Delivery and dispatch: common questions

Short answers to the questions shops ask about delivering gear and collecting it again. Each answer links to the full article.

What the board shows

What is the Dispatch board for?

It is where you plan and track delivery runs for the day. A run is one drop-off (taking gear to the customer) or one collection (picking it up again). Click Dispatch in the left sidebar. See Coordinating deliveries and pickups for the day.

Why is my booking not on the Dispatch board?

Only bookings that were sold with a delivery fee get runs. If the delivery was free or zero-cost, Renta creates no run, because nobody paid for one. A booking without delivery never appears here.

What is the difference between a Drop-off and a Collection?

A drop-off takes the gear to the customer and a collection brings it back. If the customer chose a round trip on the delivery calculator, the booking gets two runs: the drop-off is timed at the booking's start and the collection at its end. A one-way delivery gets a drop-off only, and the customer returns the gear themselves.

What do the Today, Next 7 days and Overdue boxes show?

Today shows how many runs are scheduled today and how many still need a driver. Next 7 days lists runs per day, and clicking a day opens it. Overdue is red and shows a count when runs from an earlier day were never finished, and "None" otherwise.

How do I look at tomorrow, or yesterday?

Use ← Previous day and Next day →, or click a day in the Next 7 days box. Back to today returns you.

What does "Unfinished from earlier days" mean?

Runs that were never marked done or cancelled stay listed there with their original day, so nothing disappears at midnight.

What do "Nothing to take out on this day." and "Nothing to collect on this day." mean?

No drop-offs or no collections are scheduled for the day you are viewing.

I run more than one shop. Will I see every shop's runs?

No. With two or more shops the board follows the shop switcher in the top bar and shows only that shop's runs. Choose All shops to see everything.

Drivers and statuses

What do the run statuses mean?

Needs a driver means nobody is assigned. Assigned means a driver is picked. On the road means the run has started. Done means it is finished, and Cancelled means it was called off.

How do I assign a driver?

Pick a name in the driver menu on the run's card. A run that "Needs a driver" becomes Assigned, and that person gets a notification in their Renta inbox. Choose No driver yet to unassign.

Who appears in the driver menu?

Every active member of your team, whatever their role (owner, manager or staff). If the list is empty, add people at Settings → Team.

Why is the driver menu greyed out?

The run is Done or Cancelled, or Renta is still saving your last change. A finished run cannot be reassigned.

Why can't I press Start run or Mark done?

A run that still "Needs a driver" only offers Cancel run. Assign a driver first, and then Start run, Mark done and Cancel run appear. Once the run is On the road, the choices are Mark done and Cancel run.

What do the Start run, Mark done and Cancel run buttons do?

Start run moves the run to On the road when the driver heads out. Mark done finishes it when the gear is delivered or collected. Cancel run calls it off. A Done or Cancelled run cannot be moved again.

Why does it say "That run was changed by someone else — refresh and try again"?

Two people changed the same run at the same moment. Refresh the page to see the current driver and status, then repeat your change.

Why won't it let me assign a driver to a practice booking?

Practice bookings are training bookings with no real-world effect, so Renta refuses to assign a real driver and says so.

On a card

What does "No address on file" mean?

The customer entered a mileage instead of an address when they asked for delivery, so there is no street address to show. Confirm the location with them yourself.

How do I find the delivery on a booking?

Open the booking. If it has delivery, a Delivery card lists each run with its status and address, an Open dispatch link that jumps to that day, and a Copy map link button.

What happens to the runs if I cancel the booking?

Open runs are cancelled, and any driver already assigned is told that their run is off.