Occasionally, due to data entry problems, the current status of a vehicle as displayed in the Vehicle Inventory File may be incorrect. As an example, a vehicle currently on rent may be listed as available. This usually occurs when:
This report may be configured to run automatically at night. Users interested in this feature should contact Thermeon's Customer Support Dept. for further information.
To access the Status Exception Report, type STEXCP (RET) at any menu "OPTION:" field or appropriate line number on the Daily Audit Reports sub-menu of the Daily Procedures Menu. The screen will then display:
| OPTION: __ STATUS EXCEPTION REPORT 1 Curr Location TUS 2 Print/Display P 1BEGIN 2 3ERASE 4 5BACKUP 6 7HELP 8 |
Enter data as follows:
|
1. CURR LOCATION |
Enter up to 6 alphanumeric characters to indicate the Customers Pickup Location, a Group Name representing several locations, "ALL" for ALL locations, or press (RET) to default to your terminal's location. Note: Your user access may be limited as to the locations for which you can run this report. If your access is restricted and you attempt to enter a location or location group which is outside your allowed parameters, the following message will be displayed at the bottom of the screen and your selection will be ignored: RESTRICTED REPORT LOCATION EXAMPLE: Type TUS (RET) |
|
2. PRINT/ |
P = Print a hard copy of this report on your terminal's assigned printer. See the Edit Terminal Records Chapter for instructions on how to assign printers. D = Display this report on your terminal screen. See the General Data Entry Instructions Chapter on how to control the screen display. EXAMPLE: Type P(RET) |
PRESS "F1"AT "OPTION:" TO BEGIN.
READING THE STATUS EXCEPTION REPORT
SYMBOLS ON THE REPORT
The following symbols indicate special circumstances:
( * ) An asterisk before the RA number indicates the RA was batch opened
( ! ) An exclamation point before the RA number indicates the RA was opened from the multiple invoiced rentals logic (also known as multi-month logic).
( ? ) A question mark after the RA number indicates a questionable RA.
COLUMN HEADINGS
The meaning of certain columns may not be immediately apparent. The following page provides a description of each column.
|
STAT |
This is the current Status Code as displayed in the Vehicle Inventory File. |
|
DATE |
This is the Current Odometer Date as displayed in the Vehicle Inventory File. Usually, this is the date the vehicle's status code was last changed by a CARS + program. |
|
LOC |
This is the Current Location as displayed in the Vehicle Inventory File. |
|
CURRENT OPEN |
From a search of the RA File, this is any currently open RA involving this vehicle. An asterisk before the RA number indicates that the agreement was Batch Opened. This column will be empty if no open RA is found. Under certain conditions, an open RA can be attached to a vehicle whose status is not "O" (on rent). Such RA's are indicated by a question mark. See the introduction to the RA Menu for a further discussion of "Questionable" RA's. |
|
OPEN & DBR DATES |
These are the open dates associated with the RA in the previous column. |
|
PREVIOUS RA# |
This is the most recent RA# for the vehicle as displayed in the Vehicle Inventory File. If the vehicle is on rent, this RA# should be the same as the number in the Current Open RA column. |
|
DBR DATE |
This is the open DBR date of the RA in the previous column. |
|
COMMENT CODE |
One of the following comment codes will appear: |
1 = The Inventory File shows this vehicle as On Rent yet no open RA was found in the RA file. This indicates an error. To correct, use the Make Vehicle Available program to change the vehicle's status to Available.
2 = The Inventory File shows this vehicle as Sold yet it was found to be on an open RA. CARS+ logic tries to prevent this situation from happening by doing the following: Vehicles that are in status "O" (on rent) cannot be sold. Vehicles that are in status "S" (sold) cannot be rented after their sale date. However, if this does happen, examine both the Open RA listed in the Currently Open column and the validity of the Sold status. Depending on the findings, the following actions may be taken for correction:
Void the RA
Unsell the vehicle in the Sell a Vehicle program then resave the RA in Edit Opening Fields to update the vehicle's status
3 = A batch opened RA was found in the RA File, yet the Vehicle Inventory File does not show the vehicle as On-rent. This situation doesn't necessarily indicate an error but may indicate that you are not finished batch processing RAs. After examining the RA, the following actions may be taken for correction:
To change the vehicle's status to On-rent, resave the RA in the Edit Opening Fields program.
If there is a contract open that should be closed, batch close the RA.
If the RA should be voided, use the Void RA program.
4 = An on-line opened RA was found in the RA File, yet the Vehicle Inventory File does not show the vehicle as On Rent. This indicates an error similar to situation 3 and requires the same correction.
The follows examples illustrate how vehicles get into situations 3 and 4:
Assume that a contract was hand written but not entered into the system. It's discovered days later and needs to be entered. For this example, the following is the recent history of the vehicle:
| Veh # |
Date |
Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1234 |
June 13 |
Vehicle went on rent on a manual written RA |
| 1234 |
June 17 |
The rental returns. It's not found in the computer, so it is closed by hand |
| 1234 |
June 18 |
Using RA OPEN, the vehicle goes on rent on a new RA. |
| 1234 |
June 19 |
Using RA CLOSE, the second rental is closed. |
Assume today is June 20 and the June 13 rental is going to be entered. The current status of the vehicle is Available and the status date (the date it went into its current status) is June 19.
Because it's a contract from the past, Batch RA Open is used to enter the contract. The logic of the Batch Open program is to examine the opening date of the RA and compare it to the current status date of the vehicle. Since this RA happened 7 days ago, and the vehicle's current status date is yesterday, movements involving this vehicle have happen since June 13. Therefore, the Batch RA Open program will not change the vehicle status, so it remains Available.
Assume an interruption occurs before the RA is Batch Closed. This creates Situation 3: a batch opened contract on the vehicle, but the vehicle's status is not shown as On-rent; instead, it's Available.
Example 2: Instead of using Batch Open, RA Open is mistakenly used to open the contract. An interruption occurs before it is closed. With On-line Open, the vehicle's status is changed to "On Rent" immediately because by being "on line", it has to be the most recent transaction to occur. Later on in the day an inventory is taken. Vehicle 1234 is sitting on the lot; but its status in the computer is “O”. The "Make Vehicle Available" program (or the Physical Inventory program) is used to change the vehicle's status to Available. This creates Situation 4: An On-line opened RA but the vehicle's status is not shown as On-rent. Instead, it's Available. (The correct sequence would be to correct the opening date (using Edit Opening Fields) and then Batch Close the RA.)
Example 3: Situations 3 and 4 can occur when an RA is left open in error and vehicle's status is changed with a more recent date. Here are some examples of how a vehicle's status can be changed from On-rent to something else:
Opening a Non Rev with a more recent date than the RA's Open date – without closing the RA
Using Vehicle History Update to change the status of the vehicle using a more recent date than the Open date
Using the Physical Inventory program to correct a vehicle's status
Using the Make Vehicle Available program