Car & Equipment Rental
Eliminate counter wait times and paper contracts. Collect customer information, generate rental agreements, and process payments before customers arrive.
Alex Rentner
Operations Manager
Vehicle/Equipment Rental | 50-300 employees
Alex manages customer onboarding, contract execution, and fleet handovers across multiple locations. Peak seasons create bottlenecks, and staff often waste time chasing missing documents or re-entering data manually.
Challenges
Long Wait Times
Customers without pre-completed paperwork wait 15-30 minutes while staff manually process contracts. Frustrated customers leave for competitors.
Manual Data Entry
Staff manually type information from driver's licenses and insurance documents. This is slow, error-prone, and boring work that leads to high turnover.
Paper Contracts
Paper contracts get lost, misfiled, or damaged. No centralized view of customer document history. Difficult to find contracts when disputes arise.
Inconsistent Processes
Different locations handle paperwork differently. Some staff skip steps during busy periods. Training new staff takes weeks.
No Upfront Collection
Unable to generate documents and collect payments before customer arrival. No-shows are costly.
International Customer Friction
International travelers struggle with forms in unfamiliar languages. Document requirements vary by country.
How Dropie Solves These Problems
Create a fully digital rental process. Customers complete all paperwork online before arriving, reducing counter time to under 5 minutes. Works for any vehicle or equipment rental: cars, trucks, boats, construction equipment, bikes, and more.
Complete Rental Workflow
Booking Confirmation
When booking is made (online, phone, or walk-in), customer receives a branded email with a link to complete their rental paperwork.
Customer Information Collection
Customer fills out secure form with personal details, emergency contact, and rental preferences (insurance options, fuel policy, additional drivers).
Document Upload
Customer uploads photos of driver's license and insurance card. Form includes clear instructions with example images.
AI Data Extraction
AI automatically reads the uploaded documents and extracts: name, license number, expiration date, address. Data is pre-filled into the rental agreement.
Contract Generation
Rental agreement is automatically populated with customer data, selected vehicle, pickup/return dates, pricing, and insurance options.
Digital Signature
Customer reviews the agreement and signs digitally. For international customers in EU, QES option available for maximum legal validity.
Payment Collection
Deposit and rental fee collected via Stripe. Receipt automatically emailed to customer.
Confirmation & Portal Access
Customer receives confirmation email with pickup details and access to their client portal where they can view their contract and rental history.
Counter Pickup
Customer arrives with everything complete. Staff verifies ID matches uploaded document, hands over keys. Total counter time: under 5 minutes.
Features Used
Secure Forms
Collect driver's license, insurance info, and customer details through branded forms
AI Document Processing
Extract data from driver's license and insurance documents automatically
Smart Workflows
Automate the entire process from form submission to vehicle handover
Document Generation
Generate rental agreements automatically from templates
E-Signatures
Collect legally binding signatures before customer arrives
Payment Collection
Process deposits and rental fees upfront via Stripe
Client Portals
Give customers access to their rental history and signed contracts
White Label
Brand the entire experience with company logo and colors
Benefits
Faster Checkout
Reduce counter time from 15-30 minutes to under 5 minutes
Zero Data Entry
AI extracts customer data from documents automatically
No Lost Contracts
All documents stored digitally with complete audit trails
Consistent Processes
Same workflow at every location. Easier staff training.
Upfront Payments
Collect deposits before arrival to reduce no-shows
Multi-Language Support
Forms and contracts available in multiple languages for international travelers
Customer Self-Service
Customers can complete paperwork at their convenience, not at your counter
Reduced Staff Stress
Staff focus on customer service, not data entry
Step-by-Step Implementation Guide
Complete setup typically takes 2-4 hours. Most of this is preparing your existing contract template.
Phase 1: Form Setup
45 minutesCreate Rental Intake Form
Build a form with all the fields you need from customers.
- •Create sections: Personal Information, Contact, Documents, Insurance Options, Terms
- •Add fields: Name, DOB, Address, Phone, Email, Emergency Contact
- •Add file upload: Driver's License (required), Insurance Card (if applicable)
- •Add dropdown: Insurance selection (Basic, Full Coverage, Declined)
- •Add checkbox: Terms and Conditions acknowledgment
- •Add conditional fields: Additional driver info (shown if 'Additional driver' is selected)
Configure AI Document Processing
Set up automatic extraction from driver's licenses.
