Release Notice 2012 Jan

Changes made to CARS+ software from January 1, 2012 to June 30, 2012.

Changes are listed in ascending date order within each table below.

Finding your release number: The release number currently in use is displayed in the upper left corner of the login screen. If already logged in to CARS+, type “LOGIN” from the OPTION field of any menu to view the login screen and see the release number.

The format of the release number is either:

v12.9-YYMMDD (where YYMMDD represents the date in the format “year month day”.)

For example, April 14, 2010 is shown as: v12.9-100410

A date more recent than your release date is a new feature available in the latest release.

12.9-YYMMDDx (where the date is shown the same as the above followed by a letter.)

For example, December 12, 2009, letter T is shown as: 12.9-091209T

A feature with a letter that is later in the alphabet than your letter is a new feature available only in a later release.

To find all changes to a certain program, use your browser’s “find” or “search” feature with the appropriate synonym.

Enhancements: The majority of enhancements to CARS+ do not go into effect unless a setting is changed in the system. That is, the goal is to allow current users to continue using the system just as they are using it unless they decide to use the feature.

Changes: Sometimes changes are made that affect all users. For ease in reviewing this document, changes that directly affect the rental counter are noted in the "Affects Rental Counter" column.

IMPORTANT UPGRADE INSTRUCTIONS

When upgrading from any release prior to 12.9-100411, the upgrade process must be done in two stages. Detailed instructions follow.

When upgrading from a version earlier than 12.9-090507:

Upgrade to 12.9-100411.
Manually run UPD53B and UPD59B.
Upgrade to tip.
Manually run UPD63B.

When upgrading from version 12.9-090507 through 12.9-091209 including all lettered versions:

Upgrade to 12.9-100411.
Manually run UPD59B only. DO NOT run UPD53B, it has already been run.
Upgrade to tip.
Manually run UPD63B.

When upgrading from 12.9-091211 through 12.9-100409

Upgrade to 12.9-100411. UPD59B should already have been run.
Upgrade to the tip.
Manually run UPD63B.

When upgrading from release 12.9-100414:

STOP. Contact Thermeon Customer Support for instructions.

When upgrading from release 12.9-100422 through 12.9-100724:

Upgrade to the tip.
It is not necessary to run UPD63B, it has already been run (see points 9 and 10 below).

When upgrading from release 12.9-100728 or later:

Upgrade to the tip.
Manually run UPD63B.

Serious harm will occur if UPD53B is run more than once for a date or date range. Be sure not to overlap dates when running this program.
No damage will occur if UPD59B is run for overlapping dates.
UPD63 was introduced as of release 12.9-100422. This program expands the record size of the RACHRG file from 300 to 500 bytes. This file is often one of the largest files in the database. If using Vision Version 3 format files, the size of this file should be checked prior to upgrading to this release or later. VV3 files have a maximum size of 2.2 GB. This file should be 1.2 GB or less (with zero deleted records) prior to the upgrade in order to have enough room for the expanded record size and to leave enough room for a reasonable period of growth before purging becomes necessary. If the file is larger than 1.2 GB, then one of the following must be done:

Convert the file to Vision Version 4 format, which has no size limit (multiple file segments are created). NOTE: The IQ Report Writer cannot read VV4 format files.
Purge the file of enough data to bring it under 1.2 GB prior to upgrading.

As of release 12.9-100728, UPD63 is split into two programs. UPD63 will run automatically and will convert RACHRG records only for Open and Closed, but unposted RAs. Additionally, the follow-on program, UPD64 will only update the RACHRG file for the same RAs. After the automatic upgrade process has completed, the program UPD63B must be run manually. This will complete the conversion of the RACHRG file for closed and posted RAs as well as completing the UPD64 function for the same RAs. UPD63B may be run while users are actively logged in to the database, however closed and posted RAs that have not been converted by UPD63B will not display any charge detail and will appear to be out of balance. UPD63B can be run for a specific range of dates, and therefore may be run in segments in order to avoid conflicts with backups and the like. NOTE: No harm will be caused if date ranges are accidentally overlapped. Records will not be "double-converted".
NOTE: Significant modifications were made to UPD63, UPD63B and UPD64 on 10 August 2010 through 18 August 2010 to avoid skipping some records. Therefore, releases 12.9-100728 and 12.9-100813 should be avoided and release 12.9-100914 or later should be used (releases 12.9-100824 and 12.9-100827 were labeled "testing only"). The changes involve how these three programs interact with each other, therefore releases prior the "split" (prior to 12.9-100728) do not suffer the skipped records problem.
All UPDnnB programs may be run while users are actively on the system. The "non-B" versions of these programs run automatically and convert open and closed, unposted rental agreements and all reservations. The "B" versions convert all closed and posted rental agreements (the bulk of the data). Note that data from closed and posted rental agreements will not display correctly until all manual upgrade processes have been run. For upgrades requiring the two-step process, if time allows, it is recommended that both steps be performed completely, including all manual upgrade processes before allowing users back on the system. For extremely large databases, this may not be possible and it may be necessary to pause for several days at the 12.9-100411 release until all manual processes have been run.
NOTE: If it is necessary to pause at 12.9-100411 and if upgrading from 12.9-091209-S or later lettered release (releases published after April 11, 2010), it is possible that some modifications will temporarily be lost until the upgrade to the tip is completed. In particular, print programs should be reviewed to determine if changes will be lost. If so, contact Thermeon Customer support to see if it is possible to bring the changes from the 12.9-091209-xx release forward to the 12.9-100411 release.
UPD67 -- Releases beginning with 12.9-100813 include UPD67. This program will ask if the vehicle In Service Date field should be updated. This is an interactive program and will not proceed until the question is answered. The background for this is as follows:

