The information on the screen is defined as follows:
Note: The contract number will be assigned after the contract is printed in the form of X – Y, where X is the number and Y is the store number. Single store systems will have a store number of 001, but it will not be displayed. When using the multi-store version of Enterprise software, the store number can vary from 001 to 999 and indicates which store “opened” the contract. The other fields are:
Payment Summary
The Amount row is the sum of all the line item rent/sale prices on the contract and the sum of all deposits collected.
The Paid row is the sum of all rent/sale and deposit payments made prior to this transaction.
The Paying row is the rent/sale and deposit amount(s) being paid or refunded this transaction.
The Balance row displays any rent/sale balance due highlighted in red. If no balance is due, 0.00 will be displayed highlighted in green.
Paying This Transaction
In-store Credit: By clicking on the Apply In-store Credit, the contract will be paid using the customer’s in-store credit. If the customer doesn’t have enough credit to cover the entire cost, the credit he does have will be applied. Note: This button is only displayed if the customer has an in-store credit.
Rental/sale amount is amount that is being collected and the payment method for this transaction.
Deposit amount is the deposit amount that is being collected along with the payment method for this transaction.
Select Method is for the method of payment such as Cash, Check, Credit Card, Debit Card. Under Parameters, you can set whether the system defaults to a certain payment method or forces the counter person to select the correct payment method.
Net change in cash drawer is the total amount being collected for this transaction regardless of the form(s) of payment.
Amount tendered is the amount of CASH being tendered. Entry into this field is optional and is only used to compute CASH change.
Change - the amount of change to be given in response to the input of amount tendered. If no entry is made into the Amount tendered this amount will be the amount paid.
You can modify the fields by pressing the TAB key to get to the desired field. You can also hold down the ALT key and press the underlined key (i.e. R for Rental Amount, D for Deposit Amount). If you select one of the fields, you will be permitted to change the field as mentioned above.
OK Button: If you click the OK button, you will be asked if you are finished making changes. If you are finished proceed to step 8 below.
Back Button: If you click the Back button, you will be put back to the contract items screen to make any changes.
Cancel Button: If you click the Cancel button, the contract will be cancelled and all of the items will be returned to inventory. You only have this option when opening the contract.
Another Payment: If you click the Another Payment button, the payment you have entered will be written and you will be asked for another payment amount and method. This is helpful if the customer wants to pay $100 cash and the rest of it with a check. Note: This button is only displayed if you made a partial payment.
Various printing options may be selected from the menu below:
Select the desired option by typing the underlined letter on each button or use the mouse to select the option. The printing options are defined below:
Dot matrix contract printer: This selection will print to the dot matrix contract printer.
Receipt printer: The contract will print to the receipt printer. This option would normally be used only if sale items are on the contract. If some or all of the items are rental items, the contract will print but much of the data that would print if sent to the contract printer such as safety messages, date/time out and date/time due will not print due to space limitations of the roll paper.
Laser contract printer: The contract will print to the Laser Contract printer.
Email: The contract will be added as an attachment to an email. The contract attachment will be in Microsoft Word format. The customer’s email account will be the default; however, you can type in a different email account. In addition, you can follow the email address with a semicolon and enter another email address to send the contract to. You will also have the opportunity to change the default email subject line and email body. The default subject line and body are set under Parameters. Note: This feature requires that you have an email program installed, configured, and working on the terminal. If you are using Microsoft Outlook, then it must be currently running on the terminal to send an email. Microsoft Outlook Express does not have to be running, but it does have to be configured.
FAX: The contract will be faxed in the same format that prints to the laser printer. If the customer has a FAX number listed in his customer record then that number will be the default FAX number; however, you will be allowed to type a different FAX number. Note: You must have a Fax/modem installed in the server with a telephone line plugged into it. Windows Server comes installed with FAX software.
FAX with Cover Page: The contract will be faxed in the same format that prints to the laser printer. You will be given the option to select a cover page and enter notes for the fax. You will be required to type in the desired FAX number. If the customer has a FAX number listed in his customer record then that number will be loaded into the clipboard which can be pasted in the phone number field by using Ctrl-V or right click, paste. Note: You must have a Fax/modem installed in the server with a telephone line plugged into it. Windows Server comes installed with FAX software.
