debug

About debug

debug was founded in Münster, Germany in 2013 and has grown from a small side project into one of the region’s leading AV and event production companies. Today, the team counts 20 employees and handles between 300 and 400 projects a year, ranging from large congress and association events to content creation and event management.

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Clients include leading banks, institutional organisations, major corporations, SC Preußen Münster as technical stadium partner, and numerous large industry associations throughout Germany.

The challenge: growing without structure

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As debug began transitioning from a side project to a fully-fledged company, it quickly became clear that their existing processes wouldn’t keep up.

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Quotes were created with a simple invoicing tool, originally designed for online shops. Equipment was tracked with free-text entries only and everything beyond that lived in the founders’ heads.

“Proper warehouse organisation and logistics only started in 2018. Before that, it was all in Christoph’s head and mine.”
_{Burkhard Barenbrügge - Founder & CEO}

With more equipment, more staff, and more projects, it was time to bring in a scalable, cloud-based solution from the ground up. One that could grow alongside the business.

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Choosing Rentman

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Burkhard first came across Rentman at the Prolight + Sound tradeshow in 2018. With a background in software sales, Burkhard knew that the right software partner needed real development capacity behind it. Rentman's team size and commitment to continuous development gave him the confidence he needed.

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Today, with over 100 employees and more than 20 in-house developers, Rentman keeps investing in and improving the platform based on user feedback and the evolving needs of the industry. 

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Rentman as the backbone of their business

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Today, almost everything at debug runs through Rentman: warehouse management, quote creation, invoicing, and staff planning. Project managers and planners work in the platform for around 6 hours a day – 13 out of 20 team members are active power users.

“Rentman is our backbone. It has played a key role in developing our company structure further.”
_{Alina Hartmann - Marketing & Project Management}

When a job comes in, it’s created in Rentman, confirmed, and then planned out for dispatch. Equipment data is managed centrally, defects are flagged on the spot, and items are tracked via QR code. debug has even extended the platform via API: when a project is created in Rentman, an Asana board and a Google Drive folder are automatically generated.

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With 300 to 400 projects a year, every step that happens automatically is one less thing the team has to do manually, keeping everyone aligned from the moment a job is confirmed.

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The game changer: Online Quotes with real-time engagement insights

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One feature has changed the way debug works more than any other: the ability to share quotes directly through Rentman and see exactly when a customer opens them.

“We don’t send a single quote by regular email anymore. You know exactly when your customer has opened it, you can follow up at the right moment, and you close deals faster. That’s our absolute game changer.”
_{Burkhard Barenbrügge - Founder & CEO}

Alina, who has been with debug for nearly three years but only recently started using Rentman, is equally enthusiastic. She uses the quoting and invoicing features for her event management and content projects and highlights how intuitive it was to get started.

“I found my way around very quickly. Getting started with help from colleagues was very intuitive – and the feature that lets you see when a customer has viewed the quote is definitely a highlight for me.”
_{Alina Hartmann - Marketing & Project Management}

History log: ahead of its time

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For a team like debug, where 13 power users are daily creating projects, building quotes, and planning equipment, transparency is essential. The history log shows exactly what was changed, who did it, and when – across projects, equipment, contacts, and crew members. It means mistakes can be spotted and understood quickly, without the need for lengthy back-and-forth. 

“The history log has always been something really advanced – ahead of its time.”
_{Burkhard Barenbrügge - Founder & CEO}

A key driver of growth

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Rentman has also shaped debug’s internal structures in a fundamental way. During the pandemic, they were still managing everything in Excel – spreadsheets that, if printed out, could have covered an entire warehouse wall. Today, with the volume of projects, vehicles, and crew planning they handle, that simply wouldn’t be possible anymore. As Burkard Barenbrügge puts it: “We would never have gotten to where we are today. The timing of finding Rentman was exactly right.”

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Alina adds that having a software partner who not only listens but actually acts on feedback is something you can’t take for granted:

“That we are heard as a company, and that things we raise are actually developed for us – that’s not a given. That’s what makes working with Rentman special.”
_{Alina Hartmann - Marketing & Project Management}

Perhaps the best sign of debug's satisfaction is that Burkhard has actively recommended Rentman to other companies which now use the platform in their daily operations.

“We’ve recommended Rentman because we’re completely convinced by it. And they’re using it now too, including sub-jobs and everything that comes with it.”
_{Burkhard Barenbrügge - Founder & CEO}

Ready to make Rentman the backbone of your business?

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