I. Accessing CARS+ Programs: Menu or Shortcut
II. Navigation the data entry screens
A. Entering data into a field
B. Non-Windowed screens
C. Windowed screens
D. Pop-up Windows
III. General Data entry instructions
VII. Function keys and other keys
A. Standard function keys
B. Special function keys
C. Shifted function keys
VIII. Rules of the Alphanumeric sort
IX. Notes Subwindow & hot key notes
A. Creating Notes
B. Reading existing Notes
C. Adding to a note
D. Deleting a note
E. User defined messages
A. Contract oriented reports
B. Revenue Oriented reports
C. Guide to reading reports
XI. Hot Menu – Accessing Multiple Programs
For instructions of how to login to CARS+ Internet and information on the features of the CARS+ Internet Switchboard, please refer to the chapter of the manual titled: Overview - CARS+ Internet Login and Switchboard Instructions.
For instructions on how to configure CARS+ to run in a PCI/PA-DSS compliant mode as required by the major credit card companies, refer to the chapter of the manual titled Overview - PCI-PA Implementation Guide.
I. ACCESSING CARS+ PROGRAMS – Menus and Shortcuts
CARS+ is a menu driven system where programs are accessed by choosing an option on a menu. Menu choices are displayed on the screen, each with a number at the left and a shortcut on the right.
For an example, consider the following Main menu:
| OPTION: _________ MAIN MENU 1. Reservations Menu RESMENU 2. RA Menu RA 3. History/Maintenance Menu MAINT 4. Fleet Menu FLEET 5. Fleet Accounting Menu FLTACCT 6. Dispatch Menu DISPATCH 7. Planning Menu PLAN 8. Daily Procedures Menu DAILY 9. Month End Menu MONTH 10. Utilization Menu UTILIZE 11. Customer Maintenance Menu CUSMNT 12. Vendor Maintenance Menu VENDOR 13. Rental Accounting Menu ACCT 14. Control Files Menu CTRL 15. System Management Menu SYSMENU 16. Add On CARS+ Modules ADDONS 17. Brand Specific Menus BRAND 18. Look Only Menu LOOK LOGIN = Sign-on System END = Exit System Ctrl+V = HotMenu COMPANY-ID: 11 THERMEON DEMO COMPANY TERMINAL: AMM LOCATION: STL ST LOUIS LAMBERT FLD DRAWER:001 STL DRAWER |
To access the Reservations Menu, type either "1" or the shortcut RESMENU at the "OPTION:" field, and then press (RET). Note: In this manual, the RETURN or ENTER key is abbreviated as (RET).
When an item from the Main Menu is selected, a sub-menu is displayed. This provides a list of programs that can be executed and may also list additional sub-menu choices. For example, the Reservations Menu is shown below:
| OPTION: _________ RESERVATIONS MENU 1. Reservations RES 2. On-Line Res Display RESDISP 3. Reservation Manifest MANIFEST 4. Vehicle Prep Report PREP 5. No-Show Processing NOSHOW 6. Reservation Edit Report RER 7. Reservation Source Report RESSRC 8. Reservation Vendor Report RESVEND 9. Res Name Variance Report RESNAME 10. Res Incentive Report RESINC 11. Rate No-Show Report RATENS 12. Reservation Status Report RESSTA 13. Quote Edit Report QUOTE 14. Market/Quote Analysis Rpt QUOANA 15. Display Res/RA# or Status RESRA 16. Reservation Revenue Rpt RESREV 17. Reservation Yield Report RESYLD 18. Carcloud Carfirm. Pgm CARCLOUD 19. Add'l Res. Programs RESMENU2 20. Carcloud Carfirmation Pgm CARCLD COMPANY-ID: 11 THERMEON DEMO COMPANY TERMINAL: AMM LOCATION: STL ST LOUIS LAMBERT FLD DRAWER:001 STL DRAWER |
To select the Vehicle Prep Report, type either: 4 (RET) or PREP (RET).
Because shortcuts are unique for each program, they may be entered at the "OPTION:" field of any menu, even if they are not listed on that screen. For an example, typing RES (RET) while on the Fleet Menu screen will pull up the Reservation screen. It is a time saver to use the shortcuts for the programs that are most frequently accessed.
Each menu selection goes deeper into CARS+. To back out of a menu or program, press the "ESC" key when the cursor is at an "OPTION:" field. Pressing "ESC" will move the cursor to the previous menu. Most file update screens require that the "ESC" key be pressed twice in order to exit the screen. This prevents loss of data when the "ESC" key is pressed accidentally.
WARNING: If data is not saved prior to exiting a screen, all data entered will be lost.
II. NAVIGATING THE DATA ENTRY SCREENS
A. ENTERING DATA INTO A FIELD
After entering data into a field, press the (RET) RETURN or ENTER key. If it is not used, any data entered into that field will not be saved.
NOTE: The following notes relate to the method of navigating around a data entry screen. CARS+ has two types of data entry screens, Windowed and Non-Windowed. Instructions for each will be presented separately.
B. THE NON-WINDOWED SCREEN
An example of a non-windowed screen is shown below:
OPTION: __ VEHICLE INVENTORY CONTROL
(Page 1 of 4)
1 Vehicle # 20 VIN
2 License Entity 21 Engine Blk #
3 License 22 Security Code 23 Fleet Type
4 Year Model/Prod 00/00 24 2nd Security Code
5 Model 25 Notes
6 Make 26 Damage
7 Class 27 Service Flags 0000000000
8 Type 28 Owning City
9 1st tank size (Name)
10 2nd tank size Parked at
11 Fuel type 29 Curr status
12 Est MPG Last Transmit
13 Pricing Code 30 Alt ID #
14 Post Code 31 Phone ID
15 Color Phone Curr Reading
16 Purchase odom 32 Neverlost Ind
17 Tab # 33 Key #
18 Model Options 34 Unit Owned
19 Veh Options
Last Physical Inv 35 Lot No
1SAVE 2NEXT 3ERASE 4 5BACKUP 6SEARCH 7 8 NXT PAGE
- When first accessing any screen, the cursor will be at the "OPTION:" field in the upper left corner.
