Handling Overdue Returns

Handling Overdue Returns

When a trailer is not back on the lot by its scheduled return time, TrailerBase kicks in a set of tools that help you recover revenue without chasing every renter by phone. This article walks you through late fee setup, the automations that trigger the moment a reservation crosses its return window, and the cleanest way to waive a fee when a renter has a legitimate reason.

Configure your late fee

Open Settings > Reservations > Late Fees. You can bill in one of two ways:

• Hourly — best for short-term rentals where even a two-hour slip hurts the next booking.
• Daily — works well for longer contracts and multi-day rentals.

Set your rate (for example, $25/hour or $150/day), then decide on a grace period. A 30 to 60 minute window is common and keeps you from penalizing a renter who is already pulling into the driveway. Finally, set a cap so fees never exceed a sensible ceiling such as one full rental day. Caps prevent runaway charges on weekend returns when nobody is looking at the account.

What happens when a reservation goes overdue

The moment a reservation passes its return datetime plus your grace period, three things happen automatically:

1. The reservation card flips to an Overdue status with a red dot so it jumps out on your Rentals page.
2. A banner appears at the top of the Dashboard listing every active overdue rental with a one-click jump to the record.
3. An automated email goes out to the renter from your branded domain, letting them know the trailer is overdue and explaining the fee being applied. A follow-up is queued for 24 hours later if the rental still is not closed out.

You will also see the accumulating late fee in real time on the reservation. It ticks up on your configured interval and stops the second you mark the trailer returned.

Waiving a late fee

Sometimes a renter calls ahead about traffic, a tire blow-out, or a family emergency. To waive the fee:

1. Open the reservation.
2. Scroll to the Late Fees section.
3. Click Waive and select a reason from the dropdown (or type a custom note).
4. Confirm.

The waived amount is logged to the activity feed with your name and timestamp, so anyone auditing the account later can see who made the call and why. You can also do a partial waive if you want to charge something but not the full amount.

Tips that save headaches

• Train staff to close out rentals the moment the trailer is back on the lot. A trailer returned at 4:55 PM but closed at 5:30 PM will still accrue fees unless you backdate the return timestamp.
• Use the grace period liberally. A small buffer reduces the number of customer-service calls you have to field.
• Review your cap quarterly. Market rates shift and a cap that made sense last year may leave money on the table today.

For the broader picture of how overdue reservations show up in search and reports, see Reservation Search & Filters. If you want to understand how late fees roll into the renter's invoice, jump to Invoice Line Items.