Hire items are reusable pieces of equipment that you rent out for events — vases, arches, plinths, candelabras, and table accessories. Unlike flowers that are bought fresh and used once, hire items go out, come back, and go out again. Digital Florists tracks how many you own, where they are, and whether they’re free on a given date so you never accidentally double-book.Documentation Index
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What are hire items?
Think of hire items as any physical item your business owns and lends out for events. Common examples include:- Ceremony pieces — arches, plinths, pedestals, aisle markers
- Table accessories — candelabras, lanterns, vase collections, table runners
- Vessels — glass cylinder vases, urns, compote bowls, terracotta pots
- Structural items — flower walls, backdrops, stands, frames
How hire items work
Hire items are a special type of ingredient. When you mark an ingredient as a hire item, it gains stock tracking and date-based availability checking. This means:- You set how many you own (your stock level)
- Every confirmed event is checked to see how many are already reserved on a given date
- If you try to add more than you have, a conflict warning appears
Setting up a hire item
To create a new hire item, add it as an ingredient and turn on the hire item setting:
The stock level is the most important field. It sets your total inventory, which drives every availability check from that point forward.
Availability checking
Every time you add a hire item to a quotation, Digital Florists checks whether that item is free on the event date. It does this by looking at all other events on the same date and counting how many of that item are already reserved.When stock gets reserved
Stock is reserved once a quote is accepted and stays reserved until the event is cancelled or archived. This means you can send draft quotes to multiple clients for the same date without worrying about hire item conflicts.Stock conflict warnings
If you try to add a hire item that is already fully booked on the event date, a stock conflict warning appears. This warning tells you:- Which item is affected
- How many are available on that date
- How many are already reserved and by which events
Adding hire items to quotations
You add hire items to your quotations the same way you add any other ingredient. Open the quotation builder, search for the item by name, and add it to the relevant group. Digital Florists automatically checks availability in the background and flags any conflicts. Because hire items are ingredients, they flow through to your recipes, costings, and shopping lists just like flowers and sundries do.Overbooking
Sometimes you know you can borrow or sub-hire an item from another company, or you’re confident one event will cancel. In these cases, Digital Florists lets you overbook — it won’t block you from adding more items than you own. However, the conflict warning stays visible on the event so you and your team always know there’s a potential problem to resolve.Tracking returns after events
Getting your hire items back in good condition is just as important as sending them out. After each event, run through this checklist:- Check every item against the event’s hire list — make sure everything came back
- Inspect for damage — scratches, chips, dents, missing parts
- Update your stock level if an item is permanently damaged and can’t be reused
- Invoice the client for any lost or damaged items if your terms allow it
Common questions
Can I hire out the same item to two events on different days?
Can I hire out the same item to two events on different days?
Yes. Availability checking is date-based, so the same arch can be used at a Saturday wedding and a Tuesday corporate event without any conflict. A problem is only flagged when two events on the same date both need the item.
What if a client doesn't return a hire item?
What if a client doesn't return a hire item?
Reduce your stock level so future availability checks are accurate, and add a replacement charge to the client’s invoice if your terms allow it.
Do I need to create a separate ingredient for each colour or size?
Do I need to create a separate ingredient for each colour or size?
It depends on whether you track them separately. If you have 6 small glass vases and 4 large ones, create two ingredients with their own stock levels. If size doesn’t matter for availability, a single ingredient with a combined stock level works fine.
What happens if I delete a hire item that's on existing quotes?
What happens if I delete a hire item that's on existing quotes?
Archive it instead of deleting it. Archiving removes the item from your active ingredient list but keeps it on any existing quotations and past events. You can restore it later if needed.
What’s next?
Managing Ingredients
Add and manage the ingredients that power your recipes and quotes.
Quotation Builder
Build detailed quotations that include hire items alongside flowers and sundries.
Event Lifecycle
Understand how events move through each stage from draft to completed.
Events Overview
Get a high-level look at how events work in Digital Florists.