Use this program to:
Note: The basic steps necessary to close a standard rental agreement are presented in this chapter. RAs using wholesale or insurance vouchers are handled somewhat differently than the standard RAs described here. For an explanation on how to close these special RAs, see the appropriate appendix chapter of the manual.
Instructions on the following features can be found at the end of this chapter:
User tip: When “limited access” logic is set up for certain users, this is one of the programs affected. Refer to the chapter of the manual titled Overview - Limited Access for details.
Use the links below to directly access the manual documentation for the RA Close Subwindows:
To access the RA Close program, type CLOSE (RET) at any menu "OPTION:" field or the appropriate line number on the RA menu. The screen will then display:
| OPTION: __________ RA CLOSE 1 Miles/Fuel/Chg */*/*/* 5 Empl/Drw */* Total T&M * 6 Notes * Total Non-T&M * FOP 2 Discount * 3 Tax/Surcharge * A-T&M Charges name: Subtotal-1 * C-Option Charges date: Less Dep/Reimb * D-Payments odom: Less Payments * E-Other Charges veh#: 4 Change Back * F- RA Open Bill-To: Balance * O-Other Windows N-Notes F1=CLOSE RA F2=SWIPE F3=ERASE F4=CALCULATE F12=CHECK AUTH ESC=EXIT |
SELECTING AN RA TO CLOSE.
Various methods can be used to pull a rental agreement onto the Close screen.
Regardless of the method used, the following questions may be asked:
1. If the RA requested is already closed but part of a chain of multiple Invoiced RAs (Multi-month or Longterm), the following question will be asked:
CLOSED MULTIMONTH RA - LOCATE LAST (OPEN) RA INSTEAD?
Answer:
Y = Yes, please find the currently open RA that is part of the multi-invoiced chain that the RA just requested is a part of.
N = No, please display the closed RA that was requested.
2. When a RA is selected, the Driver/Renter's last name, check-out date and time are displayed on the lower half of the screen. The system also prompts you to acknowledge that this is the correct rental agreement:
IS THIS CORRECT?
Upon entering "Y", the RA number is displayed in the upper right corner of the screen and the cursor returns to the "OPTION:" field. The following information will display on the right side of the screen:
Credit card number and expiration date if authorized on the Open screen
Renter's Last Name
Date and time the rental began
Odometer reading and level of gas in the tank (in eighths)
Vehicle number
Bill-to customer number is applicable
If you answer "N", the cursor returns to the "OPTION:" field and the selection process must be begun again.
If the damage report logic is being used by your company, the following question will display immediately after selecting every contract:
DID DAMAGE OCCUR ON THIS VEHICLE? (Y/N)
If you answer "Y", the damage report entry screen (Subwindow Z) is automatically invoked. For instructions on entering date in Subwindow Z, please see the Damage Entry Appendix chapter of this manual. If you answer "N", the cursor returns to the "OPTION" field.
If the RA has both a credit card as the FOP and a direct bill customer, the following message will display:
RA HAS BOTH BILL-TO AND CREDIT CARD, USE CREDIT CARD?
Enter:
Y = The credit card will be automatically loaded in the Payments subwindow.
N = The credit card will not be loaded in the Payments subwindow.
Note: A field in the Edit Misc. Control Fields record can be used to circumvent the question above. When it is set, the question is not asked and the credit card is not loaded in the Payments subwindow.
Certain operations issue Fuel Cards. If your operation uses Fuel Cards, the following question is asked:
IS FUEL CARD xxx BEING RETURNED?
(where xxx is the Fuel Card number.)
If the rental is returned earlier than the expected Return date and time and the system is configured to assess an Early Return penalty charge, the following message may display and the penalty option will automatically be applied to the rental:
EARLY RETURN FEE OF $NN.NN APPLIED(where nn.nn is the flat fee charge for the Early Return penalty Option). See Edit Misc. Control Fields page 6 for a complete explanation of this charge.
RAs That Cannot Be Closed
Under certain situations, some contracts cannot be closed via this program.These situations are:
1. Wait Status RAs. Contracts which are still in the temporary "wait" status cannot be closed via this program. This is because a wait status contract does not have an open date and time. Without that, the closing calculation cannot be made. To solve this problem:a. The Status of the contract must be changed from "W" to Open.This is done via the On-Line Open program.
b. But On-Line Open will assign the current date and time as the Open Date and Time of the contract.To correct the open date, next use the Edit Opening Fields program to set the open date and time to the correct value.
c. Once this has been done, the contract can then be closed either on-line or batch closed.
2. Blocked RAs. If it has been indicated on the RA Open screen that the RA should be prevented from being closed, the following message will display:
RA HAS BEEN PREVENTED FROM CLOSING – CALL MANAGER
Upon pressing (RET), you can continue to view all aspects of the RA. However, you will be prevented from saving any changes when pressing F1. In order to close the RA, a user whose has access to the Edit Opening Fields must remove the blocking flag in the G sub window of RA Open.
3. Hand Held Close. Operators of hand-held terminals will see the following message display when the RA's credit card has insufficient authorization to cover the total charges and the system cannot get an additional authorization or if the rental was secured with a cash deposit
SEND CUSTOMER INSIDE
Upon pressing (RET), the screen will clear waiting for the next RA.
4. RAs flagged with Action Note. RAs can be flagged with an "action note". Attempting to close a RA with an action note will cause the following message to display:
FIRST REVIEW NOTES AND REMOVE NOTES FLAG ON RA OPEN
Upon pressing (RET), the screen will clear waiting for the next RA. As the message instructs, you must bring up the RA on the RA Open screen and look at the attached Note. In addition, the action item flag must be removed from Field # 10 in Subwindow G. Once the above has been done, you can proceed with closing the RA.
5. One-way RAs when the system is shared. In certain situations, multiple licensees may share the CARS+ system. A feature available under that usage is the ability to block another licensee from closing a one-way rental. If blocked, the renting location must batch close the RA. If the block is in effect and the return location attempts to close a one-way RA, the following message will display:
RESTRICTED DROP-OFF LOCATION; OPERATION NOT PERMITTED.
Upon pressing (RET), the screen will clear waiting for the next RA.