- Pressing RET will cause the cursor to advance one data field. In the example above, pressing RET while the cursor is at the "OPTION:" field, will drop the cursor down to Field 1, Vehicle Number. Each time RET is pressed, the cursor will advance to the next numbered field.
- To back up one field, press the "F5" function key. Each time the "F5" key is pressed, the cursor will back up one field. There are some exceptions to this wherein the cursor will move back more than one field or will not move back beyond a certain field. Usually, this happens when moving through a group of related fields. On most PC keyboards, the up arrow key can also be used to back up one field at a time.
- To return the cursor from any data entry field back up to the "OPTION:" press the "ESC" key once.
- To make the cursor move from the "OPTION:" field to a specific data field, type the desired field number and then press RET. In the example, typing 16 (RET) at "OPTION:" will cause the cursor to go directly to the Purchase Odometer field.
- Jumping from one data field to another by field number is not allowed. Typing 27 (RET) when the cursor is at Field 3 will not advance the cursor to the Field 27. Instead, the system will interpret the number 27 as the data for Field 3 (the License plate number). To go from Field 3 to Field 27, press "ESC" to jump to the "OPTION:" field then type 27 (RET).
- To correct typing errors made in data entry is relatively simple. First, remember that nothing entered into a field is permanent. The data is not saved until the "F1" key is pressed. Even then, the record can be pulled back on the screen and edited.
C. WINDOWED SCREENS
An example of a Windowed screen is the RA Open screen displayed below.
OPTION: ______________ RA OPEN
1 Name(L/F/T) */*/* 11 Ret Dt/Tm */*
2 Address * 12 Ret Loc/Drop STL/*
3 C/S/Z */*/* 13 Veh/Cl/Odo/F */*/*/*
4 Ph/DOB/Gen */*/* 14 Rate/Cl/Ppd */*/N
5 Locl Cnt * 15 Cell Phone *
6 Li/St/Ex/Ver */*/*/* 16 Empl/Drw AMM/1
7 FOP/#/Ex/LOA */*/*/*/*
8 Ath#/Amt/Cur/RoE */*/*/*
9 Sr/Ty/ID */*/*/*
10 Notes * O-Sub Windows
F1=SAVE F2=SWIPE F3=ERASE F6=SEARCH F8=ESTIMATE
- There are major differences between the non-windowed screen and the windowed screen that affect the navigation around the screen.
- In a windowed screen, several data fields have been concatenated (linked together into a chain) into a single numbered data field.
- Sub-windows appear on the lower half of the screen.
- In the example above of the RA Open screen, Line Number 1, NAME (L/F/T), is referred to as a "Data Group" which is made up of three concatenated fields (. In this manual, data groups will be referenced by their line number and individual concatenated fields will be referenced by their group number followed by a lower case letter referring to the position in the group.
As an example, the fields requesting the C/S/Z (City, State and Zip Code) is referred to as Data Group 3. The City is Field 3a, the State is 3b and the Zip Code is 3c.- Individual concatenated fields are separated by the SLASH character, "/". When entering data into a Data Group you must press the "/" key between concatenated fields. After the last field in a group you do not need a "/" but must press RET to advance the cursor to the next field.
As an example, data would be entered in Data Group 3 as follows:
LOS ANGELES/CA/90045 (RET)
- To move the cursor to a particular field within a data group simply press the "/" key for each concatenated field that needs to be skipped.
For example, to edit the Zip Code in the above example, type:
//90054 (RET)
Such an entry leaves the City and State fields untouched.- On Windowed screens, the asterisk (*) is used to denote an empty or blank field. Pressing the "F3" key will erase all fields within a data group. To erase a single concatenated field, type "*" as the first character of the field to be erased.
- Windowed screens make use of half screen displays. On the top half of the screen, or Main Window, appear those fields that will complete the majority of all transactions. Additional data entry fields are selectively displayed in subwindows on the lower half of the screen. To access a subwindow, position the cursor at the "OPTION:" field and then enter the letter representing the window you wish to see. For example, on the RA Open screen typing A (RET) will display the Rates subwindow. To exit a subwindow and return to the Main Window, press "ESC" when the cursor is at the Subwindow "OPTION:" field. (A list of subwindows can be accessed on the RA Open screen by type the letter “O” at the "OPTION:" field.)
OPTION: A________ _ RA OPEN
1 Name(L/F/T) */*/* 11 Ret Dt/Tm */*
2 Address * 12 Ret Loc/Drop LAX/*
3 C/S/Z */*/* 13 Veh/Cl/Odo/f */*/*/*
4 Ph/DOB/Gen */*/* 14 Rate/Cla/Ppd */*/N
5 Locl Cnt * 15 Cell Phone *
6 Li/St/Ex/Ver */*/*/* 16 Empl/Drw TMC/1
7 FOP/#/Ex/LOA */*/*/*/*
8 Ath#/Amt/Cur/RoE */*/*/*
9 Sr/Ty/ID */R/*/*
10 Notes * O-Sub Windows
OPTION: ______________ TIME & MILEAGE RATES Page:001
Option EffDt Dy-Rate/ml Wk-Rate/ml Mt-Rate/ml Xd-Rate/ml Hrs-Rate/ml
1 TIME 09-27 */* */* */* */* */*
2 MILE */* */* */* */* */*
3 * */* */* */* */* */*
4 * */* */* */* */* */*
5 * */* */* */* */* */*
6 * */* */* */* */* */*
7 * */* */* */* */* */*
8 Free miles/Yield */*
F2 NEXT 7 F4 PREV 7
D. POP-UP WINDOWS
In several program pop-up windows are available. Generally, data listed in the pop-up window is used to make a choice. Most pop-up windows are accessed by pressing Shift/F7 from the field. For example, pressing Shift/F7 in the Source field on the Reservations and RA Open screens calls a pop-up window that lists all the Source Codes. The user can highlight the desired Source and press (RET) to select it. To navigate through the list in the pop-up window, use the up and down arrows to scroll one item at a time. Use Page Up and Page Down keys to scroll a page at a time. Use the Home and End keys to jump to the start or end of the list.