Some clients wish to load vehicles into CARS+ in advance of their purchase. In this situation, the vehicles should not be considered part of the available fleet by the Planning Calendar until such time as they are expected to be put in service. As a result, a change was made to the Planning Calendar such that it will not consider any vehicle as part of the available fleet until the date specified by the In Service Date. Vehicles with this field blank will not be considered. For any vehicle with the In Service Date field blank, UPD67 will write the Purchase Date to the In Service Date. If this action is not desired, then the question prompted by UPD67 should be answered "N". In this event, some other method must be used to update vehicles with a blank In Service Date. This can be done either manually or by use of the XCLVEH program.

NOTE: As of the first release following 12.9-101014, UPD67 will no longer be an interactive program. It will run automatically as if the question had been answered "Y" (yes).

UPD59 and UPD59B -- On 26 October 2010 a problem was discovered with the UPD59 and UPD59B programs. The programs were patched and the patches have been installed on the cars+v12.9-100411 release available on the download site on 27 October, 2010. This updated version should be downloaded and used for all future upgrades requiring this release.
UPDHZ -- UPDHZ is a manually-run program first appearing in release 12.9-101107. It need only be run on Hertz systems that use the Hertz Res Log feature. It fixes a problem with the field positions in the file which causes the file name and other fields to be truncated.

The Issue # in the last column below is Thermeon’s internal tracking number.

