Printed Documentation
Table of Contents INTRODUCTION... 1 Technical Support... 1 Overview... 2 GETTING STARTED... 3 Inventory Folders for Rental Items... 3 Rental Service Folders... 4 Equipment Inventory Folders... 8 Creating Rental Service Codes... 11 Entering Rental Equipment... 19 Rental Settings for a Customer... 28 RENTAL PRICING... 31 Rental Pricing Overview... 31 Determining the Length of Time... 31 Determining the Price Rate... 31 Entering Business Hours and Grace Periods... 33 Rental Pricing... 37 RENTAL CONTRACTS... 41 Creating a Contract... 41 Reserving and/or Checking Out a Rental... 45 Using the Availability Wizard... 45 Selecting product from the Rental Contract... 47 Returning a Rental Item... 55 Returning and Billing Individual Items... 57 Billing a Rental... 59 Periodic Billing... 61 Damage Waiver... 66 Managing Rental Deliveries... 71 MANAGING RENTAL EQUIPMENT... 73 Purchasing Rental Equipment... 73 Selling Rental Equipment... 81 INDEX... 83 iii
Introduction Technical Support Welcome to the instructional manual for Eagle Business Management System (EBMS). Eagle Solutions is pleased to provide you with instructions and tips regarding the Windows version of EBMS. An additional manual may be required to cover the details of the optional modules within EBMS such as Job Costing, Manufacturing, Multiple Warehouse, and Task modules. In the sections following, explanations and examples of the available features in the Eagle Business Management System will be explained for optimal use of the system. If you need to reach our staff for further help, contact us using the information below: Eagle Software 5351 Lincoln Highway, Suite 9 Gap, PA 17527 (717) 442-3247 x2 (717)-442-1096 fax www.eaglebusinesssoftware.com Email: Support@EagleBusinessSoftware.com Manual Revision 7.6 October 2012 1
Printed Documentation Overview The EBMS Rental Module is a powerful tool used to increase the efficiency of a rental company. This user-friendly interface simplifies the paperwork and will print a complete rental agreement quickly. The comprehensive scheduling options allow a rental company to tailor the rental contract to meet the customer's needs. Rental pricing can be based on hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and other rate structures, and may vary based on the customer's pricing level. Progress billing, security deposits, and partial payments are some of the payment methods available. Early payment discounts, damage waivers, and sales tax calculations are automated in the rental process. Proper setup and configuration of the rental system is an important step in using EBMS for rentals. xxxx Rental fees can be configured to be prepaid by the customer or paid when the rental item is returned based on the rates within the rental contract. Reoccurring billing processes are available for items that are rented for an existed period of time. Management data, such as equipment rental history, depreciation costs, service history, and profitability of each item is important to properly manage a rental company. Rental and purchase history for each customer is able to be tracked over an extended period of time. The rental module can be used to create the rental contract, invoice, and other rental documents. The rental documentation contained within this section is a supplemental document to the main EBMS documentation. The user should review the main documentation in conjunction with the rental documentation if the user is not an experienced EBMS user. Continue with the following section to implement the Rental module within EBMS. 2
Getting Started Inventory Folders for Rental Items The rental system requires two sets of rental inventory codes: Rental service codes - These inventory items are used with a rental contract. Grouping these codes properly will enhance the user's ability to locate available equipment. The rental service items record the rental pricing and the general ledger codes for rental income. Equipment inventory codes - These inventory items are used to record the purchase of the equipment and the eventual sale of the rental equipment. These codes will NOT be used within the rental contract. The serial numbers of individual equipment is associated with the Equipment inventory codes. Creating separate folders for rental service codes and the rental equipment inventory is an important step in simplifying the process of creating rental service codes to invoice the rental and inventory items that contain the equipment value. Complete the following steps to create the folders and set up default settings such as rental pricing periods, general ledger codes, and other rental specific settings. Complete the following steps to create inventory folders for the two sets of rental codes: Select the Inventory > Options from the EBMS menu and click on the Inventory Folders tab as shown below. 3
Printed Documentation The rental service codes and the rental equipment may be placed in a rental folder as shown above. The two folders could also be placed in different locations within the inventory item structure if desired. Rental Service Folders Create a Rental Services folder as shown above. Highlight the folder and click on the Edit Defaults button to set the following details for a service code: 4
Getting Started 1. The Classification setting should be set to Rental Code. Click on the Change button to change the Classification as shown above. 2. Enable the Taxable option if rental services are taxable. 3. Click on the Count tab to create the standard unit of measure settings: 5
Printed Documentation 4. Enter Day into the Main Unit entry. Note that the Main Unit of measure entry must be set as day. Click on the New button and enter the standard unit of measure for each rental period option. The unit of measure options can be ignored within the default settings and entered into each item individually if the rental periods (unit of measure) vary greatly. The following examples may be applicable for rental service items: Unit of Measure Smaller / larger Divisor / Multiplier of the main UOM - Day 2 Hour Smaller Hours in Day / 2 Hours in Day column is found within the business hours table at Rental > Options > General table. Example: if the Hours in Day setting is 10, the divisor is 5. 1/2 Day Smaller 2 Week Larger 6 This multiplier affects history. Each time the item is rented for a week, the total rentals (on history tabs) will be incremented by this number. Month Larger 25 (See note above) 5. The other entries within the count tab should be kept blank. 6
Getting Started 5. Click on the Advanced tab and set the general ledger codes if all rental income is posted to the same general ledger account.. 6. Disable the Use Price Level G/L Account option and enter the rental income general ledger account into the Sales account. The Purchase, Inventory Variance, general ledger codes can be ignored under normal circumstances. Review the Inventory Items > Changing Inventory Defaults section of the Inventory documentation for more details on the Advanced tab settings. 7. Click on the Pricing tab as shown below: 7
Printed Documentation 6. The Markup/Margin setting should be set to (None) so Base Price can manually be set within the item. 8. Set the pricing Formulas accordingly. Review the Creating Rental Service Codes section for more details on pricing. All the Cost and Prices should be kept blank within the default setting dialog. 9. Save the inventory defaults and return to the inventory folder tab of Sales > Options > Inventory Folders by clicking on the OK button. Review the Creating Rental Service Codes section for steps in creating the rental service codes. Equipment Inventory Folders Create a folder for the rental equipment. This folder will contain the equipment purchased for rental. These codes are not used within a rental contract but are used when the equipment is purchased or sold. 8
