Starting a new car rental business isn’t an easy task. Technologies changed this market just like every other. Today, the industry “giants” like Avis and Hertz already have the car software platforms that give users access to the wide range of car rental services on the various devices.
Car rental booking software is a great solution to manage a vehicle rental business. There’re many helpful features in this software which will boost your business efficiency and profit.
The client can easily book cars through the website or mobile app, and vehicle rental owner can get notification of booking via this software.
You can track the vehicle status or manage driver availability with this system. The software monitors the inventory using software where you can maintain the car available for the upcoming and existing clients.
What is Car Rental Software?
Car rental software is generally an entire management platform for vehicle rental entities, through a secure, configurable online system. Features of car rental software typically encompass client support and communication, along with business management needs.
Rent a car software also include marketing features, such as branded web interface, and back-end functionalities.
Main Features
Below is the list of 10 essential features that each platform should include:
1. Booking engine
The booking mechanism, invisible to a customer, initiates the chain of automatic processes to complete the tasks on the booking operations, scheduling, transactions, sending notifications, and confirmation emails. All entered info is sent to the back-end, where admins can see and manage all reservations.
2. Availability status
You’ll always have up-to-date info about the status of any vehicle in your system. Currently rented, under repair, or available, the status provides the whole picture of the available fleet and manage with it ease.
3. Fleet management
It can be customized to reflect the number of makes and models, vehicle details, expenses, maintenance, insurance expiration dates, inspection, damages on a car, and more.
4. CRM
This feature keeps the client information in order. After a new customer registered on the website or made a booking, the entered data is saved in the DB and displayed in the CRM section of the back office. It enables you to contact the renters, identify the return clients to offer them rewards and sales, create a client profile, and eliminate the frauds.
5. Real-time reporting
Car rental services have to know where their cars are at any time. Best car rental platforms can provide users with real-time reports, which also include bill cover and details, duty registers, vendor details, and driver reports.
6. Driver management
For customers who are renting a vehicle, car rental software eliminates the trouble of late drivers. It’s made possible via the GPS tracking, which locates drivers and assists customers track arrival time. It also works for drivers as it locates clients.
7. Inventory management
For small car rental business, managing fleet inventory may not be as complicated as those of growing companies. As car fleets grow, so make their lists, and this could result in mix-ups with regarded to car availability. It’s highly applicable to companies who have multiple fleet locations. Inaccurate service results in disgruntled clients, which is bad for business.
8. Revenue management
Managing the income of car rental businesses that operate hundreds of units can be difficult. These earnings have to be effectively handled so that accounts cab be accurately balanced.
Car rental platforms are capable of managing all transactions, recording them, while they can be easily accessed too. Transactions can be tracked remotely for user convenience.
9. Billing & Invoicing
Operators will save time with automatic e-billing and management of invoices to keep everything in order.
10. Orders Management
The Orders feature will provide the managers with the possibility to view and edit all the reservations coming through the site. Also, you should consider the orders that come through phone calls and from the front desk. Managers will be able to add such bookings manually in this section.
11 Best Car Rental Booking Software Platforms
There is a plenty of car rental software out in the market today, making choosing for one a quite challenging.
1. Smart Car
Smart Car is a fully customizable, web-based car rental booking software that modernizes the vehicle rental industry. It’s a reliable platform that manages rental business end to end with a clean design, powerful management features, and high-quality applications. The package assists small to large vehicle rentals, streamline their operations with an Uber-based tool for a modern audience.
It facilitates real-time customer and car tracking to eliminate unnecessary confusion and calls. The software uses modern innovations that make it compatible with driver-less car models.
Smart Car also integrates with popular payment gateways including PayPal, Stripe, and Braintree for simple payment processing.
Main features include multi-language support, payment processing, revenue management, extensive admin panel, dashboards, and native Android/iOS apps.
Key features
- Driverless cars ready;
- Extensive admin panel;
- Real-time vehicle tracking;
- Total control IoT device;
- Native iOS and Android apps;
- Smart wallet;
Multilanguage support;
- Push notifications;
- Seller dashboard;
- Revenue management;
- Multivendor marketplace.
For pricing information, please contact the vendor.
2. HQ Rental Software
HQ Rental is a cloud-based car rental business software. Therefore, it’s also quick to set up to enable businesses to utilize the platform to streamline their business processes instantly.
The solution allows vehicle rental operators access to tools that empower their staff in managing bookings and deliver their customers control over their reservations.
