Introduction to Filmo
What Filmo does for a rental company, from the first enquiry to the collected invoice, and which area covers each part of the job.
A rental company's week is a chain of the same few jobs. A client asks for equipment for some dates. You check what's free, send a price and hold the equipment. You prepare it, send it out, get it back and check it. Then you invoice and collect. Filmo keeps that whole chain in one account, so each step starts from what the previous one left.
The building blocks
Five records carry almost all the work. Learn them first and the rest of Filmo falls into place:
- A is the company or person you work with: a client, a supplier, or both.
- An , in the CRM, follows a sale you're still working on through its stages.
- A groups the work of one production or event, and can hold several orders.
- The sets the dates, the equipment, the services and the prices. It's what holds the stock, and what you deliver and get back.
- The documents (quote, , contract and invoice) usually come from the order, and each has its own lifecycle. Money isn't kept on the documents: payments are recorded in Treasury.
Take the Landmark Venues wedding: three large 33 × 49 ft frame tents, 120 Chiavari chairs and 12 round tables. You create the order inside the wedding's project, make the quote from it and send it. When Landmark Venues approves, you reserve the order, assign a driver in the planner, deliver the equipment and get it back. Then you invoice and record the payment. This wedding runs through every page of Get started.
Tip: If you remember one thing: documents come from the order, and only «Reserve» holds equipment.
How a rental job flows through Filmo
The work goes through seven phases. Each one has a walkthrough that follows the wedding step by step and links to the detailed articles. In practice you prepare your catalog (phase 5) before your first job.
| Phase | What you do | Where in Filmo | Walkthrough |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Win new work | Publish your website and catalog, receive requests, track opportunities | «Web builder», «CRM» | Win new work: from enquiry to opportunity |
| 2. Work with the client | Create the contact, email them, invite them to the portal | «Contacts», «Emails», «Communication» | Work with a client: contact, email and portal |
| 3. Quote | Price the job, send the quote, get it approved | The order's «Documents» card, «Sales» | Quote a job and get it approved |
| 4. Run the order | Build it, reserve it, cover shortages, assign staff | «Orders», «Projects» | Run an order from draft to completed |
| 5. Prepare your resources | Items, kits, spaces, staff, vehicles and services | «Inventory», «Spaces», «Crew», «Transport», «Services» | Prepare your catalog and resources |
| 6. Deliver and return | Plan the work, deliver, get it back, deal with damage | «Calendar», the order's «Delivery» and «Return», «Maintenance» | Deliver and return equipment |
| 7. Invoice and get paid | Invoice, collect, pay suppliers | «Sales», «Purchases», «Treasury» | Invoice and get paid |
Which area covers each need
| You want to | Area | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Track a sale and prepare an offer | CRM, Contacts, Quotes, Pricing | The quote comes from the order. Confirming it doesn't reserve equipment or move the opportunity. |
| Organize a production | Projects, Orders, deliveries and returns | Creating an order doesn't take up stock: you have to click «Reserve». |
| Keep your catalog and resources | Items, Spaces, Staff, Vehicles, Services | A service (what you sell) and the person or vehicle that covers it are different things. |
| Coordinate dates, assignments and incidents | Calendar, Planner, Maintenance | The planner assigns people and vehicles; equipment and spaces are reserved in the order. |
| Invoice and track money | Invoices, Proformas, Purchases, Treasury | Issuing an invoice and collecting it are different steps. |
| Use equipment that isn't yours | Subrentals, Consignments | Subrenting is renting from a supplier; consignment is renting out an owner's equipment and sharing the revenue. |
| Work with clients and the team | Website and client portal, Campus, Communication, Notifications | Web visitors, portal clients, Campus users and team members each get access in their own way. |
| Analyze, get help and automate | Analytics, NEO, Workflows | NEO proposes and you confirm; a workflow runs without asking. |
| Set up and load your data | Settings, importers, integrations | Each importer and integration has its own scope; nothing syncs everything. |
What doesn't happen on its own
Newcomers are most often surprised by the steps Filmo leaves to them. Each of these is a deliberate step:
- A quote doesn't create an order, and confirming it doesn't reserve equipment.
- Creating an order doesn't hold stock. Only «Reserve» does.
- The planner assigns people and vehicles. It doesn't reserve equipment or spaces.
- Issuing an invoice doesn't collect it. Payments are recorded in Treasury and assigned to documents.
- Nothing moves an opportunity to another stage on its own: a person or a workflow does.
Up next
Find your way around the screens in Navigating Filmo, then get your account ready with Set up your company in Filmo.