mirrors how the order was fulfilled — Collection (your team collects the items) or Self Drop (the customer drops them off). It is read-only here.
- Received By — type the name of the person accepting the items. This is stamped on every item you receive in this pass and shows up later in the return history.
- Collection Delivery Agent (optional) — for Collection orders you can assign the agent who is picking the items up. This field is hidden for Self Drop orders.
Assigning a collection agent here is part of 3PL / delivery-mode fulfillment. If the assignment fails for any reason, the return itself still goes through — you can assign the agent again from the order.
Select What Came Back
The Items to Receive list shows every item still out on this order, grouped by asset. This is where full and partial returns differ:
| To do this | Do this |
|---|---|
| Full return | Select every item in the list (and leave each quantity at its full pending amount). |
| Partial return | Select only the items that arrived. For bulk items, lower the quantity to how many actually came back. |
Anything you leave unselected stays out on rent, and the order simply moves to Partially Received. You can come back and receive the rest later.
Fully returned items and items never picked up don’t appear in the list — you only ever see what’s still legitimately out.
Enter Meter Readings (metered rentals only)
If an item is priced by usage (for example, hours or kilometres) and meter readings are switched on for your organization, each metered row asks for its closing meter reading before you can receive it.
Enter the reading shown on the item as it comes back. Rentablez uses it together with the reading captured at dispatch to bill the actual usage.
Meter readings only appear when the org setting Require Meter Reading is enabled (or turned on for that customer) and the asset is set up for usage-based pricing. If you don’t see a meter field, this order doesn’t need one. See Record Meter Readings on Rentals.
Review Inspections
If any returning item requires a post-return inspection, the panel surfaces it:
- An Inspection Report section lists each item’s status — Pending, Completed, or Skipped — along with the result (Passed / Failed), any issues found, and a Download Report button for completed inspections.
- If inspections are enforced for those items and are still Pending, the return is blocked until they’re done. A Skip Inspection & Return button lets an authorised user proceed by choosing a reason (for example Minor damage, Customer dispute, Inspected offline, or Customer waiver) and optional notes. The reason is written to the audit log.
- If inspections are required but not enforced, you’ll see a reminder — but you can still receive the items.
To learn how post-return inspections are set up and carried out, see Creating Inspections.
Add Damage or Late Charges (optional)
Use the Additional Charges section to record any charges discovered at return time — damage, cleaning, missing accessories, late fees, or penalties. For each charge, pick a category, enter an amount, and choose how to settle it:
- Bill on invoice — add it to the order’s invoice.
- Collect separately — recover it outside the order’s invoice.
- Deduct from SD — take it from the security deposit held on the order (shown only when a deposit is actually held, and capped at the amount available).
These charges are optional and never block the return — they’re saved right after the items are received.
Confirm the Return
When your selection is ready, click the Mark … Received button at the bottom (it shows the count, e.g. Mark 3 Received). Rentablez:
- Restores the received stock to available inventory.
- Stamps the return date, Received By, and any meter readings.
- Saves any additional charges you entered.
- Updates the order status.
If this was a partial return, the order shows Partially Received with a running count (for example 2/5 Returned). Once every item is back, the order shows Received / All Items Received.
Complete the Order
After all items are received, open the order and choose Complete Order from its actions to move it to Completed. Settle any outstanding balance and refund the security deposit as needed before or after completing — see Invoices, Design & Share, and Payments.
For an active lease, once every leased item has been fully returned Rentablez prompts you to cancel the lease so it stops generating future invoices.
Check the Return History
Every return is logged. On the order, open the Return Records tab to see each received item with its tag, quantity returned, received by, return date, and (for metered items) the closing meter reading. Items received through an asset swap are flagged so you can tell them apart from ordinary returns.
You’re All Set
You can now receive rented items back — in full or in parts — while capturing who received them, meter readings, inspection results, and any damage charges in a single step.