Comparing the Pricing Methods Available in BRS
What This Is
BRS gives you several different ways to price a rental item. This article compares them side by side so you can pick the right one for each product. For step-by-step setup of any specific method, follow the dedicated article linked at the end of each section.
First Fork: Day-Based vs Hourly
Every product is either Day-Based or Hourly. This is set when you create the product and is hard to change later, so pick carefully.
| Day-Based | Hourly |
| Item is reserved for the full day. Booked once per day. | Customer picks a start time and number of hours. Item can be booked multiple times per day in different time windows. |
| Best for: bounce houses, tents, tables, chairs, concession machines, anything dropped off and picked up once per day. | Best for: photo booths, popcorn machines, anything you can deliver, run, and re-deliver several times in one day. |
| See Day Based Pricing for a full breakdown. | See How to Set Up Hourly Pricing for setup steps. |
Tip: Day-Based fits the vast majority of rental businesses. Only use Hourly if you genuinely turn an item over multiple times in the same day.
Second Fork (Day-Based only): By Rental Duration vs Pricing Options
If you chose Day-Based, you will pick between two pricing methods. They are mutually exclusive. You use one or the other, not both.
| By Rental Duration (Time Increments) | Pricing Options (Fixed Packages) |
| You set hour-based tiers (e.g. 0–24 hrs $150, 24–48 hrs $225). System auto-picks the price based on actual elapsed time. | You create named packages (e.g. Full Day $150, Weekend $225, Full Week $400). Customer picks one at checkout. |
| Pros: handles same-day, overnight, and multi-day rentals cleanly. Most flexible. | Pros: simple for customers. Locks them into the duration you want to sell. |
| Cons: requires you to think through your tier breakpoints up front. | Cons: less flexible. Can cause issues when customers want a duration that does not match a package. |
| See How Time Increments Work for setup steps. | See How Pricing Options Work for setup steps. |
Tip: By Rental Duration is the recommended default for most businesses. It is more forgiving and avoids the most common pricing complaint we see (customers being charged for an extra day on overnight rentals).
Sub-Setting (Pricing Options only): Per Day vs Per Night
If you choose Pricing Options, there is one more important setting: Per Day vs Per Night. This controls how the system counts billing units when a rental crosses midnight.
| Per Day | Per Night |
| Counts every calendar day of the booking, including the checkout day. A rental from Sept 1 to Sept 2 charges for 2 days. | Hotel-style. Counts nights, not days. Checkout day is not billed. A rental from Sept 1 to Sept 2 charges for 1 night. |
| Use when same-day rentals are common and customers expect each calendar day to be a billing unit. | Use when rentals are typically overnight or multi-day and you do not take same-day bookings on this item. Same-day bookings are blocked when Per Night is selected. |
Important: Per Day vs Per Night only matters if you are using Pricing Options. If you switch to By Rental Duration, this setting is ignored. Pricing is based purely on elapsed hours, not on calendar day boundaries.
Quick Decision Guide
If you want one simple rule:
• Most products: Day-Based + By Rental Duration. Set tiers like 0–24 hrs, 24–48 hrs, 48–72 hrs. Done.
• Flat-rate weekend or multi-day packages: Day-Based + Pricing Options. Pick Per Night if rentals are always overnight, otherwise Per Day.
• Items that turn over multiple times per day: Hourly. Set min, max, buffer, and hourly rate.
For troubleshooting common pricing complaints (especially the “charged for 2 days when I only rented 1” issue), see the dedicated article in the Troubleshooting section.