How to keep a damage register and bill charges after a rental

Every dent and scratch on each vehicle with whose rental it was found on, repair jobs from it, before-and-after photos side by side, and cleaning, smoking, toll and ticket charges added after the return.

Updated 2026-10-24

Damage disputes are settled with what was written and photographed at each handover. Fleet keeps both on the vehicle, and lets you charge for what happened after the return.

The damage register

Open a vehicle on the Vehicles tab. Damage lists everything recorded on it, newest first, with how many are still open. Each shows where it is, what it is, the day it was found, who found it, and whether it was noted At check-out, At check-in or at another time, with the renter whose rental it was.

Damage gets there three ways:

At check-out, under Damage already on it.
At check-in, under Damage found now.
On the vehicle itself: type where and what, and press Add damage.

On each open item:

Make repair job makes a job called Repair — (vehicle) with the damage and when it was found. Its costs count against the vehicle in Money, like its cleaning and service jobs. Press Repair job to open it.
Repaired marks it fixed, with today's date.
Delete (for someone who manages the business) takes the record off for good, after you confirm.

Before and after

Photos added at check-out are marked Before, and photos added at check-in are marked After. Once the rental is returned, Before and after shows the check-out photos, mileage, fuel and damage on the left and the check-in ones on the right. Press a photo to see it full size. A photo marked neither way is listed under them, not guessed. To change a photo's mark, open it in the Photos box and pick another label.

A condition record for a claim

On a rental that is out or returned, press Open the condition record. It opens one page with the vehicle and its VIN, the renter and dates, who checked the license, where the rental agreement stands, both handovers with their mileage, fuel, notes, damage and photos, and, for positions that see money, the charges. Print it, or save it as a PDF, from your browser, and send it with a damage claim. Only people signed in to your business can open it.

Charges after the rental

A rental that went out shows Charges after the rental to positions that see money.

Pick the kind: Cleaning, Smoking, Toll, Ticket, Damage, Fuel or Other.
Type what it is for and the amount.
Press Add charge.

The charge is added to the rental's Total. When the rental has an invoice that is still a draft, the charge is added to it as a line too. When the invoice has already been sent, it is left as it is and Otto says so; bill the charge on a new invoice. Remove takes a charge off the rental after you confirm; an invoice already made keeps its lines.

Import a toll file

Most toll accounts let you download your statement as a CSV file.

Open the Money tab and press Import toll file.
Choose the file and press Preview.
The first time, choose which column holds the Date and time, the Plate and the Amount, and if you like the Plaza or road. Otto remembers them.
Press Preview again to see each toll and the rental it belongs to, then Import.

Each toll goes to the rental that had the vehicle with that plate out at that moment, between its check-out and its check-in, as a Toll charge. Importing the same file again adds nothing twice. A toll with no rental at that time, a plate that is not one of your vehicles, or a time or amount that cannot be read is listed with its row number and left out.

A ticket came in

Open the Money tab and press A ticket came in.
Type the Plate and pick the Time on the ticket, then press Find who had it. Otto shows the renter and the rental that had the vehicle out then.
Type the Citation number, the Fine and, if you charge one, Your handling fee.
Press Add to their rental.

The fine and the fee become Ticket charges on that rental, and go on its invoice while it is a draft. The same citation number is never added twice. If nobody had the vehicle at that time, Otto says the ticket is the business's own.

Reports for a month

The Money tab also shows, for the month you pick, the rentals picked up that month (confirmed or later) by class, by branch or place, and by where they came from, each with the number of rentals, days and revenue. Below that are the number of one-way rentals, the damage still open on all vehicles, the charges after the rental by kind, and each promo code with how much it took off.

If it doesn't work

"Describe the damage." — type what it is before pressing Add damage.
"This damage already has a repair job." — press Repair job to open it.
"Charges go on a rental that went ahead." — a request or a cancelled rental cannot take charges.
"Invoice … is already sent (or paid), so these charges are not on it. Bill them on a new invoice."
"Choose the columns for the time, the plate and the amount."
"Row …: … was not out on a rental at …." — the vehicle was not checked out then, so the toll is yours.