Aircraft Rental Software: Renter Bookings, Hobbs or Tacho Billing and Prepaid Accounts
Pilot-Next is aircraft rental software for an owner who rents an aircraft out, or a small operator with a rental fleet. Renters book online, log Hobbs or Tacho time after the flight, and every flight they settle becomes an invoice on their prepaid account; a minimum balance stops a renter whose balance is too low from making a new booking. Below: how a renter's account works, ten things to check in rental software, eight rental platforms side by side, the hourly rate that covers your costs, and what Pilot-Next does not do.
No credit card. Set up the aircraft and rates for free; €9/month (billed annually) once you add up to 4 renters.
What does aircraft rental software do?
Aircraft rental software keeps the schedule, records the Hobbs or Tacho time of every rental and turns those hours into a charge to the renter, so an owner or operator does not have to run a booking calendar, an hours spreadsheet and an invoice template side by side. Pilot-Next is aircraft rental software for owners and small operators who rent aircraft to pilots they know: renters book online, enter the meter readings after the flight, and Pilot-Next prices the hours at your rate and debits one invoice to the renter’s account balance. It costs one subscription for the whole fleet, from free for 1 aircraft and 1 pilot to €45 a month billed annually for unlimited aircraft and renters.
Book
A renter picks a free slot. An overlap with a confirmed booking is refused, and so is a booking that breaks a limit you set, such as a minimum balance.
Fly and settle
After landing the renter enters the Hobbs or Tacho reading against the booking, once per booking.
Invoice on the balance
The hours are priced at your rates and become one invoice, debited to the renter’s balance, where the deposits are recorded too.
How do you make sure renters pay before they fly?
With a prepaid account and a minimum balance to book. In Pilot-Next every renter has an account balance: you record each deposit on it, and every flight the renter settles is debited from it as an invoice. Set a minimum balance to book, and a renter whose balance is below it cannot make a new booking until they top up. The check runs when the booking is made, not when the flight is settled, so an invoice is always debited in full. It compares the minimum with the current balance, so bookings made but not yet flown do not count against it; a maximum number of open bookings per renter closes that gap. If you also want to see every booking first, switch on approval: renter bookings then wait as pending until an administrator approves them.
One renter's account, step by step
1. Deposit
The operator records a deposit of €600.00 on the renter’s account.
Balance €600.00
2. Booking
The renter books Saturday morning. The balance is at least the €150.00 minimum, so the booking goes through.
Balance €600.00
3. Flight 1
1.6 Hobbs hours × €150.00 plus 21% VAT: an invoice of €290.40 is debited.
Balance €309.60
4. Flight 2
1.4 Hobbs hours, booked while the balance was still above the minimum: an invoice of €254.10 is debited.
Balance €55.50
5. Next booking
The balance is below €150.00, so a new booking is refused until the renter tops up.
Refused: “Your club requires a balance of at least 150.00 EUR to book. Top up your account first.”
Balance €55.50
The other limits you can set — a maximum booking length, a maximum number of open bookings per renter and how many days ahead a renter may book — and the order Pilot-Next checks them in are in booking rules. None of them apply to an administrator.
What should a rental operator check in aircraft rental software?
Ten things decide whether rental software fits a small rental operation: it must refuse double bookings, let you approve who flies, keep renters paid up before they fly, capture Hobbs or Tacho time, price it at your own rates, produce an invoice per flight, collect payments, hand the invoices to your bookkeeping, keep a grounded aircraft off the schedule, and check the renter’s checkout, medical and flight review. Pilot-Next does five of them fully, the prepayment check, the accounting export and the grounding in part, and does not collect payments online or check a renter’s currency.
