This article is part of the Bicycle rental business management guide.


1. Where paper lives in your current operation


Before digitalising anything, it's worth identifying where the real friction points are.


The paper contract is the most obvious. The customer arrives, waits while someone prints or fills it out by hand, signs it, a copy gets filed. All of that before they get on the bike.


Cash payment is the second. It requires change, cash management, and doesn't leave a clean trail for invoicing.


The manual log of who has which bike is the third. A paper list or spreadsheet that someone has to update every time a bike goes out or comes back.


Each of those steps has a digital solution.


2. First: the digital contract


The digital contract is the change with the most visible impact on check-in. The customer receives a link before arriving, reads it, signs it from their phone. When they show up at the shop, it's already done.


The customer doesn't need any app. The process is a web form that opens in any browser. The signature is recorded with date, time and IP, with the same legal validity as a paper signature under the eIDAS Regulation.


The contract is automatically archived in the system, linked to the booking. If there's a dispute weeks later, you find it in seconds.


3. Second: cashless payment


A QR Pay Link lets the customer pay from their phone by scanning a code, without a physical card reader, without the operator handling a card. The amount comes through directly, the invoice is generated automatically, and the record stays in the system.


This also solves the deposit problem. Instead of holding cash, the system makes a card pre-authorisation. If there's no damage, nothing is charged. If there is, it's executed without needing the customer present.


4. Third: automatic inventory


When a booking is confirmed, the system automatically removes that bike from availability. No spreadsheet to update. No possibility of accidental double booking.


When the customer returns the bike, you mark it as returned and it's available again. Everything is recorded: which bike, at what time, with which customer.


5. The practical result


An operator who digitalises these three steps can handle 30 rentals a day with the same team that previously managed 10. Check-in time per customer goes from 8–12 minutes to under 2. Availability errors practically disappear. And all invoices are automatically recorded for Verifactu compliance.


PULSO includes all of this from the Starter plan. See what PULSO includes or get started free.


Frequently asked questions


Does the customer need to download any app to sign the contract?
No. The process works from any browser on their phone. The customer receives a link, opens it, signs, and it's done.


What if a customer doesn't have a card and wants to pay cash?
You can still accept cash. Digitalising doesn't require you to eliminate cash, it gives you the option not to depend on it. Many operators keep cash as an option but direct customers towards digital payment.