Inventory
Rental inventory management that tracks more than quantity
Every booking has a state: reserved, out on rent, returned, pending inspection or damaged. RentalFlow keeps the count of what you own and frees items when they come back.
Shopify inventory wasn't built for rentals
Shopify's inventory is made for products that leave and don't come back. Rentals go out, come back, and go out again. The same item might be booked, delivered, returned late or returned damaged.
A single stock count can't tell you if the tent is free next Saturday, or whether the last one came back in one piece. That gap is how double bookings happen.
Five inventory states
Each booking moves through these states as you confirm deliveries and returns on the delivery and returns dashboard.
- ReservedBooked through your store and not delivered yet. It counts against stock for its dates.
- Out on RentYou confirmed the delivery. The items are out and still count against their dates.
- ReturnedYou confirmed the return with no problems. The items that came back are free for new dates.
- Pending InspectionThe return was confirmed and marked late, so the order is flagged for a closer look.
- DamagedThe return was confirmed with Damaged or Lost/Stolen ticked.
How RentalFlow counts your stock
RentalFlow keeps its own count of what you own, so your Shopify stock is never changed. The count starts from the number on hand in Shopify.
Confirm Delivery
The booking moves to Out on Rent. Its items stay held for its dates.
Confirm Return
The items that came back are free again. Tick gone for good and lost units come off your count.
Edit Order
If you change the dates or quantity, RentalFlow checks the new numbers against your count first.
Moving Boxes free to rent in RentalFlow, one order of 40
RentalFlow now counts 298 boxes you own. Your Shopify stock isn't touched.
Damage, loss and late returns
When you confirm a return, tick Damaged, Lost/Stolen or Late Return and add a note. The flags and note stay on the order, and the order gets a matching tag, like the red Damaged tag here.
That record helps when a customer disputes a charge, which matters most for high-value equipment rentals.
If you need to change an order, Edit Order asks for a reason. RentalFlow rechecks stock, saves what changed along with your reason, and marks the order Modified.
Customer
Ben Carter
ben.carter@mail.com · (503) 555-0165
Product
20 × Moving Box
Delivery
Sep 15, 2026
Pickup
Sep 22, 2026
7 day rental
See what's out at a glance
The dashboard shows how many units are out on rent out of your total, and how many are available today. A bar and label tell you where you stand: Healthy, Moderate, High or Near Capacity.
Below it, quick stats show active rentals, this week's units, and deliveries and returns this month.
Beyond basic stock counts
Some Shopify rental apps only know whether something is booked. RentalFlow tracks the whole rental with five states, return flags and its own count of what you own. Product Rentals Pro offers a damage protection charge from its $49.95 Growth plan. Booqable lets you log damage on returns, inside its own platform.
What it doesn't do (yet)
- Ticking Damaged doesn't take units off your count. Units you enter as returned are free to rent again, so lower the count in Settings if some need repair.
- RentalFlow keeps one count per product. It doesn't track which Shopify location items are at.
- Quantities are tracked per order, not per item. There are no barcodes or serial numbers.
- No reports on damage rates or revenue.
Questions
Track your rental stock properly
Install RentalFlow, add the booking form to a product page, and take your first rental booking today. Free for 14 days, then $39 a month.