You can combine your separate equipment items into kits and cases. Using kits and cases helps you stay organized, and lets you generate packing slips, quotations, contracts and invoices with a clear and organized equipment list. It also allows you to plan faster, and is useful for not forgetting items when packing for (and from) a project.

A kit is a combination of items that you can also rent out separately. If you rent them out together, however, the entire kit is given one fixed price. A case is a combination of items that you never rent out separately. Accessories are items that you optionally rent out along with other items.

In this article, we explain how to create an item, kit, case and accessory.

Before creating a kit or case, you must add your equipment to Rentman as items.

Equipment types

Item Case Kit Accessories

All equipment in Rentman is first added as an item.

For example: a speaker, lamp, CD-player, or a cable.

Each item can have multiple serial numbers. When you have five of the same speakers, you have five serial numbers of one item. We sometimes call these "individual items". Read more about serial numbers in this article.

A fixed combination of items. You create a case when you always rent out certain items together.

A good example is a box with multiple mounted amplifiers - these items cannot be rented separately, but only as a fixed case.

When you create a case, all items in the case are taken out of stock. These items can't be planned individually on projects anymore.
When you plan a case on a project, the entire case is taken out of stock.
You change the content of a case in the Equipment module. This is not possible in your projects.
A case has a fixed price. The price is not based on the content.

A flexible combination of items. You create a kit when you sometimes rent out the items together, but at other times you rent them out separately.

A good example is a kit containing speakers, subwoofers and full-range cabins. You will mostly rent them out together, but sometimes you want to rent them out individually.

You choose the standard content of a kit in the Equipment module.
You can change the content of a kit for all individual projects that it is planned on.
When you plan a kit on a project, all items in the kit are taken out of stock.
When some items in the kit are rented out, the kit will be marked as having a shortage.
If you subrent items that are missing from a kit, the shortage will be solved.
A kit has a fixed price. The price is not based on the content.

Optional items that you can add to an item, case or kit.

A good example is a rain cover for your equipment - this accessory belongs to one of your equipment items

You can choose to charge money for an accessory, or to provide it free-of-charge.
You can choose to skip the accessory if it's already planned on your project as a separate item.
You can choose to receive a warning message about adding accessories when you add the item it belongs to.

Create a case

In the category Equipment module, choose + Add equipment or double-click an existing item.
Under Type, select 'case'.
Go to the Content tab.
Search for an item, and double-click it to add the item to your case.
Complete your case by adding and filling in information in the various tabs.
Click Save

For a list of available options in all tabs, read our article about adding your equipment.

Would you like to serialize the content of your case? Read in our article on "serial number for cases" how to do that.

Create a kit

In the category Equipment module, choose + Add equipment or double-click an existing item.
Next to Type, select 'kit'.
Go to the Content tab.
Search for an item and double-click to add it as standard content to your kit. Note: you can always change the content of a kit for all individual projects that it is planned on, since its content is flexible.
Complete your kit by adding and filling in information in the various tabs.
Click Save

For a list of available options in all tabs, read our article about adding your equipment.

Add an accessory

In the category Equipment module, double-click an existing item, kit or case.
Go to the Accessories tab.
Search for an item and double-click to it as an accessory.
Click Save

Options

To choose an option, double-click on a cell in the list and select "Yes" or "No".

Automatic
- If you select "Yes", the accessory will always be added along with the item, without a warning message.
- If you select "No", you will receive a warning message when you add the item that your accessory is linked to. It will ask you whether you want to add the accessory, or not.
Skip if already present
If the accessory is already planned on your project as a separate item, it will not be added twice when you add the item that this accessory is linked to.
Always add as new row
- If you select "Yes", the accessory will always be added as a separate line in the equipment planning.
- If you select "No", If an accessory is planned multiple times on a project. The total amount of this accessory will to be put on one line.
Free
The customer will not be charged money for this accessory.

Change the type of an equipment item

You can change the type of an equipment item (item/kit/case) when it's not planned on any project. You first need to duplicate the item, and then archive the original one. This ensures that the original item still exists in all projects that it was planned on previously.

Show or hide content on documents

Items that are in a case or kit will be grouped together on your packing slips, quotations, contracts and invoices.

You can choose to show or hide the content of individual kits and cases on your packing slips, quotations, contracts and invoices.

Go to the Content tab of your kit or case.
To show content, choose Yes in the columns Unfold on financial slips or Unfold on packing slip. (Double-click to edit a cell).
To hide content, choose No.

Note: This setting can be overruled by the Expand cases option when you generate a packing slip, quotation, contract or invoice.

Frequently asked questions

When do I create a case, and when a kit?

You create a case when you always rent out the items together.

You create a kit when you sometimes rent out the items together, but other times individually.

Accessories are always linked to an item, kit or case - they will, however, be added to projects and documents separately. They will not be linked anymore as soon as they are added to a project.

When I add an accessory to an item, is that accessory also automatically added to the kits that this item is part of?

No. Each item (kit/case/item) has its own accessories. In some cases people might add a microphone as an accessory to a CD-player, when the CD-player is also part of a DJ-kit where the microphone is already in the contents of that kit. It would not make sense if the microphone is also added as an accessory to that kit.

Can I change the equipment type (item/case/kit) when my item, case or kit is already planned on a project?

No. You can only change the equipment type when your item, case or kit is not planned on any project. This is because it would also change the project type of your existing projects, project templates, subrent etc.; so you would end up with projects with incorrect equipment.

How do I create kits and cases in my equipment file when importing equipment?

In your equipment file, you can only specify the type of your equipment (item, kit or case) in your Type column. You add content in Rentman, in the Content tab of your kit/case. This also means that all content of your kit/case is imported as a separate item first, and that you add these items as content later on.

How do I see which kits and cases an item is assigned to?

This information can be viewed in the "Details sidebar" of the equipment item under the "Structure" section. This sidebar is available in various overviews (e.g. Equipment tab within a project, or overview in the Equipment module)

How do I add accessories in my equipment file when importing equipment?

In your equipment file, you can only specify the type of your equipment (item, kit or case) in your Type column. You add accessories in Rentman, in the Accessories tab of your item, kit or case. This also means that all accessories belonging to your kit/case are imported as separate items first, and that you add these items as accessories later on.

Create equipment sets: kits, cases, and accessories