If you’re in the rental business-whether it’s renting out party supplies, camera gear, fashion, or even sports equipment-Shopify can be your go-to platform to manage it all online. Shopify offers the flexibility to handle bookings, manage your rental inventory, process payments, and send out those all-important return reminders. This guide will show you how to set up and run your rental business on Shopify, making it easy for you to stay organized and keep your customers happy.

How to Run a Rental Business through Shopify: A Simple Guide

Running a rental business online can be a great way to make money, and Shopify makes it easier than ever. Whether you’re renting out party supplies, tech gear, clothing, or anything else, Shopify has everything you need to manage your business. This guide will walk you through how to set up and run a rental business on Shopify, from getting your store online to handling bookings and payments.

Step 1: Set Up Your Shopify Store

First things first, you need to set up your Shopify store. If you don’t have an account yet, sign up for Shopify and choose a plan that suits your needs. The Basic plan should work for most rental businesses, but if you have lots of products or need extra features, you might want to go for a higher plan.

  1. Pick a Theme: Choose a Shopify theme that showcases your rental items well. Look for something clean and easy to navigate, like Debut or Brooklyn.
  2. Customize Your Store: Add your logo, choose colors, and create important pages like Home, About Us, Contact, and Rental Policies. Make sure to include a page explaining how your rental process works.
  3. Add Your Rental Products: When adding products, set them up as rentals. Include clear descriptions, good photos, and details like rental period, pricing, and any security deposit required.

Step 2: Choose a Rental App

To make managing rentals easier, you’ll need a special app that lets you handle bookings, rental periods, and inventory. Here are a few good options:

  1. BookThatApp: This app helps you manage bookings, rental periods, and inventory all in one place.
  2. Sesami: Another user-friendly app that lets customers book rentals and shows you what’s available.
  3. Rental Booking App by Ruckify: Specifically made for rental businesses, this app helps you manage everything from bookings to payments.

Once you’ve picked an app, install it from the Shopify App Store and follow the setup steps.

Step 3: Manage Your Rental Inventory

Keeping track of what’s available and when it needs to be returned is super important. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Track Availability: Your rental app will help you see what’s available and automatically update inventory when something is booked.
  2. Set Rental Durations: Decide how long people can rent your items-whether it’s by the hour, day, week, or month. Set these options in your app.
  3. Monitor Returns: Keep an eye on when items are due back, and make sure they’re checked and cleaned before renting them out again. Your app can help with return reminders.

Step 4: Handle Payments and Deposits

You’ll need to set up payments and possibly security deposits for your rentals. Here’s how:

  1. Set Rental Prices: Clearly list your rental prices for each item, including any options for different rental periods.
  2. Require Security Deposits: If needed, set up a security deposit as a separate charge, or use your app’s built-in features.
  3. Process Payments: Use Shopify Payments or another payment gateway to handle transactions. Be clear about how refunds, cancellations, and deposit returns will work.

Step 5: Set Up Return Reminders and Late Fees

To make sure items are returned on time, set up reminders and, if necessary, late fees:

  1. Automated Reminders: Use your rental app to send automatic reminders when a rental period is ending. This helps avoid late returns.
  2. Late Fees: If items are returned late, your app can automatically charge a late fee. Make sure customers know about these fees ahead of time.

Step 6: Offer Great Customer Service

Good customer service is key to a successful rental business. Here’s how to keep your customers happy:

  1. Clear Communication: Make sure your rental policies, pricing, and how things work are easy to understand on your website.
  2. Easy Support: Offer multiple ways for customers to reach you-via phone, email, or live chat. Be quick to respond and helpful in resolving any issues.
  3. Ask for Feedback: After a rental, ask customers how their experience was. Use their feedback to improve your service.
Key Takeaways
1
Shopify makes it super easy to set up and run a rental business online, helping you manage everything from bookings to payments and inventory.
2
Using a rental app like BookThatApp, Sesami, or Rental Booking App by Ruckify takes the hassle out of handling reservations and tracking what’s available.
3
Clear communication, friendly reminders, and being there for your customers are the keys to running a smooth and successful rental business on Shopify.

Shopbnb

With Shopbnb, you have the flexibility to run your own rentals as you see fit. The platform allows you to manage your listings and sell directly to your guests on your own terms. You can create detailed listings, including relevant information such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and supplement them with enticing photos.

Their seamless iCal integration ensures you never have to worry about double-bookings, as the system always displays up-to-date availability. All your bookings can be received and managed directly through the Shopbnb platform, streamlining your rental operations.

Shopify Rental Themes

It’s worth mentioning that there are Shopify rental templates that you can use as well. Using Shopify as a rental platform can be done in two general ways:

  1. Using a Shopify rental template (Shopify rental theme)
  2. Using Shopify rental apps

BookThatApp

BookThatApp is another classic app that can be used on Shopify. You can sell appointments, classes, rentals, tours and more on the app. Bookings can be made easily on any device, with customizable booking rules for your business that can prevent rentals when you don’t want them.

When customers are on your website, there can be live updates that can help your customers see any changes that are taking place. The app also integrates with Google and Apple calendars.

IzyRent

The next option is IzyRent. This is a highly affordable and easy-to-use app. You can create customized rental rules that can be used on your website 24/7. Customers can also see real-time updates of the current openings on your website.

Rental Professional

Another option is to use Rental Professional. This is a little different as it allows you to build a rental system that doesn’t just have to be about days but can also be for hours. You can create numerous rental models on your website and create a truly innovative rental business.

This makes it one of the best options for smaller businesses.