Here are the steps taken by CARS+ after you enter the license number and date:
1. The vehicle is identified by the license number.
2. Next, the RA File is searched for all RAs involving that vehicle that were open on the date of the citation. Both open and closed RAs are searched.
3. If no RA is found, the program then searches the Exchange File in case more than one vehicle was involved in the rental.
If the RA is found in Steps 2 or 3, a full description of the driver/renter will appear on the subsequent report.
4.If no RA is found by Steps 2 and 3, the Non-Rev File is searched for Non-Rev tickets involving that vehicle that were open on the date of the citation. Both open and closed Non-Rev tickets are searched.
5.If no Non-Rev ticket is found, the program assumes that the RA has been purged out of the RA File and searches the Vehicle History File for an abbreviated RA record. If the RA is then found, the report will print enough information to facilitate pulling a printed file copy of the RA.
6.Your system can be configured to perform other functions such as:
a. Automatically update the customer's
record
b. Write a vehicle history record
c. Print a report of tickets researched
d. Print a letter to the renter
e. Print a letter to the issuing authority
f. Save the issuing authority as a vendor
g. Assess administrative processing fees to the renter
h. Charge either the Customer's Account or credit card for the ticket and
administrative fees
Refer to the sections at the end of the chapter for information on these options.
To access this program: To access the Ticket Processing Report, type TICKET (RET) at any menu "OPTION:" field or the appropriate line number on the History/Maintenance menu. The screen will then display:
OPTION: ____ TICKET PROCESSING REPORT
1 Ticket No.
2 Vendor No.
3 Ticket Issuer
4 Ticket Date
5 License No.
6 Ticket Amount
1BEGIN 23ERASE 45BACKUP 6SEARCH 7HELP 8
Enter data as follows:
|
1. TICKET NO. |
From the citation, enter the ticket number. |
EXAMPLE: Type 2345-35612 (RET)
|
2. VENDOR NO. |
Enter the vendor number, up to 8 alphanumeric characters, for the party to whom the ticket is owed. This field will only accept existing numbers from the Vendor File. Records in the Vendor file can be searched using the F6 key at the "OPTION", or by pressing Shift F7 when the cursor is in this field. If the vendor does not exist as yet in the vendor file, leave this field blank. You will be able to create a new vendor later on in the program if you choose to print a liability letter. |
EXAMPLE: Type 344 (RET)
|
3. TICKET ISSUER |
Enter the name of the municipality that issued the ticket. EXAMPLE: Type SANTA ANA (RET) |
|
5. TICKET DATE |
Enter the date of traffic violation in the appropriate format, (either MM-DD-YY or DD-MM-YY). |
EXAMPLE: Type 040804 (RET)
|
4. LICENSE# |
Enter up to 11 alphanumeric characters of the license number of the vehicle stated on the citation. |
EXAMPLE: Type 3TPH916 (RET)
|
6. TICKET AMT |
Enter the amount of the ticket. |
EXAMPLE: Type 35.00 (RET)
When (RET) is pressed at Field 6, the system will automatically display rental agreements or non-rev tickets matching the vehicle and ticket date. If two or more rental agreements were open on the ticket date, select the correct RA by comparing closing time with the time the ticket was issued. Enter the line number at "OPTION" to select the correct record.
A series of questions will then display:
UPDATE CUSTOMER AND HISTORY FILES? (Y/N)
Y = The Customer's record will be updated to reflect the ticket by incrementing the ticket count by one and noting the date of the ticket. Upon the next rental by this customer, a warning message will appear during the RA opening process. In addition, a history record is created on the vehicle.
N = The Customer and History Files will NOT be updated, and the following question will display:
PRINT REPORT INFO? (Y/N)
Enter Y (yes) or N (No) to indicate whether or not this information should print on the Ticket Processing Report. If your system is configured to print letters to the renter and/or the authority issuing the ticket, this question ALSO controls whether or not those letters will print.
ACCEPT LIABILITY? (Y/N)
User tip:The answer to this question can have major implications in how the transaction is handled in CARS+. Please be sure to read and understand the following section.
Enter:
Y = Yes. You, as the car rental operator, will accept the liability (responsibility) for this ticket. You will pay it directly and then charge the customer for it.
N = No. You, as the car rental operator, will not accept the responsibility for this ticket. Instead, you will furnish information to the issuer of the ticket so that they may pursue the renter directly.
Whether you answer Yes or No, your system can be configured to print an appropriate letter to the renter. In addition, if the answer was "N" (meaning that you are not accepting liability), a second letter directed to the issuer of the ticket can be printed.
The wording within the letters can vary according to the following parameters:
A. Whether or not you accepted liability
B. The payment method that was used on the RA. There are 3 payment categories for RAs:
1. Renter paid with cash (or check or travelers checks)
2. Renter paid with credit card
3. Rental was a direct bill
Each letter has room for up to 13 lines of text, including the salutation and closing. Thermeon's Customer Support Dept. will set up each of the 6 letters with the text you provide for each situation. If you wish to change the terms that are standard and not part of the 13 lines of text, the translation logic can be used to do that. (Refer to the Appendix chapter of the CARS+ manual for instructions. Translation of this program follows the same methods as translating RAs and Report Headings.)
