🤝 Borrowers & Loans Management

Borrowers & Loans Management is a module that allows you to track who took which item, when and how much – and when it was returned. It is suitable both for internal loans (business employees taking equipment) and for customers (e.g. equipment rental for events). Note: The module is operationally connected to the counting process – loan/return actions are performed from within the count screen (in dedicated mode), while the current page serves for managing the borrowers list and historical control.

🏁 How to Access

• On phone: Menu ☰ at the top right → Borrowers.
• On computer: Hover over the menu on the left → Borrowers.

🔐 Permissions: The page is displayed only when OpticCount support activates the capability for you. In addition, only users with appropriate permissions can see and edit the content.

🎛️ Top Area – Main Actions

• ➕ Add Borrower (green): Create a new borrower (name, phone, note). A borrower can be an employee or a customer – the choice is yours; the difference is for management purposes only.
• 🔎 Search by Item (dark blue): Search loans/returns by a specific item. You can type an item code/barcode or scan, and you'll get a snapshot:
  • How much of the item is currently with borrowers (net).
  • How much is in each store (current inventory).
  • Detail of who holds what and how much.

💡 Tip: If you have an "item missing from the shelf", start with Search by Item; you might discover it's actually on loan.

🗂️ The Table – Borrowers List

For each borrower, abbreviated data is shown (name, phone, note, and more). From each row you can:

• Edit – update borrower details.
• Loan Details – open a detailed control dialog.

🧾 "Loan Details – [Name]" Dialog

• Status cards at the top:
  • Total items loaned to date.
  • Items currently with them (net).
• Detail table by items:
  • Item Code / Description / Barcode
  • Total Loans (quantity taken)
  • Total Returns
  • Remaining with them (= loans − returns)

Double-click/column selection allows quick sorting to find anomalies (e.g. "what hasn't been returned yet").

🔁 Where Do You Actually Perform Loans/Returns?

Loan and Return actions are performed from within the inventory count screen, in dedicated mode:

1. Go to the Home page and click Start Count.
2. Select a store.
3. Click the Settings icon (gear) ↠ under System Modes, enable Loan/Return Mode.
4. Now, at the top of the count screen you'll see:
   • Borrower (required) field – select the borrower from the list.
   • Loan/Return toggle – choose the action type.
   • Item Identifier field – scan/type barcode/item code.
5. Confirm – the action is recorded both in the borrower's loan log and as part of count movements.

💡 This allows your business to operate real-time loan/return movement tracking, without leaving the familiar count workflow.

📐 How Is It Counted? (Operational Logic)

• A loan increases "with borrowers" and decreases the store inventory (temporary departure).
• A return does the reverse: reduces "with borrowers" and returns to store inventory.
• The balance with each borrower is calculated net: loans − returns.
• You can perform a return even if the original loan action wasn't found (e.g. corrected retroactively) – the report will show a correct net. It's still recommended to maintain consistency in borrower selection.

🧭 Scenarios and Examples

• Internal employee equipment Add warehouse workers/technicians as borrowers. Every time a device goes out – select the employee as borrower, "Loan", and scan. For return, perform "Return" with the same employee. "Loan Details" report shows who holds what.

• Event rental company Each customer is defined as a borrower. Before an event, perform "Loan" on the relevant items; after the event – "Return". Searching by item shows where equipment is "stuck".

• Finding missing items during counting Found a shortage? Search by item. If it's with a borrower – you'll immediately see who and how much.

✅ When to Use / When Not to

Recommended when:

• There are temporary equipment movements (out/in) that need named tracking.
• You want summary files and inventory metrics to automatically deduct/add based on loans/returns.

Less suitable if:

• You have no loans at all – don't enable the system mode; keep counting simple.
• You need rental contracts/invoices – this is beyond the current module scope (data can be exported to relevant ERP/CRM).

🧩 Permissions & Access

• The module is enabled upon your request by OpticCount support.
• Only users with management permissions can see the page and create/edit borrowers.
• Those performing actions in the field must be assigned to the store where the loan/return is being performed (same as with regular counting).

⚠️ Mistakes to Avoid

• Confusing Loan with Return – will create an incorrect net. If you made a mistake, perform the opposite action on the same item/borrower for a quick correction.
• Inconsistent borrower names ("Dan", "Daniel") – define an organized list in advance and avoid duplicate borrowers.

💡 Tips

• Before a large event/project – review the "Loan Details" dialog for anyone who has equipment and verify returns.
• Combining employee/customer barcode card? Great – you can scan it into the "Borrower" field (if configured at the organization level).

Summary

The Borrowers & Loans Management module gives you true control over equipment moving between people: who took what, how much and when – and what hasn't been returned yet. It connects to your count screen, so the work stays flowing, and reports are always up to date. Set up borrowers, enable loan/return mode, and scan – the rest happens automatically.