7 Double-Bookings Monthly Costing $5,880? Use Odoo 18 Rental Module

Your rental business tracks equipment in Excel. Last month: Customer rented camera A. Your warehouse shipped camera B (wrong serial number). Customer complained. You checked spreadsheet. Camera A was already rented to someone else but nobody updated the sheet. Cost: $840 in expedited shipping to get correct camera + $200 discount for inconvenience.

Double-bookings happen 7 times per month. Equipment goes out, doesn't get marked as unavailable. Someone else books it. You scramble to find replacement. Customer satisfaction score: 3.2/5. Main complaint: "Booked equipment online, told it's unavailable when I arrived."

Your operations manager spends 11 hours weekly manually checking: What's rented? What's due back? What's overdue? Who owes late fees? All in different spreadsheets. Time wasted: 572 hours annually = $15,900 in labor just managing rental logistics.

Odoo 18 Rental module tracks everything automatically. Real-time availability, pickup schedules, return tracking, late fees calculated. No double-bookings. No Excel. Here's how to set it up for rental operations that don't rely on hoping your team remembered to update the spreadsheet.

What Odoo 18 Rental Module Does

Complete rental management system. Create rental orders, schedule pickups/returns, track availability by serial number, auto-calculate rental fees and late charges. Integrates with inventory, accounting, and eCommerce.

Step 1: Install Rental Module

1. Go to Apps menu
2. Search: "Rental"
3. Click Install
4. Module appears in main menu

Dashboard Overview

When you open Rental module, you see the dashboard with key sections:

Step 2: Configure Rental Products

Mark products as rentable and set pricing.

Create/Edit Product

1. Go to Rental → Products
2. Click Create (or open existing product)
3. Enter product details:
   • Name: "Professional Camera Kit"
   • Internal Reference: CAM-001
   • Product Type: Storable Product
4. Enable "Can be Rented" checkbox
5. Set rental pricing (see next section)
6. Configure tracking: By Unique Serial Number
7. Save

Set Rental Pricing

Define pricing for different rental periods.

Add Serial Numbers

1. In product form, go to Inventory tab
2. Click Serial Numbers
3. Add each unit:
   • CAM-001-SN001
   • CAM-001-SN002
   • CAM-001-SN003

Now Odoo tracks each camera individually. Customer rents SN001, system knows SN002 and SN003 are still available.

Step 3: Create Rental Order

New Rental

1. Go to Rental → Orders → Rental Orders
2. Click Create
3. Select Customer
4. Add product:
   • Product: Professional Camera Kit
   • Quantity: 1
   • Pickup Date: Dec 22, 2025 10:00 AM
   • Return Date: Dec 27, 2025 10:00 AM
5. System auto-calculates:
   • Duration: 5 days
   • Price: $750 (5 × $150/day)
6. Add deposit if needed: $500
7. Click Confirm

Payment

Customer pays rental fee + deposit upfront. Payment methods: Credit card, bank transfer, cash, or invoice (Net 7).

Step 4: Schedule Pickup

Track when customer collects equipment.

1. Go to Rental → Orders → Pickup
2. Find order scheduled for pickup
3. Click order to open
4. Assign specific serial number: CAM-001-SN001
5. Customer arrives → Click Validate Pickup
6. System marks item as "Out on Rental"
7. Inventory updates: Available quantity -1

Step 5: Track Returns

On-Time Return

1. Customer returns equipment on Dec 27
2. Go to Rental → Orders → Return
3. Find order due for return
4. Inspect equipment for damage
5. If OK: Click Validate Return
6. System:
   • Marks rental as "Returned"
   • Returns deposit to customer
   • Makes item available again

Late Return

1. Customer returns 2 days late (Dec 29)
2. System auto-calculates late fee: 2 days × $150 = $300
3. Charge late fee to customer
4. Option: Deduct from deposit or invoice separately

Damaged Return

1. Equipment returned with damage
2. Document damage with photos
3. Calculate repair cost: $200
4. Deduct from $500 deposit
5. Return remaining $300 to customer

Rental Schedule (Calendar View)

See all rentals on a calendar to prevent double-bookings.

1. Go to Rental → Schedule
2. Switch to Calendar view
3. See:
   • 🟢 Available periods
   • 🔴 Rented periods
   • 🟡 Pickups scheduled
   • 🔵 Returns due
4. Click date to see all rentals that day

Configure Rental Periods

Define standard rental durations for your business.

1. Go to Rental → Configuration → Rental Periods
2. Create periods:
   • 4 Hours: 0.17 days
   • Daily: 1 day
   • Weekend: 2 days (Fri-Sun)
   • Weekly: 7 days
   • Monthly: 30 days
3. Set pricing for each period on product

Reports & Analytics

Track rental business performance.

Key Metrics

Real-World Example: Camera Rental Business

Common Mistakes That Cost Money

Integration with Other Modules

Quick Implementation Checklist