What Is the Operations Hub?
The Operations Hub in Rentablez is where your team runs the day — equipment going out, gear coming back, the routes that move it, and (optionally) the delivery agents driving those routes. Instead of hunting through the full orders list, everyone opens one screen that already knows what needs to happen today.
Why Use the Operations Hub?
- One daily queue — everything scheduled to dispatch or come back is grouped, sorted by urgency, and colour-coded so nothing slips.
- Fast processing — open an order in a side drawer and confirm dispatch or handover without leaving the list.
- Whole-team clarity — warehouse staff, drivers, and coordinators all work from the same live view.
The Four Tabs
Open the Hub from Bookings → Operations Hub in the top menu. Along the top you’ll see tabs, each with its own icon:
| Tab | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Rentals Out | Orders ready to leave — dispatch and handover |
| Rentals In | Orders due back — returns and check-in |
| Routes | Today’s planned delivery and pickup runs |
| Delivery Agents | Live status of your drivers (only if enabled) |
The top-right corner shows a live count of orders (or routes) for the tab you’re on, so you can gauge the day’s workload at a glance.
The Delivery Agents tab only appears if your organisation has the delivery-agents feature turned on in Settings → Operations. If you don’t see it, the other three tabs still work exactly as described.
What’s Going Out Today? — Rentals Out
Click Rentals Out to see every order that needs to leave the warehouse today or is already overdue. Each row shows the Order #, Items, Customer, Scheduled Date, Overdue (a badge such as Today or 17 days), Dispatch Mode (Self Pickup or Delivery), and Status.
The coloured strip on the left of each row tells you the urgency at a glance:
- Red — overdue
- Amber — due today
- Green — scheduled for a future date
Click the chevron (›) at the end of any row to open the order in a side drawer. The drawer shows the Dispatch Mode and asks for:
- Handed By (required) and the Dispatch Date — Now by default; use Dispatched earlier? to record a past time.
- Recurring Inspection (optional) — for example One-time (no recurrence).
- Delivery Agent (optional) and the Delivery Address.
- Items to Dispatch — tick each unit going out, or Select All.
Click Mark Dispatched to confirm. See How to Manage Pickups? for the full step-by-step.
Statuses you’ll see here: Reserved (nothing dispatched yet) and Partially Dispatched (some items already sent, more pending). An order that is already Rented Out can also appear when a swapped-in replacement unit still has to go out — the drawer marks that line with a SWAP tag and shows which unit it replaces.
What’s Coming Back? — Rentals In
Click Rentals In to see orders that are due back. The layout and filters mirror Rentals Out — same search, status filter, quick buttons and date presets — with a Return Mode column (for example Collection) in place of Dispatch Mode.
Open a row’s drawer to check items back in:
- Received By and the Return Date — Now by default; use Returned earlier? for a past time.
- Collection Delivery Agent (optional).
- Items to Receive — tick each unit that came back, or Select All.
- Inspection Report — shows any post-return inspection still pending for each unit.
- Additional Charges (optional) — click + Add to record damage, late fees or other dues. You can confirm the return without them.
Click Mark Received to confirm. If the units were taken back rather than returned normally, click Mark as recovered at the top of the drawer first — a normal return doesn’t need it.
Statuses you’ll see here: Rented Out (everything is still with the customer) and Partially Received (some items returned, more outstanding).
See How to Manage Returns? for the return workflow in detail.
Who’s Driving Where? — Routes
Click Routes to see today’s planned delivery and pickup runs. The count in the top-right shows how many routes are planned for today.
- When orders are waiting to be placed on a route, a banner shows how many (for example 1 order need routing · 1 pickup) with a Plan Route button. With nothing waiting, you’ll see No routes for today and a Create Route button instead.
- Plan Route opens the Route Planner: pick the starting point, the From / To dates and the Delivery Stops, set a Start time, and click Optimize Route. The map draws the route, and the panel lists each stop with its arrival time, plus the total distance, driving time and number of stops. Set the Route Date, adjust with Edit Stops if needed, and click Save Route.
- View all routes lists the routes you’ve already saved.
See How to Plan Routes?.
Tracking Your Drivers — Delivery Agents
If the feature is enabled, the Delivery Agents tab lists each agent as a card with their current status, assigned orders, and delivery status. Use the search box to find an agent, order, customer or route, filter with All Delivery Agents, On Job or Idle, and click Refresh to update. A Live Map button opens a real-time GPS view of where your agents are right now.
Agents are users with the Delivery Agent role. If the tab says No delivery agents found, create a user with that role first.
See How to Track Delivery Agents?.
Filtering the List
The Rentals Out and Rentals In tabs share the same filter row:
Search
Use the Search box to find orders by order number, customer name, phone, or location.
Status
Use the Status dropdown to narrow the list to a specific order status.
Timeline pills and date presets
Click a pill to jump to a time window instantly:
- All — everything in the queue (clears the other filters)
- Overdue — orders past their scheduled date
- Today — orders scheduled for today
- Tomorrow, Next 7 days, This month — upcoming windows
You can also pick a specific day with the Custom date… picker. Choosing a date or a preset clears the other timeline selections so you always see one clear window.
Once any filter is active, a small results bar shows how many orders match. Use the clear (✕) button to reset everything back to the full queue.
Exporting Orders
On the Rentals Out tab, click Export above the list to download the orders currently shown — handy for handing a printed dispatch or return sheet to the warehouse. The export respects whatever filters you have applied, so you get exactly the orders on screen.
The Export button is disabled when no orders match your filters.
Order Quick-Look
Click any order number in the list to open a small popover with the customer’s phone, scheduled date, item count, value, and status. From there, View Full Order takes you to the complete order page.
List View vs Calendar View
Use the Calendar button in the top-right (next to the order count) to switch Rentals Out and Rentals In from the list to a calendar, and back again. The Calendar view plots pickups, returns, inspections, and routes across the month so you can spot busy days and plan ahead; the List view is the working queue. See How to Use the Operations Calendar?.
The Calendar toggle isn’t shown on the Routes or Delivery Agents tabs — those tabs have their own layouts.
You’re All Set!
The Operations Hub is your team’s daily starting point. Open Rentals Out to dispatch today’s orders, check Rentals In for what’s due back, use Routes to plan the day’s runs, and — if enabled — watch your drivers on the Delivery Agents tab.