Equipment checks for equipment rental
A dated condition check every time a rental goes out and comes back.
CheckBadges puts a QR sticker on every machine in your rental fleet. Yard staff scan it as a machine goes out and again when it comes back, answer its checklist (hour meter, fuel, damage) and photograph anything wrong, so every rental has a dated record at both ends with who did it. It isn't rental software: it records condition, not contracts or who has the machine.
What pre-use checks have to handle
Damage nobody admits to
When a machine comes back with a cracked panel, the question is whether it went out that way. A dated check at both ends, with photos of anything wrong, answers it.
Operators you'll never meet
Your machines are run by customers' people. A sticker they can scan with their own phone, no app or account, gives them a way to report a problem straight to you.
Tight turnarounds in the yard
A machine back at 4 p.m. may go out at 7 a.m. A problem found on return emails the shop at once and flags the machine red until it's fixed.
Hours and fuel, every time
A number question records the hour meter and a dropdown records the fuel or charge level on every out and back check, so usage disputes have numbers behind them.
Stickers that get scraped off
Machines come back from job sites battered. Reissue a sticker in one click: the old one stops working and the machine keeps its whole history.
Customers asking for records
When a customer asks for a machine's last checks, filter by machine and dates, then print them with photos or export a CSV.
How rental yards record condition with QR codes
Each machine's sticker opens one checklist, and you build that checklist to work at both ends of a rental. A typical out-and-back checklist for a scissor lift:
- This check is: a dropdown with "Going out" and "Coming back".
- Contract or ticket number: a text answer, so the check ties to the rental in your own system.
- Hour meter: a number, in hours.
- Charge or fuel level: a dropdown from Full to Empty.
- The walkaround and function items from the machine's daily checklist, each OK or Problem.
- New damage since the last check? OK or Problem. A Problem needs a note and can carry up to three photos.
Here's how a week goes for one lift:
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Mon 7:10 a.m. | A yard tech scans the 19-foot scissor lift before it's loaded: "Going out", 412 hours, full charge, no new damage. |
| Mon 9:30 a.m. | On site, the customer's operator scans the same sticker for their daily pre-start check (optional; see below). |
| Fri 3:40 p.m. | The lift comes back. The tech scans it: "Coming back", 431 hours, half charge, and marks a cracked gate latch as a Problem with two photos. |
| Fri 3:40 p.m. | The shop manager gets the email. The lift goes red on the dashboard, and anyone who scans it sees the open problem. |
| Fri 4:15 p.m. | The counter pulls up the lift's history. Monday's check shows no damage going out, which settles the conversation with the customer. |
| Mon 8:00 a.m. | The latch is replaced. The shop marks the problem fixed with a note, and the lift is ready to go out again. |
Customers' operators can use the same sticker
Your customers' operators can scan the sticker for their own daily pre-use check, and any problem they report comes straight to your alert list. That gives you early warning of a machine in trouble on a site, instead of a phone call after it stops.
Three things to know. Leave operator PINs off, or every customer operator would need a PIN from you. Their checks land in your account, not theirs; customers don't get a login, but you can print or export the checks for them. And it doesn't move responsibility: their employer still owes the pre-use check, for example the daily forklift examination in 29 CFR 1910.178(q)(7) or the daily boom lift controls test in 1926.453(b)(2)(i). See MEWP inspection requirements.
What the rules say about rental equipment
No US rule sets out a rental check-out inspection. The rules put the daily check on whoever uses the machine, and periodic inspections on the owner. For MEWPs, the ANSI A92 standards, as summarized by manufacturers and SAIA, call for a frequent inspection every 3 months or 150 hours, whichever comes first, and an annual inspection within 13 months of the last one, both by a qualified person and recorded. Those are inspections by your technicians; an out-and-back check sits alongside them, not in place of them.
In the UK, PUWER regulation 6 says equipment leaving your business must be accompanied by "physical evidence that the last inspection required to be carried out under this regulation has been carried out," and lifting equipment needs LOLER thorough examinations. This is a summary; check the current text for your country.
What it costs
CheckBadges is free for up to 3 machines. Pro is $9 a month for your first 3 machines, plus $1.50 a month for each machine after that. A yard with 40 machines pays $64.50 a month; with 100 machines it's $154.50 a month. Operators are unlimited, so your customers' operators scanning stickers cost nothing. Archive a machine when you sell it and it stops counting.
