The case
Imagine managing a modern car rental fleet with hundreds of vehicles and clients entirely on Google Sheets. That was the reality for V85, a leading Danish car rental company. They came to us needing a custom platform to automate their entire operation—from managing rentals and clients to scheduling vehicle maintenance. We built them a powerful, tailor-made system that replaced their manual spreadsheets, saving them countless hours and eliminating errors. A special shout-out to the incredible designer on this project, Nicolai Knudsen, whose godlike skills brought the entire interface to life.
The Platform
As a car enthusiast, getting to build a platform that revolutionized a real car rental business was a dream project. Our goal was clear: transform their chaotic Google Sheets operation into a sleek, automated system.
We chose WordPress as our foundation, and here's why it was the perfect CMS and development framework for this project. By leveraging WordPress custom post types and Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), we built a fully custom system for managing 'Vehicles' and 'Maintenance' as easily as writing a blog post. This approach gave us a powerful, flexible backend and a built-in user authentication system out of the box, saving us months of development time compared to building from scratch in another framework.
The automation was the real game-changer. Here’s how it worked:
- For V85 (The Business): Adding a new car was simple. They entered the VIN or license plate, and our system automatically pulled all the vehicle's details from the Danish vehicle registry (Motorstyrelsen) via an API. They'd set a price, and using the WooCommerce Bookings plugin, the car instantly became bookable on their site.
- For the Customer (John Doe): After creating an approved account, he could log in, see all available cars, and book one directly. He'd register his credit card, and everything was handled seamlessly through the portal.
- Automated Maintenance & MOT: This was the core of the optimization. The system automatically tracked service schedules. When a car was due, it sent automated email notifications to both the customer and V85, instructing them to return the car for service. Once completed, the maintenance record was updated, and a full service history was logged. The same flow applied to MOT (syn) checks.
The result? We transformed a manual, error-prone process into a self-service portal. Customers could manage their own rentals, and V85 gained a powerful admin dashboard to oversee clients, vehicles, and finances—turning spreadsheets into a streamlined, profitable operation.
We chose WordPress as our foundation, and here's why it was the perfect CMS and development framework for this project. By leveraging WordPress custom post types and Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), we built a fully custom system for managing 'Vehicles' and 'Maintenance' as easily as writing a blog post. This approach gave us a powerful, flexible backend and a built-in user authentication system out of the box, saving us months of development time compared to building from scratch in another framework.
The automation was the real game-changer. Here’s how it worked:
- For V85 (The Business): Adding a new car was simple. They entered the VIN or license plate, and our system automatically pulled all the vehicle's details from the Danish vehicle registry (Motorstyrelsen) via an API. They'd set a price, and using the WooCommerce Bookings plugin, the car instantly became bookable on their site.
- For the Customer (John Doe): After creating an approved account, he could log in, see all available cars, and book one directly. He'd register his credit card, and everything was handled seamlessly through the portal.
- Automated Maintenance & MOT: This was the core of the optimization. The system automatically tracked service schedules. When a car was due, it sent automated email notifications to both the customer and V85, instructing them to return the car for service. Once completed, the maintenance record was updated, and a full service history was logged. The same flow applied to MOT (syn) checks.
The result? We transformed a manual, error-prone process into a self-service portal. Customers could manage their own rentals, and V85 gained a powerful admin dashboard to oversee clients, vehicles, and finances—turning spreadsheets into a streamlined, profitable operation.
My Part
On the V85 project, I wasn't just a developer; I was the lead developer and primary engineer, personally responsible for building approximately 90% of the entire platform. My role was truly full-stack, encompassing everything from the backend logic and database architecture to the frontend user interface that both administrators and customers would interact with daily.
My core technical contributions were the lifeblood of the system:
- Vehicle Management System: I designed and built the entire vehicle lifecycle management feature. This included a seamless API integration with the Danish Motor Registry (Motorstyrelsen) to auto-populate vehicle details using a VIN or license plate. I also created the intuitive interface for V85 staff to upload images, set pricing, and manage inventory.
- Custom Booking & Reservation Logic: While we leveraged WooCommerce Bookings as a foundation, I wrote extensive custom PHP code to hook into its events. This allowed us to trigger complex, automated workflows-like locking a vehicle's calendar during maintenance-creating a truly bespoke rental booking engine.
- End-to-End Customer Portal: I engineered the complete customer journey, from user registration and authentication to the core functionalities. This included the vehicle browsing and filtering system, the secure checkout process, and the self-service features for booking both rentals and mandatory service/MOT appointments.
