This program removes voided and closed RAs, which are posted from the RA file. All corresponding records in the Exchange, Additional Driver, and Deposit/Payment files are removed at the same time. Foreign RAs are also purged.

RA and related records consume a considerable amount of disk storage. Therefore it is impractical to keep RAs on the computer indefinitely. This program should be run regularly to remove old records, and make space available for new ones.

A RA will NOT be purged if any of the following circumstances exist (see the exception at the end of this chapter):

• the check-out date, check-in date or DBR date is later than the purge cutoff date
• the RA is not closed and posted or void and posted. Old RA's that are not required for accounting purposes due to their age can be what is know as 'Junk" Posting. Basically it marks the RA as being posted without creating accounting files. Refer to Thermeon Support for guidance in preforming a "junk" posting.
• the RA is in Hold or Wait Status; or
• there is an unposted deposit/payment record on the RA or an attached reservation
• there is an unposted commission on the RA. (This is true even if commissions are not interfaced into the A/P files).

Petty Cash Transactions: Petty Cash records in the Deposit/Payment file are purged when RAs are purged according to the following rules:

• When the RA number range is "FIRST" to "LAST" and a Location Code is entered in Field 3, the Petty Cash records for only that Location are purged. If "ALL" is entered for the Location, Petty Cash records for all locations are purged.
• When RA numbers are entered in Fields 1 and/or 2, no Petty Cash records are purged regardless of what is entered in Field 3.

Tax Document records: When RAs are purged, the corresponding tax document records are also purged.

Damage Reports: When RAs are purged, any Vehicle Damage Reports associated with the RAs are also purged.

TIPS

Run any desired reports for the range of the data to be purged PRIOR to running this program. Remember it is not necessary to print the reports; they can be sent as e-mail messages. Suggested reports, as needed, are:

• DBR or RA Summary
• Vendor Commissions
• Source Analysis
• Extra Revenue Report

In determining how many months of RA records to retain, remember the Vehicle History file contains a summary record of each RA.

To access the Purge RA File program, type PURGERA (RET) at any menu "OPTION:" field or the appropriate line number from the Purge Dependent files menu. The screen will then display:

OPTION: __ PURGE RA FILE 1 Start RA# FIRST 2 End RA# LAST 3 Location Out ALL 4 Cutoff Date 09-22-08 5 Purge File N 6 Sort Order 1 (1=RA#, 2=Close DBR Date/Time) 7 Print Report Y 8 Status B (C=Closed, V=Voids, B=Both) 9 Second Employee 10 Disregard Check N 1DO PURGE 2 3 4 5BACKUP 6 7HELP 8

Enter data as follows:

1. START RA#	Enter the first RA Number to be considered for purging. Press RET to default to FIRST. EXAMPLE: Press (RET)
2. END RA#	Enter the last RA Number to be considered for purging. Press RET to default to LAST. EXAMPLE: Press (RET)
3. LOCATION OUT	Enter: 1. Up to 6 alphanumeric characters to select a single location where RAs opened. 2. A Group Name representing several locations (see the Chapter Edit Group Names for a discussion on location groups). Remember, the first character of a Group Name is the plus sign "+". 3. Press RETURN to default to ALL locations. EXAMPLE: Type TUS (RET)
4. CUTOFF DATE:	Using the selected date format, enter the Cutoff Date to purge through. Press RET to default to a date one year earlier than today. EXAMPLE: Type 063008 (RET)
5. PURGE FILE	Enter: Y = Purge qualifying records from the RA File. N = Do not purge records from the RA File. (This choice is provided so that a report can be examined first prior to purging.) EXAMPLE: Type Y (RET)
6. SORT ORDER	If a report is requested (see next field), select a sort order for the data. 1 = Sort by RA Number. 2 = Sort by DBR date and time. EXAMPLE: Press (RET)
7. PRINT REPORT	Enter: Y = Print a report (or send the report as an e-mail) of those RAs which match the selection criteria entered into fields 1 - 4. N = Do not print a report. Note: When purging is requested, a report is always generated regardless of the entry in this field. The choice here is available when a report is desired without purging. EXAMPLE: Type N (RET) Please see the section on Reading the Report below.
8. STATUS	Enter: C = Purge closed and posted RAs V = Purge voided RAs only; do not purge closed and posted RAs B = Purge both closed/posted and void RAs EXAMPLE: Press (RET)
9. SECOND EMPLOYEE	If this field appears, a second employee (who is allowed access to the purge program) is required to enter their employee code and password before the purge will be performed. If the purge is attempted without the second authorized user, the following message will display and the purge will not begin: INVALID VALIDATING EMPLOYEE, PROGRAM ABORTED EXAMPLE: Type MMG (RET) User tip: A field in the Edit Miscell. Control Fields screen specifies whether or not a second employee code is required in order to perform a purge of this file.
10. DISREGARD CHECK	As outlined above, RAs are only purged if they meet various criteria (such as they have been posted, etc.). This field allows the purge program to disregard these rules and purge RAs regardless of their status. Enter: N (the default) = No, the purge rules will NOT be disregarded. RAs will only be purged if they meet all purge rules. Y = Yes, purge all RAs within the requested date range even if they do not meet all purge rules. EXAMPLE: Type (RET) User Warning: Because a "Y" in this field overrides legitimate rules, use extreme care when using that setting. This feature is primarily for new rental operations who for their opening months did not fully process all RAs, yet they now need to be purged.

