Custody — Find Boxes Knowledge Base

What Is a Custody Record?

A custody record reserves one or more item units for a specific date range. It answers the question: "Where is this gear, and when is it coming back?"

Most custody records belong to a project and appear on that project's pull list. Standalone custody records can also be created independently for jobs that don't need the full project workflow.

A custody record holds a start date, an end date, and the specific item units (by serial/unit record) being reserved. The same unit cannot be on two overlapping custody records at the same time.

Custody Lifecycle

Every custody record moves through three states:

Step 1

Pending

Custody record created. Item units are reserved but haven't left the warehouse yet.

Step 2

Checked Out

Gear has been picked up. The custody record is marked as "out." End date determines when it's due back.

Step 3

Checked In

Gear has returned. The custody record is closed and item units are available again.

Checking Out

Mark a custody record as checked out from the pull list or the custody detail page. This signals that the gear has left the warehouse. You can check out a single custody record or use Check Out All to mark every pending custody record on a project as picked up simultaneously.

Checking In

When gear comes back, check in each custody record from the pull list or by scanning the QR code on the item unit. You can also check in an entire project's outstanding custody records at once using bulk check-in. Once a custody record is checked in, the item units are freed and available for other check-outs.

QR Code Check-In Crew members can scan any item's QR code on a phone to immediately open the check-in screen for that unit's active custody record — no navigation needed. This is the fastest way to process a return.

Standalone Custody Records

Standalone custody records exist outside of any project. They're useful for short-term loans, internal use reservations, or any situation where you need to track an item going out without creating a full project.

Create a standalone custody record from Custody > New Custody Record.
Set a start date, end date, and select the item units to reserve.
The custody record follows the same lifecycle as project custody records: pending → checked out → checked in.
Standalone custody records appear in the main custody list and in the room-based views, but not on any project pull list.

Viewing Custody Records

Find Boxes gives you several ways to look at your active custody records depending on what question you're trying to answer.

All Custody Records

The main custody list shows all active custody records across every project and standalone job. Filter by status (pending, checked out, completed) or search by item or project name.

By Storage Room

Room-based views show custody records organized by the storage room the items belong to. This is useful when you're working out of a specific warehouse or case room and need to see what's going out or coming back from that location.

Pending by Room — Items that need to be pulled from this room.
Out by Room — Items that are checked out and originated from this room.
Completed by Room — Custody records that have been checked in for this room.

Completed Custody Records

All checked-in custody records are archived in the completed custody view. You can search and filter completed custody records to look up what was out on a previous job.

Overdue Check-Outs

A custody record is overdue when its end date has passed and it has not been checked in. Find Boxes tracks overdue check-outs separately so nothing slips through the cracks.

View all overdue check-outs at Custody > Overdue.
The overdue report is also available as an export. See Reports.
Installation project custody records are never flagged as overdue because they have no expected return date.

Overdue notifications Find Boxes can send email notifications for overdue check-outs. These are triggered by a background job that runs on a schedule. Notifications go to the project owner and any project admins.

Bulk Operations

For high-volume operations, use bulk check-in and check-out to process many custody records at once.

Bulk Check-Out

From a project's pull list, click Check Out All to mark every pending custody record on that project as checked out simultaneously. This is the standard workflow when a fully-prepped truck is leaving the warehouse.

Bulk Check-In

From a project's pull list or the bulk check-in page, select all custody records to close and confirm. All selected custody records are marked as checked in at once. Great for processing a return after a multi-day event.

Multi-Item Custody Records

A single custody record can contain multiple item units. This is useful when a set of related gear (not formally a bundle) always goes out together. When you check out or check in the custody record, all units in it are updated at the same time.

Custody Notes

Each custody record supports notes — internal comments visible to your team about the specific check-out, condition of gear, delivery instructions, and so on. Notes are added from the custody detail page and are not visible to clients.

Availability Logic

When you search for an item to add to a custody record, Find Boxes checks availability in real time. A unit is unavailable if:

It is already on a custody record whose date range overlaps the requested dates.
It is marked as In Service.
It is marked as Installed.
It is part of a bundle (marked In Bundle).

Only units that pass all four checks appear as available to reserve.

Installation project availability When searching for availability for an installation project, Find Boxes checks for any conflicting custody record regardless of date — because an install is permanent. A unit on any existing custody record (past, current, or future) is not available for a new installation check-out.