Getting Started Create a rental equipment folder and complete the following steps to enter the equipment item defaults: 1. Click on the Edit Defaults button and select the General tab.. 2. Click on the Change button to set the classification. 3. Set the default Classification for the rental equipment folder as Non-inventory Serialized Items. Review the Entering Rental Equipment section for more details on classification options. 4. Click on the Advanced tab of the item and set the following defaults: 9
Printed Documentation 5. The Sales general ledger account should be set to the sale of assets G/L code. 6. The Purchase general ledger account should be set to the rental equipment asset G/L account. This account will be found under Assets > Fixed Assets within the chart of accounts instead of the purchase section. Review the depreciation documentation for more details on the depreciable asset general ledger accounts. 7. The Inventory Variance and the Sales returns item selection accounts can be ignored. Review the Inventory Items > Changing Inventory Defaults section within the Inventory documentation for more details on the inventory defaults. 10
Getting Started Creating Rental Service Codes The rental service codes are used within the rental contract. A separate rental service code should be created for each rental service that is offered. For example, a rental service code should be created for each type of trailer that is rented because of varied pricing. But a single code may be created for a 20 foot trailer rental even though the company may be renting 6 different but similar 20 foot trailers. Complete the following steps to create a service rental code item: 1. Open the inventory item list by selecting Inventory Items from the main Inventory menu. 2. Select Edit > New from the main menu to start the new inventory wizard (clicking the New button within an existing inventory Item window will also activate the new wizard). 3. Highlight the folder in which you want to place the new inventory item and click Next. Create subfolders for groups of equipment as shown above. These groups will enhance the ability of the user to find equipment quickly within the rental contract. Review the Inventory Folders for Rental Items section for more details on changing the defaults for these subfolders. 11
Printed Documentation 4. Enter a Description of the rental item. The Default Selling Unit will default to Day. Review the Tracking Counts > Unit of Measure section of the Inventory manual for more details on the Default Selling Unit. Click the Next button to continue to the Information page. 12
Getting Started 5. All rental service items should have the Classification set to Rental. 6. Ignore the Gross Weight entry for rental service codes. 7. You may wish to enter the location of the rental item. This optional field can be useful to identify the location of the rental item within a warehouse or store. 8. Select Taxable from the drop down menu if the rental service is subject to sales tax. Click the Next button to continue. 13
Printed Documentation 9. The Cost entry can be blank unless a cost is desired for gross profit calculations or calculating commissions. 10. Disable the Update from Purchases option since rental services are not purchased. 11. Set the Margin/Markup setting to (None) so the Base Price can be set manually. 12. Enter the rental price for a day rental into the Base Price entry since the main unit of measure is Day. Continue with this section for more pricing instructions. Click the Next button to continue. 14
Getting Started 13. Enter the Item Code for the rental service item. Enable the I want to view the new inventory item now option to view the item record when the wizard is completed. Click Finish to create the new rental service. 14. Click on the Count tab to view unit of measure settings: 15
Printed Documentation All rental service items must have the Main Unit entry set to Day. Click on the Add button and enter the standard unit of measure for each rental period option. The unit of measure options can be ignored within the default settings and entered into each item individually if the rental periods (unit of measure) vary greatly. The following examples may be applicable for rental service items: Unit of Measure Smaller / larger Divisor / Multiplier of the main UOM - Day 2 Hour Smaller Hours in Day setting divided by 2 Hours in Day column is found within the business hours table at Rental > Options > General table. Example: If the Hours in Day setting is 10, the divisor is 5. 1/2 Day Smaller 2 Day Main UOM This UOM is not shown on the UOM list since it is the Main Unit Week Larger 6 This multiplier affects history. Each time the item is rented for a week, the total rentals (on history tabs) will be incremented by this number. Month Larger 25 (See note above) 15. Click on the Pricing tab to review the rental pricing. 16
Getting Started A pricing record will appear for each time period or Unit-of-measure. The rental pricing must be set for each time period within each Price Level. The price levels that are not used within the rental system can be kept blank or ignored. The Rental system includes many pricing exceptions to allow the user to tailor the pricing according to the rental company's policies. Review the Rental Pricing section for more details on rental pricing. 16. Click on the Advanced tab to review the general ledger settings. 17
Printed Documentation Disable the Use Price Level G/L Account option and enter the rental income general ledger account into the Sales account. The Purchase, Inventory Variance, and Manufacturing Offset general ledger codes can be ignored under normal circumstances. Review the Inventory Items > Changing Inventory Defaults section of the Inventory manual for more details on the Advanced tab settings. 17. Click on the OK button to save the settings for the rental service item. Repeat the steps within this section for each rental option. Continue with the Getting Started > Entering Rental Equipment section when all rental service items have been created. 18
Getting Started Entering Rental Equipment The rental equipment codes are used to record the equipment that is purchased or manufactured for rental use. For example, a rental equipment code is created to record the purchase of a lawn mower that is purchased as a rental. This inventory code is not to be confused with the rental service code that is discussed in the Creating Rental Service Codes section. Complete the following steps to create a rental equipment item: 1. Open the inventory item list by selecting Inventory Items from the main Inventory menu. 2. Select Edit > New from the main menu to start the new inventory wizard (clicking New within the inventory Item window will also activate the new wizard). 3. Highlight the folder in which you want to place the new inventory item and click Next. Review the Inventory Folders for Rental Items section for more details on creating new folders. 19
Printed Documentation 4. Enter a Description of the equipment that is being purchased to rent. Click the Next button to continue to the Information page. 20