The screen will then display:

OPTION: __ PURGE RA FILE 1 Start RA# FIRST 2 End RA# LAST 3 Location Out TUS 4 Cutoff Date 06-30-08 5 Purge File Y 6 Sort Order 1 (1=RA#, 2=Close DBR Date/Time) 7 Print Report N Printer: /dev/tty 8 Status B (C=Closed, V=Voids, B=Both) 9 Second Employee MMG 10 Disregard Check N 1DO PURGE 2 3 4 5BACKUP 6 7HELP 8

PRESS "F1" AT "OPTION:" TO BEGIN PROCESSING.

The following question will appear:

HAVE YOU BACKED UP YOUR DATA ?

Entering "N" returns the cursor to the "OPTION:" field from which point the program can be exited or the data in the fields can be changed.

Entering "Y" allows the purge processing to proceed.

The program will display various messages and counters at the bottom of the screen to confirm that processing is occurring.

READING THE REPORT

The report will list all RAs which meet the selection criteria entered into fields 1 - 4 of the Purge RA program. It will identify which RAs, if any, will not be able to be purged and will note the reason why. This is done in the last four columns of the report labeled "Dep", "Com", "Res" and " * ".

• A "Y" in the "Dep" column indicates that the RA cannot be purged due to an unposted deposit on the RA.
• A "Y" in the "Com" column indicates that the RA cannot be purged due to an unposted vendor commission on the RA.
• A "Y" in the "Res" column indicates that the RA cannot be purged due to an unposted deposit that is attached to the reservation that was used to open the RA.
• A "Y" in the " * " column indicates that the RA cannot be purged due to some other reason than the three noted above. Possible reasons are:
• A problem with status. RA may still be open or may be closed but not posted.
• A problem with dates. The check-in date may be later than the cut-off date selected. This can happen with voided RAs. See discussion below.

All other columns on the report are for informational purposes only. In the example report shown below, there are four RAs which will not purge, one for each of the three specific reasons and one for "another" reason. In the case of this particular RA, it is because the check-in date (07-05-08) is later than the cut-off date for the report (06-30-08). This RA appears on the report because it's DBR date (06-28-08) is prior to the cut-off date. This situation occurs when an RA is voided. The date the RA was voided becomes the DBR date of the RA. RAs such as this are not a problem as, while they will not purge this time, they will purge the next time a purge is done with a later cut-off date.

The two RAs without vehicle number were pre-printed (without a vehicle being assigned) and later voided.

As a convenience, the last page of the report will indicate whether any unposted deposits or commissions were found on any of the RAs reported. Since this report typically can be quite lengthy (especially when purging for a large period of time), it is recommended that the report be sent to a text or pdf file using the CARS+Printing logic. When the report is finished, the final page should be checked to determine if there are any unposted deposits or commissions. If there are, then the detail of the report can be reviewed to determine the particular problem RAs.

The last line of the report shows two "counters":

• "OLD CNT" (Old Count) = The total number of RAs on this report.
• "NEW CNT" (New Count) = The number of RAs remaining after the purge was completed.

If the program was run in "report only" mode (i.e. purging was not requested in field 5), the Old and New count will be the same. Using the report example below, if the deposits and commissions on the three RAs flagged as not able to be purged for those reasons are not posted prior to purging, then after purging the New Count would be 4 (counting the voided RA with the check-in date later than the cut-off date). If the deposits and commissions are posted prior to running the purge, the New Count would be 1 as nothing can be done to purge the voided RA until a cut-off date of 07-05-08 or later is used.

