I. INTRODUCTION
Often rental agreements cover a period of time greater than 30 calendar days. This can cause some problems if:
1. Local laws stipulate that car rentals cannot exceed 30 days.2. You must wait until the contract closes before you can invoice the customer for the rental charges.
The CARS+ Multiple Invoiced rental and Longterm Rental logic are designed to eliminate the above two problems.
READER'S NOTE: The Longterm Rental logic was cloned from the earlier, CARS+ Multi-Month logic. As a result, it shares many of the same features and rules as the Multi-Month logic. This overview will only cover those areas where the two logics are different. It is suggested that the reader read or review the chapter on Overview - Multiple Invoiced Rentals before continuing.
II. THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MULTI-MONTH RENTALS AND LONGTERM RENTALS
|
MULTI-MONTH RENTALS |
LONGTERM RENTALS |
| The Invoicing frequency (Billing Cycle) can be set to any period desired: once a week, every 14 days, every 30 days, on the same day of each month (such as on the 15th of the month) etc. |
The Invoicing frequency is set automatically to 30 days and cannot be changed. |
| No limit to the length of the rental period |
A maximum rental period can be defined. |
| A deposit can be placed on a Multi-month rental and it will be applied to each billing cycle until it is all consumed. |
Deposits CANNOT be added to Longterm rentals. Nor for Hertz users, can they have a SVV, FVV or OTTO. |
| Retail rentals do NOT automatically become Multi-Month rentals if they are opened for a period greater than X days. |
Retail rentals automatically become Longterm rentals if they are opened for a period greater than X days. |
III. SET UP STEPS
IV. OPENING A LONGTERM RENTAL
MAIN WINDOW |
|
|
11. RET DATE/TIME |
Using the selected date and time format, enter the date and time of when the customer expects to return the vehicle. This may be months in the future. But if the return date entered causes the length of rental to exceed the Longterm rental max as defined in Edit Misc Control Fields, the system will reset the return date to the RA Open Date plus the Longterm rental max. When extending a subsequent RA, note that the rental max days are computed from the open date of the original RA. User tip: A field in the User Access File record, Extend Past Max, can be used bypass the setting for max days in Edit Misc Control Fields User tip: Hertz Locations: When the rental is for an applicant, the max days do not apply. |
|
G SUBWINDOW (DATES AND MISCELLANEOUS)
|
|
|
6a. DAYS IN BILLING CYCLE |
For longterm rentals, this field is automatically set to 30 days and it is not editable. |
| 6b. LONGTERM |
A "Y" will appear in this display only field if the RA has been defined as a longterm rental. |
| 6c. AUTH ERROR |
A "Y" will appear in this second display when the last time this longterm was closed and cloned, there was no authorization on the renter's credit card for the next 30 day period. RAs flagged with this error will appear on the Longterm Auth Error report described later in this chapter. |
|
|
|
|
7. EST MILES PER PERIOD |
Enter up to 5 numeric characters for an estimate of the number of miles that will be used for each billing period. If a default amount has been entered in the Location record, it will automatically be loaded in this field. Leaving this field blank results in the odometer incrementing by "1" when the RA is closed and cloned. This will cause the miles/kms driven to be charged when the vehicle is return and the final RA closes. This may result in a significant balloon charge on the RA. For example:
|
|
START DATE/ODOM/FUEL |
These display only fields will carry the original RA Open Date, Odometer and Fuel tank level from this RA when it is cloned into new RAs by the Longterm Rentals program. |
|
PREVIOUS LINKING RA# |
This display only field will carry the previous RA# which this was cloned from. |
|
When saving a RA which has calendar month billing specified, a daily and monthly rate must be present in the rate structure.If there is no rate in the “Day” and the “Month” fields, the following message will display:
|
|
This is the program which batch closes and clones contracts so as to allow interim invoicing on long term rentals.
A. RAs are selected for processing when all of the following conditions are met:
1. The RA is set-up as a longterm rental.
2. The RA meets any other selection criteria entered on the Longterm Invoiced Rentals screen (such as Open Location, RA Type , etc.).
3. Thirty days have elapsed since either the RA was first opened or since it has last been closed and cloned.
4. The RA's Return Date is greater than the entered Cutoff Date. (Cutoff date cannot be later than yesterday.)
RAs which have a Return Date earlier than the Cut-Off Date must either have their Return Date extended, if the customer still has the car, or be manually batch closed if the vehicle was returned.