Getting Started 5. The following three Classifications are used for rental equipment: o o o Non-inventory Serialized Items - this classification should be used for most equipment such as vehicles, power equipment, and other serialized items. Any rental equipment that has a serial number, VIN number, or other number attached to the item should be classified as Non-inventory Serialized Items. This classification is the most common classification used for rental equipment. Track Count - This classification should be used for rental items that are not identified individually, including Items like attachments, hand tools, and other general rental items. No Count - This classification should only be used for miscellaneous items without a distinct number of items available. For example, a company that has a large number of chains, scaffolding, or other supplies that are not limited to a specific number of rentals would use this classification. 6. Enter the Location of the rental items if applicable and set the proper Taxable setting. Ignore the Gross Weight entry for rental service codes. Review the Inventory Items > Entering New Inventory Items section of the Inventory manual for more details on these entries. Press Next to continue. 21
Printed Documentation 7. The Pricing settings of the rental equipment items can be ignored unless the user wishes to maintain the current selling price of the rental equipment. Review the Inventory > Pricing section of the Inventory manual for more details on pricing options. Click Next to continue. 22
Getting Started 7. Enter an Item Code for the rental equipment. Enable the I want to view the new inventory item now option to enter the serialized item details. Click the Finish button to open the inventory item. 8. Click on the Change button to the right of the Rental Item field to open the Change Rental Item dialog as shown below: 23
Printed Documentation 9. Select the Rental service Item that will be used to rent this equipment and click OK. Review the Creating Rental Service Codes section for more details on the rental service code. The following steps are only necessary for Rental Equipment that is classified as Non- Inventory Serialized Items. You can ignore these steps for all items classified as Track Count or No Count. 10. Click on the Serial Numbers tab to enter the details for each serialized item. 24
Getting Started Non-inventory serialized items require an extra step to enter the information for the individual pieces of equipment. For example, if the company rents multiple 18 in. Honda chain saws to rent, the product details for each chain saw should be entered as well as the serial number, VIN number, or other unique identifier. New equipment is normally entered as a rental item by using the purchasing steps. Review the Managing Rental Equipment > Purchasing Rental Items section for more details. Continue with the following steps to enter the rental equipment during the initial setup period. 11. Click on the New Item button to add each piece of equipment. 25
Printed Documentation 12. Enter the Serial Number of the rental equipment. This unique code can be a VIN number or other unique identifier of the equipment. Click the Next button to continue. This wizard is used to create a fixed depreciation asset within EBMS. The user is encouraged to install the EBMS Depreciation module when using the rental system. Review the Depreciation documentation for details about depreciable assets. 26
Getting Started 13. Select the appropriate asset folder and click Next to continue. Review the Getting Starting > Adding and Deleting Asset Folders section of the Depreciation manual. 14. Refer to the Getting Started > Entering Existing Depreciable Assets section of the Depreciation manual for detailed instructions on the remainder of the new depreciation asset wizard. 15. Repeat steps 13-16 for the each additional piece of equipment. Only similar equipment should be entered using the same rental equipment inventory ID. Refer to the Managing Rental Equipment > Purchasing Rental Items and the Managing Rental Equipment > Selling Rental Items sections for more details in adding and removing rental equipment. 27
Printed Documentation Rental Settings for a Customer The customer record will contain some terms that apply only to rentals. Often these rental settings apply to all customers or a group of customers. Open the default settings to change the rental settings for all customers by completing the following steps: a. Select Sales > Options from the main EBMS menu and click on the Customer Folders tab. b. Click on the Edit Defaults button to open the defaults record. Click on the Rentals tab as shown below: Set the Calculate Damage Waiver option to apply damage waiver to rentals. Set the Damage Waiver Percentage. Review the Rental Contracts > Damage Waiver section for more details on the damage waiver process. Enable the Periodic Billing if the customer should be invoiced during the rental for extended length rentals. Review the Rental Contracts > Periodic Billing section for more details. Enable the Pre-Billing option if this customer must pay for the rental when it is checked out rather than when the rental item is returned. Review the Rental Contracts > Billing a Rental section for more details on pre-billing options. 28
Getting Started Right-click each option and filter down each setting to globally change the selected option for all customers or a group of customers. Review the Sales > Customers > Setting Customer Defaults section of the main manual for more details on the filter down options. 29
Rental Pricing Rental Pricing Overview The EBMS rental system contains a number of powerful tools to determine the rental rates based on the date and time the item was rented and the date and time it was returned. Unlike selling a product, the rental pricing is based on the amount of time the item is rented, the price rate based on the length of time, and the price level. The system will determine the first 2 options automatically although the parameters must be properly configured. Determining the Length of Time The system will need to consider many exceptions when the length of time is calculated. For example, the customer is not billed for an extra day because the rental company was closed. Holidays, store hours, and other exceptions must be considered when calculating the length of the rental. It is not as simple as taking the date and time the item was returned from the date and time the item was checked out. The user must set up the regular business hours as the grace periods that are used to calculate the amount of time of the rental. Holiday hours must also be entered if the rental period is affected by the holiday. The system allows the user to create timing exceptions when calculating the rental period. Review the Entering Business Hours and Grace Periods section for details on these settings. Determining the Price Rate Most rental prices vary based on the length of time. For example, a day rental is cheaper than the hour rental X 24 hours. The weekly price is cheaper than 7 days or rental. The system will review the time and determine the cheapest rental rate based on a rate table. Review the Rental Pricing section for more information on creating rental rates. Considering Maximums The system contains maximum time for equipment that contains hour meters or maximum micrometer settings for equipment with micrometers. The maximum settings are set within the Pricing tab of the rental item. If there are values maximum hours and maximum micrometer settings within the pricing tab, the Check In and Return All processes within the rental contract will prompt the user to record the hour meter and micrometer settings. The pricing will be adjusted if the rental exceeds the Max Hours or if Max Micrometer is exceeded. For example, if the Max Hours setting for a day rate is 8 and the hour meter shows the rental was used for 12 hours, the system will bill for an additional ½ day. The rental was out for only a day, but the Max Hours setting calculates the rate as 1 ½ days. If the micrometer maximum is exceeded, the amount will be prorated. For example: Max for week - 400mm, Price for week - $100, Actual - 600mm. The additional line will show.5 week, total - $50 along with the standard rental rate line. Review the Rental Pricing section for details about maximum settings. Determining the Price Level 31
