For equipment rental companies, an equipment utilization report is one of the most important tools for understanding how well inventory is actually performing. Without clear visibility into utilization, rental businesses risk overbuying inventory, missing demand patterns, or carrying underperforming assets for too long.

In this guide, we’ll break down what equipment utilization means in the context of equipment rental, what an equipment utilization report includes, how utilization is calculated, and the best ways event and construction rental companies track and act on this data.

equipment utilization report

What Is Equipment Utilization in Equipment Rental?

In equipment rental, equipment utilization measures how often rental inventory is actually out on rent compared to how often it’s available to be rented. In simple terms, it answers the question: Are you getting the most value out of the equipment you own?

Utilization is critical for rental businesses because every unused day represents lost revenue. At the same time, equipment that is constantly rented can experience higher wear, increased maintenance costs, and availability challenges during peak demand.

Equipment utilization applies across all types of rental inventory, including:

  • Event rental items like tables, tents, linens, staging, and AV equipment
  • Construction rental equipment, such as lifts, excavators, compactors, and power tools

By consistently tracking utilization, rental companies can strike the right balance between having enough inventory to meet demand and avoiding unnecessary capital tied up in idle assets.

What Is an Equipment Utilization Report for Rental Companies?

An equipment utilization report organizes utilization data into a clear, repeatable view that rental operators and leadership teams can easily review and act on. Instead of analyzing individual reservations or relying on intuition, the report shows how rental inventory is performing across a defined period of time.

For equipment rental companies, an equipment utilization report typically reveals:

  • How often each rental item or category is rented
  • Which assets are underutilized or overutilized
  • Performance trends by season, location, or category

Rental businesses commonly use equipment utilization reports for:

  • Weekly or monthly operations reviews
  • Seasonal planning and fleet optimization
  • Buy, sell, or retire decisions for rental inventory

As rental operations grow, manually tracking utilization becomes increasingly unreliable.

Related: 5 Reports Every Rental Business Needs to Review Frequently

Equipment Utilization Formula for Rental Equipment

The equipment utilization formula used by rental companies is straightforward, but it’s important to define the inputs clearly.

Equipment Utilization % = (Time Rented ÷ Time Available) × 100

In a rental context:

  • Time rented refers to the number of days or hours an item is actively out on rent
  • Time available refers to the period the item could have been rented, excluding maintenance or downtime

Some rental companies also track variations of this formula, such as:

  • Time-based utilization, focused on days or hours rented
  • Revenue-based utilization, comparing revenue generated to revenue potential

The right approach depends on the type of rental equipment and how the business measures performance.

How to Calculate Equipment Utilization in a Rental Business

To perform an accurate equipment utilization calculation, rental companies should follow a consistent process.

  1. Define the reporting period: Choose a clear timeframe, such as a week, month, or season.
  2. Track actual rental time: Count how many days or hours each item was rented during that period.
  3. Exclude unavailable time: Remove days or hours when equipment was down for maintenance or otherwise unavailable.
  4. Apply the utilization formula: Divide the rented time by the available time, then multiply by 100.

For example, if a rental item was available for 30 days in a month and rented for 18 of those days, its utilization rate would be 60%.

Common mistakes rental companies make when calculating utilization include:

  • Counting reserved but unused rental time
  • Ignoring maintenance or internal downtime
  • Using inconsistent reporting periods across reports

What Data Is Included in an Equipment Utilization Report for Rental Companies?

A strong equipment utilization report goes beyond a single percentage. Rental operators need context to understand why utilization looks the way it does.

Typical data included in a rental utilization report includes:

  • Rental item or SKU
  • Category or equipment type
  • Available rental days or hours
  • Rented days or hours
  • Utilization percentage
  • Maintenance or downtime
  • Location, yard, or branch
  • Optional revenue generated per item

When utilization data is combined with revenue and maintenance information, rental companies gain a much clearer picture of true asset performance.

Related: Best Equipment Maintenance Tracking Software | Features & Recommendation

utiization report

Best Ways for Equipment Rental Companies to Create Utilization Reports

There are several ways rental businesses track utilization, and each method comes with tradeoffs in accuracy, effort, and scalability. The right approach often depends on the size of your inventory, the type of equipment you rent, and how much insight you need to make decisions.

1. Manual Tracking Using Spreadsheets

Many small or early-stage rental businesses start by tracking utilization manually in spreadsheets. This typically involves logging rental dates, return dates, and calculating usage percentages by hand.