View on Screen: The contract form will be displayed on the screen. From that screen, you can print or export using the buttons at the top of the report.
Laser, Email, FAX Format: When printing to the laser contract printer, FAX, or email, you can set the desired format for the contract. You can define up to 10 different contract formats. You define the formats under Configuration, Laser Contract Format. Each store can set the default format for their store under Contracts in the Parameters. In addition, you can set a default format for each customer within the customer record.
Select Printer: This option allows you to set the printer the contract will print to.
Number of Copies: Clicking the scroll up and down buttons will change the number of copies to be printed. In addition, you can just press the “1” key for one copy, the “2” key for two copies, etc. up to 9 copies.
Print Load Slip: The load slip is a form that prints on a receipt printer that lists the contract number, customer name, date, time, and each of the items on the contract as well as their quantities. This slip would then be given to the person loading the equipment. The quantities would be checked and any serial number or hour meter information would be written down. The completed load slip would then go back up to the counter to attach to the contract. This option will only be enabled if you have defined a printer under Load Slip Printer in Printer Setup.
Print: The Print button will print the contract with the selections you have made.
No print: The contract or modifications to it will be made and written to the server but the contract will not print.
Note: The contract number will be assigned after one of the above options has been selected.
Note 1: If you are printing the rate structure below the items on a contract, it will no longer show periods that are not a complete day. (except those that are less then 24 hours.
Press ENTER to return to the Counter System Main Menu. Click Reprint Contract to select another format to print. Click Modify Contract to modify the current contract. Click Create New Contract to open another contract for this same customer. Click Create IRO to open a repair contract for any items on this contract that came back broken.
General Notes for Contracts:
Reservations- The program attempts to aid the operator as much as possible in the difficult area of item reservations. However, the final decision is left up to the operator. If the rental period he selects overlaps with any reservations for the item, and the quantity he selects would cause an “overbooking” situation, then a screen will be displayed showing all reservation contracts causing the conflict. He will be informed of the “Safe Quantity” to rent. The “Safe Quantity” is the maximum quantity that could be rented for this time period and duration. The “Safe Quantity” is the quantity currently available minus the number reserved during the selected rental period that conflict with the current rental. The “Safe Quantity” will be displayed to the operator only as a warning, but he must acknowledge the warning by selecting “OK” if he chooses to overbook. Otherwise, he will be allowed to enter a different quantity. Please note that the operator will be permitted to rent out the entire available quantity for whatever time period he chooses. He should be aware, however, that any quantity higher than the “Safe Quantity” might cause a conflict with future reservations. The operator may be required to enter a password to allow overbooking. The password level is defined under Security in the Parameters. For multi-store operations, overbooks will be checked on the transaction’s store. If the current store does not have sufficient quantity the operator will be warned. On the overbook screen, you can change the store selection to All Stores to see whether you have an overbook based on the entire company’s inventory. In this situation, it means that you have sufficient quantity, but you need to transfer some equipment to that specific store to fulfill the reservation.
A related subject is the situation where a reservation is being made for an item that is currently rented out. The operator will be permitted to specify the entire quantity of the item on the reservation contract. The program assumes that any items currently rented will be returned on time. If any items currently rented are past their due back time, the computer will give a “Maximum safe quantity” with “X currently overdue.” It is up to the operator to decide whether these late items will be returned in time for the current reservation, because there are no guarantees that the items will actually be returned on time. However, the “Maximum safe quantity” will show how many are available without conflicting with other reservations, and the number of those that are currently rented out will also be shown.