When CheckBadges isn't the right fit
CheckBadges isn't rental management software. It doesn't know which customer has a machine, when it's due back or where it is: there's no check-out status, contract, billing, GPS or telematics. It has no customer signature, no video, and photos attach only to items marked Problem, so you can't add a set of "all clear" photos to a clean check-out. It also needs a data connection. If you want check-out and check-in tied to contracts, with customer sign-off, a rental inspection tool is built for that; tools such as Record360 are built for that.
Free checklists for equipment rental
Print them, or put each one on a QR sticker so operators fill it in on their phone.
- Free checklistScissor lift inspection checklistFree scissor lift pre-use inspection checklist: guardrails, gate, controls, emergency stop and lowering, pothole guards, tilt alarm and tires. Print or use QR.
- Free checklistBoom lift inspection checklistFree boom lift pre-start inspection checklist for articulating and telescopic booms: boom, jib, turntable, platform, anchors, controls and emergency lowering.
- Free checklistTelehandler inspection checklistFree telehandler pre-use inspection checklist: boom and wear pads, forks and attachments, load chart, frame leveling, stabilizers, steering modes and tires.
- Free checklistSkid steer inspection checklistFree skid steer and compact track loader daily inspection checklist: lift arm support, seat bar interlock, quick-attach wedges, tires or tracks and fluids.
- Free checklistExcavator inspection checklistFree excavator daily inspection checklist: undercarriage, boom and bucket, quick coupler, fluids and cab checks, in walkaround order. Print it or use QR codes.
- Free checklistGenerator inspection checklistFree generator inspection checklist for portable and towable units: fuel, oil, coolant, leaks, exhaust and CO, grounding, GFCI outlets, cords and controls.
Set it up in three steps
- 01
Add your machines
Name your business, list your machines and pick a starting checklist. No signup, sales call or card — make an account once you like it.
- 02
Stick on their QR codes
Every machine gets its own sticker. Print them on label paper and put each one where operators look before they start.
- 03
Operators scan and check
Phone camera, tap, answer, submit: about a minute. A problem emails you and warns the next person to scan that machine.
Frequently asked questions
Can CheckBadges do equipment rental check-in and check-out?
Not as a rental workflow. It records a dated condition check each time a machine goes out and comes back, using a checklist with a "Going out / Coming back" dropdown, hour meter, fuel level and damage photos. It doesn't track contracts, availability or which customer has the machine.
How do I prove a rental machine was damaged by the customer?
Keep a dated check of the machine's condition when it goes out and when it comes back, with photos of any damage and the name of who checked it. Whether the customer pays is down to your rental agreement, but a clean check-out and a photographed return make the conversation short.
Can my customers' operators use the QR code on a rental machine?
Yes. They scan it with their own phone and do the daily check with no app or account, and any problem they report emails you. Their checks are kept in your account, and you can print or export them for the customer.
Can I take photos of a rental machine that has no damage?
Not in CheckBadges. Photos attach to items marked Problem, up to three per item, so a clean check records answers without photos. If you photograph every machine on every check-out, a rental inspection tool built around photos and video fits better.
Keep reading
- QR code equipment checklistA QR code equipment checklist: a sticker on each machine opens its pre-use check on any phone, with no app or login. Problems email you. Free for 3 machines.
- Scissor lift inspection checklistFree scissor lift pre-use inspection checklist: guardrails, gate, controls, emergency stop and lowering, pothole guards, tilt alarm and tires. Print or use QR.
- The best construction equipment inspection apps in 2026The best construction equipment inspection apps of 2026: daily checks on loaders, lifts and excavators, whether crews need an app, and what each costs a month.
- MEWP inspection requirementsMEWPs need an operator pre-start check each shift, a frequent inspection every 3 months or 150 hours, and an annual one. ANSI A92 and OSHA rules explained.
- Aerial lift inspection appAn aerial lift inspection app for MEWP pre-start checks: scan the QR sticker on a scissor or boom lift and check on any phone, no app or login. Defects email you.
- QR codes for equipmentQR codes on equipment can open a manual, asset details or a pre-use checklist. How to choose, static vs dynamic codes, durable labels, and codes that log checks.
Check every rental before it goes out with one scan.
Stick a QR code on every machine and operators do the pre-use check on their own phone — no app, no login. Free for up to 3 machines; try it with your real machines before you sign up.