Bookings & Availability

The Bookings tab on the equipment detail page shows every project allocation for the item — past, present, and future. Combined with the availability breakdown and calendar view, it gives you instant clarity on whether equipment is free, when it will be returned, and how heavily it is utilised.

Viewing bookings

Open any equipment item and click the Bookings tab. You will see a list of all projects this equipment is allocated to, sorted by date. Each entry shows the project name, client, allocation dates, quantity (for bulk items), and booking status. Click any booking to navigate directly to the project.

Use the date range filter at the top to focus on a specific period. Toggle between Upcoming, Active, and Past to quickly find what you need.

Availability breakdown

The availability summary at the top of the Bookings tab shows the current distribution of stock across all statuses:

• Available — Units ready for immediate booking. Not allocated to any project or held for maintenance.
• Rented — Units currently out on hire and allocated to active projects.
• In Maintenance — Units undergoing service, repair, or inspection. Automatically excluded from bookable stock.
• Damaged — Units reported as damaged during check-in. Unavailable until repaired or written off.
• Lost — Units recorded as lost or missing. Removed from available stock until recovered or replaced.

For bulk-tracked items, these numbers represent quantities. For serialized items, each unit is listed individually with its current status.

Availability percentage and colour coding

NexusRMS calculates an availability percentage based on available units divided by total owned units. The percentage is colour-coded for quick scanning:

• Green (75–100%) — Healthy availability. Most stock is free for booking.
• Yellow (25–74%) — Moderate availability. Stock is partially committed.
• Orange (1–24%) — Low availability. Very few units remain free.
• Red (0%) — No availability. All units are allocated, in maintenance, damaged, or lost.

This colour coding appears on the equipment list, equipment cards in grid view, and on the Bookings tab.

How equipment gets booked

Equipment in NexusRMS is allocated through projects, not booked independently. The workflow is:

1. A user creates or edits a project and adds equipment from the inventory.
2. When the equipment is added, the system checks availability for the project date range.
3. If sufficient stock is available, the units are allocated to the project and the available count decreases.
4. When the project is completed and equipment is returned, the units return to available stock.

This project-centric approach ensures every equipment allocation is tied to a client, dates, and a financial record.

Availability calendar

Below the bookings list, the availability calendar provides a visual timeline of upcoming allocations. Each project allocation appears as a coloured bar spanning its date range. Gaps between bars represent periods when the equipment is free. Hover over any bar to see the project name, client, and quantity.

For bulk items, the calendar shows stacked bars when multiple projects overlap, making it easy to see how stock is distributed. For serialized items, each unit has its own row.

Conflict detection

NexusRMS automatically detects booking conflicts when equipment is allocated to overlapping projects. If a user attempts to add equipment to a project and the requested quantity exceeds available stock for those dates, the system displays a warning with details of the conflicting projects. The user can then choose to proceed (if overbooking is permitted), reduce the quantity, adjust the dates, or select an alternative item.

Overbooking

By default, NexusRMS prevents allocations that exceed available stock. However, if your business allows overbooking (common for items with high backup stock or fast turnaround), you can enable this in Configuration > Equipment Settings. When overbooking is enabled, the system issues a warning but allows the allocation to proceed. Overbooked items are flagged in the equipment list and on project detail pages so you can manage substitutions proactively.

Date range availability check

To check whether equipment is available for a specific period without creating a project, use the date range filter on the Bookings tab. Enter a start and end date and the system calculates how many units are free for that entire period, accounting for all existing allocations, maintenance windows, and holds. This is useful during initial client enquiries before a formal project is created.

Impact of status changes on bookings

Changing an equipment item's status directly affects bookable stock:

• Marking a unit as Damaged or Lost immediately reduces the available count. If the unit was allocated to an upcoming project, a conflict alert is generated.
• Marking a unit as In Maintenance removes it from availability for the maintenance duration.
• Returning a unit to Available increases bookable stock and may resolve existing conflict alerts.

Tips and best practices

• Check availability before confirming quotes — A quote that promises equipment you cannot deliver damages client trust. Always verify availability for the quoted dates before sending.
• Use the date range filter to plan ahead — Check availability for your busiest periods (festival season, year-end events) well in advance to identify potential shortfalls.
• Set up low stock alerts for popular items — Configure alerts in Equipment Settings so you are warned before your most in-demand items are fully booked.
• Review the availability calendar weekly — A quick weekly review helps you spot gaps where you could accept more bookings and peaks where you might need to arrange cross-hires.

Next steps

Continue to the next article to learn about Documents & History, where you will manage equipment-related files, view the full audit trail of changes, and keep insurance records up to date.