Hit Play is a full-service event production company based in Richmond, Virginia, providing sound, lighting, video, and staging for concerts, nonprofit galas, and everything in between. With a tight-knit team of five, efficient collaboration is key — especially when projects scale or shift on short notice.
According to Associate Project Manager Natalie Tyer, Rentman has become their go-to hub for managing the entire production lifecycle.
We use it for everything: crew, invoices, equipment, projects. It’s the starting point for every show we do.
From Growing Pains to Scalable Processes
Before adopting Rentman, Hit Play relied heavily on informal communication and institutional knowledge stored in people’s heads — especially Daniel, the company’s owner.
With Rentman, we’ve been able to extract a lot of that information and centralize it. Now, if I need to schedule someone or check inventory, I don’t have to track anyone down. I just look at Rentman.
Emily’s role evolved to include fully optimizing their Rentman environment. This deep dive led to overhauling their inventory and customizing workflows to fit their growing needs.
Day-to-Day Impact
For Hit Play, Rentman isn’t just a tool, it’s the digital HQ where every department overlaps.
- Natalie lives in the Projects module, coordinating logistics with the production and inventory teams.
- Emily handles all things in crew scheduling, streamlining communication via the Rentman app.
- Chris, their warehouse manager, is gradually expanding into equipment scanning and returns.
It's helped us reduce back-and-forth texts, last-minute confusion, and errors, And the ability to send formatted crew invitations or check availability at a glance is a game-changer.
Flexibility That Matches the Chaos of Live Events
Hit Play recently set up a Zapier integration to send Slack alerts when new short-notice projects pop up.
Last weekend, a concert for Teacher Appreciation Day came in just a week ahead. Rentman flagged it. We all got a Slack ping, jumped in, filled the gaps, and made it happen—smoothly.
That level of responsiveness is crucial during peak season, where shortages and changes are common.
Favorite Features
- Project Templates: “Not having to rebuild each time saves so much setup.”
- Crew Planner: “When I’m considering multiple people, seeing their availability side-by-side is huge.”
- Digital Quotes: “Clients love being able to review and sign in one click—and we get automatic reminders if quotes or invoices expire.”
- Subrenting and Shortages: “We love being able to solve everything from within the project itself without jumping tabs.”
A Tool That Grows With You
Emily jokes that Rentman is like a sandbox: powerful, flexible, and always evolving.
If you’re not used to software with fewer hard rules, it can be overwhelming at first, but the webinars, help articles, and support team have made learning it easy. And, honestly, it’s kind of fun.
For a team juggling logistics, creativity, and precision, Rentman has brought structure, visibility, and speed to Hit Play’s operations.
Rentman has absolutely improved how we work together. It’s the one place where everything lives — projects, pricing, crew, equipment. We’d be lost without it.