ID:46534
 
So we've rented probably 50 XLR cables, 3 dozen converters or more, special cables that don't exist we've had to get somebody to make (XLR -> Jack f.eks), cameras and other hardware from a company here.

However, they don't really have any smart way of documenting things. The bill they've sent us includes several different names for the same item, with varying detail.

One line says XLR / phono converter. Another says XLR male / phono female converter.

Some lines are also double by mistake, other things we've ordered are totally missing (BNC cables x 20 or so). So that makes it great for me to try and figure out whats what and what we're being charged for. Almost all of the equipment is rented on a per-day basis, and f.eks the 6 x SxS 16GB camera cards sitting next to me cost 250kr per day, each.

The lesson here really isn't for them though, thats their own mess. What I should have done from the start was throw together a cheap/easy website to add items to, where you could state when they were picked up by us, who they're from and their exact, proper name.

I should have also put colored tape on *everything* according to which company it came from. Having to figure out whether something is from EBH, Deel or some other company here in Denmark has been a nightmare. I've probably wasted a good 8 or 10 hours that could've been condensed to maybe 30 minutes or an hour with proper foresight.

Yarr.
Invest in an $80 labeler. It will be well worth the money. We have two at the office, and everything has a nice label on it, from routing cables to people's favorite pens.
Well, I suppose that might work. But colored tape will accomplish the same and won't be as hard to get off again - Which is a big factor when I have to pack 200 XLR cables and over 2000 other random gadgets/converters/etc and sort them.

If I didn't have to return things, then I'd definately go with a label machine.
What we have is a tape label machine, so they come off with a pair of scissors, or a good tug from under the pinch point. This type of label is nice because it's easy to remove, but is very easy to read. Colored paper labels would work as well though.

Hell, if you want to do it on the cheap, just buy some construction paper of multiple colors, and staple on little strips in a "U"ish shape. Then they could be ripped off really easy, but go on almost as easy.
I suppose that'd work - Its something I'll be mentioning when the whole team meets again anyhow.
Sounds like a lot of setup though. Something tells me I wouldn't go through all that trouble for something that was so short lived. Then again, you will always have a copy of your work to marvel at.
Well, the issue is that when things are rented on a per-day basis, spending in excess of one day returning everything costs... a lot. The last day of Fashion Week falls on a Saturday, so we have Sunday to get everything ready to be delivered. The companies we return things to are usually only there from 9 - 15 or similar, and we need to get dozens or hundreds of things back from various stages across Copenhagen.

F.eks, 10000DKK went out the window because we had to keep the SxS disks here to get the contents off them as well as a Monitor to test some things. That was the cost of renting the equipment related to that for one more day.
Sorry, I don't think most places take Donkey Kong Koins.

Ouch, 2,000USD. That's got to hurt.