DATE	AFFECTS RENTAL COUNTER	MENU	SYNONYM	PROGRAM	DESCRIPTION	ISSUE #
01-23-12				General Change	Report Driver logic has been added to all reports other than those that simply dump the contents of control files.	38361
01-23-12		LOCCTRL	EDITLOC	Edit Locations	Added a field to control whether or not a profit center is appended to the G/L account (when posting the Accounting DBR) for credit cards defined as “CC” type FOPs (cash-like credit cards).	35232
01-23-12		MONTH	COMMISS	Vendor Commission Report	Asterisk prints if commission was pre-paid	38388
01-23-12	yes	MULT	MULTRA	Multiple Invoiced Rentals	The allowance of miles per month is now prorated on the first partial month	38432
01-23-12	yes	RA	VOID	Void RA	Additional features for refunding res and RA deposits added	37364
01-23-12		RESMENU	RES	Reservations	When preassigning vehicles to reservations, Hold Codes will be displayed	37897
01-23-12		PURGE	LOGPURGE	Purge Log Files	When purging the Vehicle File Change log, records recording the change of a license plate are not purged on unsold vehicles.	37962
01-23-12		RESMENU	RES	Reservations	If EDC is not used, when opening a new reservation for repeat customers, credit cards are unmasked.	38449
01-23-12		CORP	LCDPRATE	Local CDPID Rate Report	New report that lists rates assigned to local CDPID accounts	38181
01-23-12		LOCCTRL	EDTAGC	Agency Commission Control	Fields were added to allow commissions to vary by Class and length of rental	38195
01-23-12		LEASE	CLSEARLY	Lease Close Early Report	New report that lists all lease contracts that were closed by a program other than the Close/Clone program.	38081
01-23-12		MAINT	PM	Preventative Maintenance Update	Added display of last service and open Hold Codes	38406
01-23-12		MULT	LONGCLOSE	Longterm Rental Close Report	New report that summarizes revenue earned on longterm rentals	38408
01-23-12		RATES	IMPDROP	Import Drop Charges	New program was created to merge in Drop Charge records from an Excel spreadsheet file	36966
01-31-12		SECURITY	EDITUAF	Edit User Access File	Added a separate field to limit maximum CSADJ amount	36273
01-31-12		ACCT1	PRTVCH	Print Voucher records	New program to print a summary of vouchers on a transaction	38627
01-31-12	yes	RA	OPEN	RA Open	Additional drivers are checked against the CUSFIL by drivers license # to find BAD customers	38541
02-06-12	yes	RESMENU RA	RES OPEN	Print Charge Options	New report that documents the privilege and pricing codes that was used to select rates for Options	38430
02-06-12		PHYSINV	PHYUPD	Physical Inventory Update	A Physical Inventory can be taken on a single class/asset	38462
02-06-12		ITCTRL	EDITIT	Edit IT Records	Added the ability to clone new records from existing records	38645
02-25-12	yes	RA	OPEN	RA Open	Insurance replacement vouchers for a percentage of all RA charges can be entered.	22747
02-25-12		RA	FRGNIN EDITRA	Foreign RA Entry Edit Opening Fields	Added the ability to change the towards/away from the owner question and thus change the revenue splits	38652
02-25-12		RA	CLOSE	RA Close	In hand held mode, it will store the check-in date/time, odometer and tank level if the close cannot be completed. The RA is flagged as PENDING. Counter close was enhanced to work with Pending RAs	38381
02-25-12		RA	OPEN	RA Open	Pending RAs cannot be edited	38381
02-25-12		RA	REOPEN	RE-Open RA	Can be used to remove the pending flag from an RA	38381
02-25-12		DAILY	DUE	Vehicles Due In Report	Can be run for Pending RAs only	38381
02-25-12		SECURITY	EDITUAF	Edit User Access File	Added new value for "allow shortfall" - not allowed at original open but allowed on edits	37552
02-25-12		OPTCTRL	EDITMAT	Edit Percentage Matrix	The formula for DISC discount can now be edited	38719
02-25-12		OPTCTRL	EDTOPTCD	Edit Optional Items	Additional discounts besides DISC can be defined	38719
02-25-12		DMGCTRL	EDITDMG	Edit Damage Control Record	Added the ability to control if charges and credits entered into the Damage Entry program will create charges on the related RA.	38754
03-17-12		LOCCTRL	EDITLOC	Edit Locations	Added field for maximum free miles per RA	38774
03-22-12		RA	OPEN	RA Open	Super User can edit the TIME rates even on non-editable rates	38769
03-22-12		RA	OPEN	RA Open	The ability to pre-sell a half tank of fuel can be turned on/off	38703
03-31-12		PETTYCSH	PTYRPT	Petty cash report	New report that lists Petty cash transactions	38984
03-31-12		INCSALES	EMPSALES	Employee Sales Report	New report that lists optional sales made by RA Open date	38985
04-06-12		MONTH INCSALES	REVANL EXTRA EXTRA2 EMPLPF	Revenue Analysis Report Extra Revenue Extra Revenue2 Employee Performance Reports	Added logic so that the report driver can be use to select options, even those that don't display on page 1. Refer to How to Set Up and Configure the Report Driver for specifics.	35945
05-02-12		n/a	n/a	n/a	Report Driver (RPTDRV.obj): The maximum length of the configuration file name has been expanded to 60 characters (previously it was 30 characters).	35945
05-02-12		RACTRL	EDITCUST	Edit Customer Type Codes	Add 2 fields for a local frequent renter rewards program. The logic awards 'points' for each rental. Settings in the Customer Type record control what award is earned and the number of rentals it takes to earn the rewards. Upon reaching the required number, the promo award is automatically offered on the customer's next rental. (The promo awards are set up as Special Documents.) Refer to the chapter: Overview - Local Renter Rewards Program.	39021
05-02-12		CUSMNT	CUST	Customer File Update	Added a field to show the number of points a customer has for the local frequent renter rewards program. This field is automatically updated when points are earned or used.	39021
