Your WooCommerce store is thriving with product sales, but have you considered the potential of generating recurring income through equipment rentals? This approach offers a fantastic opportunity.
By transforming a single inventory item into a source of ongoing revenue, you can cater to customers seeking temporary access to your products.
The challenge has always been to find an easy solution for integrating rental features into existing WooCommerce stores without extensive modifications.
We discovered a free plugin called Bookings for WooCommerce that addresses this need perfectly.
After testing it on several demo stores, we found it to be a dependable and user-friendly option for managing rentals.
It integrates seamlessly with your current WooCommerce setup, and we will guide you through the process of using it for equipment rentals. You’ll be up and running with rental bookings in no time.
What Should I Use to Add Equipment Rentals to My WooCommerce Store?
In this guide, we will assume you already have a WooCommerce store. If you don’t, please refer to our comprehensive guide on simplifying WooCommerce.
Among all the rental plugins we’ve explored, the simplest way to incorporate equipment rentals into your store is by utilizing Bookings for WooCommerce.
This WooCommerce plugin enables you to convert any product into a rental item that customers can book for specific hours or days.
Use these quick links to easily navigate through this tutorial:
- Step 1: Create a Rental Product in WooCommerce
- Step 2: Offer Hourly or Daily Equipment Rentals in WooCommerce
- Step 3: Specify the Number of Units Customers Can Rent
- Step 4: Enable Admin Approval for Equipment Rentals
- Step 5: Add Base and Additional Fees (Optional)
- Step 6: Configure Services and Extra Charges for Your Equipment Rental Store
- Step 7: Manage Equipment Rentals on Your WooCommerce Store
- Frequently Asked Questions
Step 1: Create a Rental Product in WooCommerce
First, install and activate the Bookings for WooCommerce plugin. For assistance, refer to our guide on installing a WordPress plugin.
After activation, you can convert any WooCommerce product into a bookable item. If the product is already in your online store, navigate to Products » All Products.
Here, hover over the item you wish to make bookable and click the ‘Edit’ link that appears.
You can add the equipment as a new product by navigating to Products » Add New. Here, you can enter the product name, upload an image, assign product categories and tags, write a description, and more.
For detailed instructions on setting up a WooCommerce product, please refer to our WooCommerce Made Simple guide.
Whether you are creating a new product or modifying an existing one, you can convert it into a bookable product in the same manner.
Simply scroll to the Product Data section and open the dropdown menu that defaults to ‘Simple product.’
You can now choose ‘Booking Product.’ This allows you to access a variety of new settings to configure your bookable product.
Step 2: Set Up Hourly or Daily Equipment Rentals in WooCommerce
Next, you will configure whether to offer hourly or daily equipment rentals in WooCommerce.
First, decide if you want to use a Single Calendar or Dual Calendar booking type.
The ‘Single Calendar’ option is recommended if you plan to use the same hourly or daily booking unit for all rental products. However, you will need to set the available times for the equipment to prevent bookings outside of your business hours.
To accomplish this, go to WP Swings – WooCommerce Booking SystemNavigate to the ‘Configuration Settings’ tab, then switch to ‘Availability Settings’ to define the start and end times for your rental services.
Remember to click ‘Save Settings’ to ensure your changes are applied.
Selecting ‘Dual Calendar’ allows you to customize the booking unit and the start and end times for each product, which is ideal if you offer a diverse range of equipment with different booking requirements.
This plugin lets you choose between booking by Hour(s) or Day(s).
You can select the start and end times for the booking period using the ‘Daily booking…’ dropdown menus.
In the image below, customers can rent equipment only between 9 AM and 5 PM.
After this adjustment, WooCommerce will display a section on your website where customers can select their desired start and end times.
This feature is perfect for equipment needed for short durations. For instance, customers renting party supplies may only require them for a few hours.
Step 3:Determine the Maximum Number of Units Customers Can Rent
You can choose to offer a fixed number of rental units or allow customers to select their desired quantity using the ‘Quantity’ dropdown menu.
To enable customers to rent multiple units, select the option ‘Customer can choose.’
By default, customers can rent an unlimited number of units, but you have the option to set a limit. If a customer enters a quantity that exceeds this limit, WooCommerce will display an error message.
This feature is particularly beneficial if you have limited inventory or equipment that is in high demand.
To establish a rental limit, simply enter a number in the ‘Max Booking Per User’ field.
Alternatively, you can specify the maximum number of units a customer can book. For instance, if you rent out large or costly equipment, like heavy agricultural machinery, customers may only need to reserve one unit.
By pre-setting the quantity, you streamline the booking process and enhance the overall customer experience.
To do this, open the ‘Quantity’ dropdown and select ‘Fixed Unit.’
Next, input the specific number you wish to set.
