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Creating projects in Rentman is the foundation of our software. Rentman is a project based software which means all events/rentals you plan will always start off as projects. Take a look at our implementation guides for more articles to assist you! 

Note: Project management is a broad topic. This means that we will cover all aspects of the projects and all the possibilities through the different modules. Some parts of the projects are common to all modules but some others are specific. Don’t worry, we will make it very clear. If an instruction relates to a module you do not have, just skip it, it will not slow your learning process.

Creating a new project

As said before, Rentman is a project-based software. All the events you plan are going to be new projects. Now, let’s plan a simple project with equipment and crew! 

Create your project 

The first step in this process is to create the empty project itself. For now we will start with a blank project but later on you can use project templates to speed up your project planning. 

Go to the table_chart Projects module and + Add project. Select "Blank project".

In the blank project's data tab, fill in as much information as you can including: 

• Project Name
• Client
• Location
• Feel free to also include any tasks, note or files associated to the project 

Save! Rentman does not auto-save so please ensure you're saving your progress! 

Enter your Time Schedule 

All the general information of your project is located in the data's tab, but you are not finished yet. You must now enter the dates and times of the projects in the time schedule tab of the project. In that tab, you will see two time schedules: 

Take a look at this article on creating time schedule of your project

This project is now officially created with general information and a time schedule, congratulations. This is a solid first step! You now can add equipment to the project to get the planning started! 

Start planning your equipment - (Inventory and Warehouse)

After creating your project and inputting your date and times in the time schedule tab, you are now ready to add equipment to your project! 

From the Equipment tab of the project, select an equipment on the left side menu. Double click or manually select Add > to add this equipment to your project. Once the equipment goes from the left side menu to the right, it is now part of your project! Feel free to edit the quantity column before adding it to the project to speed up your planning process. 

Take a look at this in depth article on planning your equipment in a project. 

Looking to plan a group of equipment all at once? Take a look at our article on creating equipment combinations. 

Once the equipment is planned on the project, the most import factor that will determine the cost of renting is the equipment group.  By double clicking on the equipment group, you can see the usage and planning period applied for all the equipment in this group. 

These two periods were set up initially in the time schedule tab of the project so if it's incorrect, you can manually edit to apply the correct periods. 

Note: In the Time Schedule tab of the project, you set the default usage and planning period by editing the column of "Used as default". By enabling that, all equipment groups will default to the periods set by the column. 

Repeat the process of adding equipment into your project until complete. We can now move onto planning your crew and transport functions! 

Start planning your crew and transport - (Crew planner)

By now, the project has equipment been fully planned but we need crew to use and set up the equipment once the event starts. How can we schedule and plan that in Rentman? 

In the Crew and Transport tab, we will be planning the functions aka job functions for your crew. We do this step first because we most likely know what job functions is needed to fulfill this project while crew member's availability, we may not know yet. 

Just like the equipment module, the function groups that hold the individual functions determines the duration which will in turn, affect the pricing and cost.

Instead of manually creating the function groups to match the periods created in the Time Schedule tab, you can simply click on Create function groups button (in the Time Schedule Tab). That will transfer the selected days to the Crew and Transport tab and you will be able to easily plan a function onto those days. This will save the user a significant amount of time! 

Once the function groups are planned, just like the equipment module again, we can start planning the individual functions to their appropriate function groups. 

If your default functions menu on the left is empty or doesn't have the functions you require, you need to create them. Create as many as you'd like and make them as detailed as you'd like. They will stay saved once created so they can be reused. Take a look at creating default functions article here. 

The functions are not only for the crew but also for transport. Same as adding a function for your crew, you repeat the same steps as before. Create your function group and add any transport functions inside. Transport functions and crew functions can be within the same function group at the same time.  

By now, you have successfully planned the individual crew and transport functions under their function groups! Feel free to edit each function individually to fulfill your project needs! Time to create a quote/invoice for your customer! 

Time to quote - (Finance)

You now have enough elements to create a quote. To create one, head over to the Financial tab of the project. Within that tab, feel free to also add discounts, change taxes, view your revenue and costs. 

Have any extra costs that you would like to add? Add them in the Additional Cost tab of the project. 

Simply click +Add quotationto generate your first quotation. Choose a template and letter. 

Take a look at our in depth article on creating a quotation or contract. 

Want to customize your document with your company logo? Check out this article on how achieve that. 

 

Perfect! Once generated and all the information is correct,  it is ready to be sent to your customer. An additional copy of the financial document will also appear in the project's files section under the General tab.