What an asset is
An asset is one physical unit you can identify on its own — a specific bike, laptop, or machine with a serial number. Assets let you answer “which exact unit does this customer have?”, which a simple stock count cannot. You manage them under Shopify Admin → circuly Rental & Subscriptions → Assets.Assets can be attached to any subscription, not just rentals. They are most useful when
you lend or lease equipment that comes back, but nothing stops you tracking units on a
regular subscription.
Adding assets
1
Open Assets
Go to Shopify Admin → circuly Rental & Subscriptions → Assets and choose
Create asset.
2
Give it a serial number
Enter the serial number printed on the unit, or let circuly generate one for you. Serial
numbers must be unique across your store.
3
Pick the product
Choose the product variant this unit is. This is how circuly knows which subscriptions the
unit can be assigned to.
4
Add a location and status
Optionally record where the unit lives, and set its starting status. New units are
Available unless you say otherwise.
Location is a free-text label you type yourself — for example “Warehouse A, Shelf 3”.
It is not linked to your Shopify locations.
Importing many at once
Import assets takes a CSV so you can register a whole fleet in one go. A template is available on the import page.
Rows are checked before anything is saved. A file is rejected if it repeats a serial number,
uses a serial number you already have, or gives a Product ID without a Variant ID. You get a
per-row report so you can fix and re-upload.
The assets list
Tabs across the top split your units by status and show how many are in each: All, Available, Rented, Maintenance, Lost, and Sold. You can search by serial number, filter by location, and Export the list as a CSV.Attaching a unit to a subscription
Open a subscription under Subscriptions, find the Asset card, and assign a unit — or create a new one and assign it in the same step. You can unassign a unit at any time. If several subscriptions are waiting for equipment, Operations → Fulfillment → Subscriptions lists them under Awaiting unit so you can work through them in one pass.Only Available assets can be assigned. A unit that is already out with a customer, in
maintenance, lost, or sold will not appear in the picker.
The scanner
Assets → Scanner is built for the counter or the loading bay. Scan or type a serial number and circuly does one of two things:- Look it up — shows the product, its current status, its location, and the subscription it belongs to
- Confirm return — ends that subscription and puts the unit back to Available
Asset statuses
Bought out is a sixth status you never set by hand — circuly applies it automatically when
a customer completes a buyout. You can only delete an asset while it is Available.
What gets recorded
Every asset keeps its own history: status changes with the old and new value, when it was assigned to a subscription, when it was unassigned, and who did it. Asset events also drive Shopify Flow, so you can email a customer, notify your team, or update a spreadsheet automatically. See Trigger reference.Next steps
Contract management
Review and act on the subscriptions your assets are attached to.
Rental unit lifecycle
Follow rental units from handover through inspection and back to available.