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"I would estimate that most rental businesses use only about half the capabilities of their rental software system," says Jack Shea, president of Solutions by Computer. "Others push the limits in every area of functionality."

Whether your rental business falls to the "using just the basics" or "fully functional" side of the aisle, there's no doubt that automation of your rental operation is the best way to keep track of your assets. And why wouldn't you want to coordinate all your rental functions under one rental management system?

"The initial effort required to implement these functions is fairly intense," says Shea. "But that's also where the major payback is."

The basics of rental automation - inventory management, contract writing, accounts receivable, etc. - seem to satisfy the majority of rental businesses. The reasons for not using full optimization vary, says Ray Bonestroo with Genisys Software, "from not being fully trained on the software to just not realizing what they have and what its capabilities are."

He continues, "Capabilities of rental software have certainly increased in every area imaginable - speed, capacity, technology, reliability - over the last 10 years. While at the same time, the fileservers and workstations have gotten smaller, way more powerful and less expensive."