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For car rental companies

A car rental system that knows where every car is

PHPTRAVELS is a car rental system for companies that own their cars: customers book on your own website, and branch staff run the fleet, deposits, handovers, returns and invoices from one admin.

  • Live fleet status
  • Multi-branch and one-way
  • Deposit holds and refunds
  • Pick-up and return checks

Fleet board

Every car, its status and its branch on one screen

The fleet board is where a rental day starts. Filter by status to see what can be rented now, what is out, what is in the workshop and what is held for a booking.

Fleet board · all branches9
  • CompactAvailable

    Toyota Corolla

    Plate
    RA-20418
    Branch
    Airport, Terminal 3

    Next: Ready, cleaned and fuelled

  • SedanOn rent

    Hyundai Elantra

    Plate
    RA-20391
    Branch
    Downtown

    Next: Return due today 18:00

  • SUVIn service

    Nissan X-Trail

    Plate
    RA-20422
    Branch
    Harbour

    Next: Brake service, back 14 Nov

  • SedanReserved

    Skoda Octavia

    Plate
    RA-20437
    Branch
    Airport, Terminal 3

    Next: Pick-up today 14:30, corporate

  • EconomyOn rent

    Kia Picanto

    Plate
    RA-20355
    Branch
    Airport, Terminal 3

    Next: One-way return to Downtown, 16 Nov

  • ElectricAvailable

    Tesla Model 3

    Plate
    RA-20460
    Branch
    Downtown

    Next: Ready, charged to 92%

  • Van, 9 seatsReserved

    Ford Transit

    Plate
    RA-20302
    Branch
    Harbour

    Next: Pick-up tomorrow 09:00

  • PremiumIn service

    BMW 5 Series

    Plate
    RA-20471
    Branch
    Airport, Terminal 3

    Next: Tyre change, back today 16:00

  • SUVOn rent

    Toyota RAV4

    Plate
    RA-20449
    Branch
    Harbour

    Next: Return due 13 Nov 10:00

Sample screen with sample cars, plates and branches.

Status changes on its own as staff work: a pick-up check puts a car on rent, a return check makes it available again, and a maintenance block takes it out of sale for those dates.

Rental lifecycle

Six stages from booking to a closed rental

Every rental passes the same checklist, whether it came from your website, the counter, an agent or a corporate account. Nothing is closed until the car, the deposit and the invoice all agree.

  1. 01 / 06

    Booking

    The customer picks a branch, dates, vehicle class and extras on your website, or staff enter it at the counter.

    • Class availability checked for the dates
    • Rate, extras, taxes and one-way fee priced
    • Payment or deposit taken online or at the desk

  2. 02 / 06

    Pickup inspection

    At the desk, staff confirm the driver and hand over a specific car from the branch fleet.

    • Licence, ID and driver age confirmed
    • Car allocated by plate
    • Mileage, fuel level, photos and existing damage logged

  3. 03 / 06

    On rent

    The car shows as on rent on the fleet board until it comes back, with the agreed return branch and time.

    • Return time and branch on the booking
    • Extensions priced at the current rate
    • Customer messages kept with the rental

  4. 04 / 06

    Return inspection

    Staff record the car's condition against the pick-up check, so any difference is clear and dated.

    • Mileage and fuel level at return
    • New damage noted with photos
    • Late return or wrong branch flagged

  5. 05 / 06

    Damage and fuel charges

    Differences between the two checks become line items, then the deposit is settled.

    • Refuelling, extra mileage and late fees added
    • Damage cost captured from the deposit or invoiced
    • Unused deposit released or refunded

  6. 06 / 06

    Closed

    The final invoice is issued and the car goes back on sale after cleaning.

    • Final invoice and receipt sent
    • Car marked available on the fleet board
    • Revenue counted for the branch and class

What it is

What a car rental system has to cover

A car rental system is two things joined together. Customers see a booking website where they choose a pick-up branch, dates and a vehicle class. Your team sees an admin where each booking is tied to a real car, a deposit and a branch.

Most rental companies start with a phone, a spreadsheet and a listing on a broker. That works for a few cars. It breaks once you have several branches, one-way rentals and corporate customers, because nobody can see the whole fleet at once.

PHPTRAVELS builds the rental desk on the same engine that powers its car booking module, so you also get payments, users, reports and APIs. Read more:

Cars & transfersBooking inventory systemWhite label booking systemCarTrawler API integration

Fact sheet
Customer side
Your branded website with search by branch, dates and class, extras and online payment
Staff side
Admin for head office and branches, with roles and permissions
Fleet
Vehicle classes, single cars by plate, maintenance blocks
Rates
Seasonal tariffs, weekend rules, extras, taxes and fees
Money
Deposit holds, refunds, invoices and your choice of payment gateway
Distribution
B2B agents, API and webhooks, third-party car suppliers
In PHPTRAVELS
Self-hosted, source code included, one-time licence

Who sees what

Roles for head office, branches, agents and customers

Each account type gets its own view. Head office sees every branch; branch staff work their own lot; agents and corporate customers only see their bookings.

