I. INTRODUCTION CARS+ can be run in one of two possible ways as far as accounting and taxation is concerned:
1. Revenue is declared at the time the vehicle is returned and the RA closes. This is the standard mode under which CARS+ is run. In this configuration:
- The estimate that is calculated at open, is just that, an estimate, it has no accounting impact.
- Monies taken at open in the form of a deposit do post to the accounting files, but they create a liability (a debt that the rental operation owes the renter - you have collected monies for services not yet rendered). When the RA closes, the deposit monies are reversed out of Customer Deposit Liability and applied to the rental agreement.
- Rental extensions and other edits to an open contract have no immediate accounting impact.
- Taxes are not calculated until the contract closes.
- Therefore, government required Tax Documents can only be printed after a rental agreement closes.
2. Revenue is declared whenever monies change hands. This is the alternate mode under which CARS+ can run. In this configuration:
- Monies taken at open in the form of a deposit do post, but they DO NOT create a
liability. Instead they are the balance to the revenue that has been declared.
- The estimate that is calculated at open, is stored as declared revenue.
- Rental extensions and other edits to an open contract which involve additional deposits DO have an immediate accounting impact, creating additional revenue and taxes at the moment that they are entered.
- Taxes are calculated whenever monies are taken.
- Therefore government required Tax Documents can be printed whenever monies are taken and taxes are generated.
- An additional Tax Document will print at close if there are additional charges which were not declared at open.
- A Tax Credit Note is printed at close if the estimated revenue created at open was greater than the actual rental charges at close.
II. SET UP By default, CARS+ is designed to declare revenue at the close of each RA. If you do nothing, this is how CARS+ will naturally run. To change the system to recognize revenue and taxes at the time monies change hands, a field must be set in either Edit Miscellaneous Control Fields or in the Edit Locations programs.