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Keyhive Help

Short-term vs long-term checkouts: which to choose

In short: Nearly every checkout is short-term. It has a return date, so Keyhive can flag it if the key doesn’t come back on time. Choose long-term only when a key set is genuinely handed over for the foreseeable future, with no date to bring it back by. If you’re unsure, pick short-term.

When you’d do this: You’re checking a key out and Keyhive asks whether it’s long-term, and you’re not sure which to choose.

The quick answer

  • Coming back on or around a known day? Short-term. Set the return date and you’re done.
  • Handed over indefinitely, with no return date in mind? Long-term.
  • Not sure? Short-term. It’s the safe default, and you can always change the return date later if plans shift.

What’s different

A short-term checkout:

  • Return date: you set one when the key goes out.
  • Overdue: it can go overdue, and Keyhive prompts you to chase it.
  • The fob: the fob stays on the key set while it’s out.
  • Coming back: scan the fob, quick.

A long-term checkout:

  • Return date: none.
  • Overdue: it can never go overdue, nothing chases it.
  • The fob: the fob is removed and freed for reuse.
  • Coming back: assign it a fob again, a few more steps.

In other words: short-term keeps the overdue prompt and the quick fob scan on return. Long-term gives up both, in exchange for freeing the fob and not tracking a return date.

When to choose long-term

Long-term is for keys you’ve genuinely handed over indefinitely, given to someone for the foreseeable future, with no expectation of a particular day they’ll come back. Handing a set to someone who’ll hold it as part of an ongoing arrangement is the classic case.

Because there’s no return date, a long-term checkout is never overdue, which is exactly what you want when there’s no day for it to be late against.

Watch out for

  • There’s no overdue safety net. Nothing will ever flag a long-term key or remind you it’s still out. It can quietly stay gone forever. Only choose long-term when that’s genuinely fine.
  • Don’t use long-term to clear an overdue key from the list. It does stop the key showing as overdue, but only because nothing tracks it any more. The key is still out, and now nothing will remind you. If it’s genuinely due back, keep it short-term and give it a new return date instead.
  • You lose the quick fob scan on the way back. The fob comes off when the key goes out long-term, so there’s nothing to scan when it returns. Instead you bring it back by assigning it a fob again, a few more steps than a short-term return.

Good to know

  • You can start short-term and extend later. If a key’s out longer than planned, change its return date rather than reaching for long-term.
  • The freed fob is reusable straight away. When a key goes out long-term, its fob is immediately available to put on another key set.
  • Long-term checkouts may ask for a photo. Your account can be set to require a photo when a key goes out long-term, a useful record for keys you won’t see for a while. See Changing the default checkout lengths.