Printed Documentation The rental price can vary based on the Price Level set within the customer's record. The price level is not set within the rental contract but is defaulted within the rental invoice based on the customer's price level setting. The price level settings within the rental item would operate the same as any inventory item that is sold. Review the Pricing > Default Pricing and Price Levels section within the Inventory documentation. 32
Rental Pricing Entering Business Hours and Grace Periods The normal business hours of the rental company must be entered to calculate the rental period properly. Complete the following steps to set the business hours and grace periods: 1. Go to Rental > Options and click on the General tab as show below: 2. The normal business hours of the rental department should be entered for each day of the week. a. The Day of the week column lists each day of the week. The order or contents of this column cannot be altered. b. Enable the Closed option on the right side of the list if the rental department is closed on a specific day. Note that the rental period will ignore this day if the Closed option is enabled. In the example above, the rental department is closed on Sunday. The rental period will ignore the time within all days that are marked Closed. For example, a rental from Saturday till Monday will calculate the same length of time as between any weekday such as Tuesday and Wednesday. 33
Printed Documentation c. The Hours in Day entry should reflect the amount of hours in a day. For example, if the number 10 is entered, 10 hours is considered a whole day and 5 hours would be considered a half day. This is an important value when determining the amount of time in a rental day. The number of Hours in Day value should be the same for each day the rental department is open including partial days. Do not enter the actual hours the rental department is open which may vary among days. For example, if the rental is open a ½ day (from 8:00am to 12 noon), enter the same value (10) for the partial day. d. Enter the Opening Time and Closing Time of the rental department. e. The Morning Grace Period (Hours) and the Evening Grace Period (Hours) settings are used to give a user some grace period time when returning their rental. For example, if a person checks out a rental at 7:30am and returns the rental by 8:45am the next day it is to be returned, the rental period equals one day. The grace period allows the user to return the rental by 9:00am (2 hours beyond opening time at 7:00am) and receive the same rental period as if the renter returned the equipment by the opening time. The evening grace period has a similar effect. The user can return the rental anytime between 4:00pm and 6:00pm (in the example above) and the length of the rental period remains the same. Set the Morning or Evening Grace Period settings to zero to disable the grace period option. 3. Click on the Normal Days tab to set up the following options: a. This Hour Reduction setting will reduce the rental time for driving or pickup time for all rentals that are less than 1 day. In the example above, all rental 34
Rental Pricing times will be reduced by.5 hours to compensate for rental checkout or delivery time. Set this value at zero to eliminate any partial day time reduction. b. The ½ day is replaced by one day setting can be used to charge a full day rental if the user rents the item in the middle of the day. In the example shown above, if the rental is checked in between 12:30 and 3:59pm (checkout between 7:30am and 10:59am or earlier), the user will be charged with a full day's rental rather than a partial day's rental. Blank both time fields to disable this adjustment. c. The charge a fill day's charge for each holiday setting is used to charge rentals over a holiday. Blank the days setting to disable this adjustment. d. The Round up to a full day option is used to round multiple day rentals to whole days. This option will eliminate fractions of days when there are multiple day rentals. Blank the time setting of this option to disable this adjustment option. 4. Click on the Holidays tab to enter holiday hours and enter the following settings: a. Enter a description of the holiday into the Holiday column. b. Enter the Date of the holiday and enable the Closed option if the rental department is closed the entire day. c. Enter the Hours, Opening Time, and Closing Time entries for each holiday. 35
Printed Documentation d. Enter the Morning and Evening Grace Period entries in hours. Refer to step 2 for more details on the grace period settings. e. Repeat these steps for each holiday. Click Ok to save the hours and grace period settings. Continue with the following sections for more details on calculating rental costs. 36
Rental Pricing Rental Pricing The rental pricing is done within the rental service inventory code. Review the Creating Rental Service Codes for details on creating the rental service item. Click on the Count tab of the service item as shown below: The Main Unit setting should always be set as Day. Use the following grid to create a unit of measure for each. Click on the Add button and enter the standard unit of measure for each rental period option. All hourly unit of measure settings should equal the Hours in Day value (found in Rental > Options) divided by the hours of the unit of measure. For example, an hour unit of measure with a Hours in Day value of 10 would be 10. The following examples may be applicable for rental service items: Unit of Measure Smaller / larger Divisor / Multiplier of the main UOM - Day 2 Hour Smaller 5 (since a day is 10 hours) 1/2 Day Smaller 2 Day Main UOM This UOM is not shown on the UOM list since it is the Main Unit Week Larger 6 This multiplier affects history. Each time the item is rented for a week, the total rentals (on history tabs) will be incremented by this number. 37
