Artisan Productions

About Artisan Productions

Founded in 2018 by musicians with deep roots in live entertainment, Artisan Productions has built something special: a full-service production company with high-end equipment like L-Acoustics and Robe lighting. They serve clients from healthcare and retail to major tourist attractions in central London.

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As Production Director, Devon Bennett is responsible for making it all happen. Once a project is secured, Devon handles everything: equipment booking, warehouse coordination, engineer scheduling, client logistics, and even carnets for international work. It's a big job that got even bigger as the company grew.

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The Challenge: too many tools, not enough clarity

Before Rentman, Artisan was drowning in disconnected systems. They used well-known industry software for quotes and tracking stock, but it wasn't working for them. The system wasn't intuitive, couldn't be customized without extensive coding, and couldn't produce the visual quotes that set Artisan apart from their competitors.

“For our clients, we provide visual quotes, not just equipment lists, but images, diagrams, and drawings that explain what they're getting. We couldn't do that with our existing software.”
_{Devon Benett- Production Director}

The workarounds were exhausting. Artisan maintained separate spreadsheets to track which jobs were confirmed, financial details, available engineers, and transport logistics.

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Every quote took an hour to create. There was no single place to see the full picture of a project. And with the company growing fast, these manual processes were holding them back.

The search for something better

Frustrated with their setup, Devon turned to Google. He was looking for software that could bring everything together and integrate with their accounting system. That's when he found Rentman.

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During the free trial, Artisan explored the platform with help from the Rentman sales team. They discovered features like crew planning, equipment tracking, and the shortages module, tools that would solve problems they didn't even know they had.

“Rentman offered way more than we expected. We didn't know we needed features like crew planning and transport logistics, but now we can't imagine working without them.”
_{Devon Benett- Production Director}

The decision was easy. Rentman brought everything into one package, and when they looked at the numbers, the savings were clear. They could replace three separate platforms with a single system that actually did more than what they had before.

How Rentman transformed their operations

Today, Artisan Productions runs their entire operation through Rentman. The platform supports every part of it, saving them around 12 hours per week on admin tasks alone, time they can now spend on actual projects.

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Speeding up their quoting process: Devon's favorite feature is the document template builder. He can create quotes that are visual and on-brand, making it easy for clients to understand exactly what they're getting, without any coding. They can now create a complete quote in only 10 minutes, something that used to take over an hour.

“Without Rentman, we couldn't handle the volume we do now. Creating quotes used to take an hour; now it takes 10 minutes. That speed is what allows us to take on so much work.”
_{Devon Benett- Production Director}

Project templates for recurring events: When working with the same venues repeatedly, Artisan uses project templates. The equipment and configurations from previous events are already set up, so they just copy and adjust as needed, saving a lot of admin time.

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Crew management made simple: With a large freelance network, crew scheduling used to be complicated. Now, Devon can quickly see who's available, book the right people, and keep everyone informed.

“We're a small team, so we heavily rely on freelancers. That's where Rentman has helped us organize not just our employed staff, but our entire freelance network as well.”
_{Devon Benett- Production Director}

Multiple locations, one system: Artisan is expanding its London & Manchester operations and plans to make them significantly bigger in the next 18 months. Rentman's multiple stock location feature helps them track equipment across Warwickshire, Manchester, and London.

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All-in-one operations: Equipment, crew, finances, and client documents all live in the same place. By replacing three separate platforms with Rentman, Artisan cut their software costs by over £2,300, while gaining more functionality.

Looking ahead: RFID and the busiest season yet

With big investments in new equipment this year and growing contracts across the UK, Artisan is implementing RFID scanning to manage their expanding inventory. As their stock continues to grow, RFID makes returns faster, so multiple pieces of equipment can be scanned straight back in and flagged for maintenance if needed.

“The RFID implementation has been surprisingly easy, and that's what we love about Rentman: new features that actually make our lives easier. We're excited to keep discovering what else we can do with the platform as we grow.”
_{Devon Benett- Production Director}

They're also excited about Rentman's new online quotes portal, which allows clients to log in and view all their project information in one place. This makes a real difference for their many clients who prioritize security, where PDF quotes simply don't work anymore.

Now, the team is heading into their busiest December ever, with an average of three events per day. It's a complete mix, from dry hires to band tours and corporate Christmas parties across London and Bournemouth. And with Rentman’s support, they're ready to make it happen.

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