Dry Hire Procedure

[charlie]

Hi guys,

Coming into 2012 we are doing alot of dry hire now.

The large hire company i used card details and chip and pin machines for deposit and insurance in case the kit didn't come back, damage etc.

We also took photocopies of passport/driving licence for ID purposes.

Obviously i don't have the card machines etc to use, so i was wondering...

* What is your normal dry hire procedure?
* Do you take cash deposit? If not what do you take?
* Do you take a form of ID?

Cheers

[Charlie Brown]

* Signed contract in place with a list of items they've taken
* Inventory - make sure they agree, sign and date it before it leaves your office. If you've got time, include some photos to backup your comments.
* One form of ID (passport/drivers license etc)
* Two letters to prove their address (letter headed from a company of course)
* Deposit - small percentage of the retail price
* Car reg

Presumably you'd have some insurance in place too. I don't hire stuff out but that's what we used to do at the estate agent.

[sgevents]

* Signed contract in place with a list of items they've taken
* Inventory - make sure they agree, sign and date it before it leaves your office. If you've got time, include some photos to backup your comments.
* One form of ID (passport/drivers license etc)
* Two letters to prove their address (letter headed from a company of course)
* Deposit - small percentage of the retail price
* Car reg

Presumably you'd have some insurance in place too. I don't hire stuff out but that's what we used to do at the estate agent.

Thats What We Do:agree:

[Charlie Brown]

Wow! I'm not a :muppet: afterall. :eek:

[JAMdisco]

I know a lot of companies used to use the old swipe machine - the ones that copy your card details onto slips of paper - I'm not sure how they would be processed if they didn't return the items though.

I know when I hired out a pond-vac from my local garden centre they took a swipe of my card for £200 in case I didn't return it or it came back damaged. Obviously when the item is returned and checked ok, they give you the slips back so you can destroy them.

I know a cash deposit is best for small businesses but if you're doing a lot of dry hires, maybe it would be advisable to look into the electronic swipe deposit system?

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Hi guys,

Coming into 2012 we are doing alot of dry hire now.

The large hire company i used card details and chip and pin machines for deposit and insurance in case the kit didn't come back, damage etc.

We also took photocopies of passport/driving licence for ID purposes.

Obviously i don't have the card machines etc to use, so i was wondering...

* What is your normal dry hire procedure?
* Do you take cash deposit? If not what do you take?
* Do you take a form of ID?

Cheers

If you are doing a lot of dry hire, you must get a PDQ machine. Streamline now do a virtual terminal system which I have recently gone on to from a physical machine and it is much more flexible.

You can take payments over the phone, via your website or send the client a secure payment page. This also means that you can take payments via a mobile device - smart phone, Ipad or whatever.

For around £25 - £30 a month, I would say this is quite simply a must.

[Retrodisco]

Paypal also offer Virtual Terminal to business account holders, for £20 a month.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Paypal also offer Virtual Terminal to business account holders, for £20 a month.

I think their fees may be a little high though for most people.

[Retrodisco]

I think their fees may be a little high though for most people.

Possibly, although they claim Virtual Terminal to be cheaper than most similar offerings.

I have quite a high turnover with paypal, so am on a lower fee rate. Something to check if any of you take a lot of paypal money via a business account, there is a setting on the Fees page that allows you to apply for lower fees if you use it a lot, by default the lower fees option is off of course.

[charlie]

Thanks for your comments guys!


If you are doing a lot of dry hire, you must get a PDQ machine. Streamline now do a virtual terminal system which I have recently gone on to from a physical machine and it is much more flexible.

You can take payments over the phone, via your website or send the client a secure payment page. This also means that you can take payments via a mobile device - smart phone, Ipad or whatever.

For around £25 - £30 a month, I would say this is quite simply a must.

Thanks for this darren, i will look into it.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Thanks for this darren, i will look into it.

http://www.cardsave.net/ecommerce/taking-phone-payments/virtual-terminal is what I use. I'm sure there are others, but it gives you a starting point.

[charlie]

http://www.cardsave.net/ecommerce/taking-phone-payments/virtual-terminal is what I use. I'm sure there are others, but it gives you a starting point.

Great, thank you!

[Leicester Ben]

We have our credit card machine through Streamline and the FSB (you get a better rate if you are FSB members). I think its about £18 a month and then 30p per debit card transaction and 2% for credit cards.

For dry hires we take a minimum of a £100 deposit as well as taking a copy of their driving license or passport.

Good luck

[charlie]

We have our credit card machine through Streamline and the FSB (you get a better rate if you are FSB members). I think its about £18 a month and then 30p per debit card transaction and 2% for credit cards.

For dry hires we take a minimum of a £100 deposit as well as taking a copy of their driving license or passport.

Good luck

Cheers Ben!

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

We have our credit card machine through Streamline and the FSB (you get a better rate if you are FSB members). I think its about £18 a month and then 30p per debit card transaction and 2% for credit cards.



I was with them, until they imposed a minimum £10 a month charge. Cardsave is slightly cheaper in the long run and a lot more flexible.