Sample role set-up. Permissions can be changed per role in the admin.
Head officeBranch staffAgentCorporate customerRetail customer
See the fleet boardYesOwn branch or own bookings onlyNoNoNo
Allocate a car to a bookingYesOwn branch or own bookings onlyNoNoNo
Record pick-up and return checksYesOwn branch or own bookings onlyNoNoNo
Set rates, extras and feesYesNoNoNoNo
Make a bookingYesYesYesYesYes
Book on account or walletYesNoYesYesNo
See invoices and statementsYesOwn branch or own bookings onlyOwn branch or own bookings onlyOwn branch or own bookings onlyOwn branch or own bookings only
Revenue and utilisation reportsYesOwn branch or own bookings onlyOwn branch or own bookings onlyNoNo
  • Yes
  • Own branch or own bookings only
  • No

Agents book through the B2B travel portal

Pricing a rental

How the system prices a rental at the counter

Change the class, the days and the extras to see how a quote is built. The deposit is shown on its own line because it is held, not charged.

Rental quote · sample rates in USD

Vehicle class

Extras
Rental
Extras
One-way fee
Tax, sample 10%
Total to pay
Deposit hold, released on return

Sample rates for illustration. You set your own tariffs per branch, season and class.

What the rules decide

  1. 01The daily rate comes from the tariff for that branch, season and class.
  2. 02Weekend and long-rental rules can change the daily rate.
  3. 03Extras are priced per day or per rental, and taxes apply to the total.
  4. 04The deposit depends on the class and is held through your payment gateway.

Before and after

Running rentals by phone and spreadsheet, or on a system

The same rental company, two ways of working.

Phone, spreadsheet and broker listing

  • Staff call each branch to ask which cars are free
  • Two customers get the same car on the same day
  • Damage disputes come down to memory
  • Deposits tracked on paper slips
  • Broker commission on every online rental
  • Month-end totals built by hand

Your own car rental system

  • The fleet board shows every car and its status
  • Availability is checked per class for the dates booked
  • Dated pick-up and return checks with photos
  • Deposit held, captured or released on the booking
  • Direct bookings on your own domain
  • Revenue and utilisation by branch and class

Costs and licensing

What a car rental system costs with PHPTRAVELS

You pay once for the licence and host it yourself. There is no fee per car, per branch or per booking.

  1. Startup

    $2,499one-time licence

    The customer website and admin on one domain. A good fit for a single-brand rental company in one language.

  2. Agency

    $4,999one-time licence

    Adds unlimited languages and agent wallets, for companies renting to tourists and selling through partners.

  3. Enterprise

    $9,999one-time licence

    Adds the B2B agent portal, multiple currencies, every theme, customisation and updates.

Running costs to plan for

  • Your own server or hosting plan
  • Payment gateway fees on each charge
  • Contracts with any car suppliers you add
  • Your developers' time if you change the source code

Payment gateway integrationAirport transfer technology

See the full plan comparisonTry the demo

FAQ

Car rental system questions

What rental company owners ask before moving their fleet online.

Talk to sales

It is software that lets customers book a car online by branch, dates and vehicle class, while your team manages the fleet, branches, deposits, handovers, returns and invoices from one admin.

Status follows the work your staff record. A pick-up check puts the car on rent, a return check makes it available, a maintenance block puts it in service, and a confirmed booking holds it as reserved.

Customers book a vehicle class, such as compact or SUV. Staff then allocate a specific car by plate at pick-up, so one car off the road does not cancel a booking.

Yes. Each branch has its own opening hours, blackout dates, fleet and fees, and you can allow one-way rentals between branches with a drop-off fee.

You set a deposit per class and take it through your payment gateway. At return, fuel, mileage, late fees and damage found in the inspection are added, then the rest of the deposit is released or refunded.

Yes. Business accounts can have negotiated rates, cost centres, a credit limit or a wallet, and monthly statements instead of paying for each rental.

PHPTRAVELS is a one-time licence from $2,499, self-hosted with the source code. You also pay for hosting and your payment gateway fees, but no fee per car or per booking.

The cars module is the booking engine for cars and transfers that any travel business can sell. This set-up focuses on rental companies running their own fleet, branches and counter on top of it.

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