Pros

  • Low cost
  • Easy to start

Cons

  • Manual data entry
  • Error-prone
  • Difficult to scale as inventory grows

2. Telematics for Construction Equipment Rental

Telematics systems use hardware installed on equipment to track actual machine usage, such as engine hours, run time, and location. This method is most common in heavy construction and large equipment rental operations.

Pros

  • Real-time machine usage data

Cons

  • Hardware and installation costs
  • Limited visibility into reservations and revenue
  • Not applicable to most event rental inventory

3. Rental Management Software

Rental management software tracks utilization based on reservations, rental periods, maintenance schedules, and availability. This approach focuses on how often equipment is rented versus sitting idle.

Pros

  • Automatically tracks rented versus available time
  • Ties utilization to reservations, maintenance, and locations
  • Works for both event and construction rental businesses

Cons

  • Requires system adoption

What Equipment Rental Companies Should Look for in a Utilization Reporting Tool

Before choosing a reporting solution, rental companies should evaluate whether it supports rental-specific workflows.

Key capabilities to look for include:

  • Rental-specific utilization logic
  • Flexible reporting periods
  • Item-level and category-level views
  • Maintenance and downtime tracking
  • Multi-location support
  • Exportable data for deeper analysis

Why Rental Software Is the Most Practical Approach for Utilization Reporting

Spreadsheets and standalone tools often fall short as rental operations scale. Telematics provides usage data, but lacks the broader rental business context. Rental software brings everything together.

Purpose-built rental software unifies:

  • Inventory
  • Reservations
  • Maintenance
  • Utilization metrics

Related: How to Switch Equipment Rental Software WIthout Disrupting Your Operations & Customers

How TapGoods Helps Equipment Rental Companies Track Utilization

TapGoods helps equipment rental companies generate customizable equipment utilization reports with full operational context.

Customizable Utilization Reporting

  • Define reporting periods and availability logic
  • Report by item, category, location, or date range
  • Supports serialized and non-serialized rental inventory

Rental Context Built In

  • Utilization is tied directly to reservations, maintenance, and downtime
  • No manual reconciliation or spreadsheet cleanup

Power BI Reporting for Rental Businesses

  • Utilization data is exportable and viewable in Power BI
  • Build custom dashboards combining:
    • Utilization metrics
    • Revenue performance
    • Maintenance trends
    • Category-level insights
  • Share reports across operations and leadership teams

Learn more: Explore TapGoods reporting and data capabilities

What This Means for Rental Operators

  • Quickly identify underutilized rental assets
  • Make smarter buy, sell, or retire decisions
  • Understand demand patterns across seasons and locations
Book a Demo with TapGoods

Ready to See Utilization Reporting in Action?

Equipment utilization is one of the most important metrics in equipment rental. While the utilization formula itself is simple, accurate reporting requires clean data and consistent definitions.

TapGoods gives equipment rental companies flexible, customizable utilization reports — with the ability to analyze and visualize data in Power BI — so utilization becomes a strategic advantage, not just a number.

Book a demo to see how TapGoods helps event and construction rental companies track utilization, optimize inventory, and make smarter fleet decisions.

Other blogs you may find helpful

Frequently Asked Questions

Equipment utilization measures how often rental inventory is actually out on rent compared to how often it is available to be rented. It shows whether equipment is generating revenue or sitting idle and underperforming.

Rental companies calculate utilization by dividing the time an item is rented by the time it is available, then multiplying by 100.

Utilization % = (Time Rented ÷ Time Available) × 100

Time available should exclude maintenance, repairs, or other downtime.

Utilization is measured using rental days or hours over a defined reporting period, such as a week, month, or season. Accurate measurement requires consistent timeframes and clear definitions of what counts as available versus unavailable time.

There is no universal “good” utilization rate. Core, high-demand equipment often performs well at higher utilization, while specialty or seasonal items may still be profitable at lower rates. The key is whether utilization supports profitability, demand coverage, and asset costs.

Rental management software is the most practical approach for growing rental businesses. It automatically tracks availability, rental periods, maintenance, and downtime, eliminating manual calculations and ensuring utilization data is consistent and actionable.

A utilization report typically includes the rental item or SKU, available time, rented time, utilization percentage, maintenance or downtime, and sometimes location and revenue data. This context helps rental operators understand why utilization looks the way it does.