- •Enable AI processing on the Driver's License upload field
- •Configure which fields to extract: Name, License Number, Expiration, DOB, Address
- •Set confidence threshold for automatic acceptance (recommend: 80%)
- •Configure review task for low-confidence extractions
Create Receive Page
Create the public-facing page where customers submit.
- •Link to your rental intake form
- •Set appropriate expiration (e.g., 30 days after booking date)
- •Apply your branding
- •Generate shareable link
Phase 2: Contract Template Setup
1 hourPrepare Your Rental Agreement PDF
Get your existing rental agreement ready for automation.
- •Start with your current rental agreement PDF
- •Identify all areas that need customer data: name, address, dates, vehicle info, pricing
- •Ensure document is clear and properly formatted
Upload and Mark Placeholders
Upload your PDF and define where data should appear.
- •Upload your rental agreement PDF as a template
- •Use AI field detection to automatically find fillable areas
- •Review and adjust detected fields
- •Name placeholders clearly: customer_name, customer_address, license_number, pickup_date, return_date, vehicle_make, vehicle_model, daily_rate, total_amount
Configure Signature Areas
Mark where signatures should be placed.
- •Add signature field for customer
- •Add initials field if required
- •Add date field (auto-fills with signing date)
- •Optional: Add counter-signature for company representative
Phase 3: Workflow Configuration
45 minutesBuild the Workflow
Create the automated workflow connecting everything.
Configure Field Mapping
Connect form fields to document placeholders.
- •Map customer_name → Form: Full Name
- •Map customer_address → Form: Address (or AI extracted from license)
- •Map license_number → AI extracted from uploaded document
- •Map insurance_type → Form: Insurance Selection
- •Configure date transformations (YYYY-MM-DD → 'January 1, 2025')
Configure Payment Collection
Set up Stripe integration for deposits and fees.
- •Connect your Stripe account
- •Configure payment amount (can be fixed or calculated from form fields)
- •Set up deposit hold vs. charge
- •Configure receipt email to customer
Phase 4: Branding & Testing
30 minutesApply Branding
Make everything look like your company.
- •Upload your logo
- •Set brand colors (primary and secondary)
- •Customize welcome message
- •Optional: Configure custom domain
Test End-to-End
Complete the entire workflow as a test customer.
Go Live
Start using with real customers.
- •Send receive page link with booking confirmations
- •Train staff on reviewing submissions
- •Monitor workflow executions for first week
- •Adjust based on feedback
Recommended Form Structure
Personal Information
Emergency Contact
Documents
Insurance Options
Additional Options
Agreement
Advanced Configuration Options
Multi-Location Support
Create separate receive pages for each location while using the same workflow
How to: Create location-specific receive pages that all feed into the same workflow. Add a location field to route notifications to the correct branch.
Corporate Account Handling
Simplified process for corporate customers with master agreements
How to: Use conditional logic: if customer is corporate account, skip insurance selection and use corporate rate. Pre-fill company information.
Vehicle Damage Documentation
Collect vehicle condition photos at pickup and return
How to: Create separate forms for pickup and return inspections. Staff use mobile devices to photograph any existing damage.
Automatic License Verification
Verify license hasn't expired and extract accurate data
How to: AI extracts expiration date from license. Workflow includes validation: if license expires before return date, create review task.
Pro Tips
- Send the form link at least 24 hours before pickup to give customers time to complete.
- Include example photos showing what a 'good' license photo looks like.
- Use conditional logic to show insurance options only if customer hasn't selected 'I have my own coverage'.
- Set up automatic reminders for unsigned contracts (1 day before pickup).
- Create a staff dashboard showing all pending pickups and their completion status.
Integration Options
Booking System
Automatically send form links when bookings are confirmed
Use webhooks to trigger form link emails from your booking system
Fleet Management
Sync rental data with your fleet management system
Use webhooks to push completed rental data to your system
Accounting
Export payment data to your accounting system
Use Stripe's integration with accounting platforms
Troubleshooting
Customer says AI extracted wrong data from their license
Check the uploaded image quality. Blurry or poorly lit photos reduce accuracy. Enable manual review for extractions below 80% confidence. Customer can also manually correct extracted data before signing.
International licenses not being recognized
AI supports many license formats but may have lower accuracy on international licenses. Enable manual review mode for international customers. Consider requiring international driving permit for better results.
Customers not completing the form before arrival
Send reminder emails 24 hours and 2 hours before pickup. Include clear messaging about faster pickup if completed online. For walk-ins, staff can send the link via SMS for customer to complete on their phone.