Introduction
Signals Rental Framework is an open-source rental management framework. Free, self-hostable, and plugin-extensible.
What is Signals Rental Framework?
Signals Rental Framework is a production-ready rental management framework built for the equipment rental and event hire industry. It covers the full rental lifecycle — quoting, ordering, invoicing, asset management, availability, scheduling, maintenance, and customer relationships.
It's MIT licensed, self-hostable, and plugin-extensible. The same complete code for every rental business, from a sole trader with a van to a national operation with ten depots.
Why Signals Rental Framework?
Most rental businesses run on software designed for something else — inventory tools, e-commerce platforms, or ERPs with bolt-on modules. Availability is an afterthought. Scheduling is a spreadsheet. Every customisation is a support ticket.
Signals Rental Framework is different:
- Purpose-built for rental — availability, scheduling, maintenance cycles, kit prep, dry hire, wet hire, sub-hire, and cross-hire are the foundation, not afterthoughts
- Free forever — MIT licensed with no open-core catch, no features held back for a paid edition, and no time-limited trials
- No vendor lock-in — your data, your servers, your rules. You are never dependent on a single company
- Fully transparent — every line of code is visible. Audit security, review logic, understand what runs your business
Key Features
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Availability Engine | Real-time asset availability across all locations, accounting for bookings, maintenance, and transit |
| Quotes and Orders | Full opportunity lifecycle from quote to confirmation, delivery, return, and invoice |
| Invoicing and Payments | Multi-currency invoicing with configurable tax rules and payment tracking |
| CRM | Contacts, organisations, and venues unified under a single members system |
| Stock Management | Inventory tracking, serial numbers, bulk assets, and warehouse locations |
| Crew and Services | Staff scheduling, service management, and resource allocation |
| Maintenance | PAT testing, safety checks, service schedules, and compliance tracking per asset |
| Kit Prep and Dispatch | Pick lists, prep workflows, and dispatch management |
| Real-time Dashboard | KPIs, order pipeline, asset utilisation, alerts, and activity feed |
| REST API | Full API for every resource with OpenAPI documentation, webhooks, and token authentication |
| Plugin System | Install, build, or sell plugins. Community, commercial, and private extensions |
Architecture
Signals Rental Framework follows a layered, extensible architecture:
| Layer | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Your Application | Custom views, routes, and business logic |
| Plugin Layer | Community, commercial, and private plugins |
| Signals Core | Rental engine, API, event system, and data models |
| Laravel + PHP + PostgreSQL | Framework, runtime, and database |
The framework is API-first — every capability is accessible programmatically. The web UI and API share business logic through action classes and DTOs, so nothing is buried behind a UI with no way in.
Tech Stack
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Backend | PHP 8.4, Laravel 12 |
| Frontend | Livewire 4, Tailwind CSS 4 |
| Database | PostgreSQL |
| Queue | Redis + Horizon |
| Websockets | Laravel Reverb |
| Testing | Pest 4 |
Self-Hosting
Self-hosting is a first-class experience. Deploy to any environment:
- Bare metal or VPS — any Linux server with PHP 8.4+, PostgreSQL, and Nginx or Caddy
- Docker — official images with docker-compose for dev and production
- Cloud providers — AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or DigitalOcean with Laravel Forge or Ploi support
Who Is It For?
Signals Rental Frameworkserves every size of rental business with the same code and the same features:
| Segment | Profile |
|---|---|
| Sole Trader | 50–500 assets, 1–3 staff. Run on a low-cost VPS with full features. |
| Mid-Market | 500–5,000 assets, 5–50 staff. Multi-depot support, team permissions, custom plugins. |
| Enterprise | 5,000+ assets, 50+ staff. High-availability deployment with custom integrations. |
Getting Started
git clone https://github.com/signals-rental/framework.git
cd framework
composer setup
This installs dependencies, configures your infrastructure, and launches the setup wizard. See the Installation guide for full details.
Note: Signals Rental Frameworkis under active development. The roadmap is public, every decision is discussable, and breaking changes follow semantic versioning.