09-22-09 14:38:18 11 THERMEON DEMO COMPANY EDITOR Report #0001 Page 0001 P U R G E R A F I L E SELECTIONS---------- Cutoff Date: 06-30-08 Location: ALL Sort Order: RA # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ RA # Veh # Cust # Cust Name Date-out Loc-Out Date-In Loc-In DBR-Date RA-Total Deposits Payments A/R-Bal Dep Com Res * ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ S370865 124012 001174 BENNETT 06-06-07 TUS 06-09-07 SNA 06-11-07 S370866 001852 001028 LAMPERT 06-14-07 TUS 07-14-07 TUS 07-14-07 S370867 001943 001011 GORHAM 06-14-07 TUS 06-16-07 TUS 06-16-07 300.90 126.90 Y S370868 001987 001099 BARNES 06-15-07 TUS 06-17-07 TUS 06-17-07 565.65 S370869 001855 001204 POWELL 06-14-07 TUS 06-17-07 TUS 06-17-07 243.80 S370870 001813 001204 POWELL 06-15-07 TUS 06-17-07 TUS 06-17-07 200.75 S370871 001812 001174 BENNETT 06-20-07 TUS 06-22-07 LAX 06-22-07 119.50 S370872 001812 001099 BARNES 06-23-07 TUS 06-24-07 LAX 06-25-07 127.15 S370873 001942 001017 PICKFORD 07-07-07 TUS 07-12-07 TUS 07-12-07 470.00 13.58 Y S370874 001205 BENTLEY 06-25-08 TUS 07-05-08 TUS 06-28-08 Y S370875 001855 001028 LAMPERT 06-14-07 TUS 07-22-07 TUS 08-05-07 S370876 001859 001028 LAMPERT 07-10-07 TUS 07-15-07 TUS 07-15-07 261.00 S370877 001852 001206 JONES 07-14-07 TUS 08-20-07 TUS 08-20-07 1180.60 204.75 S370878 001857 001028 LAMPERT 07-22-07 TUS 07-28-07 TUS 08-05-07 S370879 001859 001208 MARSHALL 07-28-07 TUS 08-03-07 TUS 08-03-07 136.65 132.50 S370880 002000 001061 GORHAM 08-01-07 TUS 08-05-07 TUS 08-05-07 369.99 S3711011 001941 001017 PICKFORD 07-01-07 TUS 07-06-07 SNA 07-06-07 508.61 S3711012 001909 001011 GORHAM 07-07-07 TUS 07-14-07 TUS 07-14-07 498.28 S3711014 001833 001028 LAMPERT 07-14-07 TUS 08-25-07 TUS 08-25-07 2182.81 S3711015 002020 001017 PICKFORD 07-13-07 TUS 07-23-07 TUS 07-23-07 890.00 9.58 S371104 003000 001011 GORHAM 07-15-07 TUS 07-25-07 TUS 07-25-07 S371105 002000 001048 SKIBSKI 07-18-07 TUS 10-09-07 TUS 10-09-07 2600.00 1639.33 S371106 001819 001199 LANDRY 07-22-07 TUS 10-02-07 TUS 10-02-07 2990.00 783.92 10.00 Y S371107 001858 001174 BENNETT 07-24-07 TUS 10-02-07 TUS 10-02-07 1750.00 969.55 S371109 002169 001028 LAMPERT 07-30-07 TUS 08-04-07 TUS 09-26-07 139.49 246.12 S371111 001837 001028 LAMPERT 09-29-07 TUS 10-09-07 TUS 10-09-07 438.06 S371114 001825 001009 LUSSIER 11-11-07 TUS 11-15-07 TUS 11-15-07 S371124 001827 001071 GATES 02-23-08 TUS 03-07-08 TUS 03-07-08 S371125 001858 001028 LAMPERT 02-23-08 TUS 03-04-08 TUS 04-16-08 S371127 001028 LAMPERT 03-03-08 TUS 03-05-08 TUS 03-06-08 UNPOSTED DEPOSITS FOUND UNPOSTED COMMISSIONS FOUND OLD CNT = 861, NEW CNT = 861 -- End of report --

MANAGEMENT OVERRIDE PURGE

As stated earlier, the purge program has rules that govern records that can be deleted. For example, it will not delete Open RAs. Occasionally, it is necessary to delete old RAs regardless of their status or any of the other restrictions. That can be done via this program in the Manager's Override mode. If the user requesting the merge has menu type "ALL", the following additional field will appear on the screen: "DISREGARD CHECKS?". Enter:

Y = Yes, to delete all RAs earlier than the cut off date regardless of their status or any of the other purge rules.

N = No, apply the purge rules to all RAs as outlined earlier in this chapter.

WARNING: Overriding the purge rules can be dangerous. It is possible to accidentally purge out valid open RAs and be left with no record of who has possession of vehicles. This type of purge MUST BE DONE WITH EXTREME CARE!