# Equipment Loans – how to record items going out on loan and coming back ::: tip TL;DR Set up a borrower once, click **Start loan** or **Start return** on their row, and scan the items on your phone. Each borrower's balance is loans minus returns, shown in the **Activity** dialog. Every scan costs one credit. ::: ## Who this is for and when The **Loans & Borrowers** module is for businesses where equipment leaves and comes back under someone's name: employees taking tools or devices, customers renting gear for an event, technicians taking spare parts on the road. A borrower is whoever holds the item – an employee or a customer, with no difference in the app. The **Borrowers** tab is shown to company managers, sub-managers, and workers who were given **Borrowers management access**. The loan and the return themselves are done on the phone, on the counter page in a dedicated mode. ## Before you start - The **Loans & Borrowers** module is part of your license. If it is locked, clicking the tab opens the **Unlock Loans & Borrowers** dialog. See [License & Purchases](/en/guide/management/license). - The company has a credit balance. Every scan in a loan or a return costs one credit. - The user who scans is assigned to the branch the equipment leaves from, as in a regular count. - The items exist in the [item catalog](/en/guide/management/catalog). - Permissions are set under [Users](/en/guide/management/users): | Role | Sees the tab and records loans and returns | Creates, edits and deletes borrowers | |---|---|---| | Company manager, co-manager, sub-manager | Yes | Yes | | Worker with **Borrowers management access** | Yes | Only with **Allow creating and deleting borrowers** | | Worker without permission | No | No | - Optional: turn on the **Allow notes on scans** setting in the counter settings to attach a note to any scan ("Returned with a scratch"). See [Settings](/en/guide/settings). ## Step by step ### Creating a borrower 1. Open **Management ← Borrowers**. 2. Click **Add borrower**. The **Add borrower** dialog opens. 3. Enter a **Name** (required). Optional: **Phone** and **Comment**. A phone number must be unique within the company. 4. Optional: pick an **ERP branch**. The field appears only when your integration supports stock transfers between locations. When linked, finishing a loan or return creates a matching stock transfer in the ERP. 5. Click **Add**. The borrower appears in the table.  ### Recording a loan 1. Find the borrower in the table. Search by name, phone or comment. 2. Click **Start loan** on their row. 3. If you have access to more than one branch, pick one in the **Select store: loan** dialog and confirm. With a single branch the dialog is skipped. 4. The counter page opens. The title reads **Loan & return in**, and a banner above the scan field reads *Loan: [name]*. 5. Scan or type every item the borrower takes. Optional: enter a quantity if **Show Quantity Window After Scan** is on. The quantity is recorded as negative – the item leaves the branch. 6. Optional: tap the note icon on the scan card and add a free-text note. 7. Click **End**. The message *Session finished successfully* appears and the page returns to the Borrowers tab.  ### Recording a return 1. Click **Start return** on the borrower's row. 2. Pick a branch if asked. The dialog title on the phone: **Select store: return**. 3. The banner reads *Return: [name]*. Scan the items coming back. The quantity is recorded as positive – the item returns to the branch. 4. Click **End**. The direction is fixed for the whole session. To switch from loan to return for the same borrower, click **End** and go back to the table. ### Transferring from one borrower to another 1. Click **Transfer to borrower** on the row of the borrower who holds the items. 2. Pick the borrower who receives them and click **Continue**. 3. The banner shows *Transfer: [from] → [to]*. Each scan is a return from the first and a loan to the second, for one credit, with no change to branch stock. 4. Click **End**. Full details in the [Borrowers screen](/en/guide/management/loans#transfer-between-borrowers). ### Checking a borrower's balance - Click **Activity** on the borrower's row. The **Activity - [name]** dialog opens. - The summary cards: **Total items (loan)**, **Items not yet back**, **Value of items not yet back** (based on the catalog selling price). - The **Activity Breakdown by Items** table: **Item Code**, **Item Description**, **Barcode**, **Loan**, **Return**, **Not yet back**. - Optional: narrow it down with **Filter by date range**. The cards and the table update for the range. - **Recent notes** lists the scans that carry a note, marked *Loan* or *Return*. **Remove note** deletes one. - Click **Download Excel** to download the breakdown as a file.  ### Finding who holds an item - Click **Search by Item** on the tab. Scan or type an item ID. The item dialog opens with the **Borrowers with this item** list – who holds how many. ## What happens next - **Every scan is saved immediately** as a count record in the branch, with the borrower's name. A loan lowers branch stock; a return raises it. The records appear in [Inventory Counts](/en/guide/management/counts). - **The balance is net**: loans minus returns, per item and per borrower. A return is recorded even if the original loan was never found. - **No stock check on loan.** You can lend an item even when branch stock is zero; stock goes negative. - **Credits.** Every scan costs one credit. Scanning the same item again immediately after the previous scan, in the same branch, is free – so you can scan ten units instead of typing a quantity. See [License & Purchases](/en/guide/management/license). - **ERP.** If the borrower is linked to an **ERP branch**, clicking **End** creates a stock transfer in the ERP between the branch and the borrower's location, and the message *Session finished — a transfer of N items was created in the ERP* appears. The session ends even if the ERP fails – the scans are already saved. ## Common problems - **"Please select a store"** → the user is not assigned to any branch. Assign one under [Users](/en/guide/management/users). - **You recorded a loan instead of a return** → do the opposite action for the same item and borrower. The balance evens out. - **"Phone number already exists in the system"** → a borrower with that phone exists. Search for them in the table instead of creating a duplicate. - **"Invalid session type"** or **"This version of the app is outdated for loan actions"** → refresh the page and start the loan again from the Borrowers tab. - **"The session was saved, but the transfer could not be created in the ERP"** → the scans are saved. Check the ERP and finish another session for the same borrower – the transfer is retried. - **"The previous attempt's result is unknown"** → check whether the transfer exists in the ERP. If not, click **Yes, send again**. - **An item is missing from the shelf** → click **Search by Item**. It is sometimes with a borrower. ## Related pages - [Borrowers screen](/en/guide/management/loans) – look up the table columns and the borrower dialog - [Users](/en/guide/management/users) – grant borrower permissions to workers - [Counter page](/en/guide/counter) – learn the loan and return modes - [Settings](/en/guide/settings) – turn on scan notes and the quantity window - [License & Purchases](/en/guide/management/license) – track credit usage