Step 4: Require Admin Approval for Equipment Rentals
You can choose whether to automatically approve all rental requests or hold them for manual approval.
To require manual approval, check the box labeled ‘Booking Confirmation.’
For smaller inventories, requiring approval can help prevent rental conflicts and allow you to identify any issues with rental requests before processing payments.
Enabling admin approval will notify you each time a rental request is submitted.
Click on this notification to navigate to WooCommerce » Orders, the order management page.
Here, you can view all orders on your WordPress website, with new bookings displayed as ‘On hold.’
You can click on a new order to access detailed information about that booking.
To change the order status, open the ‘Status’ dropdown and select an option from the list.
For instance, if you are approving the booking, you might choose Pending Payment, Completed, or Processing, based on your workflow.
Once you have made your selection, click ‘Update’ to save your changes.
Step 5: Add Base and Additional Costs (Optional)
When you are satisfied with the information entered so far, click on the ‘Costs’ tab.
To begin, enter the Booking Unit Cost, which is the price for reserving a single unit.
Next, you can specify an optional additional charge by entering it in the ‘Base Cost’ field.
This could be a booking fee, cleaning charge, or any other expense associated with renting the equipment.
When you include a base cost, customers will see it reflected in the cost breakdown.
In the image below, the rental price is $50 per day, plus a base cost of $10.
Depending on the type of equipment you rent, you might want to adjust the fee based on the number of users. This helps account for extra wear and tear when multiple people use the same item.
To adjust the pricing per person, begin by selecting the options for ‘Booking Unit Cost Per Person’ and ‘Base Cost Per Person.’
Once that’s set, click on the ‘People’ tab.
In this section, ensure you check the box for ‘Enable People Option.’
After this, customers will see a new field where they can enter the number of people using the equipment.
WooCommerce will include this information in the cost breakdown as well.
You may also want to establish a minimum and maximum number of users allowed for each booking. This helps prevent misuse of your equipment.
For instance, you might not want an entire team to use the same item.
If you have large equipment that is costly to deliver or clean, setting a minimum rental requirement can help maintain healthy profit margins.
To establish these limits, simply enter the desired numbers in the ‘Minimum No. of People’ and ‘Maximum No. of People’ fields.
While there are additional settings you might want to adjust, this is all you need to start offering equipment rentals on your WooCommerce store.
Once you’re ready, click ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ to make the product available on your WooCommerce website. Customers can now rent this equipment directly from the product page.
Step 6: Configure Services and Additional Fees for Your Equipment Rental Business
At times, you may want to introduce extra fees and services for your equipment rental business. For instance, you could offer delivery of the equipment for an additional charge.
With this in mind, let’s explore how to set up extra fees and services for your WooCommerce store.
How to Add Extra Fees in WooCommerce
Extra fees are charges that WooCommerce automatically applies to one or more products. This feature is beneficial when different pieces of equipment have varying costs.
For instance, some products may require refueling after use, while others may need new oil.
By entering these costs in the WordPress admin panel, you can easily assign them to various products. This also creates a centralized location for making cost adjustments.
For example, if the price of petrol rises, you can update your Refueling cost once, and this adjustment will reflect throughout your entire online rental marketplace or store.
As shown in the image above, additional costs are displayed in the cost breakdown as ‘Additional Costs.’ If you wish to provide shoppers with more details about these charges, we suggest creating a service.
To add an additional cost, navigate to WP Swings » Bookings for WooCommerce. Here, click on ‘Configuration Settings,’ then select ‘Additional Costs.’
First, enter a name for the additional cost. This is for your reference, so you can choose any name you like.
Next, specify the slug you want to use for the additional cost.
Once that’s done, you can enter an optional description. This usually won’t be visible on your website, but some WooCommerce themes may display it.
Finally, simply enter the cost in the ‘Booking Cost’ field.
By default, the extra charge is applied to an order once.
You can adjust the extra charge based on the rental duration or the number of users. To do this, activate the ‘Multiply by No. of People’ or ‘Multiply by Duration’ options.
Once you are satisfied with the details you’ve entered, simply type ‘Add New Booking Cost.’
To add more additional costs, just repeat the process outlined above.
After completing this step, you can apply this cost to any WooCommerce product.
Open the product for editing and scroll down to the ‘Additional Costs’ section.
You can now enter the name of the additional cost.
When the correct option appears, click on it and then select ‘Add.’
Click ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ to save your changes. Now, when someone rents this equipment, the extra charge will be automatically applied.
How to Create Additional Services in WooCommerce
You can also set up additional services. Unlike additional costs, the service name will be included in the cost breakdown.
This feature helps customers understand any additional fees, so we recommend using it for higher charges. It’s also beneficial to use this for multiple charges on an order, allowing customers to see a comprehensive cost breakdown.