| What to check | Why it matters for rental | Pilot-Next |
|---|---|---|
| No double bookings | Two renters must never hold the same aircraft for the same time. | Yes — a booking that overlaps a confirmed booking on the same aircraft is refused; with approval on, requests for the same slot can wait side by side, and approving one cancels the others |
| Approve who flies | An operator wants to see a booking before a renter takes the aircraft. | Yes — optional: renter bookings wait as pending until an administrator approves them |
| Paid before they fly | Rental money is easiest to collect before the flight, not after. | Partly — a minimum balance to book: a renter below it cannot make a new booking; it is compared with the current balance, not with bookings not yet flown |
| Hobbs or Tacho time | The meter you rent on decides the bill. | Yes — per aircraft, Hobbs, Tacho or both, with a default meter that a renter’s own billing preference can override; the readings are entered once per booking |
| Your own rates | Wet or dry, per aircraft, a different rate for a regular renter, a landing fee. | Yes — per hour, per booking or a manual item, for all aircraft, one aircraft or one pilot, each with its own VAT rate |
| An invoice per flight | The renter needs a proper invoice; you need the record. | Yes — one invoice per settled booking, debited to the renter’s account balance |
| Take payments online | Card or direct-debit collection saves chasing renters. | No — renters cannot pay in the app; each deposit or payment is recorded on the renter’s balance |
| Accounting export | The bookkeeping should not be typed in twice. | Partly — flight invoices e-mailed as PDF plus UBL e-invoice; Exact Online on request; no QuickBooks or Xero |
| Ground the aircraft | An aircraft due for maintenance must not be rented out. | Partly — an administrator grounds it for a period; an overdue inspection does not block bookings by itself |
| Check the renter | Checkout, medical and flight review before each rental. | No |
Each Pilot-Next answer was checked against the application itself on 14 October 2026. On rates: an hourly rate for all aircraft and an hourly rate for one aircraft are both charged, which suits a fuel surcharge on top of a dry rate; a rate set for one renter replaces the others. How the invoices reach the bookkeeping: billing and invoicing; how grounding and maintenance plans work: maintenance tracking.
Create a free accountWhich aircraft rental software does what?
The platforms the answer engines named for plane rental in October 2026 include FlightCircle, Flight Schedule Pro, Schedule Master, Aviatize, FLYLOG.io, Chronos and Holdshort. All of them except Holdshort say they bill the logged hours; Holdshort’s billing module is in beta. All seven say they schedule an instructor with the aircraft and five say they check a pilot’s currency before a booking, which a flight school needs and Pilot-Next does not do. Pilot-Next is built for an owner or small operator who rents to known pilots and wants booking limits, Hobbs or Tacho billing and prepaid accounts for one subscription per fleet.
| Platform | Booking limits, e.g. a minimum balance | Bills the logged hours | Blocks a grounded aircraft | Checks pilot currency before booking | Instructor booked with the aircraft | Native iOS/Android app |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot-Next | Yes — maximum length, open bookings per member, days ahead, minimum balance to book | Yes — Hobbs/Tacho priced, invoiced and booked to the pilot’s balance | Partly — an administrator grounds it for a period: member bookings are refused, open ones cancelled; not automatic when an inspection is overdue | No | No | No — installable web app (PWA), no app-store download |
| FlightCircle | Yes — “More Than x Total Future Reservations”, “a maximum time a user can reserve the plane”, minimum credit to schedule | Yes — checked-in flight charged to the user’s ledger | Not stated — expired reminders and open squawks block dispatch | Yes — checkout, medical and flight-review restrictions | Yes — instructor work schedules | Not stated — its FAQ says to add the web app to the home screen |
| Flight Schedule Pro | Yes — “restrict scheduling for pilots with outstanding balances” | Yes — invoice when the flight is checked in | Yes — “automatically restrict reservations until service is complete” | Not stated | Yes | Yes — iPhone and iPad |
| Schedule Master | Yes — “Automatically suspend scheduling for users who fall behind in payments” | Yes — usage billing at the end of a reservation | Not stated — maintenance due dates and notifications | Yes — qualifications and checkouts | Yes | Not stated — “on a browser or mobile phone” |
| Aviatize | Yes — booking horizon, “Cap the number of bookings a member can hold at once”, minimum and maximum durations | Yes — Hobbs time becomes an invoice line | Yes — grounding squawks or open ADs block the booking | Yes — instructor qualifications and document validity | Yes | Yes — iOS and Android (Aviatize Connect) |
| FLYLOG.io | Not stated | Yes — flight costs calculated from recorded flights, one-click invoicing | Not stated — planned maintenance visible to all members | Not stated — reminders before licences and medicals expire | Yes — members book only when an instructor is free | Yes — web, iOS and Android |
| Chronos | Not stated | Yes — Hobbs and tach logged after the flight, customer account billed | Partly — maintenance reservations block the calendar through its Quantum MX integration | Yes — expired solo endorsements and make/model checkouts | Yes — aircraft and instructors as resources; trips of several reservations | No — “no software to install”; runs in the browser |
| Holdshort | Yes — “Maximum Event Length” and a maximum number of future events | Not stated — invoice per reservation (billing module in beta) | Yes — optional: disables reservations once an inspection is overdue | Yes — ratings, endorsements, flight review, medical | Yes — instructor availability | Yes — iOS and Android |
Read on each vendor's own website on 29 September 2026 (booking limits on 7 October 2026). “Not stated” means the vendor's site does not say; it is not a no. The same columns for 28 platforms are in the scheduling comparison, and prices, free plans and trials in flying club management software compared.