6. Fuel Option Missing. When the record for Fuel is expired by mistake in Edit Option Rates, the fuel logic cannot be applied and the RA cannot be closed. The following message will display:
FUEL CHARGE RECORD MISSING, CONTACT SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR.
Upon pressing (RET), the screen will clear waiting for the next RA.
7. RAs that did not open at your location or are not due to return to your location. A field in Edit Misc. Control Fields can block a user from bringing up a RA that did not open at their location or is not due in to their location. If the block is in place, the following message will display and the RA will not appear:
THIS RA CANNOT BE EDITED AT YOUR LOCATION.
8. RAs that have a rate calculation problem. Sometimes illogical rules assigned to a rate make it impossible to calculate the charges.
Example 1: The rate may have a rule to change to another rate if a minimum or maximum number of days isn't reached, but the alternate rate was never set up. Or it was set up with incorrect effective dates. A typical message is:
NO ACCEPTABLE RATE - RA CANNOT BE CLOSED
Example 2: Tier type rate products cannot run longer than 999 days. If the rental is scheduled for longer than that, the tier rate cannot be used and the following message will display:
RENTAL TOO LONG FOR RATE STRUCTURE, CANNOT CALCULATE
To close the RA, either batch close it for less than 999 days and open a new rRA for the remaining days. Or, change the rate product in Edit Opening Fields to one with a daily/weekly/monthly/extra day structure.
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Note Records
Once an RA is selected, any note attached to that record will automatically display on the Notes subwindow. After reading the message, press TAB twice to return to the Main Window for data entry.
If a special note is attached to a CDPID on the RA, a special window will appear on the top half of the screen displaying the note. The note cannot be altered. The user must enter their usercode and password to log the fact that they viewed the note.
Masking Feature
Masking: Fields in the Edit Miscellaneous Control Record can be used to mask credit cards, drivers license, date of birth, other ID, and/or frequent traveler number. Additionally, a field in the User Access File designates whether or not the user is subject to masking. When masking is turned on and a RA is brought up on the Close screen, the credit card is always initially masked.
For locations not doing EDC (Electronic Draft Capture) through CARS+:
To see the entire credit card
number, press Shift/F4. The user will be prompted for usercode and password. (If the "Unmask Employee Prompt" field in the Location file is set to
"N", the employee will not be prompted for their user code and password
and the credit card data will be unmasked immediately.)
For locations doing
EDC, there is no need to unmask the credit card to
obtain an additional authorization unless the attempt for the authorization passes back the "Call for Auth" code. In that case, the credit card is
unmasked.
Refer to the chapters of the manual titled Overview - Masking Credit Cards and Overview - Masking Customer Data for full details in how to set up and use the masking logic in CARS+.
Whenever a card is unmasked, the fact that it was
made visible along with the user, date, time and location is recorded in the credit card viewing log file.
DATA ENTRY
Note: The
following illustrates the use of all data fields, but the examples given may
not duplicate actual counter situations.
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1a. MILES |
Enter up to 6 numeric characters to indicate the current odometer reading on the vehicle being checked in. The system will not accept a value lower than the check-out odometer reading. EXAMPLE: Type 5681(/) In the Edit Miscellaneous Control File is a field which defines the maximum number of miles that a vehicle can be expected to be driven per day. This logic check is used to catch possible data entry errors. If the number of elapsed miles/kms is greater than this field allows, the following message appears at the bottom of the screen:
Answer:
If the elapsed miles driven are more than twice that of the mileage per day allowance, the entry is rejected and the following message appears at the bottom of the screen:
The field "Minimum Miles" in the Edit Miscellaneous Control File (page 4, Field 8) can be used to define a minimum number of miles/kms that must be elapsed on the RA in order for it to close. If the minimum is not met, it cannot be closed. If in the upper right corner of the screen, the word "PENDING" is displayed this means that the RA was attempted to be closed using a hand held device but due to payment problems the renter was sent to the rental counter to complete the close. Under that condition, the returning odometer, fuel tank level and check-in date and time that were entered into the hand held device will appear in this and the next field and the program will automatically do a calculation. |
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1b. FUEL |
Enter 1 numeric character to indicate the fuel tank level at check-in. Fuel levels are measured in eighths. Possible values are:
EXAMPLE: Type 6 (/) There are several conditions that affect how fuel
charges are handled. These are
discussed in detail below. Also refer to the chapter Overview - Fuel Charges for more information. One-way rentals: Note that standard logic within CARS+ dictates that the rate for prepaid fuel is based on the opening location’s fuel rate, and the rate for fuel charged at close is based on the closing location’s fuel rate. A field in the Edit Miscellaneous Control File allows you to configure your system so that all fuel rates will be based on the rate from the opening location. A. Customer elected to take the Prepaid Fuel Option (per gallon/liter charge) – full tank.
B. Customer elected to take the Prepaid Fuel Option(per gallon/liter charge) – half tank.
C. Customer elected to take the Prepaid Fuel Option (daily charge)
D. Alternative Fuel charge is in effect.
E. The fuel calculation flag in the Location record is set to "N".
F. Fuel calculation flag in the Location record is set to "Y".
The rate at which fuel is charged is based on the following rules (the first three assume that the customer returned the vehicle to the scheduled return location):
Exchanges and the Fuel at Close Charge
G. Fuel Surcharge is in effect
H. Top-off Fee is set up.
I. Free tank of fuel from Special Document
J. Fuel Correction Codes:
If in the upper right corner of the screen, the word "PENDING" is displayed this means that the RA was attempted to be closed using a hand held device but due to payment problems the renter was sent to the rental counter to complete the close. Under that condition, the returning odometer, fuel tank level and check-in date and time that were entered into the hand held device will appear in this and the previous field and the program will automatically do a calculation. User tip: When a vehicle has a fuel type "E", (Electric Vehicle) this field will change to "Btry" for battery level. For more information regarding electric vehicles see the overview chapter in the manual. Overview Electric Powered Vehicles |
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1c. CHG |
If your system is not configured to perform automatic fuel calculations, enter the amount to be charged for refueling the vehicle.