Printed Documentation Month Larger 25 (See note above) Set the Default selling unit to the unit of measure that is the most common rental period. Click on the Pricing tab to review the rental pricing. A pricing record will appear for each time period or Unit-of-measure. The rental pricing must be set for each time period within each Price Level. The price levels that are not used within the rental system can be kept blank or ignored. The user can set the Formula setting to (None) and manually set the Price for each time period. The example shown above sets the daily rental price within the Base Price entry. The Formula settings can be used to translate the daily price to the pricing for other rental time periods. For example, the 1/2 Day Formula is set to Add 25 %. The calculation for the Price of the rental period is Base Price ($65.00) / 2 (UOM divisor) * 25% (Formula setting) = $40.95 (Rounded using the rounding table). Review the following sections within the main EBMS manual for more details: Review the Inventory > Pricing > Rounding Calculated Prices section for details on rounding pricing. Review the Inventory > Inventory Pricing > Price Formula section for details on using the formulas. Review the Inventory > Tracking Counts > Unit of Measure > Adding a New Unit of Measure section for details on the divisors or multipliers associated with the Unit. Another example: The Week pricing is calculated by using the following formula: Base Price ($65.00) * 6 (multiplier entered in the Week UOM) 25% (Add 25% formula) = $295.00 (rounded using the rounding table) 38
Rental Pricing Enter a Max Hours or Max Micrometer if the equipment contains a maximum amount of equipment use time within the rental period. If there are values within these columns, the Check In and Return All processes within the rental contract will prompt the user to record the hour meter and micrometer settings. The pricing will be adjusted if the rental exceeds the Max Hours or if Max Micrometer is exceeded. For example, if the Max Hours setting for a day rate is 8 and the hour meter shows the rental was used for 12 hours, the system will bill for an additional ½ day. The rental was out for only a day, but the Max Hours setting calculates the rate as 1 ½ days. If the micrometer maximum is exceeded, the amount will be prorated. For example: Max for week - 400mm, Price for week - $100, Actual - 600mm. The additional line will show.5 week, total - $50 along with the standard rental rate line. EBMS will use a specific UOM (unit of measure) until the pricing of the next largest UOM is the same price or cheaper. For example, the system will use the daily UOM for a multiple day rental until the weekly rental is cheaper. Fractional UOM settings such as 1/2 day must be set properly so that the quantity is not a fraction. Use the following steps to test pricing to verify that the price options are properly set: 1. Launch the rental contact window by selecting Rental > Contract from the main EBMS window. 2. Enter a rental item into the contract. Review the Creating a Contract section for details on creating the contract. 3. Check out and return the rental item. Review the Reserving and/or Checking Out a Rental and the Returning and Invoicing a Rental sections for more details on checking out and returning a rental item. 4. Evaluate the Quantity value at the beginning of the contract and the Rate and Total rental cost. Right-click on the rental item detail line and select Explain Rental Charge. 39
Printed Documentation 5. The dialog will display the steps the software took to arrive at the rental rate as shown below: : Review the pricing exceptions and grace period settings to configure the rate to match the desired price. Contact your EBMS customer service representative if there is additional assistance required for rental pricing. 40
Rental Contracts Creating a Contract The rental contract screen is the main dialog used to process a rental. It is important that the rental pricing and rental items are created and set up before a contract is created. Review the Getting Started > Creating Rental Service Codes before a contract is created. Review the Rental Pricing section of this manual for more details on rental pricing. The contract dialog can be used to manage a rental through the following rental states: 1. Reserved - this step is used to reserve rental equipment for a specific date and time. This step can be ignored if reservations were not made or if the reservation and checkout were done at the same time. 2. Checked Out - A rental contract is generated at the time the rental equipment is checked out by the customer. The rental contract is printed during this step. Additional consumables can be added to the contract at checkout. Review the Reserving and Checking Out a Rental section for details on this step. 3. Returned - The equipment within a contract should be processed as returned when the customer returns the equipment. This will cause the equipment status to immediately be changed to Available for Rent or Sale so the item can be rented to another customer. Review the Returning and Invoicing a Rental for more details on this step. 4. Invoiced - An invoice for the rental is created from the rental contract for billing. The customer can be billed periodically for items that are rented for an extended amount of time. Review the Billing a Rental for more details on this status. The status of the rental equipment can be as follows: Available for rent or sale - The status indicates that the rental equipment is in stock. The equipment status will be in this state as soon as the purchase invoice is processed or the item is properly added. Continue with this section for more details on viewing and adding the individual pieces of equipment for rent or sale. Reserved for Sale - The equipment status is set to be reserved for sale when the item is added to a sales invoice. Review the Selling Rental Equipment section for more details on adding rental equipment to a sales invoice. Reserved for Rent - This status indicates that the item is listed on a rental contract but has not been checked out. The Reserved status of the rental contract will set the equipment listed on the contract to the Reserved for Rent status. Out - The equipment is listed on a rental contract that has been checked out. See the rental contract's Checked Out status listed above. Sold - The equipment has been sold. Service Only - The status of rental equipment should never have this status setting. If it does, the equipment was wrongly entered into EBMS. For more on this status for standard serialized items, review the Serialized Items > Selling and/or Associating an Item with a Customer > Viewing or Adding Items to the Customer Tab section of the Inventory documentation. 41
Printed Documentation The status of the equipment can be viewed within the Serial Numbers tab of any rental service item. This tab allows the user to view the status of all the equipment that is linked to the specific rental service code. Open a rental service item classified as rental and click on the Serial Numbers tab as shown below: Set the View option as All to view all the equipment available within the rental item. Equipment is connected to the rental service item using one of the following 2 methods: Equipment will manually need to be added during the initial rental system setup. Review the steps 12-17 within the Entering Rental Equipment section. Equipment should be added to the rental system at the time the equipment is purchased or removed from inventory. Review the Managing Rental Equipment > Purchasing Rental Equipment section for more details. Serialized equipment can be transferred from stock inventory using the following steps. Only use this method if the equipment is stocked to sale but a unit was pulled from inventory to use for rental purposes. a. Open the inventory item that contains the equipment that is available for sale. This should be the inventory code you use when you sell the stock items. 42
Rental Contracts b. Select the desired unit based on the Serial Number and click on Properties to open the following dialog: c. Click on the Change Item button to the right of the Inventory ID. 43
