How to Add Equipment Rentals to Your WooCommerce Store

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Do you want to add equipment rentals to your WooCommerce store?

By renting equipment to your customers, you can keep making money from the same product. You can also connect with a new audience who want to rent products rather than buy them.

In this article, we will show you how to add equipment rentals to your WooCommerce store.

How to add equipment rentals to your WooCommerce storeHow to add equipment rentals to your WooCommerce store

Why Add Equipment Rentals to Your WooCommerce Store?

By renting equipment to your customers, you can buy a product once and then turn it into an ongoing revenue stream.

If you already have a WooCommerce store selling digital products or physical items, then equipment rentals can be another way to make money.

For example, if you sell party hats and paper plates, then your existing customers might also be interested in larger party equipment rentals, such as a bouncy castle or audio speakers.

You might also be looking to start a completely new equipment rental business. By creating a WooCommerce store that’s optimized for SEO, you can help potential customers discover your business.

Even better, customers can browse your catalog and reserve equipment online. This convenient customer experience will keep people coming back to your equipment rental business rather than switching to a competitor.

With that in mind, let’s see how you can add equipment rentals to WordPress.

How to Add Equipment Rentals to Your WooCommerce Store

In this guide, we are going to assume you already have a WooCommerce store. If you don’t, then you can see our complete guide on WooCommerce made simple.

The easiest way to add equipment rentals to your store is by using Bookings for WooCommerce. This WooCommerce plugin allows you to turn any WooCommerce product into a bookable item that customers can rent for a certain number of days or hours.

An example of rentable equipment, added to the WooCommerce storeAn example of rentable equipment, added to the WooCommerce store

You can also create additional services, such as cleaning and delivery fees, and then add them to your equipment rentals.

How to Create a Bookable Product in WooCommerce

First, you will need to install and activate the Bookings for WooCommerce plugin. If you need help, then please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you can turn any WooCommerce product into a bookable product. If you have already added the product to your online store, then simply go to Products » All Products.

Here, simply hover over the item that you want to turn into a bookable product, and click on the ‘Edit’ link when it appears.

Editing a rentable WooCommerce productEditing a rentable WooCommerce product

You can also add the equipment as a new product by going to Products » Add New. Here, you can type in the product’s name, upload a photo, add product categories and tags, type in a description, and more.

For more information on how to set up a WooCommerce product, please see our WooCommerce made simple guide.

Adding equipment and party supply rental products to WooCommerceAdding equipment and party supply rental products to WooCommerce

No matter whether you create a new product or edit an existing one, you can turn it into a bookable product in exactly the same way.

Simply scroll to the Product Data box and open the dropdown menu that shows ‘Simple product’ by default.

Adding a simple product to an online store using WooCommerceAdding a simple product to an online store using WooCommerce

You can now select ‘Booking Product.’ This gives you access to lots of new settings where you can configure the bookable product.

Set How Many Units Customers Can Rent

You can either offer a set number of units or let the customer choose how many units to rent, using the ‘Quantity’ dropdown.

Adding bookable products to WooCommerceAdding bookable products to WooCommerce

To let customers rent multiple units, select ‘Customer can choose.’

By default, customers can rent as many units as they want, but you can also add a limit. If a customer types in a higher number, then WooCommerce will show an error message.

Limiting the quantity of units that customers can rentLimiting the quantity of units that customers can rent

This is useful if you have limited stock or equipment that’s in high demand.

To set a limit, type a number into the ‘Max Booking Per User’ field.

Limiting how many units a customer can rent on a party rental or similar websiteLimiting how many units a customer can rent on a party rental or similar website

Another option is defining how many units the customer can book. For example, if you rent large or expensive equipment such as heavy farming machinery, then customers may only need to book a single unit.

By setting the quantity in advance, you can remove a step from the booking process and improve the customer experience.

An example of a rentable product on a WooCommerce websiteAn example of a rentable product on a WooCommerce website

Simply go ahead and open the ‘Quantity’ dropdown and then choose ‘Fixed Unit.’

