Getting started with HyreKit

Brand new to HyreKit? This is the short path from installing the app to your first real booking on the storefront. Most stores are live in well under an hour.

Switching from another rental app instead of starting fresh? Use the migration guide — your Shopify orders never move and the cutover is safe.

What you need first

HyreKit is an embedded Shopify app: it runs inside your Shopify admin, with no separate account or login. Before you begin, make sure you have:

A Shopify store you can sign in to as the owner or staff with app and theme permissions.
At least one product you want to rent or book by the date range (you can add more later).
Five quiet minutes in the theme editor. No code, no developer needed.

Every paid plan starts with a 14-day free trial, so you can set everything up and take a test booking before you are billed.

1. Install HyreKit

Install HyreKit from the Shopify App Store and approve the access it asks for. When it finishes, the app opens on its dashboard inside your Shopify admin. You will find it again any time under Apps → HyreKit.

2. Make your first product rentable

Open Rental products, pick a product, and turn it into something customers book by the date range. The settings are plain — fill in what fits the item:

Units you own — how many of this item you have. HyreKit tracks each one, so the same product can be hired by different customers on overlapping dates until your real stock runs out.
Min hire and Max hire (days) — the shortest and longest period a customer may pick.
Bookable how far ahead (days) — how far into the future dates can be selected.
Turnaround buffer (days) — an automatic gap after every booking for cleaning, inspection, or return shipping before the item goes out again.

Save. That is enough to take bookings. Start with one product to learn the flow, then repeat for the rest.

On Premium you can also set a refundable deposit, a per-day late-return fee, and — on Shopify Plus — a long-hire discount on each product. None of these are needed for your first booking — add them once you are comfortable.

3. Put the calendar on the product page

The booking calendar only appears on your storefront after you add its block to the product template:

Open your theme editor (Online Store → Themes → Customize).
Switch the top template selector to a product page.
Add the Rental date picker app block to the template, near the price or Add-to-cart area.
Save.

If the calendar does not show up on the product page, this step is almost always why. The Rental date picker block has to be added and saved on that product's template.

4. Place one test booking

Open the product on your live storefront and book it the way a customer would. Pick a pickup date, then a return date. You should see:

The whole range highlight, with a summary such as Pickup: 8 June · Return: 12 June · 5 days.
Already-booked days, buffer days, and dates outside the window struck through and unselectable.
Add to cart staying disabled until a valid range is chosen (and, on Premium, the deposit box is ticked).

Complete the checkout. The reservation then appears in your HyreKit Bookings list with its dates, and the days you booked become unavailable to anyone else — that is the no-double-booking guarantee working.

5. Run your bookings

The Bookings view lists every reservation with its product, customer, dates, source, and status. From here you can:

Add booking — enter a reservation by hand for phone or walk-in customers.
Cancel — cancel a reservation and free the dates.
Extend (Premium) — lengthen a confirmed booking; HyreKit checks the extra days are free and bills them with a draft order.

On Standard and above, HyreKit also publishes an iCal feed of your bookings you can subscribe to in Google, Apple, or Outlook calendars, plus an in-admin calendar view.

You are live

Once your test booking checks out cleanly, you are ready for real customers. From here:

Repeat steps 2–3 for the rest of your rentable products.
Explore deposits, extensions, and late fees on Premium when you need them.
Skim the full documentation for every setting and field.

Common first-day questions

The calendar is not on my product page

The Rental date picker block has not been added to that product's template, or the change was not saved. Reopen the theme editor, add the block to the product template, and save (step 3).

A date I expect is showing as unavailable

All units are booked for that date, it falls inside a turnaround buffer, or it is past the bookable-ahead window. Adjust the units or the window on the product.

Can customers book by the hour?

No. HyreKit reserves whole days. Holding the entire range is exactly what stops two customers getting the same item across a multi-day hire.

Do I have to set up deposits and late fees to go live?

No. The booking core works on every plan. Deposits, extensions, and late fees are Premium extras you can add later.

I am stuck — can someone help?

Email [email protected]. For your first setup we are happy to walk through it with you.