A step-by-step guide to using Ract, plus the recommended standard operating procedure for a rental-heavy production. Covers both the mobile app (built for fast scanning on set) and the desktop app (built for sit-down management: importing orders, running reports, the calendar).
There's no self-service signup -- your production admin creates your login and tells you which show(s) you have access to.
Use the email and password your admin gave you. If it's a temporary password, you'll be asked to set your own before you can do anything else -- that's expected, not an error.
If you have access to more than one production, choose the active one from the dropdown at the top. Everything you do -- scanning, importing, reports -- applies to whichever show is selected.
Use the mobile app for the fast scan loop (checking items in and out on set). Use the desktop app when you're sitting down to import an order, pull a report, or manage the calendar. Both read and write the exact same data, live -- nothing needs to sync.
Every item in Ract starts from an order. Import the PDF a rental house sends you and Ract reads it into the system for you -- nothing gets typed in by hand.
From the desktop app's tab bar, choose Import Order.
Select the order sheet the rental house sent you.
Ract tries to auto-detect it from the letterhead. If it can't (a new house, or an unusual layout), pick it from the dropdown or add a new one -- your choice always wins over the auto-detect guess.
Job name, episode (TV only), and a return due date can all be set at import time, or left blank and filled in later.
Every item on the sheet is created with status "Unknown" -- importing an order is a paperwork event, not a physical one. Items only become "Checked In" once someone actually scans them in.
Getting a revised sheet from the same rental house for an order already in the system? Re-import it and check "Allow re-import" -- Ract updates the existing items in place rather than creating duplicates, so their status and history are preserved.
This is the everyday loop: scan or type a barcode, get instant feedback, keep moving.
Check In, Check Out, or Lookup (a read-only scan that just shows you everything about the item, without checking it in or out).
Use a phone camera (tap the scan icon), a handheld barcode scanner, or just type it in. All three feed the same box.
Status, rental house, and order number are shown large and clear -- built to be read at a glance while you're sorting a pile of items.
Attach a photo on the spot, or tap "Add details" to open the full item editor (location, notes, damage, alterations) without leaving the scan flow.
No barcode? If it's missing, damaged, or unreadable, open the item from Inventory or Lookup and use the "Check In (no barcode)" / "Check Out (no barcode)" button instead -- only the action that actually makes sense for the item's current status is shown.
Batching is optional -- ordinary scanning works fine without it. Use it when you're sending or receiving a whole stack of items at once and want one summary sheet for the shipment.
"Start Return Batch" (checking out) or "Start Check-In Batch" (checking in). Pick the destination or source first -- rental house, or a specific vendor for cleaning/repair/alteration -- it's locked once the batch is running.
Every scan while a batch is open gets added to it automatically.
Ract generates a printable summary sheet, grouped by rental house, ready to include with the shipment or keep for your records.
Open any item's details (via Lookup, Inventory, or "Add details" on a scan result) to record:
If your show has pre-return checks turned on (in Preferences), Ract warns you at the moment of checkout if an item marked damaged, altered, or needing cleaning hasn't been confirmed fixed/reversed/ cleaned yet. It's a warning, not a block -- the checkout still goes through, but nothing slips past unnoticed.
The Calendar tab shows every order's due date, across every rental house, in one monthly view -- tap a date's chip to see the full order and every document tied to it. Turn on reminders in Preferences for an in-app banner when something's due back soon.
Logins are created and managed by your production's admin -- there's no self-service signup. If you need access, a password reset, or a new show added, that's a conversation with your admin, or reach out to support@ract.ca and we'll help sort it out.