Plus, HQ Rental Software includes a host of integrations with online payment gateways and accounting software.
Additionally, the app has an open API that permits developers to make custom connections with third-party solutions.
Key features
- Online reservations;
- Real-time vehicle availability tracking
- Flexible rates;
- Fleet management;
- Maintenance plans;
- Reporting;
- Agent portal
- Business rules set-up;
- Integrated bookkeeping;
- API & integrations.
Pricing
- Startup – $50/month or $500/annually; 10 vehicles, one branches, online reservations, fleet management, customer management, reporting, online payments;
- Basic – $75/month or $750/annually; 25 vehicles, one branches, everything from Startup + digital signature, and mobile app;
- Standard – $125/month or $1,250/annually; 50 vehicles, 2 branches, everything from Basic + tour operator, customer login portal, and fines registration;
- Professional – $175/month or $1,750/annually; 100 vehicles, 3 branches, and everything from Standard suite;
- Enterprise: 100+ vehicles and an unlimited number of branches. For price contact the vendor. >
3. Schedulebull
Schedulebull is a free rent car system that takes advantage of the opportunities provided by the latest technologies.
For example, it uses JavaScript and HTML5 to sync data across computers automatically. It uses RAID (redundant array of independent disks), a technology which can store the same data on multiple hard disks to protect data if a particular hard drive stops working.
Plus, it reminds users of all their important schedules and tasks. The solution can automatically generate various reports.
Also, it provides a powerful API so users can extend its features to their own website, enabling them to make reservations, collect and organize car info and prices, and receive payments by the website.
Key features
- United database;
- Identify bad car rental customers;
- Time management;
- Create various reports;
- Create contracts and bills printouts;
- Automated invoice generation;
- Store and access photos in the cloud;
- Extensive report options;
- Price correction;
- Powerful API;
- Work with any computer;
- Multilingual support.
4. Rent Centric
Rent Centric is designed to help vehicle rental companies manage their business, employees, customers, employees, along with revenues.
The mobile and online platform include fleet reporting, financial management, vehicle tracking, and record of maintenance.
The software offers an Internet reservation system that customers can use to make vehicle reservations online.
The platform stores customer profiles and their rental service preferences for future collaboration. These options can be added to the operator’s website.
It works with Apple Watch, so you know your vehicle location, lock and unlock it, report the damage to a vehicle, and maintain fuel levels.
The platform has automated split-billing feature that allows single or multiple parties to split bills simply and precisely. Rental managers can employ auto reporting to get a summary of rental operations and contracts.
Key features
- Billing and invoicing;
- Customer service module;
- Customizable reports;
- Dealership loan service;
- Employee performance;
- Fleet management;
Pricing info is available by quote only.
- GPS kit;
- Rate tables;
- Split billing;
- Vehicle tracking;
- Summary reports.
5. CarPro Systems
CarPro Systems is a comprehensive ERP that integrates all components of a car rental reservation system into a single solution.
With its tools and features, vehicle rental companies are empowered to expand their operations and take more steps toward globalization.
And as CarPro Systems has a broad spectrum of features, car rental operators are further enabled to enhance their services for them to keep on delighting their customers. One of the things that make it possible is the integrated customer relationship management system that helps you in building strong bonds with their clients.
Also, the platform assists businesses in maintaining their leverage over their competition by continually updated tools and new innovative features, including intelligent pricing, unified business solution, vehicle capitalization, and many more.
Key features
- Car rental management;
- Lease/contract management;
- Fleet management;
- Chauffer management;
- Garage/inventory management;
- Intelligent rate engine;
- Built-in CRM;
- Self-service reservation portal.
Starting price isn’t provided on the company’s website.
6. MyRent
MyRent is a car rental management software designed to streamline the operations of the vehicle rental business. The platform has powerful resource management features and modules in a task-centric interface to simplify car rental management.
The software assists companies in managing the business and performing daily routines with ease to fulfill all requirements and increase revenue. It automates the entire vehicle rental process with tools for networking, fast operation, strategy, accounting, and financial.
Key features are fleet management, operators’ control, rental agreements, cash management, broker’s platform, and business intelligence.
Key feature
- Fleet management;
- Reservation management;
- Online booking;
- Online booking app;
- Digital signature;
- Business intelligence;
- Web XML integration;
- Operators control;
- Tour operator portal;
- Operators control.