Now, type in the number you want to use.

How to change the quantity of equipment or party rental equipment in WooCommerceHow to change the quantity of equipment or party rental equipment in WooCommerce

Require Admin Approval For Equipment Rentals (Optional)

Next, you can decide whether to approve all rental requests automatically or put them on hold until you can manually approve them.

If you have a smaller inventory, then requiring approval can help you avoid rental overlap. It can also help you spot any problems with rental requests before you take any payments.

If you enable admin approval, then you will get a notification every time someone submits a rental request.

A new booking notification, on a WordPress websiteA new booking notification, on a WordPress website

Click on this notification, and you will go to WooCommerce » Orders.

Here, you will see all the orders on your WordPress website, with any new bookings marked as ‘On hold.’

Requiring admin approval on a party equipment rental or similar websiteRequiring admin approval on a party equipment rental or similar website

You can now click on a new order to see all the information about that booking.

If you want to change the order status, then you need to open the ‘Status’ dropdown and choose an option from the list.

For example, if you are approving the booking, then you might select Pending Payment, Completed, or Processing, depending on your workflow.

Changing the order status on an equipment rental website using WooCommerceChanging the order status on an equipment rental website using WooCommerce

With that done, click on ‘Update’ to save your changes.

As you can see, admin approval gives you more control over your equipment rentals. To require approval, check the box next to ‘Booking Confirmation.’

How to require admin approval on an equipment rental website How to require admin approval on an equipment rental website

Offer Hourly or Daily Equipment Rentals in WooCommerce

By default, customers can rent your equipment for one or more days. However, sometimes you may want to rent equipment based on hours.

To make this change, just open the ‘Booking Unit’ dropdown and select ‘Hour(s).’

How to rent equipment based on hours How to rent equipment based on hours

You can then choose the start and end time for the booking period, using the ‘Daily booking…’ dropdown menus.

In the following image, customers can only rent equipment between 9 AM and 5 PM.

How to change the duration of rentable equipment in WordPressHow to change the duration of rentable equipment in WordPress

After making this change, WooCommerce will add a section where customers can choose a start and end time.

This is perfect for equipment that people only need for a very short period of time. For example, if you provide party equipment rental, then customers may only need the party supplies for a few hours.

How to rent equipment based on days and hoursHow to rent equipment based on days and hours

Add Base and Additional Costs

When you are happy with the information you have entered so far, you need to click on the ‘Costs’ tab.

To start, just type in the Booking Unit Cost, which is the price of booking a single unit.

How to add a cost to a rentable product in WooCommerceHow to add a cost to a rentable product in WooCommerce

After that, you can add an optional additional cost by typing into the ‘Base Cost’ field.

This might be a booking fee, cleaning fee, or any other cost linked to renting the equipment.

How to add additional costs to a rentable product in WooCommerceHow to add additional costs to a rentable product in WooCommerce

If you add a base cost, then customers will see it as part of the cost breakdown.

In the following image, the product is $50 to rent per day, with a base cost of $10.

An example of a cost breakdown on rentable equipmentAn example of a cost breakdown on rentable equipment

Depending on the kind of equipment you rent, you may want to multiply the fee based on how many people plan to use the equipment. This can help you cover additional wear and tear when lots of people use the same product.

To multiply the price based on people, start by checking the boxes next to ‘Booking Unit Cost Per Person’ and ‘Base Cost Per People.’

Multiply the cost of party equipment based on the number of peopleMultiply the cost of party equipment based on the number of people

With that done, click on the ‘People’ tab.

Here, you need to check the box next to ‘Enable People Option.’

Multiply the price of rentable equipment based on the number of peopleMultiply the price of rentable equipment based on the number of people

With that done, customers will see a new field where they can type in how many people plan to use the equipment.

WooCommerce will also show this information in its cost breakdown.

An example of the cost breakdown on rentable equipmentAn example of the cost breakdown on rentable equipment

You may also want to set the minimum and maximum number of people who can use the equipment in a single booking. This can help to avoid customers misusing your equipment.