This field can also be used to edit an automatically calculated charge unless the user is blocked from doing so by a field in the Edit User Access File record. Note: The "Edit Flg" field in the Edit Optional Rates program (1st column, pg. 3) for the FUEL option does not control the ability to edit the fuel charge in the RA Close program. Instead, it is the aforementioned flag in the Edit User Access File. EXAMPLE: Type 6.25 (RET) Access to this field is normally denied if the renter selected the Pre-Paid Fuel Option at the time of open. (Your system can be configured otherwise). To change the prepaid fuel amount, use the Edit Opening Fields program. When a RA is first displayed on the Close screen, the total of all fuel charges that were entered through the Vehicle Exchange subwindow will be displayed here. When using the automatic calculation feature, this amount is included in the calculated charge. But whenever an amount is entered from the keyboard, you are responsible to enter the TOTAL amount, including any previous charges initially displayed. |
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1d. |
This field displays a single character indicating how the fuel charge was calculated. Codes are as follows:
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| 1c. GENERATOR HOURS (in RV Mode) |
When run in RV Mode, the first line is Odometer/Fuel/Generator Hours. If the vehicle being rented is equipped with a gas powered electrical
generator which the renter will be charged for based on the number of
hours that it was used, a fifth field will appear on this line labeled
"GEN". Enter into this field up to five numeric characters before the
decimal and one character after to indicate the ending reading of the
meter that tracks the number of hours used. If displayed, this field
may not be left blank. This field will NOT default to the check out
reading (the rental agent is forced to enter a
value). The value entered may not be less than the check out
reading, but it may be greater than or equal (the generator was never used). EXAMPLE: Type 168.3 (RET) NOTE: For use of the generator for less than an hour, the renter will be charged for one whole hour (the minimum charge). For use of a generator for more than an hour, after subtracting the starting from the ending reading, any tenths of an hour used will be dropped and the renter will only be charged for whole hours used. |
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On certain rentals, equipment such as child seats, ski racks, or moving pads may be rented along with the vehicle. The way these options are configured in the Option File (Edit Optional Items and Edit Optional Charges) determines whether or not some of the following messages appear.In the following examples, assume a RA with 2 child seats. If the option is set up to generate an "Echo Close" message, the following question appears;
Answering "Y", keeps the charge for the option on the RA. Answering "N" removes the charge. If the option is set up so that a penalty charge will be assessed if it is not returned, the following question appears:
Regardless of the number entered, a message similar to the following one will display:
As long as the quantity returned is the same as that rented, there is no penalty charge. However, if the number returned is less than the number rented, the penalty option linked to the equipment is added to the RA. If more than one item is not returned, then the penalty charge is applied accordingly. For example, if both child seats were not returned, the penalty charge would be multiplied by two. A message similar to the following one will display:
User tip: If the penalty option is set up as a type "O" type option, it will be listed in the Optional Charges subwindow on the RA Close screen (and displayed in the Shift/F5 Option Pop-up Window). Alternatively, if set up as a "M" (miscellaneous) type option, it will be added on the Close screen under the Miscellaneous Charges field in the Other Charges subwindow.
CALCULATION OF CHARGES After entering the above data, all charges on the contract are automatically calculated. In the process of calculating charges, one of the
following messages may appear at the bottom of the screen. Each of these messages indicate that
the system has calculated the total Time and Mileage charges using a different
Rate Product than the one that was assigned at the time of open. This change will occur either because a
restriction on the Rate Product was broken or an alternate product was found to
be more economical for the renter. The messages are:
In each of the above situations, you can examine the new Rate Product that was used to calculate the charges and the reason why the change took place in the A Subwindow.
NON TAXABLE RENTALS If the RA has been assigned a non-taxable Tax Code, no sales tax charges will be calculated. Also, sales tax will not be calculated if the renting customer has been flagged as non-taxable through the use of the Tax Code field in the Customer record. DROP CHARGE CHANGED FOR CORPORATE RATEIf a voucher is set to be Intercity inclusive, but the drop city changes at RA Open or RA Close, the drop will no longer be included in the voucher. Will be charged to the renter. REMAINING FIELDS ON THE MAIN WINDOW |
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TOTAL T&M |
Total of all time and mileage charges (less any Customer Service Adjustment) calculated on the T&M Charges sub-window. To see the calculations that went into this figure, you must access the T&M Charges window by entering "A" at the main window "OPTION:" field. |
|
TOTAL NON-T&M |
Total of all other charges including coverages, options and the refueling charge. The calculations that went into this subtotal can be seen on sub-windows "C" and "E". |
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2. DISCOUNT |
If a discount was applied to the RA at Open, the amount will display here. This may be a particular amount, or a percentage of Time, or a percentage of Time and Mileage. You may also enter a discount amount in this field if the rate is discountable. If the Rate Product use on this rental is non-discountable, access to this field is blocked. In that case, adjustments to the T&M charges must be made through the Customer Service Adjustment Field on the E Subwindow or through the Incident Entry pop-up window. Maximum Amounts: A field in the User' Access File record can be used to define a maximum discount amount that the user is allowed to give. The message shown below displays if that amount is exceeded. The maximum amount is then imposed on the transaction. MAXIMUM DISCOUNT AMOUNT ALLOWED IS$ xx where xx is the amount. In any case, the discount cannot be greater than the Time and Mileage charges. This field is not available to Hertz Users or those running the system in RV mode. For these users discounts can only be entered as a percentage and the discount amount cannot be edited. If a flat-fee deduction must be given, use a PROMO or enter a Customer Service Adjustment on the RA. EXAMPLE: Type 20.00 (RET) RULES OF DISCOUNT PERCENT CALCULATION: 1. The standard within CARS+ is that a discount percent is calculated on the Total of Time plus the Mileage charge. But there is a configuration field within Edit Miscellaneous Control Fields (page 4) that limits the discount only to Time charges not Time and Mileage. 2. As stated above, the maximum amount of the discount can be limited on a per-user basis and can never be greater than the total T&M. 3. Finally, there is a hierarchy when multiple discounts are involved. Discounts are calculated in the following sequence:
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3. TAX/ |
Sales tax (or service charge) is automatically calculated on all charges that have been flagged as taxable in the Location, Optional Charge, and Miscellaneous Accounts files. The tax rate used in this calculation is the tax rate or tax code of the check-out location. If you desire to edit this field, enter the desired tax or service charge in dollars and cents. Use the "F3" key to remove charges in the case of tax exempt customers. (For permissions to remove or edit taxes and surcharges, see the note below.) Sales tax is not calculated if: 1. The rental was flagged with a tax exempt Tax Code. 2. T&M is not taxed if the Rate Product used is defined as tax inclusive. 3. T&M is not taxed if a wholesale voucher was involved and the wholesale rate is defined as tax inclusive. EXAMPLE: Type 26.64 (RET) User tip: Once the sales tax field has been manually edited on a RA, it will never be recalculated - even if rates are edited or additional options are added. Once edited, it MUST continue to be manually edited if any changes are made to the charges on the contract. If the RA previously had the sales tax manually edited, the message "MANUAL TAX CALC" will be displayed when loading the RA on to the screen. Note: The following set up would be required for a user to have access to edit and or remove taxes: Edit Misc. Control Fields record (page 3 "Allow Tax Code Edit?") controls access to this field. If this Edit Misc. field is set to "N" access to this field is blocked. Edit User Access file record (page 2 "Delete Taxes") controls the user's ability to delete taxes. |
|
SUBTOTAL-1 |
Sub-total 1 is the total of all charges and tax, less any discount. This figure is the RA total. |
|
LESS DEP/REIMB |
Total of all deposits received on this rental agreement and its related reservation (if any) plus any reimbursement credit offered to the customer for on the road expenses paid. |
|
LESS PAYMENTS |
Total of all payments in the Deposit/Payment file that are related to this rental agreement. Payments are entered into the Dep/Pay file by means of the Payments sub-window (D). If the driver/renter's credit card was pre-authorized at the time the RA was opened, the system will automatically load that credit card and authorization information into the Payment subwindow and pay off all outstanding charges with it. If the customer chooses not to use his pre-authorized credit card, you must access the Payment subwindow and enter a new Form Of Payment. |
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4. CHANGE BACK |
When there is an overpayment in excess of the total charges, the "Balance" field shows a negative amount. This indicates that money is due the customer. If money is given to the customer from the cash drawer, the amount given must be entered into this field. EXAMPLE:Type 13.57 (RET) User tip: A field in the Edit Miscellaneous Control Fields program can be used to designate a FOP Code other than "CA" to be used when an amount is entered here. User tip RV Mode: When run in RV Mode, this field is not accessible. |
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BALANCE |
After all deposits and payments have been applied there may be an amount remaining in this field.When positive, the amount is still owed by your customer.Receivable balances will automatically be written to the Accounts Receivable Open Item file when RAs are posted through the Accounting DBR program. Any negative balance due amount left at the time of closure means the amount is owed by you to your customer.It is considered an account payable to the Driver/Renter or Bill-To customer.These payables will be indicated on the DBR and will be posted as an open credit to the A/R Open Item File. |
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5a. EMPL |
Enter up to 6 alphanumeric characters to indicate the Employee Code of the agent who is closing this RA. The system can be configured so that the code used on the Employee Sign-On screen is loaded into this field and the cursor is blocked from editing that entry. EXAMPLE:Type MIKE(/) When entry of an Employee Code is permitted, a field appears at the bottom of the screen requesting a Password. Passwords can be set up to have an expiration date, and the program checks if the user's password has expired. Enter the corresponding Password for the Employee Code. EXAMPLE:ENTER PASSWORD FORD (RET). |
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5b. DRW |
On the on-line RA Close program, access to this field is blocked. This field will display either the terminal's assigned Drawer Number or your Drawer as assigned by the Edit User Access program. |
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6. NOTES |
This field displays instructions written by the opening agent. You may edit this field by typing over any displayed message. Often this field is used to explain why the counter agent had to manually override computer calculated charges. EXAMPLE:Type GAVE COUPON - FLAT TIRE(RET) NOTE: In addition to this 30-character field, there is an
entire Notes Subwindow that will accept up to 99 lines (60 characters each
line) of notes including "Closing Messages" which can be displayed at various stages while closing the RA. See the section on
the Notes Subwindow later in this chapter for more information or the General Data Entry Instructions Chapter. |
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FOP |
If a credit card was pre-authorized at the time of check-out, this field displays the FOP Code and the credit card number. All charges are automatically applied to this credit card. The credit card's expiration date is shown to the right of the credit card number. |
The Main Window
will then display:
| OPTION: ____________ RA CLOSE #00042097 1 Miles/Fuel/Chg 5681/6/6.25 5 Empl/Drw MIKE/1 Total T&M 193.52 6 Notes GAVE COUPON - FLAT TIRE Total Non-T&M 79.50 FOP AX 341111597241002 05-09 2 Discount 20.00 3 Tax/Surcharge 7.34 A-T&M Charges name: SMITH Subtotal-1 260.36 B-Option Charges date: 06-10-05 Less Dep/Reimb 58.95 D-Payments odom: 5500 8 Less Payment 202.00 E-Other Charges veh#: 014095 4 Change Back .59 F-RA Open Bill-To: Balance * O-Other Windows N-Notes F1=CLOSE RA F2=SWIPE F3=ERASE F4=CALCULATE F12=CHECK AUTH ESC=EXIT |
LISTING OF CHARGES
The summary of charges is shown on the main window above. To obtain a detailed list of all charges, press Shift/F8 from the "OPTION" field. A detailed list of all charges will display. An example is shown below:
| OPTION: ____________ RA CLOSE #00042097 1 Miles/Fuel/Chg 5681/6/6.25 5 Empl/Drw MIKE/1 DAYS : 4 @ $ 42.95 = $ 171.80 MILES : 181 @ $ .12 = $ 21.72 LDW : 4 @ $ 16.00 = $ 64.00 APFEE : $ 15.50 DISC : $ 15.00- TAX : $ 7.34 FUEL : $ 6.25 PMT/CR : $ 260.36- TOTAL : $ 0.00 PRESS RETURN (OR '-') TO CONTINUE |
Notes on inclusive
items:
F8 RECALCUATION KEY
It should be noted that the F8 key will undo all manual edits to calculated fields. As an example, if a user manually reduces the number of chargeable days for the rate or for an option like CDW, that change will be undone when pressing the F8 key. Manual changes such as these will have to be re-entered after the recalculation. Therefore, it is suggested that you examine all sub-windows after recalculating.