5. The Prevent Close Flag is not set to "Y".
The Longtern Invoiced Rentals program skips those RAs that have the Prevent Close flag set to "Y".
B. The
automatic closing logic will do the following:
1. The Closing date of each contract will be set to the opening date plus 30 days.
2. The closing DBR date is set to either the Closing Date and Time or the current system date and time depending on how the user answers the DBR Date question on the Longterm Invoiced Rentals screen.
3. The closing odometer is set to the opening odometer plus the value in the "Estimated Miles Per Period" field in the RA.
4. Closing fuel level is set to the opening fuel level.
5. Options that have been set up with a limit for the maximum number of days for which the option can be charged are handled in a special manner on Longterm Rentals. If the maximum number of chargeable days has already been met, the option will not be cloned to the new contract.
6. RAs with a balance due are allowed as long as there is a bill-to party entered on the RA.
7. All charges will then be calculated as normal with the following exception:
a. Calendar month rentals are calculated as follows:
First month (if prorating is necessary): Number of calendar days multiplied by the RA’s Daily rate. All other rate fields (Hours, Weeks, Months) are ignored. CAUTION: Best price logic is not in effect.
All subsequent full months: The RA’s Monthly rate multiplied by one regardless of the number of days in the month.
For example, let’s assume the following rate structure:
Day $ 50
Week $ 300
Month $1,200Assume the vehicle went on rent May 3 and will be billed using End of Month logic. The first contract will close May 31 with a charge for 29 days (calendar days) at $50 per day equaling $1,450 for a partial month. This illustrates the point that when using End of Month billing or Day of Month billing, the daily rates must be coordinated with the monthly rate in order to charge an appropriate amount. (Calendar day calculation logic will apply regardless of the setting of the Calendar Day Calc flag of the attached Rate Product.)
b. If the rate rules are set up to reference an alternate rate(s), the best rate is applied to the RA being closed. AND, that rate is carried forward to the new RA.
As a rule, the Longterm Rentals program does not check the rules of the rate on the RA. Unlike a regular RA, on multiple invoiced rentals the negotiated rate applies to the entire rental, even the last one of the chain that may be for only a few days.
An exception is made when a rate has an alternate rate linked to it. When the rate has an alternate rate, the rules on the rate are checked. However, ALL of the rules on the rate are checked such as day of week and minimum or maximum days.
C. The automatic cloning logic will create a new contract for each contract which was batch closed. All data in the closed contract will copy across to the new contract except the following:
1. The RA number will be new. It is the next number available from the opening location's range of RA numbers. The closed RA's number is written into the field "Previous linking RA#" which is displayed in the G subwindow of the RA Open screen.
2. The Open Date/Time is set to the Closing Date/Time of the contract that was closed.
3. The Opening Odometer is set to the Closing Odometer of the contract that was closed.
4. The credit card that was entered into the main window of the RA will be carried forward to the next RA.
5. For users other than Hertz operations, FVV's (full value vouchers) are carried over to the next RA.
6. A field in the Longterm Rentals program controls how automatically applied options are handled during the cloning process. Entering:
Y = The program should review the automatically applied options and add or remove them as necessary. For example, if a new tax or fee has gone into effect since the current RA opened (the one being closed), add that fee to the cloned RA.
N = The program should not review the automatically applied options. Instead, clone exactly what is on the current RA.
D. Longterm Rentals Audit Report
If requested, the audit report prints after the Longterm Invoiced Rentals program runs listing RAs that need attention. RA's included are:
The RA has a fuel card on it (Prepaid Fuel field = C).
The customer's driver's license expires before the returned date of the newly opened RA.
There is a credit card in the FOP field (Field 7 of the Main window).
The vehicle has a open Hold Code assigned to it.
The following data is shown on the report:
Closed RA #
New RA #
Renter's first and last name
Renter's phone number
Prepaid fuel flag
Odometer reading on the new RA
A place to write in the actual current odometer reading (to be filled in manually after calling the renter)
Driver's license expiration date
Form of Payment name, and expiration date
Vehicle number
All open Hold Codes on the vehicle
VII. LONGTERM RENTAL REPORT
To obtain a list of the open Longterm RAs showing
the date they are due to be cloned, use the Longterm Rentals Report
found on the Rental Accounting Menu. (shortcut LTRRPT).