Printed Documentation d. Select the rental equipment Inventory Item from the transfer item dialog. Review the Getting Started > Entering Rental Equipment section for more details on rental equipment codes. Enter the Date for the inventory transfer general ledger transactions and click OK. e. The user may wish to change the description of the item to reflect the fact that it is being rented. Non-serialized items can be moved to a rental item using the expense invoice or the manufacturing dialog. Continue with the following sections on creating the rental contract. 44
Rental Contracts Reserving and/or Checking Out a Rental A rental contact is created when a customer reserves or checks out any rental equipment. A contract can be created using one of the following two methods: 1. Launch the Rental > Availability Wizard from the EBMS menu. This option allows the user to identify the availability of the equipment that is being requested before identifying the customer or contract details. 2. Open the rental dialog by selecting Rental > Contract from the EBMS menu. This option must be used to open or add to existing contracts. This approach is recommended if the customer was identified before the rental equipment was selected. Using the Availability Wizard Launch the availability wizard by selecting Rental > Availability Wizard from the EBMS menu as shown below: 45
Printed Documentation Select one of the following selection options: A. Select Folder to view the availability of a group of items organized within a folder or subfolders. Notice that the attachments are located within a subfolder in the example shown above. Since the Include Subfolders option is enabled, the items within the subfolder Skid Loader Attachment will be included in the list of options. B. Select the Item option to select by inventory code range. Click on the Next button to continue. Enter the requested time period for the rental item. The Start Date and Start Time will default to the current date and time. This time can be altered by the user. The Duration is calculated from the End Date and End Time. The End Date and End Time settings are changed if the user changes the Duration setting. Click Next to continue. 46
Rental Contracts Enter the Customer ID of the customer who is reserving the equipment. Enter a Misc customer to view availability before the current customer is entered. Select Show Available Items option to view only the items within the previously defined criteria that are available for rental. Click on the Show All Items to view items including those that are not available. Click the Back button to change criteria. Click on the Finish button to open the rental contract. Continue with this section for details on adding additional items, attachments, or consumables to the rental contract. Selecting product from the Rental Contract Select Rental > Contract to open the contract dialog as shown below: 47
Printed Documentation Enter the Customer ID similar to a sales invoice. The following dialog will appear on the screen only if an existing contract is open: Select an exiting contract from the list or click the No button to create a new contract. 48
Rental Contracts The Contract # is created using the same value as a sales order or sales invoice number. The Next Invoice Number can be viewed or changed in the Sales > Options > Invoices and S.O. tab. The Entry Date records the date the contract was created. This date defaults to the date the contract was created. This date has no affect on scheduling rentals or billing transactions. The Rental Period settings are used to reserve equipment for a specific time period. These entries can be ignored if the rental equipment is checked out immediately. Complete the following steps to reserve the equipment before checkout: 1. Enter the Start date. A day of a week can be typed in the date field or the calendar button clicked. The Calendar button is located on the right side of any date field. 2. Enter Time if the rental is reserved at a specific time. 3. Select a Duration option or type the duration. The duration consists of a decimal number and the time label. The label options are minutes, hours, weeks, months, and years. Enter the customer's PO# (Purchase Order) or Job number or code for this rental. Keep this field blank if no purchase order is used. The Sales Person field should reflect the salesperson that created the contract. This entry can be used to process commissions. Review the Sales > Salesperson Commissions section of the main documentation for more details. To default this field to the user name used in the EBMS Login process, switch the Default sales person to User Name tab ON in Sales > Options > Invoice/S.O. tab - User Preferences. Enable the Deliver option if the rental requires delivery. Review the Managing Rental Deliveries section for more details on delivering rentals. Complete the following steps to list the equipment that is being rented: 49
Printed Documentation Select the rental item from the Inventory Item column or enter the Serial Number of the actual equipment. The Inventory Item may be selected from a list by clicking on the lookup button. If the Inventory Item is entered, the first available serial number will be displayed. Click on the lookup button to view all the available serialized items connected to a specific rental service item. Review the Getting Started > Creating Rental Service Codes section for details on creating rental codes. The Serial Number column can be ignored if the equipment being rented is not serialized. The Date Reserved and Time Reserved is copied from the Rental Period entries on the header of the rental contract. These columns can be ignored and hidden if the rental equipment is not reserved but is being checked out immediately. Review the Features > Column Appearance section of the main manual for more details on hiding columns. The rental costs are shown within the Total column for each rental item. This column is found to the right of the Date and Time Due Back, Date and Time Returned columns. The Total price is calculated from the Duration setting of each rental item. The Duration column is copied from the Duration setting on the header of the contract. The user can change the Duration for each rental item individually or change the Duration setting in the Rental Period settings within the header of the contract to change the Duration of all the items. The rental Rate is set based on the lowest available rate for the Duration period. Right-click on any rental item line and select View Rate Table from the context menu as shown below: 50
Rental Contracts Click on the Explain Rental Charge option to view the formulas used to calculate the rental charge. Review the Rental Pricing Overview section for more on rental pricing. Add any desired consumables to the Consumables list at the bottom of the contract dialog. Enter the consumables in the same manner as a sales invoice. Complete the following steps to check out a rental: 1. Select Tools > Check Out All option from the contract menu and the following dialog will open: 2. Click the Yes button to check out all items. Items can be checked out individually by setting the Date Checked Out and Time Checked Out for individual lines and then 51
