Behind every reservation is a place: a counter, a desk, a depot or a meeting point where the keys change hands. In VEVS Car Rental Software those places are called locations, and each one carries its own name, address, contact details and availability for pick-up and drop-off. Getting locations right is one of the first practical steps in setting up a rental business, because the choices made here appear directly in the online booking flow. This article walks through the locations list, the fields on the add and edit screens and the details that help customers find you.
What a location is for
A location is the physical point a customer chooses when making a booking. Setting it up correctly means the location appears with the right name and address when customers book on your website, customers can only pick up or return a vehicle where you allow it, staff know where a vehicle should be collected from or returned to with the correct phone and email contact, and the location's opening hours, configured separately, determine which pick-up and return times are offered. A location record is therefore both customer-facing information and an operational reference for your team.
Opening the locations list
In the admin area, open the left menu Configurator and choose Locations. The page is titled LOCATIONS and lists all your locations. Each row shows the Name, Phone, Email and Address, plus a few helpful columns. Service shows whether the location is available for Pick-up, Drop-off or both; if neither is set, a warning icon explains that customers will not be able to select it. Vehicles shows how many vehicles are linked to the location, and clicking the number opens the fleet filtered to it. Actions offers Edit and Delete buttons. When the Branch feature is enabled, a Branch column also appears. Clicking any row opens that location for editing.
Adding a location
Click Add Location at the top of the list, fill in the details described below and click Save. The add screen is titled ADD LOCATION. After you save a new location, the screen switches to EDIT LOCATION, where the working-hours sections become available, so the usual pattern is to save the basics first and then return to set the opening schedule.
The location details
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Name | The name customers choose when booking. A language picker appears if more than one language is active. |
| Available for | Two checkboxes, Pick-up and Drop-off, controlling where customers can use the location. |
| Phone | The location's contact phone number. |
| The location's contact email address. | |
| Branch | Shown only when the Branch feature is enabled; groups the location under a branch. |
| Address | The street address, with suggestions while typing and a map for the exact pin. |
The note under Name explains that this is the location name customers will choose to book from and to, so use wording that makes sense to a traveller rather than an internal depot code. If more than one language is active, a language picker next to the label lets you enter a separate name for each language. Branch appears only when the Branch feature is enabled; select a branch to group the location under it, or leave it as Choose.
Address, map pin and location fees
For Address, start typing and suggestions appear, or type it manually. A map is shown underneath with the hint to drag and drop the pin to select the exact location, and moving the pin records the precise map position. Next to Available for, once pick-up or drop-off is selected, a Price note appears with a link to the page where premium location pick-up and drop-off fees are set. If neither option is selected, a warning is shown instead, explaining that customers will not be able to select this location. It is easy to save a location and assume it is live, so check this indicator before announcing a new branch.
Working hours on the edit screen
When you edit a saved location, the working-hours cards appear alongside the details: Standard Working Time, Out of working hours and Date-specific hours. These control the location's opening schedule and whether customers may book outside it. A new location starts with a default schedule, which you can change after it has been saved. The settings are covered in detail in the separate Location Working Time article, but the key point is that the record and its schedule belong together: a perfect address with the wrong hours still produces a poor booking experience.
Deleting a location
To remove a location, click its Delete button in the list and confirm when asked. The confirmation asks whether you want to delete that location by name before it is removed, and a confirmation message appears after it has been deleted successfully. Deletion suits locations you no longer operate rather than temporary closures; for a seasonal break, adjusting working hours or date-specific entries usually preserves the record and its vehicle links.
What happens after you save
After saving, you are taken to the edit screen for that location, where you can set its working hours. The location immediately becomes available for customers to select, provided it is marked for pick-up and/or drop-off. If you have more branches to publish, repeat the process and then review the list as a whole, checking that every active site shows the expected service and contact details.
Important behaviour and special cases
- At least one name must be entered; a location cannot be saved without one.
- An email address, if entered, must be in a valid format.
- A location with neither Pick-up nor Drop-off selected cannot be chosen by customers, even though it is saved.
- The Branch field is only available when the Branch feature is turned on; otherwise locations are not grouped by branch.
- Editing and deleting are only available to users who have permission to update locations; otherwise the page is read-only.
Business benefits of a clean location list
Well-organised location data pays off in several ways. Customers see a consistent name and address on the website and in their confirmation, which builds confidence before they travel. A precise map pin removes the first-day problem of circling a town centre looking for a yard. Correct phone and email details give customers and staff a direct line when a vehicle is delayed. Service settings stop a returns-only depot from appearing as a collection option, and the Vehicles count shows how the fleet is distributed.
Practical use cases
An airport operation may have a main desk and a separate key-return point. The desk is marked for both pick-up and drop-off, while the return point is marked for drop-off only. A hotel partner might act as a pick-up point without a full rental counter, in which case a clear name and exact address matter more than a long description.
A workshop or storage yard is usually excluded from customer choice entirely, since its purpose is internal. Multi-branch operators can use the Branch field to group sites, then use the filtered fleet view to see what is parked where and which locations carry the busiest vehicles.
Best practices
- Give every location a customer-friendly name rather than an internal code.
- Complete the phone and email fields so customers and staff can always reach the right place.
- Position the map pin at the entrance or car park, not the town centre.
- Use the language picker when several languages are active so names read naturally in each one.
- Review the Service column periodically and clear any warning icons.
- Keep the list tidy by deleting genuinely retired locations rather than leaving them to confuse customers.
Conclusion
Locations are small records with a large effect. They decide where a customer believes the car will be, which contact details they will use and whether the booking flow offers the right place at all. A few minutes spent on names, addresses, map pins and service settings make every later reservation easier to fulfil, and give your team a reliable map of the business.