FlowState vs Rent It Biz (Ski Speed)
Ski Speed by Rent It Biz runs the rental counter — rental POS, assembly-line fittings, retail, lift tickets. FlowState runs the service bench — tune, mount, and repair work orders. Different jobs.
Rent It Biz and FlowState are easy to confuse because both serve ski shops, but they sit on opposite sides of the counter. Ski Speed, the ski product from Rent It Biz (a rental-software company founded in 1998), is built for the rental operation: a touch-screen rental and retail POS, automatic DIN calculations for rental fittings, an optional assembly-line layout with a registration kiosk, ski-dispensing station, and POS station, plus lift-ticket sales, ski-school scheduling, and online/phone reservations. If your busiest problem is getting a line of skiers fitted and out the door with gear, that is the software for it. FlowState by Reiter Solutions is not rental software at all. It is work-order software for the service side of the shop — the tune, mount, and repair work that comes in over the bench. Customers start their own work order from a per-shop intake page; the customer signs the shop’s mounting agreement before drilling; every service flows across a shared Service Queue with promised-by dates and printable tags; and a branded completion email goes out when the work is done. A shop that both rents and services gear could honestly run both: Ski Speed at the rental counter, FlowState at the service bench.
How each handles the work order.
| Capability | FlowState | Rent It Biz (Ski Speed) |
|---|---|---|
| Primary job The core difference. Ski Speed is built around the rental counter; FlowState is built around the service bench. Neither is trying to do the other job. | Service work orders — tune, mount, repair | Rental operations — fit, dispense, return gear |
| Rental management A genuine Ski Speed capability with no FlowState analog. If you need rental, FlowState is not the tool. | Not planned — FlowState does not do rental | Full rental POS, reservations, assembly-line workflow |
| Assembly-line rental setup Per rentitbiz.com — a multi-station layout for high-volume rental fittings. | Not planned | Registration kiosk + ski-dispensing station + POS station |
| DIN calculation Ski Speed computes DIN for rental fittings to reduce risk exposure. FlowState captures the binding work on a mount/repair work order rather than a rental transaction. | Not a focus — FlowState records the service, not the rental fitting | Automatic DIN calculation at the rental POS |
| Retail POS Ski Speed sells retail alongside rentals. FlowState does not ring up sales. | Not a focus — FlowState is service-order software, not a POS | Rentals and retail sales from one POS station |
| Lift tickets & ski school Resort-oriented capabilities of Ski Speed with no service-bench analog. | Not planned | Sell lift tickets; schedule ski school |
| Service work orders FlowState’s core. Ski Speed markets rental, retail, and reservations, not tune/mount/repair work-order tracking. | Live — item-driven lifecycle from intake to pickup | Not the product’s focus (rental-first) |
| Customer self-intake Both let the customer start something online, but for different things: a rental reservation vs. a service work order. | Live — per-shop page; customer fills out the work order on their phone | Online/phone reservations for rentals |
| Signed mounting agreements FlowState captures the customer’s signed mounting agreement before the skis reach the bench. | Mounting agreement e-signed on the customer’s phone, PDF kept with the work order | Not described for service mounting |
| Service Queue board A live service board from front counter to back bench. | Live — shared board the whole shop reads, with promised-by dates | Not applicable — no service-bench workflow |
| Customer notification Both send email and SMS. Rent It Biz sends receipts; FlowState sends service updates tied to a work order and takes the customer reply back into a shop inbox. | Ready email in your shop’s name; texts and a two-way inbox once your shop’s texting is approved | Email receipts and SMS (per their materials) |
| Self-serve trial FlowState lets a shop spin up its own demo in minutes. | 7-day demo shop at /try (email-verified) | Contact/quote-based — no self-serve trial published |
We don’t win every row. Here’s where each side actually fits.
Where FlowState wins
- Built for the service bench — tune, mount, and repair work orders — not adapted from a rental or retail POS.
- Customers can send a request from your shop’s own page before they come in, and staff confirm it instead of typing it in.
- The customer signs your mounting agreement on their phone before the skis reach the bench, and the signed PDF stays with the work order.
- The Service Queue: a live board the whole shop reads, with promised-by dates and printable work-order tags.
- Past orders stay on the customer’s record, and a returning customer who uses the online page can pick gear your shop already has on file.
- A ready email in your shop’s name goes out on its own when the work is done.
Where Rent It Biz (Ski Speed) wins
- Purpose-built for ski/snowboard rental operations — the exact job FlowState does not do.
- Assembly-line rental layout (registration kiosk, ski-dispensing station, POS station) for high-volume fitting days.
- Automatic DIN calculation at the point of rental to reduce risk exposure.
- One POS for rentals plus retail, with reservations, lift-ticket sales, and ski-school scheduling — useful breadth for a rental-and-resort operation.
- A long-established rental-software company (founded 1998) with experience across multiple rental verticals (ski, bike, watersports).
When to pick Rent It Biz (Ski Speed) anyway
If your main problem is the rental counter — fitting and dispensing gear, selling lift tickets, scheduling ski school, or running an assembly-line rental shop — Ski Speed by Rent It Biz is built for that and FlowState is not. Choose Ski Speed for rental. If your main problem is the service bench (tune, mount, repair work orders), choose FlowState. A shop doing both could run them side by side.
Pricing model — Rent It Biz doesn’t publish a price on its ski page; ask them for a quote. FlowState does not publish a price either.
The honest test is your bench.
Spin up a 7-day demo shop, pre-loaded with sample customers and work orders. No card required, no auto-charge.
No card · 7 days · your own private shop
Follow every pair to pickup.
One work order from the counter to the bench to pickup, and a customer who hears when their gear is ready.
No card · 7 days · your own private shop
Stay attached. Carry speed.