What hourly rate should you charge to rent out an aircraft?
The hourly rate has to cover every hourly cost of the flight plus the fixed costs of the year spread over the hours the aircraft flies, so the rate depends on how many hours you rent it out. On the model of our aircraft ownership cost calculator, a Cessna 172S that flies 100 hours a year needs about €248 ($222 at a US price level) per hour with fuel included, and €203 ($165 at a US price level) at 200 hours a year. Insurance and depreciation come on top, because both depend on what the aircraft is worth.
The break-even rate for six common rental aircraft at 100, 200 and 300 hours a year is in the rental rate table. To work it out for your own aircraft, open the aircraft ownership cost calculator, switch rental on and enter your rate, hours and insurance. Whether to rent on Hobbs or Tacho time changes the hours you bill for the same flight.
What does Pilot-Next cost for an aircraft rental operation?
Pilot-Next charges one subscription for the whole fleet, set by the number of aircraft and pilot accounts, not a fee per aircraft or per rental. Your own account counts as a pilot account, so renting out needs a paid plan: BASIC costs €9 a month for 1 aircraft and 5 pilot accounts, PRO €18 a month for 2 aircraft and 10, and ULTRA €45 a month for unlimited aircraft and renters, all billed annually. SOLO is free for 1 aircraft and 1 pilot, enough to set up the aircraft and rates and settle a first flight. Every feature comes with every plan.
| Fleet | Plan | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| One aircraft, you and four renters | BASIC | €9 | €108 |
| Two aircraft, you and nine renters | PRO | €18 | €216 |
| Two aircraft, twenty-five renters | ULTRA | €45 | €540 |
| Five aircraft, eighty renters | ULTRA | €45 | €540 |
The plan is the smallest one whose aircraft and pilot limits cover the fleet, counting your own account; paid plans are billed annually, so the yearly amount is what you pay. What the same fleet costs on platforms that charge per aircraft is worked out in the comparison.
Start free on SOLOWhat does Pilot-Next not do for an aircraft rental operator?
Pilot-Next does not check a renter’s checkout, medical, licence or flight review before a booking, and it does not schedule an instructor with the aircraft, so a flight school or a rental desk that does checkouts will miss both. It does not take card or direct-debit payments from renters: each deposit or payment is recorded on the renter’s balance. Fuel a renter buys away from base is not credited automatically; you record it as a correction on the renter’s balance. An overdue inspection does not block bookings by itself: an administrator grounds the aircraft. A pilot’s e-mail address can belong to one Pilot-Next account only, so a renter who already flies with a club on Pilot-Next cannot be added with that same address. There is no QuickBooks or Xero integration, no public booking page for pilots without an account, and no app in the App Store or Google Play — it is a web app that can be installed on a phone’s home screen.
Why the scope stops where it does: what Pilot-Next deliberately doesn't do. For a member-run club rather than a rental business: flying club software; for co-owners who share one aircraft: aircraft partnership software.
How do you start renting out an aircraft with Pilot-Next?
Create a free account, fill in your business details for the invoices, add the aircraft and its meters, set the hourly rate, and if you want, a minimum balance to book and approval of bookings. Then move to BASIC or higher and add the renters: each receives an e-mail invitation to set up their own account, and you record their first deposit on their balance.
Create a free account