If, on the other hand, a rate was edited (such as the daily rental rate or the rate for CDW), that change would not be undone by the F8 key.
SAVING A CLOSED RA
After all data is entered, examine the screen for accuracy. If everything is correct, press "F1" at "OPTION:" on the main window. Depending upon the content of the saved RA, the following questions or messages may appear:
VEHICLE SHOULD BE GROUNDED
This message appears if the grounding date or grounding odometer from the Inventory record for the returning vehicle has been reached.
VEHICLE NEEDS MAINTENANCE
If a flag in the Location Record is set up to warn for maintenance, the close program checks the maintenance history of the returning vehicle for past due preventative maintenance. If necessary, the vehicle's status can be changed in the "Veh Status" field in the G subwindow.
VEHICLE HAS HOLD CODE xx; PULL UNIT.
This message displays when the vehicle is past due for a scheduled maintenance task and is subject to a hold code,
PRINT HOLD TICKET?
If the maintenance warning flag is turned on, and the vehicle is due for a scheduled maintenance, and there is a print program number entered in the Hold Ticket field of the Print Library record, this prompt displays asking if you want to print a hold ticket to send the vehicle for maintenance before it goes back on rent.
WILL OPENING LOCATION PROCESS CREDIT CARD?
For locations not doing EDC (electronic draft capture) this question appears if the RA did not open at your location yet the customer's credit card was pre-authorized by the opening location. If the pre-authorized credit card is used to pay for all or part of this rental, answer Y=Yes. The payment will be recorded as being processed by the opening location and its holding drawer will be used on the payment records in subwindow D.
User tip: For locations doing EDC, this question is not asked. The payment is automatically assigned the opening location and drawer number.
Y = Yes, a payment should be placed in the opening location's holding drawer.
N = No, all payments should be placed in the Cash Drawer shown in Field 5. This will create an Interoffice Receivable.
User tip: Refer to the chapter Overview - Holding Drawers and Interoffice Receivables for a full discussion of this topic.
WILL OPENING LOC. PROCESS CREDIT CARD REFUND?
For locations not doing EDC (electronic draft capture) this question appears when the RA did not open at your location, and the opening location took a credit card deposit. When closing the RA, the credit card deposit is greater than the total charges at Close.
User tip: For locations doing EDC, this question is not asked. The refund is automatically assigned the opening location and drawer number.
Enter:
Y = Yes, a credit for the difference should be automatically loaded in the Payments subwindow using the opening location and opening drawer for the transaction.
N = No, a credit should not be automatically created.
BALANCE DUE IS LESS THAN 0 - O.K.? (Y, N)
This question appears when the payments applied to the RA exceed the total charges thus causing a negative amount to appear in the BALANCE field. If a refund was made from the cash drawer and you forgot to enter that amount, answer N. Then go back to the main window and enter the proper refund amount.
If a refund was not made at the counter and is to be handled later, answer Y=Yes. This payable owed to the customer will appear on the DBR but will not post automatically to the A/P Journal. Instead it will post as a credit to the customer account in A/R and then a manual entry must be made in A/P. See the chapter on DBR for the discussion on handling credit balances.
The ability to close contracts which do not have a bill-to party but which also have a balance due can be restricted by employee via a field in Edit User Access File.
NO DIRECT BILL PARTY INDICATED ON THIS RA.
This comment appears when a RA is saved with an amount remaining in the BALANCE field and there is no direct bill party indicated on the contract.
BALANCE DUE WILL BE BILLED O.K.? (Y, N)
This question appears after the above comment as well as when there is a direct bill party indicated. If you answer N=No, you then have the choice to enter an alternate bill-to customer number or terminate the save process so that additional payments may be added.
If you answer Y=Yes, the name, address and customer number of the party being billed will display at the bottom of the screen. This will either be the driver/renter or any bill-to party specified at the time of check-out. See the section on USE OF THE BILL-TO FIELD at the end of this chapter for more information.
ONE WAY TOWARDS OWNER?
This question is used in calculating foreign vehicle revenue splits. The question appears under these conditions:
a. The RA involves a foreign vehicle.
b. The Return Location (Field 6b on the C Subwindow) is a foreign location other than the vehicle's owning location.
If you answer Y=Yes, you are stating that the closing location is closer to the vehicle's owning location than you are. In this case, the system will use the "towards the owner" revenue split percentage in calculating revenue splits.
If you answer N=No, you are stating that the closing location is further away from the vehicle's owner than you are.In this case, the system will use the "away from the owner" revenue split percentage in calculating revenue splits.
ELAPSED MILES LOWER THAN MIN OF XXX
This message displays when the minimum number of miles/ kms defined in the Edit Miscellaneous Control File (in the “Minimum Miles” field) has not been met. (XXX is the minimum number defined.)
IS CUSTOMER PRESENT AT CLOSE? Y/N
Your system can be configured to ask this question during the closing process. A field in the Miscellaneous subwindow displays the response that is entered. To have your system configured in this manner, contact Thermeon’s Customer Support Dept. and ask that GVT record “RENTPRES” be set up.
RENTAL LENGTH LONGER THAN BILLING CYCLE, CONTINUE TO CLOSE? Y/N
This message may display for RAs that have been created through the multiple invoiced rental logic. Refer to the chapter titled Apx – Multiple Invoiced Rentals for details.
VEHICLE IN USE AT ANOTHER STATION. TRY AGAIN? Y/N
This message is shown when another user has the vehicle record up on their session.
Entering "Y" causes the RA to attempt another save. If the record is still in use by the other user, the message will display again.
Entering "N" causes the Close to continue. Files are updated EXCEPT for the vehicle file -- the date, time, odometer reading, and current status fields which are normally updated with the closing data are not updated.
User tip: The program Make Vehicle Available can be used after the Close to update the vehicle data. If the vehicle data are not updated, the Vehicle will be listed on the Status Exception Report since its status will be "O" (on rent) but there will be no currently open RA for it.
