The expensive problems rarely come from the “big” moments. They come from the quiet middle:
- a scratch nobody wrote down
- a late return nobody noted
- a call that changed the booking but stayed in someone’s head
- photos saved in a phone album instead of attached to the booking
When something goes wrong, everyone scrambles to reconstruct the story from messages, memory, and scattered files.
This guide gives you a lightweight documentation system that takes minutes per booking but saves hours (and money) when disputes show up.
The goal: one story per booking
You want to be able to answer this question instantly:
“What happened, exactly — and what do we have to prove it?”
A clean booking record includes:
- what was agreed (price, dates, rules, extras)
- what happened (pickup, return, changes, issues)
- evidence (notes + photos + timestamps)
- payment/deposit events (hold placed/released/charged)
If any piece lives “somewhere else,” it will be missing when you need it.
A simple structure: before, during, after
Don’t build a complex process. Build a repeatable one.
Before pickup
Capture what makes the booking “real”:
- confirmation: dates, location, driver, terms accepted
- deposit/hold explained (what it is + timing)
- any special notes: delivery, VIP handling, restricted use
At pickup
Capture the car state quickly:
- 4–8 photos around the car (corners + wheels + interior)
- odometer photo
- fuel level photo
- a 1-line note on pre-existing damage
During the booking
Capture only what changes risk:
- extension requests / date changes
- new driver added
- any warning lights, accidents, complaints
- agreements that would matter later
At return
Repeat pickup evidence:
- 4–8 photos again (same angles)
- odometer + fuel again
- note extra items: late return, extra km, cleaning trigger
- if damage: detail + photos + “client present / not present”
After return
Capture closing actions:
- deposit released or charged (and why)
- invoices/receipts (if relevant)
- client communication summary (1–2 lines)
The minimum evidence set (what we’ve seen work)
For high-value rentals, here’s a baseline that is “enough” without being annoying:
Pickup
- Exterior: front-left, front-right, rear-left, rear-right
- Wheels: at least one close-up if rims are sensitive
- Interior: dashboard + seats
- Odometer + fuel
Return
- Same set again
- Close-ups of anything new
This takes 2–4 minutes if the angles are consistent and the system has a place to upload them.
The “read out loud” note format
Notes should not be essays. They should be decision-grade.
Good notes look like:
- “Pickup: small scratch front-left bumper (existing). Fuel 7/8. Client confirmed.”
- “Extension approved +1 day, price €X, paid via link. Noted in booking.”
- “Return: 48 km over allowance. Client agreed on-site. Charged €Y.”
Bad notes look like:
- “Client was difficult, might charge him.”
Keep notes factual, timestamped, and attached to the booking.
Where disputes actually come from
Most disputes and bad reviews aren’t “fraud.” They’re misunderstanding + lack of evidence.
Common triggers:
- Damage: “It was already there.”
- Extra km: “Nobody told me.”
- Cleaning: “That’s subjective.”
- Late return: “Traffic.”
The way you win these isn’t by arguing harder. It’s by having:
- a clear rule shown at booking time
- a timeline showing what happened
- photos with before/after comparison
- an internal note that matches the evidence
Make the timeline visible (not a folder hunt)
The key is not just storing evidence — it’s making it retrievable.
When a chargeback or complaint happens, you should be able to pull:
- booking terms + rules
- pickup photos + timestamp
- return photos + timestamp
- deposit timeline (hold placed/released/charged)
- staff notes + any client agreements
…in one place, in under 60 seconds.
If it takes 20 minutes, your team will stop doing it.
A checklist you can print (or encode in software)
Pickup checklist
- photos around the car
- odometer photo
- fuel photo
- note pre-existing damage
- confirm deposit rule in one sentence
Return checklist
- photos around the car
- odometer + fuel again
- note extra km / late return / cleaning triggers
- if damage: close-ups + note if client present
- mark next action: release deposit / review / charge
How Dromium fits in
Dromium is built around this “one story per booking” idea:
- notes and photos attach directly to a booking timeline
- deposit/payment events are Stripe-backed and visible in sequence
- operations, risk, and finance see the same record
- disputes stop being “memory vs. memory” and become “timeline + evidence”
The point isn’t bureaucracy. The point is making the boring parts boring — and making disputes easy.