In Rentman you can add your equipment by importing an equipment file. In this article, we walk you through the steps of getting your equipment list into Rentman.

Alternatively, you can add items manually, this is ideal for one or a few equipment items.

.

Before you start

Here's what you need before importing your equipment list:

• An Excel or .csv file with your equipment information. If you don't have this file prepared yet, you can use our template as a reference. Read more on how to prepare your file in this section. 
• If you use serial numbers, you can create columns in your equipment file that contains information about these unique items, identified by a serial number. Read more on how to add serial numbers to your file in this section.
• A logical folder structure in the Equipment module, so you can stay organized and find your equipment faster. You can create this structure before the import, or you choose the right folder path in the "Folder" column of your file (read the next section).

Import your equipment

1. Go to the category Equipment module.
   
2. Click on the More actions more_vert button in the right corner, and select Import.
   
3. Select here which type of import you want to do:
   
   Import all rows as new items:  Rentman creates a new item for every row. 
   
   Update existing items with new data: If you want to update the items in your database (example: list price), read how to do it in our article about updating data.
   
   Add new items and skip duplicate rows: Rentman does not import items that are already in your database.
4. Select if you also want to import serial numbers or only standard items.  
5. Drag a file or click  to upload a file. 
   
   
   
   If you do not have a file with your equipment available yet, you can download our template above the upload button "Download a Sample file here" 
6. Select if your file contains a header, or not. If you select yes, the first row of your file will not be imported. 
   
7. For each column, the system matches the header names with the column names in Rentman. Check if all matches have been correctly made, and adjust where necessary. 
   
   
   
   If you selected "Yes" on importing serial numbers in Step 4., the system will match the columns in your file either with serial number columns or normal Equipment columns in Rentman. Check if all column matches have been made correctly and adjust where necessary.
   
   
8. Click "Next step" when you've done this for all columns.
9. Select a Root folder for your import. The root folder is the folder at the top, and it contains your folder structure. New items will be placed under this folder. If you have defined folders in your import file, these items will be placed under the chosen Root folder. Warning: If your equipment file doesn't contain a Folder column, all items will be placed in the same root folder. This means that your items will not be organized, and it may be difficult to find equipment. We recommend creating your folder structure and specifying the correct folder path for your items in the Folder column.
   
   
10. Optional: If you selected "Add new items and skip duplicate rows" or "Update existing items with new data" in Step 3, you need to select match columns. Typically, "Code", "Name (in database)", or "Serial number" are the best columns to choose from. For example, if you are updating the price of all equipment items, you would select "Code" as the match column as it is unique for every equipment item being updated and is not being updated itself. The match column should never be the column you are trying to update. Warning: These columns may not contain double values in the import file, as they are used during the import to identify which item or serial number should be skipped. 
11. Choose Next step.
12. Check your data in the preview. 
    
    
    Note: Only the first 10 rows will be shown in the preview. 
13. Click Import 
14. After the import has finished, a window will pop up with the results. If your data has been imported successfully, you can Close the window, or choose to "View imported equipment". If the import failed, please read the Insight into your import result section below.
    
    

Insight into your import result

Sometimes it happens that the import might fail (partially or totally). If this happens, you can find all your answers in the import result like: 

• Which items/serial numbers failed. 
• Why did these items/serial numbers fail?
• Which items/serial numbers have been imported successfully.

At the bottom of the import result, you can download a file that contains all items that failed, accompanied by the reason for failure. This gives you direct into the cause of what the failure was. 

Some reasons why the import fails: 

• Double serial numbers or QR codes - In Rentman you can't have the same serial number or QR code for more than one item. If you import an item with serial numbers or QR code X, and X is already in your database, the item can not be imported. 
• QR codes maximum of 25 digits - QR codes in Rentman have a maximum size of 25 digits (spaces included). If your QR codes exceed this number, they will be cut off. This can result in identical QR codes.
• Too much data - Large files could take too long to be processed, and some information might not be imported. If this happens, delete the last import, split up your list into smaller files, and import them separately.
• Wrong formatting - All information in the file must be entered as text, and without markups (bold, italic, background colors, etc).
• Multiple sheets - If your .xslx file has multiple sheets, it can't be imported into Rentman.

Pro-tips on establishing your equipment file

The list that you import in Rentman needs to be a .xlsx (Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets) or .csv file.

You can download our template at the bottom of this article. You can use this for reference, or to create an equipment file.

Here are some tips to prepare your file: 

• Recognizable headers (titles) in the first row of your file.
• Don't import more than 64 columns in one go.
• Include at least the most important information (e.g. Name, Quantity, Rental price, Folder).
• The folder path of an item must be specified in the Folder column, like this:
  audio/microphones/wireless
• Make sure the file doesn't have multiple sheets. 
• If you use QR codes, make sure they are unique and shorter than 25 digits.
• Leave no empty rows in your .xlsx file.
• Do not insert images in your .xlsx file. You can add them later in the software.
• Make sure all information in the file is entered as text, and without markups (bold, italic, colors, etc).

Serial number columns

If you use serial numbers, you can create columns in your equipment file that contain information about a unique piece of equipment, identified by a serial number. These columns are useful, since each individual piece of the same equipment may have a different date of purchase or internal reference.

Note that multiple serial numbers are always connected to the same equipment item.

Note: The values in the "Serial number (Serial number)" column are displayed throughout the software to identify each serial number. In this column, enter the name or code you use to refer to your serial number. 

Delete an import

When an import goes partially wrong, the best choice is to delete the information and do it all over again. Every time you import equipment, Rentman creates a tag with the format "import-date-hour". Simply select the tag of your latest update and delete those items. 

Update equipment in your database

If you have already imported your equipment list, but you need to make some bulk changes, you can update the items in your database.

Importing extra input fields

1. Set up the extra input field in the Configuration module.
2. Create a column with the extra input field value in your .xlsx file.
3. When importing the file, match the new column with the extra input field (you'll find it in the 'Extra' section of the columns). 

Download our import template

You can download one of our premade templates within Rentman easily. 

1. Go to your category Equipment module.
2. Click on the more_vert More action button, then import.
3. Click on Next step.
4. You should now be able to see the Download a sample file here option.