REFUNDS RESTRICTED ON THIS CARD - CONTACT SUPERVISOR
This message displays when a credit card is being used for a refund and the card was not charged on the RA. The "Restrict Refunds" field in the User Access File record can be used to put this restriction in place.
PRINTING A CHECK-IN REPORT
If the system is configured to do so, a check-in report will print for each RA and includes the following data:
USER DEFINED PROMPTS
User defined prompts can be created by special use of the Notes Subwindow. They can be set up to display during the saving process as reminders so that the save can be interrupted and, thus, allow editing, or they can display after saving when the RA prints. For directions on how to set up user defined prompts for the RA Open and RA Close screens, see the appendix on User Defined Prompts.
HOLD CODE MESSAGES:
If the system is configured to use Hold Codes (which control the ability to rent vehicles), various messages may display upon closing a RA or a Non-Rev Movement.
Because users can create their own Hold Code messages, they will vary for each CARS+ customer.
User tip: For more information on the Hold Code messages, refer to the chapter of this manual titled Introduction to Hold Codes and Edit Hold Code Messages.
PRINTING THE CLOSED RENTAL AGREEMENT:
After responding to the various possible prompts and messages discussed above, the program will ask if the closed copy of the RA should be printed. Note that in most cases, either none or at most only one or two of the above prompts or messages will display. When ready to print, the program will display:
Print RA (Y/N)?
This question is asking if you want to print the contract that was just closed. Answer:
Y = Yes, print the contract. (Be sure your printer is available.)
N = No, do not print the contract.
A field on page 1 of the Edit Locations program can be set to allow printing of the closed RA in more than one language. Additionally, the "multi-language" feature has been "hard coded" into certain RA print programs. In either of these cases, the prompt to print the RA will be similar to the following (depending on which languages have been configured):
Enter Language Code to Print, or Return to Skip
Before answering this question, check to be sure that your printer is available, on-line and that the form is aligned properly. Enter a single letter to indicate the language code for the desired language to be used to print the RA and press Return. Press Return alone to skip printing the RA altogether. If printing of the RA was requested, the following prompt will appear:
Is printed RA O.K.? (Y/N) _________________________
This is not asking if the data printed is correct. If you had made a data entry error, answering "N" will not give you the opportunity to make corrections. The question merely is asking if the printer printed the RA completely.
N = The printer did not print the RA to completion. This answer will cause the system to prompt you for reprinting.
Y = The RA printed fine.
A field on page 2 of Edit Locations can be set to require the entry of a Forms Control Number each time an RA is printed. The long field provided by the system is for entry of one of the above answers followed immediately by a Forms Control Number. As an example, if your printer jammed on form #33097502, you would enter:
Is printed RA O.K.? (Y/N) N33097502 (RET)
EMAILING A PDF COPY OF THE RA:
NOTE: In order to use this feature, the rental agreement print program must be compatible with the CARS+Printer PDF printing logic. Please refer to the manual chapter Overview - Special Printing Features for more details on this feature. Please contact the Thermeon Customer Support Department with any questions regarding the compatibility of a particular print program.
Additionally, Thermeon's Support Dept. must set up a printer named RAEMAIL in the cars+ configuration file.
A field on page 5 of the Edit Miscellaneous Control Fields is used to turn on the ability to either automatically email a copy of the RA or to activate a prompt asking the user if a copy of the RA should be emailed.
If automatic email is turned on, the RA is automatically emailed to the renter's email address. If there is no email address for the
renter, it is automatically emailed to the bill-to party's email address. If neither email is on the RA, a pop-up window will display so that the
user can manually enter an email address.
If automatic email is not turned on but the prompt is turned on, the following prompt will follow the standard prompt of "Print RA" discussed above:
Email RA to customer?
Y = Yes, email a copy of the RA to the customer.
N = No, do not email a copy of the RA.
If "Y" was selected, a pop-up window will appear with a list of email addresses associated with the RA. The pop-up window will appear similar to the following example:
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│Select Email Source │
│ │
│1) Bill-To: ACCOUNTING@THERMEON.COM │
│2) Customer: FRED@HOTMAIL.COM │
│3) Reservation: none │
│9) Manual Entry: │
│ │
│Choice: │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Enter the line number of the desired email address. Line 9 will always be reserved for manual entry of an email address. If, at this point it is decided not to email a copy of the rental agreement, pressing "Esc" (Escape) will exit the pop-up window without emailing.
There is a facility to have a generic default 'noreply' email address
that will display in line 9. This is an editable field to
overwrite if needed. Please contact the Thermeon Customer Support Department to request the GVT
record "DEFEMAIL" to be set up and supply the default email address..
On selected client systems additional prompts may appear in conjunction with the email prompt. Some of these prompts are discussed below. Please contact the Thermeon Customer Support Department for details.
Print Confidential Rates (Y/N)?
Y = The emailed RA will include the rates.
N = The emailed RA will be sent without rates.
If there is a third party on the RA (entered in Subwindow B) and the third party customer record has an email address, a copy of the RA with rates is always emailed regardless of how the email and rates questions are answered.
RECALLING A CLOSED RA TO THE SCREEN
Any closed RA may be recalled to this screen by entering the contract number at the Main "OPTION" field or by using the Search feature. The following message will display:
WARNING - NO CHANGES ALLOWED, FOR REVIEW ONLY
If you attempt to make changes and press F1 to save them, the following message will display and the changes will not be accepted:
RA IS CLOSED
Modifying charges or payments on a closed but unposted RA must be done through the Edit Closed RA program.
REPRINTING AN RA
To reprint a RA from the Close screen, press Shift/F6. If this is done prior to saving the Close, the RA will reprint in the Open status, and anything that has been entered on the Close screen is ignored.
If the RA is already closed, pressing Shift/F6 from either the Close or Edit Closed RA screen causes the RA to reprint in the Close status.
This method works in all versions of the RA Close program (Batch Close RA, Edit Closed RA and Edit Posted RA). If no changes are required to be made to the RA, an RA can be printed using this method without going through the "F1 - save" process. This means that the RA's modification date, time and employee fields will not be updated just because someone printed the RA but didn't make any changes to it.