Some pop-up windows that are used for data entry are called automatically, such as when the Extended Name or Address feature is turned on.
III. GENERAL DATA ENTRY INSTRUCTIONS
A. Optional fields that are not required in order to complete a transaction may be skipped by pressing RET.
B. Some fields will display a default value when entering the screen. Default values are automatically supplied by CARS+ and can be changed in most cases. An example is the Pickup Location field on the Reservation Manifest report screen. This field will default to the location to which your terminal was assigned through the Edit Terminal Records program or the Change User Environment program.
C. Dates can be entered into the system either of the following formats. The format is selected in the "Time Format" field of Edit Misc Control Fields. These formats are illustrated below for June 2, 2017:
MMDDYY = 060217
DDMMYY = 020617
where
MM = Number of the month. Leading zeros are NOT necessary on single digit months in the format MMDDYY, but are necessary when using the format DDMMYY.
DD = Day of the month. Leading zeros are ALWAYS necessary on single digit days.
YY = Last two digits of the year.
There are some special rules concerning years:
- For date of birth, it is customary to enter a 2-digit year (although a 4-digit year is accepted.) When the 2-digit year is less than or the same as the current year, the prefix '20' is added to the year. Example: Entering '03' will result in the birth year 2003.
If the 2-digit year is greater than the current year, the prefix '19' is added to the year. Example: Entering '92' will result in the birth year 1992.
Therefore, a customer who is 100 years old will not be accepted with the correct birth year. To force the system to accept a customer who is over 99 years old, enter the full 4-digit year.- For all other dates, if the number of the year is more than 50 greater than the present system year, the date is interpreted as being in the previous century. In 2017, a vehicle with model year 99 is a 1999 model year.
- If at any time the system misinterprets the year entered, enter it a second time with all four characters. To enter the model year for a classic 1936 Ford, enter the date as 1936. (Entering 36 would be interpreted as 2036.)
Notice that in both formats there is no punctuation or spaces. Once the date is entered and RET is pressed, the system will re-display the date with punctuation breaks, such as 06-02-08.
On many screens, the date can be entered as just month and day. It is understood to be the current year and the 2 digits for the year will be filled in automatically after pressing RET.
For instructions on how to select a date format, see the chapter of the manual titled Edit Miscellaneous Control File.
The only date in the system that is not governed by the above format rules is the expiration date for credit cards. This format is MMYY.
Date Range "EARLIEST" to "LATEST". Many reports can be limited in scope by a date range. When specific starting and ending dates are entered, only those records within the specified date range will be included in the report. For some reports the date range fields default to the terms "EARLIEST" and "LATEST". When these defaults are used, the date range is ignored and all records are included regardless of date.
For many reports which default to something other than "EARLIEST" or 'LATEST", the date values may be changed to those terms by using a special sequence of keystrokes. When the cursor in the date field, press the "F3" key to erase the current entry. Then press "ENTER". The word "EARLIEST" or "LATEST" will appear depending on if it is a "Start Date"or "End Date" field. Note:This is not available on all reports.
D. For the time, you may choose either civilian (12 hour) or military (24 hour) time.
1. Civilian Time:The format for civilian time is HHmmx where:
HH=The hour of the day in civilian time.
mm=The minutes past the hour.
x= A - for AM
P - for PM
N - for noon
M - for midnightNote: The civilian time format will NOT accept the times 1200A or 1200P. For noon and midnight you must use the N and M designations.
2. Military Time: The format for military time is HHmm where:
HH = The hour of the day based on a 24 hour clock.
mm = The minutes past the hour.
Note: By definition, midnight is the start of a new calendar day and 11:59PM is the last minute in a day. Therefore, to run a report to cover an entire 24 hour calendar day, the time parameters must be from 1200M to 1159P in civilian time and 0000 to 2359 in military time.
For instructions on how to select a time format, see the chapter of the manual titled Edit Miscellaneous Control File.
E. Decimal points must be entered if the digits to the right of the decimal point are not equal to zero. Commas and currency symbols should not be entered but may be supplied by the system after pressing RET. In amount fields, entry of 21 will be displayed as 21.00.
F. There are several types of errors which can be made while entering data. Trying to enter more characters than a field is designed to accept will cause the cursor will cease to move and a beep will sound for every additional keystroke. With most other errors, the system will display a message at the bottom of the screen explaining the error and giving instructions on how to proceed.
G. If lower case characters are entered into a field, the entry may not be accepted. Thus, it is best to make all entries in upper case letters.
Data entered is saved in two steps:
A. Data is temporarily saved in each field when RET is pressed. If the cursor is at the beginning of the next field, the data just entered in the previous field is temporarily saved. This means that all data entered on a screen is only temporarily saved. Pressing "F3" or exiting the screen by pressing "ESC" will result in the loss of all temporarily saved data.
B. Data is permanently saved by pressing the "F1" function key at the “OPTION” field. This means that data appearing on all pages and windows of a screen will be written to the appropriate data files. After a document has been saved, in most cases it may still be pulled back on the screen for re-editing and re-saving.