In essence, I architected and built the entire automated flow: from the moment a customer registers on the site, to them booking a vehicle, collecting it, and finally, being notified and scheduling its service-all with minimal manual intervention from the V85 team. This end-to-end ownership ensured a cohesive, reliable, and highly efficient digital transformation for their business.
My core technical contributions were the lifeblood of the system:
- Vehicle Management System: I designed and built the entire vehicle lifecycle management feature. This included a seamless API integration with the Danish Motor Registry (Motorstyrelsen) to auto-populate vehicle details using a VIN or license plate. I also created the intuitive interface for V85 staff to upload images, set pricing, and manage inventory.
- Custom Booking & Reservation Logic: While we leveraged WooCommerce Bookings as a foundation, I wrote extensive custom PHP code to hook into its events. This allowed us to trigger complex, automated workflows-like locking a vehicle's calendar during maintenance-creating a truly bespoke rental booking engine.
- End-to-End Customer Portal: I engineered the complete customer journey, from user registration and authentication to the core functionalities. This included the vehicle browsing and filtering system, the secure checkout process, and the self-service features for booking both rentals and mandatory service/MOT appointments.
In essence, I architected and built the entire automated flow: from the moment a customer registers on the site, to them booking a vehicle, collecting it, and finally, being notified and scheduling its service-all with minimal manual intervention from the V85 team. This end-to-end ownership ensured a cohesive, reliable, and highly efficient digital transformation for their business.
The Platform Today
While the V85 platform successfully automated their entire operation, the project was eventually sunset. The specific reasons are outside my purview, but it underscores a common reality in business: even the most well-engineered technical solutions can be affected by external commercial factors.
However, the success of the build remains. This project stands as a proven blueprint for transforming a manual, spreadsheet-reliant business into a streamlined, automated digital service.
This solution is ready for your business.
While I cannot replicate the V85 platform exactly due to intellectual property, the core expertise is fully transferable. I have the proven experience to design and build a powerful, custom rental management system for you—whether for cars, equipment, or any other assets.
If you're tired of manual processes and are ready to automate your bookings, customer management, and maintenance scheduling, let's talk. I am confident we can build a solution that is not just similar, but even better, tailored precisely to your unique needs.
Does automating your rental business sound interesting? Let's connect and discuss how we can build your platform.
However, the success of the build remains. This project stands as a proven blueprint for transforming a manual, spreadsheet-reliant business into a streamlined, automated digital service.
This solution is ready for your business.
While I cannot replicate the V85 platform exactly due to intellectual property, the core expertise is fully transferable. I have the proven experience to design and build a powerful, custom rental management system for you—whether for cars, equipment, or any other assets.
If you're tired of manual processes and are ready to automate your bookings, customer management, and maintenance scheduling, let's talk. I am confident we can build a solution that is not just similar, but even better, tailored precisely to your unique needs.
Does automating your rental business sound interesting? Let's connect and discuss how we can build your platform.
What did I learn from this project?
This project was built all the way back in 2020, I was just getting from being an amateur at WordPress to being a senior. I have learnt much more since then.
This project proved that with the right architecture, WordPress can be a powerful and rapid application development platform for building sophisticated, data-driven business tools.
It also deepened my understanding of system integration and API design. Building the bridge to the Danish Motor Registry (Motorstyrelsen) taught me how to seamlessly blend external data sources into a custom CMS, creating a single source of truth. More importantly, I learned to design for user-centric automation - where the system works intelligently in the background to eliminate tedious tasks for both the business and the end-user.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, this project taught me a valuable lesson in business agility and project legacy. I saw firsthand that a project's success isn't measured by code alone. Despite building a technically sound and effective platform, its lifespan was influenced by external business relationships. This experience grounded me, highlighting that our role as developers is to build the most robust and valuable asset we can within our scope, while understanding that its ultimate impact is part of a larger business ecosystem. It's a lesson that makes me a more pragmatic and valuable partner for any future client.
This project proved that with the right architecture, WordPress can be a powerful and rapid application development platform for building sophisticated, data-driven business tools.
It also deepened my understanding of system integration and API design. Building the bridge to the Danish Motor Registry (Motorstyrelsen) taught me how to seamlessly blend external data sources into a custom CMS, creating a single source of truth. More importantly, I learned to design for user-centric automation - where the system works intelligently in the background to eliminate tedious tasks for both the business and the end-user.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, this project taught me a valuable lesson in business agility and project legacy. I saw firsthand that a project's success isn't measured by code alone. Despite building a technically sound and effective platform, its lifespan was influenced by external business relationships. This experience grounded me, highlighting that our role as developers is to build the most robust and valuable asset we can within our scope, while understanding that its ultimate impact is part of a larger business ecosystem. It's a lesson that makes me a more pragmatic and valuable partner for any future client.