05-02-12	yes - if turned on	RACTRL	EDITMISC	Edit Misc Control Fields	Added a field to turn on the logic for a local frequent renter rewards program.	39021
05-02-12		CUSMNT	AWARDRPT	Customer Rental Awards Report	New report that is part of the local renter rewards logic. Reports rental activity for renters who are part of the rewards program. Refer to the chapter: Overview - Local Renter Rewards Program.	39021
05-02-12		SECURITY	EDITUAF	Edit User Access	Separated Max Discount amt limit from Max Discount percent	39178
05-22-12		FLTCTRL	EDITSTA	Edit Vehicle Status Codes	Added a field to control the level of access needed to place vehicle into a status.	36537
05-22-12		CORP	EDITCD	Edit Coporate Account Records	New instructions on how to delete a record.	39227
05-22-12		CORP	EDITCONT	Edit Corporate Contracts	New instructions on how to delete a record.	39227
05-22-12		RATES	CLONEUPS	Clone Upsell Rules/Rates	New program to clone upsell matrix records to a new rate set or effective date.	39223
05-22-12		RACTRL	EDMRPH	Edit CC Phone Number	For operations using EDC: New program to store the phone number to call when the credit card processor requires the user to call in to authorize the credit card.	39203
06-24-12		RACTRL	EDITMISC	Edit Misc Control Fields	Added a field for the status to be used when an inventoried asset is not returned.	39335
06-24-12	yes	RA	OPEN	RA Open	When extended address is turned on, and the country has already been entered, searching the state field is now limited to the state codes for that country. State codes no longer are listed in the country code field.	39372
06-24-12		RACTRL	EDITMISC	Edit Misc Control Fields	Added an alternative method for auth pad that uses the coverage responsibility amount as the auth. pad if it is less than the auth pad amount. If the auth pad amount is blank, always use the coverage responsibility amount as the auth pad.	39438
06-24-12	yes	RA	OPEN	RA Open	A new setting for the auth pad provides an alternative method that uses the coverage responsibility amount as the auth. pad if it is less than the auth pad amount. If the auth pad amount is blank, always use the coverage responsibility amount as the auth pad	39438
06-24-12	yes	OPTIONS	EDTOPTCD	Edit Optional Items	When the 'block oneway' logic is turned on for options, they are not listed in the Shift/F5 option window for one way reservations or RAs. If the option was selected for a local reservation or RA and it later is changed to a oneway, the option is removed. However, when the option is tracked as a non-vehicle asset and is on a local RA which is changed to a oneway. a prompt is displayed asking if the item was returned.	39325
06-24-12		RACTRL	EDITMISC	Edit Misc Control Fields	New field that adds a field to the Valid GL Account screen for an expanded GL account number (up to 10 digits).	39383
06-24-12		ARCTRL	EDITVAL	Edit Valid GL Account File	Added a field for an alternative (expanded) GL account number of up to 10 digits. This is provided for those operations that use a GL package that uses account numbers longer than 4 digits. The 10 digit number will be shown on the account reports: DBR Account Summary, Cash Receipts Report, AR Distribution to GL Report, and Sundry Invoice Account Summary. This number may also be output in interfaces that are developed for third-party accounting systems.	39383
06-24-12		ACCT	DBRA	Accounting DBR	When option detail is requested, a row is now shown for any RA with the following:a discount, customer service adjustment, promo, or "N" type option. Each item is listed separately.	39512
06-30-12	yes	RA	OPEN	RA Open	When an existing customer is selected as the renter or as an additional driver, a new search is made. It looks for duplicate customer records by searching the customer file by drivers license. If other customer records with the same license are found, they are examined to be sure that they are allowed to rent. If their customer type is one were rentals are disallowed, none of the customer records with that license cannot be used.	38647
06-30-12	yes	RA	RAPREP	RA Pre-Print	New mode to RAOPEN that only does pre-printed rentals	39517
06-30-12		RESMENU	MANFST	Res Manifest	Added an indicator when the res is created with Res-class not equal to Res-rate-class	39517
06-30-12		RESMENU	RZDISP	Res Display	Added an indicator when the res is created with Res-class not equal to Res-rate-class	39517
06-30-12		INCSALES	TOURPROF	Tour Profitability Report	Added a field for reservation create employee. Added a field for voucher vehicle class.	39533
TBA		DUPMENU	SELDUP	Select Records for De-Duplication	Changed the default customer type from ALL to the customer type defined in Edit Main Control Record for a new renter.	39427
TBA		UTILIZE	FLORPT	Owned Fleet Utilization Report	Added a field for Daily or Summary reporting. The new choice of 'daily' shows the figures for each individual date in the date range requested.	39657

HERTZ-SPECIFIC FEATURES

DATE	AFFECTS RENTAL COUNTER	MENU	SYNONYM	PROGRAM	DESCRIPTION	ISSUE #
01-23-12		VEHCTRL	EDTCLR	Edit Color Codes	Added a second Color Code to be used by CARRENT	38065
03-22-12	yes	RA	OPEN	RA Open	Added the ability to sell pre-paid half tank of fuel	38703
04-06-12	yes	CUSMNT	EDITCON	Edit Corporate Contract	An alternate Option for T&K discount can be applied by CDPID	38916
TBA	yes	SECURITY	EDITUAF	Edit User Access File	Hertz Brazil only. The amount entered in the Max Discount field limits the total adjustment on the RA, not just the amount that the user can enter in incident entry. That is, previous incident entries ARE taken into account.
TBA		HTZRPT	CSRRPT	CSR Productivity Report	New report of sales for particular options for RAs opened on a single date and month to date. (Options reported are pre-selected and cannot be changed.)	39315