BEST RATE CALCULATION OPTION
Two options are provided which calculate the least expensive charge for time and mileage. These options are controlled by flags in Edit Misc Control Fields. The best rate calculations handle two methods for obtaining the lowest possible charges.
BEST TIME CHARGE. If, for example, the number of chargeable hours times the hourly rate exceeds the daily rate, an additional day will be charged instead. In other words, the hourly rate is rounded up to a daily rate in order to reduce total charges. This will occur between days and weeks, and between weeks and months. Weeks can be prevented from rounding up if the control flag stating monthly charges are not to start until the second month is set to Y=Yes.
BEST MILEAGE CHARGE. After the above calculation is made, the system checks to see if in rounding up to the next highest time charge, the customer ends up with a net loss because of fewer free miles allowed. Simply stated, the time and mileage charges at each level are compared to find the lowest total amount.
ALTERNATE RATE PRODUCTS. If the Rate Product used at open has any Alternate products linked to it, the above process is repeated for each product. The program selects the Rate Product that gives the customer the lowest total Time and Mileage charges.
VEHICLE HISTORY UPDATE
When a RA closes, the vehicle history record for the RA is updated. ( The record, which is history code 00, is created when the RA opens.)
The data updated are:
Charge location - closing location of the RA
Closing date/time - closing date/time of the RA
Vehicle history status - check-in status
Vehicle history ending odometer - ending odometer of the RAAUTOMATIC FUEL CHARGE CALCULATION
For the system to perform automatic fuel calculations, the following items must be set up:
USE OF THE BILL-TO FIELD VS PAYMENT FIELDS ON THE RA CLOSING
What follows is a discussion of how the system handles the Bill-To field on the RA Open screen and an alternate method of transferring a driver's financial obligation to a second party.
There are important implications in Accounts Receivable when using the Bill-To field on the RA Open screen:
First, when a valid customer is entered into the bill-to field, the A/R module holds the bill-to customer financially responsible for that RA. Nowhere in A/R is there any record of the driver of the vehicle although both parties will appear on many of the system reports. As far as accounting is concerned, it is as if the bill-to party rented the vehicle.
When a bill-to customer sends one of its drivers to rent a vehicle, the use of the bill-to field is straight forward, as described above.In this situation the bill-to party is who is renting the vehicle, not the driver.
But, in the case of a driver wanting an insurance company to be billed, the use of this field may cause problems. In such cases, use of bill-to will result in no record of financial obligation for the driver/renter in the A/R module.
Another implication of using the bill-to field involves partial payments. Since the bill-to party is the one financially liable for the RA, any payments made will be credited to the bill-to customer account. That means if a driver pays for a portion of the charges, the accounting module will interpret that payment as coming from the bill-to customer, not the driver. Again this can cause problems in certain bill-to situations.
VOID CLOSE
When a RA is opened and closed at exactly the same minute, the RA is considered a "void close". The RA will be listed on the Operations DBR under the RA's Opened section and again under the RAs Closed section. However, it will not be listed on the Accounting DBR and, therefore, will not post.
NOTE: This is a rare occurrence and normally is a result of an error. The correct way to void a open RA is to use the Void RA program. Or, if the opening date/time was incorrect, use Edit Opening Fields to change the opening date on the RA. If the RA was closed in error, use the Reopen RA program to reopen it.
CLOSING RAs WITH INVENTORIED EQUIPMENT
When inventoried option items are on a RA, at the time of Close it must be determined if they are being returned. If not returned, a replacement charge for the item is normally assessed. (The replacement charge is set up as an option and linked to the equipment option. Refer to the chapter titled Edit Optional Items for details on how to set up the replacement option.)
The following message will display:
DID yyy UNIT # zzz GET RETURNED? Y/N
(where yyy is the type of unit and zzz is the unit number.)
For example, the message may read:
DID GPS UNIT # GPS001 GET RETURNED? Y/N
Enter:
Y = to continue saving the close of the RA.
N = to add the replacement option charge to the RA.
Alternative set up:
Your system can be configured to display the following message instead of the one above:
ENTER UNIT# OF RETURNING yyy ______________
(where yyy is the type of unit such as a GPS.)
When the unit number entered matches the unit number on the RA, the Close of the RA continues.
When the unit number entered doesn’t match the unit on the RA, it is removed and you are prompted to enter the unit number again. Because an incorrect unit number is not accepted, the following message will display:
RA CANNOT BE CLOSED, PLEASE CHECK THE CORRECT UNITS ON THE RA OPEN SCREEN.
Handheld Closes: Closes done on handheld units display the second (alternative) messages.
For more information on inventoried equipment set up, refer to the chapter titled Apx – Tracking Optional Equipment.
Hand-Held Terminals (HHT's) and Tablets offer a streamlined service to customers by allowing agents to close RAs as the vehicles are returned to the lot. This allows customers to skip the process of going inside to the counter to close the contract. HHT and Tablets are intended for simple closings. A closing that cannot be handled by one of these devices will make it necessary for the customer go inside to the rental counter to close the RA.
Closing on an HHT.
The screen of the HHT is shown below:
| OPTION: ______________ 1 Lic#: * 2 Veh#: * 3 RA#: * Name: 4 Odo: * 5 Fuel: */* FOP: F1 F3 F4 |
To close a RA with a HHT, follow these steps:
1. Bring up the RA. The RA can be found by entering data in either Fields 1, 2, or 3. Therefore, from the "OPTION:" field, press (RET) to position the cursor in appropriate field.
For example, as the car is pulling into the lot, enter the license plate in Field # 1. Or, if already at the vehicle, enter the vehicle number in Field 2. Or, if the customer has the RA in hand, enter the RA number in Field 3.
User tips:
Damages: If new damage needs to be recorded on the vehicle, press the F8 key when the cursor is at the "OPTION:" field to access the Quick Damage Entry program.
Multiple open RAs with the same vehicle: From time to time there may be more than one open RA in the system for the vehicle entered. Note that the HH Close program skips RAs that are flagged as "questionable".
Hertz Australia: Because license plate numbers have a hyphen in them and there is no hyphen on the hand held terminal keypad, entering a period in the License # field is interpreted as a hyphen. For example, entering “ABC.123” will cause a search on license plate # “ABC-123”.