Metered items- For equipment that has an hour-meter, the counter system has the capability of calculating charges based on the maximum of meter-hours used or the clock-hours rented out. In order to use this feature the following rules must be followed:
a. Each metered item must be individually listed in the inventory. That is, to be considered a metered item the quantity must be 1.
b. The Item Type must be “Rental Item – Hour meter”.
c. The parameter “Meter overtime” on the Rates tab must be set to the number of meter hours (free) in a day, the number of meter days in a week and the number of weeks in a month before overtime charges begin. For example, if it is set to 8 hours allow per day, 5 days in a week and 4 weeks in a month then each hour over 8 in a 24-hour period will be computed at 1/8 of the daily rate. Five (5) times this amount will be allowed on a weekly rental, and twenty (20) times this amount on a monthly (4-week) rental. Another parameter “% charge for meter overtime” is used to determine the charge amount for any meter overtime. With a setting of 100%, then any overtime will be charged at the full price. A setting of 50% for example would only charge 50% of the normal rate for the overtime charges.
d. When a metered item is rented out, the counter person will be asked to enter the current meter reading in tenths of an hour with a maximum of 6 digits (99999.9 is the maximum). If the hour-meter has more than 6 digits, only the last 6 digits should be entered. If you are unable to enter the reading at that time, see step g.
e. When a metered item is returned, the counter person will again be asked to enter the current meter reading as above. The program will then compute the charges based on the maximum clock hours or meter-hours. If the customer is being charged extra for the meter hours, the counter person will be so informed.
f. The meter reading will be printed on the contract above the rental prices when a metered item is opened and when it is closed.
g. If you need to change the meter reading for an open item, follow this procedure:
Select Modify Contract and call up the contract.
Right click on the line # for the metered item.
Select Change Hour Meter.
Enter the correct meter readings.
Usage Items- For usage items (i.e. diamond blades, helium, mileage, etc.) the counter system has the capability of calculating rent as well as a usage charge on a per unit basis. In order to use this feature the following rules must be followed:
h. Each usage item must be individually listed in the inventory. That is, the quantity must be 1.
i. The Item Type must be set to “Rental Item - Usage”.
j. The following fields in the item record must be entered:
number of readings – the number of readings than will be made (i.e. 3 or 4 for diamond blades, 1 for odometer mileage)
free units - number of free units given per day
max - the maximum reading accepted, use a “-” for readings that get smaller as they are used (diamond blade) and no sign for readings that get larger as they are used (mileage)
each unit - the cost in cents for each unit charged.
The Parameter “Usage Item” on the Rates tab must be set to the number of hours in a day, days in a week and weeks in a month. This number determines the number of free units given per hour, week, and month. For example, a setting of 6 hours in a day, 3 days in a week and 4 weeks in a month means for every hour charged in rent, give the customer 1/6 of the number of free units per day (as defined in the item record). For every day charged, give the customer the number of free units per day. For every week charged, give the customer 3 times the number of free units per day. And for every month charged, give the customer 4 times the number of free units per week. Note: If free units are based per transaction and not on time out, enter 0 for each of these parameters.
When a usage item is rented out, the counter person will be asked to enter the current reading(s). The last average reading “in” will be displayed as the default. The counter person must then confirm whether the reading or the average of the readings is correct. Here are some diamond blade examples:
Blade reading Enter
.657 657
.6573 657
.7 700
Each usage item uses two line items: one for the rental component of the transaction and one for the sale (usage) component. The sale component line will be grey.
When a usage item is returned, the counter person will again be asked to enter the current reading(s) as above. The program will then compute the average reading, the units used, the free units, and the price for the units charged. The quantity on the sale line item will be the total units used, while the price will be the price per unit multiplied by the total units minus the free units (i.e., Price = (Total Units - Free Units) * Price Each). The free units are calculated using the Free Units in the item record, the “Usage Item” Parameters, and the amount of time charged.
The usage item average reading will print on the contract above the rental prices when a usage item is opened and when it is closed. Also the number of free units and the number of charged units will print on separate lines in the merchandise sales section of the contract form. After the usage item is closed, the free units and the charged units will not be separated on subsequent printings.
If you need to change the usage reading, follow this procedure:
(a) Select Modify Contract and call up the contract.
(b) Select the line # for the sale item portion of the item (i.e., the second line)
(c) Select (Q)uantity, enter the reading(s).
Note: If you change the sale line item quantity while the rental line is open, then the OUT unit reading will be changed. If the rental line is closed, the IN unit reading will be changed.