What is an Order?
You might know them as jobs, quotes, estimates, proposals, or enquiries. In OnRent Go, we call them Orders.
We use the term "Order" because it covers the entire rental lifecycle, from the very first pricing conversation right through to equipment return and invoicing. Having everything in one place means nothing gets lost, and your team always knows exactly where a job stands.
The Three Stages of an Order
To help you manage each step of the rental cycle, every Order has three stages:
Stage | What it means |
Quote | A pricing proposal sent to a prospect or customer |
Provisional Order | Won, but not yet ready to go on rent |
Order | Fully confirmed, equipment can be allocated and dispatched |
You will see these stages represented visually by a set of icons, progressing from a circle through to a tick as the job becomes confirmed. At a glance, you and your team always know the status of every job in the system.
How the Stages Work in Practice
The stages are designed to fit around your workflow, not the other way around. Use as many or as few as your process requires:
Start an Order at any stage: Quote, Provisional Order, or Order
Convert to the next stage as the job becomes more confirmed
Edit details easily at any point as the job evolves
Revert to a previous stage if a mistake is made or a customer changes their mind
All previously entered information is preserved throughout, saving you time and reducing errors
Real-world examples
New prospect enquiry
A prospect asks for pricing. You create a Quote, they confirm, it becomes a Provisional Order while you wait for a PO number, then converts to a full Order when it is ready to go. Every stage of that conversation is captured, so nothing slips through the cracks.
Simple dry hire
A regular customer confirms a booking straight away. You create an Order, dispatch the equipment, and invoice on return. Quick, clean, and fully tracked.
What's included in an Order?
An Order brings everything related to a job into one place, giving you and your team complete visibility from start to finish:
Customer details, job dates, and delivery/collection addresses
Products, services, and item quantities
Quotation documents for client approval
Warehouse processes: asset allocation, booking out, and returns
Crew scheduling, including staff and bookable resources
Picking lists, delivery notes, and other paperwork
Full or partial invoices
Attachments for related files
Damage and loss reporting
Stage Details
Each stage reflects a different level of commitment and system impact.
Quote
A Quote is a detailed pricing proposal for a prospect or customer. It lets you get information into the system early, so you can start planning without committing stock or affecting availability.
All fields and features are available
Products are marked as Quote
No impact on availability or stock levels
⚠️ A prospect must be converted to a Customer before progressing beyond the Quote stage.
Provisional Order
A Provisional Order represents a confirmed but not yet live job. A common example is waiting on a PO number or for serialized assets to be allocated. It gives you the confidence that the job is won, while protecting your availability for other bookings.
Equipment availability is reserved at product level
Specific serialized stock is not yet allocated
Helps prevent overbooking for future or long-term rentals
Clearly signals that further steps are needed before the job goes live
⚠️ Equipment cannot be put on rent until the Provisional Order is converted to an Order and assets are allocated.
Order
A fully confirmed agreement. The job is live. At this point the system works with you to manage the full delivery, return, and invoicing process, so nothing falls through the gaps.
Availability and stock levels are affected
Equipment can be allocated and booked out
Delivery notes can be printed
Rental charging begins
Equipment can be returned and invoiced
You can also add equipment mid-hire, process returns, and mark items as unavailable if lost, damaged, or awaiting a service, keeping your stock records accurate at all times.
Cancelling an Order
Plans change, and that is fine. You can cancel at any stage by selecting Cancel Order from the Actions menu.
Summary
An Order is the foundation of your rental workflow, tracking everything from the first price discussion through to equipment return and final invoice. By using the three stages effectively, you can stay flexible, prevent overbooking, and keep your whole team on the same page.
💬 Need help? Click the blue help bubble in the bottom right corner of your screen to start a conversation with our support team.