V. GENERAL INFORMATION ON EDITING TRANSACTIONS
Edits to Rental Agreements and Reservations can be as follows:
A. RESERVATIONS
Reservations are edited by pulling the record back up on the Reservations screen. Nearly all fields on the reservation record can be changed. Changes must be saved by pressing F1 when the cursor is at the main “OPTION” field.
B. OPEN RAs
Open RAs can be edited in a couple of ways. Things like additional deposits, extending the return date of the rental, and vehicle exchanges can be done in the RA Open screen or the Batch RA Open screen. More sensitive edits, such as changing the opening employee, changing the opening date and time, or changing the posting code must be done through the Edit Opening Fields program. All users are required to enter their usercode and password when saving a change to a RA.
C. CLOSED BUT UNPOSTED RAs - After a contract has been saved, but before the day's work is posted, edits can be made to most fields.
Changes to data that is displayed on the opening screen must be done through Edit Opening Fields. Changes to data displayed on the closing screen must be performed through the Edit Closed RA program. All users are required to enter their usercode and password when saving a change to a RA.
D. POSTED RAs- After the DBR Posting program has been run, posted RAs can be edited as follows:
When a RA is posted, critical data is transferred to the Accounts Receivable Files. Even though the RA is marked as having been posted, further edits to it will post under the day the edits were made. Thus, if a contract that was closed and posted May 2 was edited May 15, the edits would post with the other transactions for May 15.
Changes to data that is displayed on the opening screen must be done through Edit Opening Fields. Changes to data displayed on the closing screen must be performed through the Edit Posted RA program. All users are required to enter their usercode and password when saving a change to a RA.
Often times when doing research it is convenient to print the screen. The keys to do this are as follows:
Logged in to CARS+ Internet using K-95: Press
Logged in to CARS+ Internet AbsoluteSSH: Press
A. STANDARD KEYS
RET - The RETURN key has the following characteristics:
- When entering data or instructions, the RET key must be pressed to temporarily save the data just entered. Pressing any other key that causes the cursor to exit the current field will cause loss of data in that field.
- When in a data entry screen, RET advances the cursor to the next data field unless your entry is unacceptable. In this case, the cursor returns to the beginning of the current field and a warning message may appear at the bottom of the screen or you may hear a warning beep.
- Press RET to go past a field without changing its contents.
ESC - Pressing ESC once returns the cursor to the "OPTION:" field. When the cursor is in the "OPTION" field, pressing ESC twice exits the screen and returns you to the menu.
TAB - In Real World Accounting programs, TAB is used to end a function and return to the previous program or menu.
In CARS+, when the cursor at a subwindow "OPTION:" field, pressing TAB once returns the cursor to the main window's "OPTION:" field.
SHIFT - Pressing SHIFT when striking another key will produce the upper symbol embossed on the key.
QUIT KEY - When running a report, at the start of it the following message may display: PRESS THE QUIT KEY TO STOP THE REPORT. The "quit key" is Ctrl-\. (Hold down the Control key and type the back slash.) This works only when the message is flashing at the bottom of the screen.
CAPS LOCK - The CAPS LOCK key should always be on when working in CARS+ so that all alphabetical characters will be entered as capitals without pressing the SHIFT key. The CAP LOCK does not affect non-alphabetic keys.
- When logging into a session and it seems stuck, use(hold down the Control key and type the Q) to quit the old session.
- In CARS+,(hold down the Control key and type the R) is used to refresh the screen in both CARS+ and in RealWorld accounting programs. If the Internet connection is lost while you are doing a transaction, upon logging in again you may see a blank screen. Pressing will refresh the screen, and you will be exactly at the point you were when the connection was lost.
- In RealWorld, or ESC can be used to restart a transaction.
- puts a program screen into translation mode so that the screen literals can be translated into another language other than American English. See The Overview - Foreign Language Translation chapter for more information.
- Use to access Hot Menu from anywhere in CARS+. The menu contains a select list of the most commonly used programs (such as Reservations, RA Open, RA Close, Make Available, Vehicle Inventory). It allows you to access more than one program at a time by temporarily leaving the one you are in and go to another. When the second program is exited, you will return to the first one exactly where you left it.
For example, assume you were in the middle of opening a RA and needed to go the RA Close screen for a moment. Type CTRL-V and select RA Close. Once the closed RA is saved, you'll automatically return to the RA Open screen exactly where you left it --without having lost any data that was entered.
Continuing with this example, suppose that you next needed to go to Vehicle Inventory Control. The Hot Menu is not intended to be used multiple times. That is, having called the Hot Menu from RA Open and having gone to RA Close, you should exit out of RA Close and to back on the RA Open screen to call the Hot Menu to go to Vehicle Inventory.
Attempting to use the Hot Menu without having returned to the original program will cause the following message to display:
END THIS PROGRAM FIRST BEFORE USING HOTMENU AGAIN
- Hotkey Notes - From any screen in CARS+ or RealWorld, the Notes Subwindow can be accessed by entering. See the section on the Notes Subwindow at the end of this chapter.
- Access On-Line Res Display
- Access On-Line Non-Rev Display "OPTION:" Field
All screens which have numbered choices or numbered data entry fields will have an "OPTION:" field. On a menu screen, entry of an item number followed by RET will call the menu item selected. On a data entry screen, entry of a field number when the cursor is at "OPTION:" will cause the cursor to jump immediately to the chosen field.Other valid keys when the cursor is at "OPTION:" are:
1. ESC to return to previous menu or calling program. Note that data entry screens require two successive ESCs before exiting to the previous menu. This is to prevent loss of temporary data if you accidentally press ESC during data entry.
2. Appropriate function keys (F1, F2, etc.) which usually but not always are displayed at bottom of the screen or window.