For example, you may not want an entire workforce to use the same product.

If you have large equipment that’s expensive to deliver or clean, then setting a minimum number of people can help to keep your profit margins healthy.

To set these limits, simply type numbers into the ‘Minimum No. of People’ and ‘Maximum No. of People’ fields.

Adding maximum and minimum limits for rentable equipment in WooCommerceAdding maximum and minimum limits for rentable equipment in WooCommerce

How to Publish Equipment Rentals to Your WooCommerce Store

Although there are some extra settings you may want to configure, this is all you need to add equipment rentals to your WooCommerce store.

With that being said, you can click on ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ to make the product live on your WooCommerce website. Now, people can rent this equipment directly from the WooCommerce product page.

How to Set Up Services and Additional Costs for Your Equipment Rental Store

Sometimes, you may want to create additional costs and services for your equipment rental store. For example, you might offer to deliver the equipment for an extra fee.

With that in mind, let’s see how you can set up additional costs and services for your WooCommerce store.

How to Add Additional Costs in WooCommerce

Additional costs are fees that WooCommerce adds to one or more products automatically. This feature is useful if there are different costs associated with different pieces of equipment.

For example, you may need to refuel some products after use, while others might need fresh oil.

By adding these costs in the WordPress dashboard, you can easily apply them to different products. It also provides a single location where you can change the cost.

For example, if petrol gets more expensive, then you can update your Refueling cost once, and this change will be applied across your entire online marketplace or store.

An example of a rentable product with additional costsAn example of a rentable product with additional costs

As you can see in the image above, additional costs simply appear in the cost breakdown as ‘Additional Costs.’ If you want to give the shopper some more information about these charges, then we recommend creating a service instead.

To register an additional cost, you need to go to WP Swings » Bookings for WooCommerce. Here, simply click on ‘Configuration Settings,’ followed by ‘Additional Costs.’

The Bookings for WooCommerce WordPress pluginThe Bookings for WooCommerce WordPress plugin

To start, type in a name for the additional cost. This is just for your reference, so you can use anything you want.

After that, you need to type in the slug you want to use for the additional cost.

Adding a new booking cost to an equipment rental storeAdding a new booking cost to an equipment rental store

With that done, you can type in an optional description. This typically won’t appear on your website, but some WooCommerce themes show it.

Next, simply type the cost into the ‘Booking Cost’ field.

Adding booking costs to a party equipment rental or similar productAdding booking costs to a party equipment rental or similar product

By default, the additional cost gets added to an order once.

However, you can multiply the additional cost based on the booking duration or how many people plan to use the equipment. To do this, click to activate the ‘Multiply by No. of People’ or ‘Multiply by Duration’ toggles.

Multiply a booking by duration and the number of peopleMultiply a booking by duration and the number of people

When you are happy with the information you have entered, simply type in ‘Add New Booking Cost.’

To create more additional costs, simply repeat the same process described above.

An example of multiple booking costs on a party supply rental websiteAn example of multiple booking costs on a party supply rental website

With that done, you can add this cost to any WooCommerce product.

Simply open the product for editing, and then scroll to the ‘Additional Costs’ box.

Adding extra costs to an equipment rental in WooCommerceAdding extra costs to an equipment rental in WooCommerce

You can now type in the name of the additional cost.

When the right option shows up, give it a click and then select ‘Add.’

The 'Additional Costs' box in a WooCommerce productThe 'Additional Costs' box in a WooCommerce product

You can click on ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ to save your changes. Now, when someone rents this equipment, the additional cost will be applied automatically.

How to Create Additional Services in WooCommerce

You can also create additional services. Unlike additional costs, the name of the service will appear in the cost breakdown.

An example of rentable equipment, with additional servicesAn example of rentable equipment, with additional services

This helps customers understand your extra fees, so we recommend using services for more expensive charges. It’s also a good idea to use services if you need to add multiple charges to an order so that customers can see a detailed cost breakdown.