You can make services optional, giving customers the choice to add them to their order. This enables you to provide premium options like next-day delivery.
To incorporate services into your WooCommerce store, navigate to WP Swings » Bookings for WooCommerce. Click on ‘Configuration Settings’ and then select ‘Additional Services.’
You can now enter a name for the service in the ‘Name’ field.
This name will be visible to customers, so choose something that clearly communicates the additional charge.
Next, input a slug, an optional description, and the cost of the service, following the same steps as mentioned earlier.
You can also decide whether to adjust the fee based on the duration of the booking or the number of users for the equipment.
Additionally, you can set a service as optional.
This allows customers to select a checkbox to include the service in their order.
This allows customers to have greater flexibility in determining the rental cost of equipment from your WooCommerce store.
To make a service optional, just toggle the ‘If Optional’ switch to enable it.
Alternatively, you can choose to make the service ‘hidden.’
Hidden services will only show on the product page as ‘Service Cost.’
To hide a service, activate the ‘If Hidden’ toggle.
Next, consider enabling the ‘If has Quantity’ slider. This feature allows customers to add multiple instances of the same service to their order.
After enabling the ‘If has Quantity’ slider, you can set minimum and maximum limits for the quantity.
Simply enter a number in the ‘Minimum Quantity’ and ‘Maximum Quantity’ fields.
Once you are satisfied with the details you have entered, click on ‘Add New Booking Service.’
To include additional services in your online store, just repeat the process outlined above.
When you’re ready to add a service, open the product for editing.
Then, scroll down to the ‘Additional Services’ section.
You can now enter the name of the additional service you wish to add.
When the correct option appears, select it and click the ‘Add’ button.
Once you’ve completed the setup, click on ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ to save your changes.
Step 7: Effectively Manage Equipment Rentals in Your WooCommerce Store
After adding rental equipment to your website, it’s essential to have a system in place for managing your rental bookings.
Whenever a new booking is made, a notification will appear in the WordPress toolbar.
Click on this notification to view all your bookings.
You can also access this page by navigating to WooCommerce » Orders.
To view more details about an order, simply click on it. This will take you to a page where you can find comprehensive information about the order and the customer, including their email address and phone number.
You can also update the order status, including options to cancel or refund the rental request.
The Bookings for WooCommerce WordPress plugin includes a calendar feature that displays all your bookings at a glance.
To access this calendar, go to WP Swings » Bookings For WooCommerce. Then, click on the ‘Bookings Calendar’ tab.
Comprehensive Guides to Enhance Your WooCommerce Rental Store
Now that you’ve successfully integrated equipment rental features into your WooCommerce store, explore our additional guides to enhance your website’s performance and success.
- How to Create a Members-Only WooCommerce Store – Interested in restricting equipment rentals to specific users? Our detailed guide will show you how to limit access to members only.
- How to Customize Your WooCommerce Checkout Page – If you’re not satisfied with your current checkout experience, read our guide to enhance it and boost your conversion rates.
- How to Improve WooCommerce Performance – Speed is crucial for any business. Check out our article to discover effective strategies for making your site faster and more user-friendly.
- How to Showcase Popular Products on WooCommerce – Read this guide to learn how to highlight your most popular and frequently rented equipment to attract potential customers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some common questions from our readers regarding the addition of equipment rentals to their stores.
How can I avoid double bookings and effectively manage my rental inventory?
The Bookings for WooCommerce plugin is specifically designed to prevent double bookings.
You can manage the available quantity of each product by adjusting the stock settings. When a customer makes a reservation, the available quantity decreases. Once it reaches zero, the product will no longer be available for booking on the calendar.
Is it possible for customers to rent multiple items in a single order?
Absolutely, customers can rent several products within one order. Each item will have its own booking calendar, allowing customers to choose rental dates for each product separately before completing their purchase.
This feature is beneficial for customers who wish to rent multiple items for the same occasion, such as chairs, tables, and lighting.
However, all items will adhere to the established daily or hourly booking guidelines, and the system currently does not support advanced cart functionalities like synchronizing rental periods across different products or providing bundled booking discounts.
How can I present rental policies and send reminders for bookings?
You can showcase your rental policies by including them in the product description or in the ‘Additional Information’ section on your product page.
Additionally, there is an option to add terms and conditions during the checkout process, which is useful for outlining cancellation policies, late return fees, and care instructions.
While Bookings for WooCommerce does not come with built-in email reminders, it integrates seamlessly with WooCommerce’s native email system. You can personalize confirmation emails or utilize plugins like FunnelKit to send reminders for rentals, express gratitude, or provide return instructions.
We trust this tutorial has guided you in adding equipment rentals to your WooCommerce store. For further insights, consider reading our comprehensive guide on WooCommerce SEO or exploring our expert recommendations for the top WooCommerce product grid plugins.
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