3. Some programs permit entry of data such as RA or Res#, for immediate display of the requested item.
B. FUNCTION KEYS
|
F1 |
Store temporarily saved data permanently into the appropriate files. This key also is used to run reports or perform a function such as purging. Note: On multi-page records CARS+ saves the entire record (all pages) at once. |
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F2 |
Display the next record based on the rules of an alphanumeric sort. And it activates a credit card swipe reader in RA Open and RA Close. |
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F3 |
Erase Screen/Field. If this function key is pressed while the cursor is at "OPTION:", all data displayed on the screen will be cleared. If the function key is pressed while the cursor is in a data field, that field or data group will be cleared. |
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F4 |
The function of this key changes from program to program. Watch the defining label at the bottom of a program screen for the current definition. |
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F5 |
Backup field. If the cursor is positioned at one of the fields on the screen, pressing F5 causes the cursor to be moved to the start of the previous field. If F5 is pressed while the cursor is positioned at Field 1, the cursor returns to "OPTION:". |
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F6 |
Search. The search feature allows the operator to search or scan data file records. See the section on File Search and Scan in the chapter on Overview - Search Programs for details on how to use the F6 Search feature. |
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F7 |
Help. A system of user-defined prompts can be created and tied to this function key. As delivered, your system has no help files defined. See the Edit Help Files chapter of the CARS+ manual for instructions on setting up help files. |
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F8 |
Next Page. On multi-page documents, this key displays the next page (screen). Pressing F8 when on the last page of a document will return you to the first page. The page being displayed and the total number of pages for the application are shown on each screen, such as "Page 2 of 3". Estimate. On the Reservation, Open RA and Batch RA programs, the F8 key displays an estimate of the rental charges. |
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| F9 |
Calls the Stripe MOTO link |
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| F10 |
Unused at this time |
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| F11 |
Seek credit card (FOP) Authorization Request. (For clients using Payment Services) |
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| F12 |
Obtain Report on the Above Authorization Request. (For clients using Payment Services.) |
C. SHIFTED FUNCTION KEYS
Shifted F1 and F2 produce the same values as F11 and F12 and thus cannot be used for a different special value.
| SHIFT/F3 |
Reserved for a future enhancement. |
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| SHIFT/F4 |
Unmask the FOP (Credit Card Data). Unmasking a credit card is subject to the limitations of that user's access file. See Edit User Access File for additional information. |
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SHIFT/F5 |
On the Reservation and RA Open screens, brings up the Option Pop-Up Window where coverages and optional charges are added. On RA Open and RA Close in the Miscellaneous field,, brings up the Option Pop-Up Window limited to just miscellaneous charges. On the RA Close screen for contracts that used the insurance logic, this key displays the amount chargeable to the insurance company. |
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SHIFT/F6 |
The action of this key varies by program: From the OPTION: field of the following program, displays the Notes Subwindow for those records which have a note attached. The message "NOTES ON FILE" will blink in the upper right corner of the screen when there is an attached note.
From the OPTION: field of the following programs, prints the RA. If this is done prior to the initial close of the RA, the open RA will be printed. After close, it prints the closed RA. From the OPTION: field of the following program, displays the Print Charge Options screen which indicates which Pricing and Privilege Codes were applied to the RA and which item caused the codes to be applied (such as vehicle, rate, CDPID, etc.). From the "Rate" field of the following program, causes the Best Rate Search Table to be displayed.
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SHIFT/F7 |
Allows access to a variety of pop-up windows from the Reservation, RA Open, RA Close, and other programs. If the cursor is positioned at one of the designated fields on the screen, pressing Shift/F7 accesses a pop-up window that displays the various records in that file or calls a search program. When a displayed record is selected, it is loaded into the designated field on the screen. Some of the designated fields are:
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SHIFT/F8 |
On the RA Open program this re-loads the reservation data. (Controlled by a field in Edit Feature Edit Profile Codes.) On the RA Close program this brings up a window showing the itemized charges on the contract. (The odometer and fuel level must be entered first in order for the charges to calculate.) |
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SHIFT/F9 |
On the Open and Close programs (RA Open, RA Close, Batch Close, Edit Closed and Edit Posted RA), this command pulls up the Incident Entry program that is used to issue Customer Service Adjustments to a closed RA. See the Overview - Incident Entry Chapter for more information. |
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| SHIFT/F10 |
Translation Mode. (Same as also CTRL/T) See the Overview - Foreign Language Translation chapter for more information. |
NOTE: Shifted/F1 and Shifted/F2 are not available for use.
D. PAGE UP, PAGE DOWN, HOME AND END KEYS
In Reservations, RA Open, RA Close, and on some Control Files, these special keys can be used as follows:
Page Down
Display the next record Page Up Display the previous record
Home
Go to the start of the file (first record)
End
Go the end of the file (last record)
VIII. RULES OF AN ALPHANUMERIC SORT
Many CARS+ reports and searches allow you to select a range of items and to specify the order in which they appear. These selections and sorts are governed by the following rules concerning alphanumeric sorts.
Space Low Value
0 - 9 Higher Values
A - Z Highest Values
IX. NOTES SUBWINDOW & HOTKEY NOTES
In addition to the brief "Notes" field available on several screens, CARS+ provides a NOTES subwindow that can be used to read or write messages up to 540 characters in length. By using this subwindow, these notes can be linked to records in any of the following files:
RA File
Reservation File
Reservation Quotes File
Customer File
Vehicle File
Rental Rate File
Vendor File (Travel agents)
Customer Type
Locations
CDPID records
Vehicle Exchange
Damage Reports
CDPID display only notes at RA Close (Special rules apply - see Section F below)
NOTES ACCESS
CARS+ can be configured in different ways concerning the access to Notes. Without any restrictions, all users are allowed to read, create, modify and delete notes. When restrictions are imposed on editing notes, some users may be barred from deleting and/or modifying notes. All users can always read and create notes. See the chapters in this manual on the Edit Miscellaneous Control File and the Edit User Access File for more information on restricting access to Notes.