The program chooses which of the six letters is appropriate in each case:
Accepting Liability and:
Renter paid by cash
Renter paid with credit card
Rental was a direct bill or insurance logic RA
Not accepting Liability and
Renter paid by cash
Renter paid with credit card
Rental was a direct bill or insurance logic RA
Whether or not you accept liability, a provision is made within each letter for you to include up to two additional charges such as an administrative fee and tax. Those fee amounts and the corresponding General Ledger accounts are defined in the Ticket Charge Distribution File on the Accounting Control Files Menu. Once defined, the fees are charged on every transaction.
Automatic Charges:
In addition to the letters, Petty Cash entries are automatically created for each transaction. Please study the chart below.
|
Accept Liability? |
How was RA Paid? |
Letter to Renter |
Letter to Ticket Issuer Authority |
Accounting Action |
|
Yes |
Cash |
Yes - includes itemization of charges for infraction, admin. fee, etc. |
No |
Petty Cash entry charging customer's account for ticket plus admin. fees. (Uses Cust. # for FOP & creates receivable.) |
|
Yes |
Credit Card |
Yes - includes itemization of charges for infraction, admin. fee, etc. |
No |
Petty Cash entry charging credit card for ticket plus admin. fees. |
|
Yes |
Direct Bill or insurance voucher * |
Yes - includes itemization of charges for infraction, admin. fee, etc. |
No |
Petty Cash entry charging customer's account for ticket plus admin. fees. (Uses Bill-To Cust. # for FOP & creates receivable) |
|
No |
Cash |
Yes - advises cust. that information has been sent to ticket issuing authority. Bills for admin. fee charges. |
Yes - provides renter's name and address. |
Petty Cash entry charging customer's account for admin. fees. (Uses Cust. # for FOP & creates receivable). |
|
No |
Credit Card |
Yes - advises cust. that information has been sent to ticket issuing authority. Advises that charges for admin. fee have been processed on credit card. |
Yes - provides renter's name and address. |
Petty Cash entry charging credit card for admin. fees |
|
No |
Direct Bill or insurance voucher |
Yes - advises cust. that information has been sent to ticket issuing authority. Bills for admin. fee charges. |
Yes - provides renter's name and address |
Petty Cash entry charging customer's account for admin. fees. . (Uses Bill-To Cust. # for FOP & creates receivable) |
* RAs with insurance vouchers are considered as direct bill rentals in the Ticket Processing program. So, even thought the renter may have paid his/her part in cash or by credit card, this program prints the letter to the insurance company.
If you do not accept liability, the screen below will appear so that you may enter the particulars about the issuer of the ticket. If the Vendor Number was entered on the Ticket screen, the Vendor Account information will be shown.
The Vendor No. field will accept either an existing vendor, in which case the remaining fields will display information for that record in the Vendor File, or, you can create a new vendor record for the issuing authority by entering appropriate data in the fields
The line "RTYPE" is for the Vendor Type Code. Vendor Types are not pre-defined. However, you may want to use a vendor type of "MUN" (for municipality) in order to segregate these vendors from others in the system.
NOTE: If you do NOT want the program to charge the customer's credit card or account receivable by generating an automatic petty cash entry, you should answer "N" to the "Accept Liability" question and do not set up anything in the Ticket Charge Distribution File on the Accounting Control Files Menu.
User tip: By setting up a Privilege Code and attaching it for a Corporate Account record, certain corporate customers can be made exempt from the administrative fee. Refer to the chapter of the manual titled Edit Privilege Codes for more information about the field that is on page 2 of the Edit Privilege Code screen.
Once data is entered and the pop-up window is exited, a new vendor file record is stored.
ENTER THE ADDRESS OF ISSUING AUTHORITY
VENDOR NO.
NAME
ADDRESS 1
ADDRESS 2
ADDRESS 3
TYPE
When all tickets have been entered, exit the program by pressing ESC twice. The Ticket Processing Report will automatically print. The report sort order will be the same as the tickets entered.
SPECIAL NOTES
There are several messages which appear when certain problems are encountered:
|
INVALID LICENSE NUMBER |
Displayed on the screen. The license number entered cannot be found in your fleet inventory. |
|
NO VALID VEHICLE RECORD FOUND |
Basically the same as above. |
|
NO CUST RECORD FOUND |
Shows on report. The customer record for this RA has been purged from the system. |
|
NO RA-DTLS |
Shows on the report. No RA details are presented because the RA has been purged from the system. |
|
NOTHING FOUND |
Displayed on the screen. This can mean: a.The vehicle was not occupied on the date entered. That is, it was not on rent nor on a non-rev ticket. b.The license plate may be entered for more than one vehicle. If the Vehicle file has 2 or more vehicles with the same License number on them, the ticket program finds the first vehicle with this license number, then searches for RAs and related records for only that vehicle on the specified ticket date. If another vehicle had the same license plate, it is not researched. |
There should be no problem finding RA details even if the RA record has been purged. However, you must then use the RA number provided by the History file to find your printed file copy of the agreement. (Once a RA is purged, it cannot be reprinted.)
EXPLANATION OF FIELDS ON THE TICKET PROCESSING REPORT
Each RA will print up to the following four lines of data:
Line 1: Ticket number and city of issue, License Number, Ticket Date, Vehicle Number, Rental Agreement Number, Customer Number
Line 2: Customer Name, Customer Address, City, State and Zip Code
Line 3: Bill to Name, Bill to Address, City, State and Zip Code
Line 4: Driver License Number, State, Credit Card FOP Code, Voucher Number, Expiration Date