By default, the time schedule of your project contains the planning period and usage period of your equipment.-
Planning period
During this period, your equipment and crew will be out of the warehouse. Typically, it starts at the very beginning of your project (however you determine that) and ends when the equipment is returned to the warehouse.
The planning period is used to calculate equipment and crew availability. Planned equipment will not be available during the planning period, because it's needed on the project.
Tip: Some companies also include necessary time for preparation and cleaning into the planning period.
Usage period
The usage period is the period that the customer actually uses your equipment or that your crew actually works for the customer. If you have the quotation and invoicing add-on: this is the period for which the customer will be charged. The usage period is needed to calculate the price factor, which largely determines the price of the project. Please note that the usage period should ALWAYS be shorter than the planning period.
The 'Average daily rental price' column in the poll Statistic module for equipment is calculated based on the usage period. This ensures more accurate and meaningful reporting.
Custom Time Schedules
Besides those two default periods Rentman provides, you can also customize and create your own as well. The most common scenario is to create a "Preparation" or "Pack Up" time schedule to ensure prepping and packing up are done and planned for. Feel free to create as many custom time schedules in your project to fit your needs!