1. Accessing the Notes Subwindow
a. Notes Subwindow
In the Reservations, RA Open and RA Close screens, enter the Notes Subwindow by typing N (RET) at the "OPTION" field of the Main Window. The window will then display:
| OPTION: __ NOTES F2=LINES+9 4=Lines-9 Key 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 |
b. HOTKEY Notes (CTRL N)
From any screen in CARS+ or RealWorld, the Notes Subwindow can be accessed by entering CTRL N.
2. Entering a Note
a. Drop down to the first line "Key" and enter one of the following, then press RETURN.
|
Type of Note |
Type |
Example |
|
RA notes |
RA (space) RA# |
RA L0012345 |
|
Reservation notes |
RES (space) Reservation # |
RES 456789 |
| Reservation restricted notes These notes can be seen only in the Reservations program. |
RRS (space) Reservation # |
RRS 456789 |
|
Res Quote notes |
QUO (space) Quote # |
QUO 123456 |
|
Customer notes |
CUS (space) Customer # |
CUS DB1888 |
|
Vehicle notes |
VEH (space) Vehicle #* |
VEH 190416 |
|
Rate notes |
RT (space) Rate product code |
RT DAILY |
|
Vendor notes |
VEN (space) Vendor # |
VEN HILTON |
|
Customer Type notes |
CTP (space) Customer Type |
CTP DB |
|
Location notes |
LOC (space) Location Code |
LOC TUS |
|
Damage Reports notes |
DMG (space) Damage Rpt. # |
DMG 1234 |
|
CDPID notes |
CDP (space) CDPID# If the number is less than 10 digits, leading zeros must be used. If the CDP is alpha-numeric, no leading zeros are necessary. |
CDP 0000123456 ABMR789 |
|
Master Leases |
LSE (space) Master Lease # |
LSE T6789 |
|
Exchanges |
EXC (space) RA# |
EX CL0012345 |
| CDPID display only notes at RA Close (Special rules apply -see Section F below) |
XCD (space) CDPID# or Local CDPID# |
XCD 1234567890 |
* If the Vehicle number entered is unique, that is there is only one vehicle on file with that unit number, entering "VEH nnnnnn" will set up the note to be attached to the indicated vehicle. But if the unit number entered is NOT unique, the Vehicle File search will automatically be called and you must select which of the units with a common unit number is to receive the note.
Note: When creating a note for a new reservation or RA that has not been saved yet, obviously there is no reservation number or RA number to enter as the key in Field 1. In this case, leave the key field blank and just create the note. (Don't save the note in the subwindow.) When the Reservation or RA is saved, it will be recognized that a note was created without a key and the key will be automatically assigned. This feature only works on the Reservations and RA Open programs. To add a note to a new customer for example, you must first create and save the customer and then create the note using the Customer Number in the Key.
Wildcard Values:
To attach notes to multiple records that match a particular value, use the asterisk (*) for part of the record number. Here are some examples of how to use a wildcard value when entering a key in Field 1:
|
Key |
Creates notes that will display for: |
|
CUS T* |
All customers with customer numbers that start with "T" |
|
RT CORP* |
All rental rates that have “CORP” as the first 4 characters. |
b. Once the Key has been entered, enter the message in Fields 1 through 9. Each line accommodates a maximum of 60 characters. If you type beyond the 60 characters, the program goes back to the last "space" and automatically wraps the text from that point forward onto the next line. Or, you can press RETURN to drop down to the next line.
Up to 99 lines can be added to a Note. Pressing F2 brings up the next 9 lines; press F4 brings up the previous 9 lines.
An example of the Notes Subwindow is shown below:
| OPTION: __ NOTES F2=LINES+9 F4=Lines-9 Key RA L10385 1 WIDGET CORP. REQUIRES FURTHER AUTHORIZATION BY PHONE 2 IF THE AMOUNT TO BE BILLED EXCEEDS $500.00. 3 4 CALL THEIR A/P DEPT AT 714-835-3367 EXT 239. 5 ENTER THE NAME OF PERSON GIVING AUTHORIZATION ON THE 6 NEXT LINE: 7 8 9 |
3. Saving a Note
Unlike all other Subwindows, Notes are saved by pressing F1 from the subwindow "OPTION" field.
The exception to this rule is when a new note is written on the Reservation or the RA Open & Close screens. On these screens, if the new note is meant to apply to the current record displayed on the screen, the Notes Subwindow must be saved when the entire transaction is saved at the "OPTION" field of the Main Window. The note will be saved, and the Note Key will be filled in automatically with the Reservation or RA number.
If, on the other hand, there is an existing Note displayed that is related to the Reservation or RA, any change made to the existing Note must be saved separately in the Notes Subwindow.
B. READING EXISTING NOTES
1. If the name of the Notes Subwindow flashes on the Main Window of the Reservation or RA Open screens, you are warned that one or more important messages related to this transaction exist in the Notes File and should be read before continuing.
Notes may exist for more than one piece of data in your Reservation or Rental Agreement. As an example, notes may be linked to both a repeat customer and the rate being used. If more than one note exists, the following message appears at the bottom of the screen:
MORE TO COME PRESS RETURN TO CONTINUE
Pressing RETURN brings up each new note in succession.After all notes have been read, pressing ESC twice will return you to the Main Window.