Printed Documentation enabling the Check Out option. The Check Out option is located at the right side of the detail lines with the other status options. 3. Set the check out Date and Time click the OK button. The Date and Time will default to the current date and time. 4. Some equipment will require the user to enter Hour Meter readings or Micrometer readings during checkout. The following dialog will appear if there is a value in the Max Hours and Max Micrometer column within the pricing tab of the rental item: Review the Rental Pricing > Rental Pricing section for more details on pricing based on an hour meter or micrometer on a piece of equipment. The checkout process enables the Check Out column. The Date and Time Checked Out and Duration entries cannot be changed after the Check Out option is enabled. To change these entries or undo the checkout process, disable the Check Out option. Select Tools > Change Due Back Time from the rental contract menu to change the Due Back settings. Select File > Down Payment from the contract menu to process any payments applied to the rental contract. Any payment applied to a contract will be accounted within the EBMS software as a down payment. Review the Sales > Invoices > Payment Methods and Terms section of the main documentation for more details on down payments. 52
Rental Contracts Select the File > Save and Print option to print the rental contract. Use the F3 key as a shortcut. Use the File > Print option to open the print dialog to set the default printer. Go to Rental > Options and click on the Reports tab as shown below: 53
Printed Documentation Select a Default Contract Report from the form options within the Rental folder. Click Browse to select the desired report. Go to Reports section of the main documentation for more details on reports. The rental contract is not an invoice. Continue with the next section for details on returning rentals and processing the invoice. 54
Rental Contracts Returning a Rental Item This section explains the steps required when a customer returns rental equipment. The rental equipment must be checked back in after the equipment is returned and an invoice created. Complete the following steps to return rental equipment and invoice the customer: 1. Open the customer list by selecting Sales > Customers from the main EBMS menu. 2. Open the customer record who is returning the equipment and click on the Rentals tab. 3. Contracts can be queried for the current customer by changing the Contract Status options. Select the All option to view all contracts or the Out option to only show contracts that are currently out. Double click on the contract with a status of Out to process a return on an existing contract. 55
Printed Documentation 4. Select Tools > Return All from the contract menu (F7 as a shortcut) to return all items. Review the Returning and Billing Individual items instructions later in the section for details on returning items individually rather than the entire contract. 6. Enter the Date and Time the equipment was returned. These entries will determine the amount of time of the rental. The entries will default to today's date and time. Click OK to continue. 56
Rental Contracts 7. Enter any returning hour meter or micrometer meter readings if they appear. The hour meter and micrometer reading dialogs will only appear if there is a value in the Max Hours or Max Micrometer columns within the pricing tab of the rental item. Review the Rental Pricing > Rental Pricing section for more details on pricing based on an hour meter or micrometer on a piece of equipment. Notice that the process many change the Time Quantity and Total price if the rental period does not equal the Due Back settings. Returning and Billing Individual Items Rental items can be returned or billed individually within the same contract. For example, a user may return the skid loader before the dethatcher although both were rented on the same contract. Enable the option within the Return Item column of the rental item that is being returned as shown below. Notice that the Return Item option on the 2 nd line has not been checked. Select Tools > Bill Returned Items from the contract menu to bill the returned items. The message shown above will be displayed. Select the No option to continue billing without returning the remainder of the items before billing. Review the Billing a Rental section for more details on the billing process. The sales order created from the rental return of the first item can be processed. All additional items returned from the same rental contract will be appended to the same sales order unless the 57
Printed Documentation invoice is processed. The following dialog will appear if the user processed the sales invoice before all rental items were returned within the same rental contract: Click on the Yes button to create a 2 nd invoice for the additional rental items returned. Review the Sales > Invoices > Processing a Sales Invoice section within the main manual for more details on processing the sales invoice. 58
Rental Contracts Billing a Rental A rental can be invoiced at the time the rental was checked out or at the time the rental is returned. Billing can also be done periodically for extended rentals. The billing settings can be viewed or changed by selecting Settings > Billings from the rental contract menu. These settings are copied from the customer's rental settings. Review the Rental Settings for a Customer section for more details on the customer's rental settings The rental contract will prompt the user to create an invoice at the time the rental item(s) are checked out if the customer's rental options (Terms tab of a customer) are set as Pre-Bill.. The Check Out All option within the contract menu will indicate that the system will also invoice immediately upon checkout as shown below. The billing for a rental can also be invoiced at the time the items are returned. Complete the following steps to create an invoice from the rental contract: 1. Select Tools > Bill Returned Items or the Bill Reserved Items option from the contract menu and click Yes to view the invoice. 59
Printed Documentation 2. Notice the Damage Waiver calculation on the sales invoice. Disable the Auto option to the right of the Damage Waiver total to edit the Damage Waiver amount. Review the Damage Waiver section for more details. 3. Process the sales invoice in the same way as any sales invoice. Review the Sales > Invoices > Processing a Sales Invoice section within the main manual for more details. The rental return process can be reversed by disabling the Return Item option for each item. Review the Returning a Rental Item section for instructions on billing items individually. Continue with the following section for details on periodic billing. 60
Rental Contracts Periodic Billing The periodic billing process within the EBMS rental module is used to bill for a rental multiple times during the rental period. For example, a monthly invoice may be created for equipment that is rented for an extended amount of time. Complete the following steps to configure contracts and invoice rentals on a monthly or other periodic basis: 1. A rental contract must be configured for periodic billing. Select the Settings > Billing option from the rental contract menu and turn periodic billing on. If the contract is configured to be billed periodically, the Periodic Billing note will show on the bottom of the contract as shown below: All contracts that are billed periodically must have this option enabled before proceeding to the next step. 2. Select Rental > Periodic Billing option from the main EBMS menu to open the following wizard: 61
Printed Documentation 3. Set the Invoice Date of the periodic invoice. 4. Set the Bill in increments of days field. This will determine how often the customer is billed. 62
