Check-out and check-in are guided, step-by-step flows that capture everything you need on the record — condition photos, odometer and fuel, the signed agreement, and any deposit. Start either from the booking’s detail page.

Check-out (handing over the keys)

A confirmed booking showing the “Start check-out” button, ready to hand over the keys

From a confirmed booking, choose Start check-out. The steps are:

Driver’s license — photograph the front and back for the record. If AI license checks are enabled on your account, RentalPilot reads the photos and pulls out the licence’s expiry date automatically, flagging anything that looks off. Either way, you’ll see a warning if the licence is expired or expires before the return date.
Fuel & odometer — record the starting fuel and odometer. With AI dashboard reading turned on, you can photograph the dashboard and RentalPilot fills in the odometer and fuel level for you to confirm.
Walk-around photos — capture the six angles (front, rear, both sides, interior, dashboard) so the condition is on record.
Money & paperwork — a gate check before the keys leave: the balance must be paid (unless it’s due at return), any positive deposit hold placed, and the agreement up to date. Each unfinished requirement has a quick action button. When the booking’s deposit is $0, there is no hold to place or card required for a hold. This includes bookings brought in from setup; their original price was not collected by RentalPilot. A protection tier with a $0 deposit follows the same rule.
Signature — the customer signs on screen to accept the agreement and authorize a deposit hold when one applies.

For an unfinished agreement requirement in Money & paperwork, Regenerate opens Record signed agreement. Review the current renter, vehicle, dates, total and signing status. Choose Mark agreement signed only after the renter has signed. A changed booking or permission requires Refresh agreement details and another review; switching to another booking or account requires closing and reopening the dialog. The action is recorded only after confirmation succeeds.

Current agreement details shown before the operator confirms the signing record

Manager override: if something on the money gate isn’t settled, a manager can override it with a written reason (kept on the booking’s record).

Finishing marks the car checked out.

The guided check-out stepper — step 1 captures the driver’s licence (front and back), with optional AI reading

A zero-deposit booking at the money and paperwork step: balance and agreement are clear, with no deposit-hold action

Check-in (taking the car back)

An on-rent booking showing “Start check-in”, with options to release the deposit hold or capture a damage charge

From a checked-out (or overdue) booking, choose Start check-in:

Return photos — re-shoot the same six angles you captured at pickup.
Inspect for new damage — run the AI damage scan to compare the pickup and return photos and suggest likely new damage (each suggestion shows where, how severe, and a confidence), or flag damage yourself. You review every finding before anything is charged, and pre-existing damage is shown so it isn’t re-disputed.
Return fuel & odometer — record the return readings, or use AI dashboard reading to fill them from a dashboard photo.
Close contract — the return summary, where you settle up:
- Balance due at return — if the booking was made with the balance due at return, collect it here with Charge card (the card saved at booking) or Mark paid, before you finish. As at check-out, you can override with a reason, and the override is logged.
- Mileage — if you run a distance allowance, you’ll see how far the car was driven, what was included, and the resulting overage charge, taken from the card on file. Set it to 0 to waive it. See Mileage limits & overage.
- Deposit — when a positive deposit was held, a clean return releases the full hold; logged damage is captured from the hold (up to the held amount) and the rest released. A $0-deposit booking has no hold to release or capture.

The check-in flow’s return-photos step — re-shoot the same six angles captured at pick-up

The Fuel & odometer step with AI dashboard reading — photograph the dash to auto-fill the odometer and fuel level

Finishing closes the rental and returns the car to your available fleet.

The damage inspection report

Every check-in is saved as a reviewable damage inspection on the booking — the pick-up and return photos side by side, what the AI scan found, and the damage you logged with its cost. It stays on the booking, so you can pull it up to settle a dispute long after the rental closed.

The damage inspection on a closed booking — before/after photos, the AI finding, and the logged damage, with a “Download report (PDF)” button

Use Download report (PDF) for a branded, shareable copy — before/after photos, the AI findings and the charge — to send a renter or insurer.

AI damage scanning, dashboard reading and licence reading are suggestions you review — RentalPilot never charges or changes anything on its own. They’re a paid feature (your plan & AI scans); turn each on or off under Account → AI features.

Questions about a specific return? Contact us.