2. Within the Reservation and RA Open programs, notes are displayed in the following sequence:
- Reservation notes
- RA notes
- Notes attached to the Customer record of the renter
- Notes attached to the Customer record of the Bill-to party
- Vehicle notes
- Vendor notes
- Rate Product notes
- Notes attached to the Opening Location
- Notes attached to the Closing Location
- CDPID notes
- Notes attached to the Customer Type of the renter
- Notes attached to the Customer Type of the Bill-to party
- Notes attached to the Customer record of the voucher issuer
- Notes attached to the Master Contract of a lease
3. On the RA Close screen, if there is a Note attached, the Note displays automatically when the RA is brought to the screen.
4. In the Customer, Vehicle Inventory, Rental Rules & Rates, and Vendor Files if there is a Note on the record you are viewing, in a blinking mode in upper right corner of screen the following will display:
NOTES ON FILE
Press SHIFT F6 to display the Note.
5. Damage notes do NOT cause the Notes subwindow to blink on the RA Open or Close screens. To see damage notes, you must either pull up the Damage record and press "F2" to see the note or use the Hot Key notes feature.
C. ADDING TO A NOTE
After a note record has been created, additional lines can be added until all 9 lines are filled.
The steps to add to a note are:
a. Access the note record in the Notes Subwindow using one of the methods described above.
A previously saved note looks like this:
| OPTION: __ NOTES F2=LINES+9 F4=Lines-9 Key RA L10385 2 IF THE AMOUNT TO BE BILLED EXCEEDS $500.00. 0505081340 BOB 1 WIDGET CORP. REQUIRES FURTHER AUTHORIZATION BY PHONE 3 4 CALL THE A/P DEPT AT 714-835-3367 EXT 239 0505081340 BOB 5 ENTER THE NAME OF PERSON GIVING AUTHORIZATION ON THE 0505081340 BOB 6 NEXT LINE: 050508 1340 BOB 7 8 9 |
The additional data on the right provides the following information:
1. The Date and Time the note was written, in this case, the May 5, at 1:40pm. (1340)
2. The Employee Code of the individual who wrote the note. (BOB)
b. Drop the cursor down to the first available field and type the additional message. Previous lines of text can either be erased by pressing F3 or typed over. Remember there are 99 lines available for each Note. Press F2 to go to the next 9 lines.
c. Return to the subwindow "OPTION" field and resave the record by pressing F1.
D. DELETING A NOTE
To delete an existing note simply use the F3 key to erase each line of text leaving the "Key" field intact. Return to the subwindow "OPTION" field and resave the record by pressing F1.
User tip: Fields in the Edit Miscellaneous Control File and the User Access File can be used to restrict certain users from adding on to notes and deleting notes.
E. USER DEFINED MESSAGES
User defined prompts can be created by special use of the Notes Subwindow. They can be set up to display during the saving process on the RA Open and RA Close screens as reminders to your counter agents. Depending upon how they are defined, the saving process can be interrupted and, thus, allow editing, or they can display after saving when the RA prints.
These messages are created in the Notes Subwindow. Field 1, the Key, should be the first piece of data entered. (The keys are shown below.) Then create your message, and save it by pressing "F1" at the Notes subwindow "Option".
RA OPEN for "Opening Messages"
Key - Display Details
MSG RAOPEN-A - Displays after pressing F1 to save the RA. Allows the user to escape and stop the saving process or the user can press (RET) and continue saving the RA.
MSG RAOPEN-B - Displays after the Market Survey prints.
MSG RAOPEN-C - Displays after the RA prints.
RA CLOSE for "Closing Messages"
Key - Display Details
MSG RACLOS-A - Displays after pressing F1 to save the RA. Allows the user to escape and stop the saving process or the user can press (RET) and continue saving the RA.
MSG RACLOS-B - Displays after the RA prints.
F. CDPID DISPLAY ONLY NOTES AT RA CLOSE
These notes which display in RA Close only are meant to prompt the rental agent to give the renter something (such as a discount coupon for a future rental). They are created like other notes by accessing the Notes subwindow and using the key 'XCD' as listed in the chart above. When a CDPID or Local CDPID is on the RA with a 'XCD' note attached, the note will automatically display in a special window when the RA is brought up on the RA Close screen. The note cannot be altered from RA Close. The user is required to enter their usercode and password to log the fact that they saw the note. This feature is for on-line RA Close only (not Batch Close.)
Because of the way RA revenue records are stored, in general reports fall into one of the following categories depending on whether they read the RA Charge File or the RA data itself:
The RA Charge File. RA revenue records are stored the RA Charge File. In that file resides a separate row of data for each charge on every RA. That is, there is a separate record for time revenue, another one for LDW, another one for SLI, another for the additional driver charge, another for taxes, another for fuel, etc. Furthermore, each row of data has its own DBR date and can be posted separately. This means that new entries are posted as they occur -- even though previous records for that particular RA are already marked as having been posted. These edits to posted contracts are shown on the Accounting DBR on the day they are made AND are posted via the Accounting DBR.
With the RA Charge File being used to store RA revenue, CARS+ reports that refer to RA revenue are split into two categories:
A. CONTRACT ORIENTED REPORTS
These reports, such as the Operations DBR, read the RA File by the closing DBR date and report ALL revenue for the RA -- regardless of the DBR date attached to the individual RA Charge File records.
As an example, assume RA # 1234 closes April 30 and is posted May 2 with the following charges on the contract:
Time 100.00
Fuel 10.00
Add’l Driver 10.00
LDW 30.00
Tax 15.00
Total 165.00 paid by VISA
On May 6, a correction is made to the RA because the wrong level of LDW was charged. The LDW charge should have been $25.00; not $30.00. The correction to LDW also means that the tax should be reduced by $.50. The RA is corrected through Edit Posted RA and a credit is processed on the customer’s VISA for $5.50.
On May 8, it's discovered that a cleaning fee of $35.00 was never placed on the RA. The RA is updated through Edit Posted RA and the cleaning fee plus tax of $3.50 (total $38.50) is added on and charged to the customer's VISA.