Rental Contracts 6. The system will list all the rental contracts with the periodic billing option enabled that meet the criteria. Enable the Bill option for each contract that should be billed. Use the Select All button to select all contracts on the list. Click the Finish button. The following dialog will appear displaying the number of sales orders that are created from the periodic billing process. 7. The periodic billing wizard only creates sales orders and does not process the sales orders into invoices. Continue with the following steps to process the invoices. Click OK to exit the wizard. 8. Select the Sales > Batch Processing option from the main EBMS menu. 9. Select the Rental query. Complete the following steps to create a rental query if it does not exist. a. Click on the Queries button to open the query list as shown below: 63
Printed Documentation b. Click on the Add Query button and label the query as Rental. Click Ok to continue. 1. c. Enter a Query Description. d. Click the S.O. Detail Query button and set the following settings: 64
Rental Contracts 1. e. Save the query options and select the Rental query. f. Select the rental sales orders and click the Process button. 65
Printed Documentation Damage Waiver A common method used to cover equipment damage is to add a damage waiver fee to a rental. This optional fee is added automatically to the invoice when the rental is invoiced. Review the Returning and Invoicing a Rental section for more details on invoicing the rental. Complete the following steps to set the Damage Waiver for all customers: 1. Go to the Sales > Options > Customer Folders tab. 2. Select the group of customers that are charged the same damage waiver fee. Select the root folder Customers to change damage waiver for all customers. 3. Click on the Edit Defaults button and select the Terms tab. 66
Rental Contracts 4. Enable the Calculate Damage Waiver option. 5. Right-click on the Damage Waiver option and select Filter Down from the context menu. Complete the Filter Down step. Review the Features > Change Defaults, Filter Down Data, and Globally Change Data section for details on the filter down process including options to filter down to a selected query set. 6. Enter the Damage Waiver Percent value and filter down using the steps described in step 5. Complete the following steps to change the damage waiver settings for a specific customer: 1. Open a specific customer by clicking on Sales > Customers and selecting a customer. 2. Click on the Terms tab to view or change the Damage Waiver settings. The Damage Waiver setting is created on the rental sales invoice. 67
Printed Documentation The sales order can be viewed directly from the billing step. Select Bill Returned Items from the Tools menu of the rental contact or press F8 to create the sales invoice. Rental items must be checked out (Check Out All - F6) and returned (Return All F7) before the contact can be billed. Review the Returning and Invoicing a Rental section of this documentation for more details. 68
Rental Contracts The Damage Waiver amount is shown on the botom of the sales invoice. The sales order window may need to be resized if the value does not show. An edit option is located to the right of the Damage Waiver cost. Disable the option to manually change the Damage Waiver cost amount. Click on the View > Advanced Options to view or change the Damage Waiver general ledger account as shown below: 69
Printed Documentation 70
Rental Contracts Managing Rental Deliveries N/A. 71
Managing Rental Equipment Purchasing Rental Equipment Purchasing a rental item is the most common method used to add equipment into the rental system. Processing the purchase of a serialized item is similar to purchasing any other inventory item with the addition of the following serial number entry processes. Review the Purchasing section of the Inventory manual for more details on purchasing options. Enter a serialized item into a purchase order or expense invoice as shown below: The 2 nd and 3 rd lines of the purchase order shown above contain the new rental items. Each rental item that is depreciated must be entered into separate purchase order lines. A depreciable rental asset cannot have a quantity of more than one. Notice that the information is entered into the PO using similar steps as other inventory items, with the exception of the G/L Account. The G/L Account for the rental item is a depreciable asset account since the rental item will be depreciated. The Received column must be populated before the serial numbers for each item can be entered into the purchase order or invoice. Save the purchase order (Click File > Save) before entering serial numbers if you wish to enter product details. Right-click on each invoice line and select Depreciable Serial Numbers to enter the serial number for each rental item as shown below: 73
Printed Documentation The following depreciable asset wizard will be launched if the optional EBMS depreciation module is installed: 74
Managing Rental Equipment 1. Enter the serial number for the rental item and click Next. 75
Printed Documentation 2. Select the asset folder that contains rental equipment and click Next. 3. Enter an appropriate Description to identify the new asset. Set the correct General Ledger Accounts. The Asset account will be set to the G/L Account entered within the invoice. The Accumulated Depreciation account is an asset account used to record the accumulated depreciation. The Depreciation Expense account is an expense account that records the annual depreciation. Click the Next button. 76
Managing Rental Equipment 4. Enter a Depreciation Method by clicking on the lookup button and selecting a method. This method can be changed at a later time if a method has not been determined at this time. Review the Depreciation documentation that is distributed with the deprecation module for more details on these settings. 5. The Depreciation Start Date will default to the date found on the expense invoice. The depreciation schedule will use this date to determine in which fiscal years the depreciation is scheduled. The purchase Cost of the asset will be copied from the invoice. Enter the estimated Salvage Value of asset at time of disposal. This amount will be deducted from the Cost to calculate the Depreciable Amount. Depreciable Amount = Cost Salvage Value. Click the Next button to continue. 77
Printed Documentation 6. Select one of the following status options for the asset: o Hold this new asset. Do not start depreciating now. This option is the only available option if no depreciating method has been entered for this asset. The Hold option will record the asset but will not process any accumulating depreciation and is useful if the user wishes to obtain advice on the appropriate depreciation method. The asset status can be changed to a depreciating status at any time. Click the Next button. Start depreciating this asset now option will cause the asset to start depreciating at the time of the next Monthly Process. This asset is partially depreciated and This Asset is fully depreciated. These options should not be used when adding new assets from an expense invoice. 78
Managing Rental Equipment 7. Enter the Asset ID. Display asset information upon wizard completion will open the Depreciable Asset window. Click Finish to complete the wizard. Review the Depreciation documentation that is distributed with the deprecation module for more details on these settings. Repeat this wizard process for each rental item within the purchase order or expense invoice. 79