You can also make services optional, so the customer can choose whether to add them to the order. This allows you to offer premium additional services such as next-day delivery.

To add services to your WooCommerce store, you need to go to WP Swings » Bookings for WooCommerce. Here, click on ‘Configuration Settings,’ followed by ‘Additional Services.’

Creating additional services for customers on an equipment hire or rentable websiteCreating additional services for customers on an equipment hire or rentable website

You can now type a name for the service into the ‘Name’ field.

This will be shown to customers, so you will want to use something that helps shoppers understand the extra charge.

How to add an optional service to a party supply rental or similar websiteHow to add an optional service to a party supply rental or similar website

After that, you have to type in a slug, an optional description, and how much the service will cost by following the same process described above.

Again, you can choose whether to multiply the fee based on the duration of the booking or the number of people who plan to use the equipment.

How to add a rentable product to WooCommerceHow to add a rentable product to WooCommerce

You can also make a service optional.

This means customers can check a box to add the service to their order.

Offering optional services along with your rentable equipmentOffering optional services along with your rentable equipment

This gives shoppers more control over how much it costs to rent equipment from your WooCommerce store.

To make a service optional, simply click to enable the ‘If Optional’ toggle.

Making a service optional on an online storeMaking a service optional on an online store

Another option is to make the service ‘hidden.’

Hidden services simply appear on the product page as ‘Service Cost.’

An example of an optional service, created using WooCommerceAn example of an optional service, created using WooCommerce

To make a service hidden, click to activate the ‘If Hidden’ toggle.

Next, you may want to enable the ‘If has Quantity’ slider. This allows shoppers to add the same service to their order multiple times.

Adding multiple services to a WooCommerce productAdding multiple services to a WooCommerce product

After clicking to enable the ‘If has Quantity’ slider, you may want to set a minimum and maximum quantity.

Simply type a number into the ‘Minimum Quantity’ and ‘Maximum Quantity’ fields.

The Bookings for WooCommerce settingsThe Bookings for WooCommerce settings

When you are happy with the information you have entered, click on ‘Add New Booking Service.’

To add more services to your online store, simply follow the same process described above.

Multiple bookings services, added to a rentable equipment websiteMultiple bookings services, added to a rentable equipment website

When it’s time to add a service, simply open the product for editing.

Then, just scroll to the ‘Additional Services’ box.

How to add an additional service to a WooCommerce productHow to add an additional service to a WooCommerce product

You can now type in the name of the additional service you want to add.

When the right option shows up, simply select it and then click on the ‘Add’ button.

How to add services to party equipment or other rentalsHow to add services to party equipment or other rentals

With that done, click on ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ to save your changes.

How to Manage Equipment Rentals on Your WooCommerce Store

After adding equipment to your website, you will need a way to manage your rental bookings.

Every time you get a new booking, you will see a notification in the WordPress toolbar.

A booking notification in the WordPress dashboardA booking notification in the WordPress dashboard

Simply click on this notification to see all your bookings.

You can reach the same screen by going to WooCommerce » Orders.

How to manage rental orders in WooCommerceHow to manage rental orders in WooCommerce

To see more information about an order, go ahead and click on it. This takes you to a screen where you can see detailed information about the order and the customer, including their email address and phone number.

You can also change the order status, including canceling or refunding the rental request.

Changing the status of an order on an equipment rental or party supplies websiteChanging the status of an order on an equipment rental or party supplies website

The Bookings for WooCommerce WordPress plugin also comes with a calendar that shows all your bookings at a glance.

To see this calendar, simply head over to WP Swings » Bookings For WooCommerce. Then, click on the ‘Bookings Calendar’ tab.

An example of a booking calendar for an equipment rental or party supplies rental websiteAn example of a booking calendar for an equipment rental or party supplies rental website

We hope this tutorial helped you learn how to add equipment rentals to your WooCommerce store. You may also want to learn how to create an email newsletter or check out our expert picks for the best live chat software for small businesses.

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