.
The Operations DBR for May 6 and May 8 would not be affected by the edits to the RA because it is a contract oriented report.
However, if on May 9 you re-ran the Operations DBR for April 30, you would see the net results after the edits were made to the RA:
Time 100.00
Add'l Driver 10.00
LDW 25.00
Fuel 10.00
Clean up fee 35.00
Tax 18.00
Total 198.00Contract Oriented Reports use data from the RA for information - not data from the RA Charge File.
B. REVENUE ORIENTED REPORTS
These reports, such as the Accounting DBR and the Revenue Analysis Report, refer to the DBR date of the RA Charge records. Therefore, the same RA can appear on several reports.
In the case of the examples given above, the RA would appear on 3 Accounting DBRs:
April 30-closing information
May 6 - LDW adjustment
May 8 - cleaning fee adjustment
Reports that fall into this category are:
Accounting DBR
Extra Revenue Report
Revenue Analysis Report
In another example, assume we ran the Extra Revenue Report for the month of April. RA # 1234 would be included with LDW sales of $30.00. Perhaps a commission was paid to the opening rental agent based on that figure.
When the Extra Revenue Report is run for May, RA # 1234 will be included again -- this time with a negative $5.00 for LDW because of the edit to the posted RA that was entered May 6.
Because the RA Charge Records post each item individually, you should realize that it is possible to have contracts listed with negative amounts on the revenue oriented reports.
C. GUIDE TO READING REPORTS – SAMPLE REPORT
The report below is used as an example for reading the basics about CARS+ Reports.
06-10-08 12:14:21 MMG /dev/pts/2 00 THERMEON RENT-A-CAR Report #9421 Page 0001
Page 0001 D R A W E R B A L A N C E R E P O R T
SELECTIONS----------
Drawer: 001
Date/Time Range: 06-09-16 at 0000 to 06-10-16 at 2359
Incl. recs. w/Batch# Y
Employee ALL
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date Time Voucher Amount Cur FrgnAmt Cust Name Cust # RA/RES Empl
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AMX AMERICAN EXPRESS
06-10 0819 3456*1006 64.37 DICKERSON 103533 L3859465 MMG
06-10 1346 3100*1019 116.00 CALLIES 100777 L3859458 JEG
180.37 .00
MC MASTERCARD
06-09 1448 5678*5315 130.04 DOMAN 103520 L3859451 MMG
06-09 1745 5100*9341 150.15 MCCLENDON 100969 L3859444 MMG
280.19 .00
VISA VISA
06-10 0819 4567*7212 94.86 CORTEZ 103532 L3859464 JEG
06-10 0830 4100*1285 61.98 HEALEY 103465 L3859466 EGB
156.84 .00
Page 0002 D R A W E R B A L A N C E R E P O R T
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Form of Payment Summary
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AMX AMERICAN EXPRESS 180.37 .00 2 Records Found
MC MASTERCARD 280.19 .00 2 Records Found
VISA VISA 156.84 .00 2 Records Found
** GRAND TOTAL ** 617.40
16 RECORDS READ, 6 RECORDS REPORTED
NOTES – SAMPLE REPORT
This date and time are furnished by the system. They show exactly when the report was requested.
Name of the employee logged on to the session.
Company’s number and name
Report number and page number. CARS+ and RealWorld will assign numbers consecutively to every report. When a different Posting Company is used, there will be 2 sequences of numbers: one for the rental company and another for the posting company.
Name of the report.
“Selections” show some of the parameters chosen when requesting the report.
These are the column headings. Note that there are multiple lines. The first line of headings goes with the first line of information. The second line of column headings goes with the second line of information, etc.
This signifies the End of the Report. Look for this on multiple page reports to be sure you get all of the pages.
XI. ACCESSING MULTIPLE PROGRAMS - "HOT MENU"
The "Hot Menu" is a useful and convenient
feature of CARS+ providing each user with the ability to access more than one
program at a time. The "Hot
Menu" is accessed by pressing
For example, you could be in the middle of batch closing
a RA and need to open a new RA for a walk up customer. To do so, press
----------HOT MENU------------- | 1 Reservations | | 2 RA Open | | 3 RA Close | | 4 Vehicle Inventory Control | | 5 Make Vehicle Available | | 6 Edit Vehicle Grounding | | 7 Non Revenue Movemnt Entry | | 8 Release Vehicle7 | | 9 Look Only Reservation | |10 Look Only Veh Inventory | |11 Hertz Res Interface Log | ------------------------------- |
Select the program you want (in this case, RA Open). After you have opened and saved the new RA, press (ESC) to exit as you normally would. You will be returned to the Batch Close screen exactly where you were - no data entry has been lost.
The Hot Menu can be accessed multiple times. For instance, you could leave Batch Close by pressing CTRL-V, go to RA Open and leave it (before the RA was saved) by pressing CTRL-V, and then go to Vehicle Inventory. Once you pressed (ESC) from Vehicle Inventory, you would be back at RA Open. To get back to Batch Close, you need to (ESC) from RA Open.
Each user's Hot Menu reflects only those programs that they normally have access to. That is, if you don't have access to Vehicle Inventory on the Fleet Menu, you won't have access to it on the Hot Menu.
Certain countries have
a currency unit several orders of magnitude smaller than the US dollar.
That is, one US dollar equates to
perhaps 200 of their local currency units. This poses a problem for
CARS+ in that there are not enough
positions in most currency fields to store the necessary values.
Therefore, the ability exists to remove
the decimal point from currency fields. This mode can handle currencies
with an exchange rate of 1000 x to 1 USD. There is an exception,
however, for the credit card authorization amount field. That field
does not have a decimal point, so cannot be expanded. Contact
Thermeon's
Customer Support Dept. for more information on operating CARS+ in this
mode.