2. After entering information in any of the first 3 fields and pressing (RET), the customer's name and Form Of Payment will appear along with a message at the bottom of the screen:
CORRECT CUSTOMER?
Enter:
Y = yes, this is the correct customer. Data will be loaded into the remaining fields and cursor will return to the "OPTION" field.
N - No, this is the wrong customer. Begin again.
3. From the "OPTION" field, press (RET) and the cursor will go directly to the odometer field. Enter the current odometer reading and press (RET).
4. The fuel calculation question will be asked:
LEVEL=Y OR MILES=N_
Enter:Note that the question does not display when the prepaid fuel was sold or if the fuel is included in the rate.
Y = fuel charge will be based on the level in the tank. Therefore, the cursor goes to the next field (FUEL) so that the tank level can be entered.
N = fuel charge will be based on the distance driver. It is not necessary to enter a fuel level.
If prepaid fuel was purchased, there is no message; however the rate paid for the prepaid fuel will show.Generally, the fuel charge is not editable. However, your system can be configured to allow the fuel charge to be edited. To do so, ask Thermeon's Customer Support Dept. to set up GVT record HHTFUEL.
When fuel is included in the rate, after entering the fuel level, the following message will display:
PREPAID FUEL OPTION INCLUDED IN RATE
5. The cursor will return to the "OPTION" field. Press the F1 key to save. A message will appear at the bottom of the screen:
PRINT RA?
Enter "Y" to print the RA.
6. During the course of the close, other messages may occur:
MILES EXCEED 2X MAX
ODOM SEES LOW
NO OPEN RA's FOR VEH
If a message such as one of the above appear, it may be necessary to re-calculate the RA prior to printing it. Use the F4 key to re-calculate.
To close ONE-WAY RENTALSTo simplify the process, the Handheld Close program is set up never to ask the question: WILL OPENING LOCATION PROCESS CREDIT CARD? Instead, it assumes the answer is always NO. This means that the closing location will process the credit card.
If you would like your system configured so that the program always assumes the answer is YES, please contact Thermeon's Customer Support Dept. and request that a GVT record be set up for your operation.
GROUNDING AND MAINTENANCE ISSUES:
Grounding and maintenance are handled differently with a HHT
than they are when a contract is closed at the rental counter. The following chart addresses these
differences.
|
CONDITION |
ON-LINE OR BATCH CLOSE |
HHT CLOSE |
|
Vehicle's grounding date or odometer reading has been reached. |
Warning message displays that the vehicle should be grounded. Vehicle is status-ed as usual. |
Warning message displays and vehicle status is automatically changed to "G" (grounded). |
|
Vehicle needs maintenance |
Warning message displays that the vehicle needs maintenance. Vehicle is status-ed as usual. |
Warning message displays and is followed by a prompt: PRINT HOLD TICKET?Answering "Y" prints a hold ticket to be left under the wiper blade in order to notify lot personnel that the vehicle needs maintenance. |
When closing an RA on a device that is defined as a Tablet, the screen is NOT smaller as in the Hand Held logic described above, but the layout of the screen is different. Less fields are displayed on the screen to make closing of the rental agreement faster and easier. The screen in TABLET mode is shown below:
| OPTION: ______________ QUICK CLOSE RA (TLTUS01, MMG) 1 Vehicle# * Name: 2 License# * Out: 3 RA number * Card T 4 Odom In * Odom Out: Hold Codes: 5 Fuel Tank/Chg */* 6 Freq Tvlr# * Deposit * Reimbursement * Pre-Paid * Balance Due * F1=CLOSE RA F2=SWIPE F3=ERASE F4=CALC F6=SEARCH ESC=EXIT |
2. After entering information in any of the first 3 fields and pressing (RET), the customer's name and Form Of Payment will appear along with a message at the bottom of the screen:
CORRECT CUSTOMER?
Enter:
Y = yes, this is the correct customer. Data will be loaded into the remaining fields and cursor will return to the "OPTION" field.
N - No, this is the wrong customer. Begin again.
3. From the "OPTION" field, press (RET) and the cursor will go directly to the odometer field. Enter the current odometer reading and press (RET).
4. The fuel calculation question will be asked:
CALC FUEL ON TANK LEVEL (Y) OR DISTANCE TRAVELLED (N)
Enter:Note that the question does not display when the prepaid fuel was sold or if the fuel is included in the rate.
Y = fuel charge will be based on the level in the tank. Therefore, the cursor goes to the next field (FUEL) so that the tank level can be entered.
N = fuel charge will be based on the distance driver. It is not necessary to enter a fuel level.
If prepaid fuel was purchased, there is no message; however the rate paid for the prepaid fuel will show.Generally, the fuel charge is not editable. However, your system can be configured to allow the fuel charge to be edited. To do so, ask Thermeon's Customer Support Dept. to set up GVT record HHTFUEL.
When fuel is included in the rate, after entering the fuel level, the following message will display:
PREPAID FUEL OPTION INCLUDED IN RATE
Like using a HHT, closing on a TABLET is intended for simple closing of RAs when the customer wants to pay for the rental with the original credit card that was pre-authorized at Open or the rental is a direct bill. If the customer wants to change the form of payment or if an additional amount makes the total charges greater than the pre-authorized amount, the contract will need to be closed inside at the rental counter.
Certain contracts cannot be closed on a HHT or TABLET and require that the customer go to the rental counter and have the RA closed there. These circumstances include:
In these circumstances the following message will appear:
SEND CUSTOMER INSIDE
If the vehicle has sustained damage or the
customer is requesting an adjustment to the rental, the customer may need to go inside
to the rental counter.
If in the process of closing the rental agreement, the hand held device cannot obtain sufficient credit card authorization, the program will announce the the renter MUST be sent to the counter. When that occurs,
| OPTION: ______________ INSTANT RETURN CLOSE (TLTUS01, MMG) 1 Vehicle# * Name: 2 License# * Out: 3 RA number * Card Type: 4 Odom In * Odom Out: Hold Codes: 5 Fuel Tank/Chg */* 6 Freq Tvlr# * Deposit * Reimbursement * Pre-Paid * Balance Due * F1=CLOSE RA F3=ERASE F4=CALC F8 CHARGES ESC=EXIT |