# File an Instance Report (/how-to/equipment/file-report)



File a report whenever something happens that needs documenting on a specific physical unit — most commonly an incident during a rental, but also pre-rental inspections, damage assessments, or any other paperwork that needs to be tied to a unit and a booking.

Before you begin [#before-you-begin]

* You need access to the Resytech Dashboard with the **Resources** permission.
* The equipment must have at least one **instance** ([Add an Equipment Instance](/how-to/equipment/add-instance)) and at least one **report template** ([Upload a Report Template](/how-to/equipment/upload-report-template)).
* Know which booking the report relates to. You'll search for it by customer name, email, or confirmation code.

Steps [#steps]

1. In the sidebar, click **Equipment** and click into the equipment item.
2. Click **Settings > Instances** and click the specific unit involved.
3. Scroll to the **Reports** section and click **New Report**.
4. In the dialog:

| Field        | Description                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Template** | Choose from the templates uploaded for this equipment. If only one template exists, it's pre-selected.                                                                                                  |
| **Booking**  | Start typing the customer's name, email, or confirmation code. A live search shows matching bookings. Click one to select. Resytech validates that the chosen booking actually included this equipment. |

5. Click **Create Report**. You're returned to the Reports list with the new draft at the top.
6. Click the new report row to open its detail page.

Filling out the PDF [#filling-out-the-pdf]

If the template has form fields:

1. On the report detail page, click **Edit PDF** in the right column. The in-browser editor opens.
2. Click into each form field and type. Use checkboxes and radio buttons as needed.
3. Scroll through multi-page PDFs or use the viewer controls.
4. Click **Save** to save your filled values without leaving the editor, or **Save & Close** to save and return to the report detail page.

If the template is **flat** (no fillable fields):

1. Click **Download** in the right column to get the current PDF.
2. Print, fill by hand, scan back as a PDF or image.
3. Add the scan as an attachment (see below).

Adding attachments [#adding-attachments]

On the report detail page, the Attachments section accepts photos, scanned documents, or any supporting file up to 25 MB each.

1. Click **Upload** in the Attachments section.
2. Choose a file from your device. The upload starts immediately.
3. The attachment appears in the list with a Download icon and a Delete icon.

Common attachments:

* Photos of damage taken at the scene
* Customer-signed waivers, releases, or statements
* Police or medical reports
* Repair invoices

Adding notes [#adding-notes]

Use the **Notes** textarea on the report detail page for free-text context — narrative description of what happened, follow-up actions, conversations with the customer, etc. Up to 5000 characters.

Click **Save Changes** to persist.

Submitting the report [#submitting-the-report]

When the report is complete:

1. Change the **Status** dropdown from `Draft` to `Submitted`.
2. Click **Save Changes**.

The submission time is stamped on the report. You can still edit a Submitted report — Resytech doesn't hard-lock it, because operators often need to revise after the fact. Switching back to `Draft` clears the submission timestamp.

Tips [#tips]

* **File the report while the details are fresh.** Even if you only fill in a name and a one-line description, get the draft created. You can add photos, notes, and PDF fields later.
* **Search bookings by confirmation code for the fastest match.** Customer names can be ambiguous; confirmation codes are unique.
* **Attach photos before printing.** If you'll be filling the PDF on paper, attach the photos to the report first so you can reference them when filling out the form by hand.
* **Use a separate template per workflow.** "Incident Report" should be its own template, not combined with "Pre-Rental Inspection".

What you can't do (yet) [#what-you-cant-do-yet]

* **Re-attribute a report to a different booking after creation.** If you picked the wrong booking, delete the report and re-file it.
* **Move a report to a different instance.** Same workaround — delete and re-file.
* **Bulk-download all reports for a booking or instance.** Download PDFs one at a time for now.