| OPTION: _________ RA MENU 1. RA Open OPEN 2. RA Close CLOSE 3. Foreign RA Entry FRNRA 4. Edit Vouchers EDITVCHR 5. Void RA VOID 6. Void Preprinted RA VOIDPP 7. Receive RA Payments RCVPAY 8. Reprint RA REPRINT 9. Re-Open RA REOPEN 10. Edit FOP on Close EDITFOP 11. Batch RA Open BCHOPEN 12. Batch RA Close BCHCLOSE 13. Edit Opening Fields EDITRA 14. Edit Closed RA EDITCLOS 15. Batch Receive RA Payments BCHPAY 16. Edit Exchange Records EDTEXCH 17. Extend RA EXTENDRA 18. Print Veh Check-in Sheet CHECKIN 19. Open Taxi/Chauffer RA OPENCH |
ON-LINE VS BATCH PROGRAMS
Several RA programs exist in two formats:
ON-LINE - These programs assume that the transaction is occuring at the exact moment data is being entered into the system. As a result, the user has no control over the date and time assigned to the entry. As an example, the Open RA program is an on-line program where in the check-out date and time are automatically assigned to the RA at the time it is saved.
The on-line programs are:
BATCH - Batch programs are generally identical to their on-line counterparts except that the user is given access to restricted fields such as date and time so that a transaction can be "back dated". The Batch programs are generally used to enter transactions that were originally handled manually. Situations that require batch entry are:
The Batch programs are:
Because of the opportunity to manipulate transaction dates, Employee Codes, cash drawers and locations, the batch programs are often limited to users with management level responsibilities.
RA STATUS CODES
At any given time, an RA will be in one of the following statuses:
OPEN - Rental Agreement is active. The RA has not been closed and final charges have not been calculated by the computer.
WAIT - An RA was opened without a vehicle being assigned. The RA is on "wait" status until a vehicle is available and assigned. A RA is taken off the wait status through the On-Line Open RA program when the vehicle is assigned and the RA is saved. The status then changes to Open.
HOLD - This status is only possible for locations which are using the Dispatching logic. Hold means that the RA has been opened but the vehicle has not been released from the lot. The program Release Vehicle on the Dispatch menu will change the status from Hold to Open.
VOID-P - (Void due to a preprint) Rental agreement was preprinted from reservation information. The Batch Open program is used to change this status to Open. If a preprinted RA is never changed to the open status, it will be processed as a voided RA.
VOID-X -(Void due to an exchange) If the system is configured to issue a new RA number when there is a vehicle exchange, the original RA is marked as a VOID-X due to the exchange.
VOID-I - (Void due to an insurance logic change) Some operations (such as Hertz) use a separate set of RA numbers for insurance rentals. When the RA is opened as a retail and then an insurance voucher is added to it, an insurance logic number has to be assigned so the original RA is voided with VOID-I. Likewise, if the RA was opened as an insurance rental and the voucher is removed, a retail RA number must be assigned so the original RA is voided with VOID-I.
VOID - An Open RA has been cancelled by using the Void RA program.
CLOSED - RA is no longer active. Final charges have been calculated by the computer.
POSTED - Data from this closed RA has been posted to various CARS+ and accounting files by the Accounting DBR program.
This condition exists when the computer detects that the vehicle assigned to a open RA has been assigned to some other use and yet the corresponding RA remains open. This can occur when a vehicle on a one-way rental to a foreign location is shuttled back to your location. And before the RA is Batch closed, the vehicle is made available for rent. Because the vehicle is on a open RA, the RA is flagged as Questionable.
The following programs will flag an open RA as Questionable if its vehicle is assigned to some other use, such as another open RA, if it's made available for rental, or a history record or Non-Rev Movement is entered.
The fact that a RA has been flagged as Questionable appears in several management reports so that appropriate action can be taken to correct the problem. In the follwoing reports, the RA# is flagged with a question mark "?":
(Note that the RA Open screen does not show the Questionable RA condition).
TYPES OF RENTALS BASED ON RENTAL LENGTH
Standard Rentals: Most communities have some legal definition that defines the maximum number of days that a rental agreement can last for. Rentals beyond that length are often redefined as some other type of transaction where among other tings, the rental operator's right to reposes the vehicle is limited. Short term rentals of this sort are called standard rentals and are opened and closed through the standard RA Open and RA Close programs.
Multi-Month Rentals: For RAs that are in effect for a period of more than 30 days, CARS+ provides the ability to produce recurring invoices which post to Accounts Receivable. RAs are selected for this invoicing program by completing certain fields in the Dates/Misc. Subwindow on the RA Open Screen. When the Multiple Invoiced Rentals program is run, the RA is automatically batch closed by CARS+. A new RA is opened cloning data from the old RA. Like Standard Rentals, the invoice is created AFTER a contract is closed, that is after the 30 days of rental has taken place. For details on this feature, see the chapter titled Overview - Multi-Month Rentals.
Long-Term Rentals: Rentals of this type are very similar to Multi-Month rentals. They also make use of a "close and clone" routine. But rather than using the Multiple Invoiced Rentals program like Multi-Month Rentals, these use the Long-Term Invoiced Rentals program.