VIII. LONGTERM AUTH ERROR REPORT
This report is used to examine open longterm rentals that were NOT able to have their credit card authorized when the RA was closed and cloned.
X. PERFORMING THE FINAL CLOSE OF A LONGTERM RENTAL
Like Multi-Month Rentals, the final close of a Longterm rental MUST be done via either the On-line or Batch Close program. This close will take place just like any other contract closing with the following exceptions:
A. If the "Estimated Miles Per Period" feature was used, it is possible that the customer drove less than cumulative estimate. In fact, it is possible that the actual closing odometer may be less than the estimated opening odometer on the final segment of the rental. Normally, the RA Close program prevents you from setting the closing odometer to be less than the opening odometer. This restriction is not present on Longterm rentals. Therefore, the user is free to set the closing odometer to the actual reading even if it is less than the current opening odometer reading.
But it should be understood that if an odometer reading is entered which is less than the estimated opening odometer, the system logic assumes that the final odometer reading is correct. Because the closing odometer reading MUST be greater than the opening reading, the opening reading on the final RA is automatically rewritten to be one mile (or km.) less than the closing figure.
If the miles/kms were chargeable on the previous RAs in the sequence, be aware that a credit will NOT be calculated by the system for the previous mileage charges. Therefore, if the customer was over charged for mileage on earlier segments and you wish to issue a credit, you must calculate the credit manually (off system) and use either the Customer Service Adjustment field or the Reimbursement field to place the credit on the final RA in the sequence.
B. When closing the last RA in a series of Longterm RAs, normally there will be no fuel charge calculated. Longterm rentals in general are exempt from the fuel charge logic. However, your system can be configured so that the last RA in a series of Longterm RAs IS subject to the normal fuel charge calculation. Contact Thermeon's Customer Support Dept. if you wish to turn on this feature.
C. When closing the last RA in a series of Longterm RAs where tiered rates are used, the rate from the highest tier is used even if the final leg of the contract has fewer days that the highest tier.
D. When closing the last one in a series of longterm RAs, the A subwindow (Rates) must be viewed prior to saving the close of the contract. Therefore, after a calculation or recalculation is made, the "A" subwindow will flash and the following message will appear on the screen:
LAST RA IN MULTI-MONTH CHAIN - CHECK RATES
If the A subwindow has not been viewed prior to saving, the user will be prompted to view the subwindow and will be unable to close the RA until doing so.
E. If the elapsed days on the final close exceed the number of days in the billing cycle, the following message will display:
RENTAL LENGTH LONGER THAN BILLING CYCLE, CONTINUE TO CLOSE?Y/N
Enter:
Y = to have the Close continue
N = to stop the Close and exit back to the menu
F. When the rate has a minimum number of days defined, the last RA in the chain may not meet that minimum number. For example, a monthly rate may have a minimum of 28 days. The last RA in the multi-month chain is NOT subject to the minimum rule (the rental has been on-going for previous months). Therefore, the RA will calculate using the weekly and daily rates.
XI. LINKED RA'S
One of the files that can be searched from the RA Open
screen with the F6 Search feature is the one for Linked RAs. By entering any one of the RA numbers
in the chain of a longterm rentals, all RA numbers in the chain will be
displayed. See the example below
which shows that the first 2 RAs have already been closed and the third one
remains open.
| OPTION: __ LINKED RA SEARCH F1=RA # RA # Open Date/Time Close Date/Time Revenue Exch/Link **** 1 S370815 08-16-03 1830 09-15-03 1830 1596.68 L 2 S371906 09-15-03 1830 10-15-03 1830 1596.68 L 3 S372317 10-15-03 1830 12-28-03 1800 0.00 ** End of linking records ** |
XII. COMMISSIONS
The Longterm program, when cloning information from on RA to another, copies the reservation number from the original RA to subsequently cloned RAs. This causes the cloned RAs to appear on the Incentive Transaction Report. However, the system does not provide for a travel agent commission to be due on the cloned RAs. Only the first RA in the series is seen as commissionable if originating from a travel agent or other commissionable vendor.