Division Rate Parameters


System Maintenance Menu -> Configure System Settings -> System -> Company & Divisions -> Division Parameters -> Rate Parameters

The tunable divisional Rate Parameters can be accessed from the window in the Division Parameters.
These parameters impact the calculation of rental charges on rental documents according to division definitions and defaults, including:

Rate Settings
For general information on how product rates are setup refer to Rate Structures.
DEFAULT RENTAL PERIOD
During document entry, the operator can define the time period for the rental in the Rental Period window in the header of the contract, reservation, and rental quotations.
Since most firms don't know when the equipment will actually be returned, the Time Period used for estimating the charges is usually set as a company policy.
Most firms use 24 hours as the base rental time, except for party rental firms which use 2 or 3 days.

When the date and time out are entered, the date and time due back can then be calculated based on this rental period.

Select one of the following measurements to use to capture the Rental Period:

  • Select Hours if the due date back is to be calculated 12 hours or less after the date out.
  • Select Days if the due date back is to be calculated by a number of days after the date out.
    If this value is invalid, then 1 Day is assumed.

Note: This information is ignored for documents in this division if the Ignore Default Date/Time Due flag is checked below.


DEFAULT NUMBER OF HOURS/DAYS PER RENTAL
This prompt respects the Default Rental Period to measure in Days or in Hours.

Enter the default quantity of hours or days for the rental period.
This is reflected in the Duration information in the Rental Period window on each rental document, and can always be over-typed as required.

  • If Hours was selected for the Default Rental Period, enter 24 hours or less.
    e.g. If the default is set to 4 hours, then the date due is calculated to be 4 hours after the date out, during contract, reservation, and rental quote entry.

    Note: The system takes the Time Out of the rental and adds the Default Number of Hours.
    If this period places the Time Due in the next day, it will put the rental period out for 1 day regardless of this setting.

  • If Days was selected for the Default Rental Period, enter 1 day or more.
    e.g. If the default is set to 28 days, then the date due is calculated to be 28 days after the date out, during contract, reservation, and quote entry.
    (28 days is often used by heavy equipment firms.)


IGNORE DEFAULT DATE/TIME DUE
Uncheck this box to respect the Default Number of Hours/Days per Rental in calculating the Default Date/Time Due on rental documents in the Rental Period window.

Check this box if no date/time due should be generated as a default on Contracts, Reservations, Rental Quotes and on the Worksheet header, to force the operator to manually enter the Duration information in the Rental Period window to define the Due Date/Time.
If the Worksheet is started with the product entry screen, the default duration applies until the actual duration is selected in the document header.

The dates and time defined in the Rental Period window are then passed to the Date Out/Date Due window.

Note: If the Date/Time Out makes the document eligible for a Special Rate such as a Weekend rate, then the Date/Time Due back are defaulted in the Rental Period window regardless of this flag.


DEFAULT TIME OUT
This setting can be used to pre-set the default time out on all contracts, reservations and rental quotes to a specific time, such as 8 AM or 12 noon. The time out is used when calculating the starting time for rental rates.
This can always be over-typed on each document.

Leave this field blank to have the time out reflect the current time (the actual time when the equipment went out).
Enter a time to pre-set the time out to always default to a consistent time. For example:

  • For 8:30 AM, type 0830
  • For a time out at 12 noon, type 12
  • For 2 PM, type 14

DAILY RATE EXPIRY TIME
Most firms establish their rates on a 24 hour (daily) rental basis.
For example, if equipment went out at noon, the customer has until noon the next day to bring the equipment back to still qualify for the Daily Rate.
If this is how your firm operates, leave this prompt blank. The Expiry Time field will reflect the Time Out and will then be disabled in the Rental Period window on the document.

Other firms establish a fixed time when their daily rate expires.
For example, the Daily Rate expires at 8 AM the next morning, regardless of time out.
Equipment going out at 10 AM or 3 PM must still be returned by 8 AM the next morning to qualify for the Daily Rate. e.g. To enter 8 AM, type 08
Enter the Expiry Time for rentals from this division. The Expiry Time field will reflect this time on the document and will then be disabled in the Rental Period window.

This processing only applies to short term rentals. Contracts that are cycle billed will NOT respect this Daily Rate Expiry Time.

Note: If a Daily Rate Expiry Time is set, the hours on the "out" day of the contract may appear to be shorten in the hours out calculation, instead of reflecting the 24 hour day.


PROMPT FOR TIME OUT
This parameter controls how the focus moves through the Rental Period window that always opens on rental documents.

Check this box to stop in Counter Worksheet and Contracts on the Time Out field, in the Rental Period window.
Uncheck this box if it is not mandatory that the cursor stop on this field. It can still be accessed if required on the document.


PROMPT FOR SPECIAL RATE LEVEL
This parameter controls how the focus moves through the Rental Period window.

Check this box to prompt for Rate Level in the Rental Period window on the contract.
A Special Rate Level Search window is provided to view and select from the Special Rates available.

Uncheck this box to pass this prompt.
It can still be accessed if required on the document if the Company Rate Parameters flag is set to Allow Rate Level Change on Contracts.


PROMPT FOR DAYS TO BILL
This parameter controls access to the Days To Bill field in the Rental Period window on the rental document.

Uncheck this box to disable the Days To Bill prompt on contracts, reservations, and rental quotes.

Check this box in order to activate the Days To Bill field on contracts, reservations, and rental quotes.
This fields allows the operator to set a maximum charge for the time period on the document, so that for the selected time period, the software will not bill more than this number of Days to Bill.
This feature is generally used by firms with extensive weekend rentals, where a daily or the 1 1/2 day rate may apply over 3 or 4 days.

For example, if the time period is from Friday at 8 AM until Monday at 8 AM, it may be decided to charge only 1 day's rent, instead of 3 days over the weekend.
If the customer brings back the equipment within this time period, he will only be charged for 1 day (# of days to bill was overridden from 3 to 1 during contract entry).
If the customer brings back the equipment late, this time period will still only cost 1 day plus the extra late hours.
e.g. If returned Wednesday at 8 Days To Bill, the software will charge 1 day only for the original period (Fri. 8 AM to Mon 8 AM), plus it will charge 2 days for Monday 8 AM to Wed. 8 AM, total 3 days.

If the equipment is returned early and a cheaper rate would apply, then the software would use the cheaper rate instead.
e.g. If the equipment was returned at Friday at 11 AM, then the rate for 3 hours would apply instead of the one day rate.

Note: The Respect "Days to Bill" on Contracts flag in the "Cycle Billing" parameters accessed in the Company Billing Parameters, controls how this price break is applied over an extended rental period with interim billings.


PROMPT FOR RATES IN CONTRACTS
This setting only controls whether the Rental Rates window pops-up in the contract and worksheet.
The ability to actually change the rates is controlled by the company-wide flag to Allow Override of Rental Rates in the Company Security Parameters and this divisional flag is disabled if the Allow Override of Rental Rates is not activated in the Company Security Parameters.

Check this box to trigger the Rental Rates window automatically in the Contract and the Worksheet for rental product details.

Uncheck this box to prevent the Rental Rates window from automatically opening.
The Rental Rates window can still be accessed in all rental documents from the window on the Unit Price field, and then window again on the Rate Code field.


INVOICE RATE WINDOW FOR RENTALS
Uncheck this box to prevent the rate window from automatically opening for rental product details on miscellaneous invoices and sale quotes. The window can still be accessed manually in the Unit Price field.

Check this box to automatically open the rate window for rental charges in Miscellaneous Invoices and Quotations.

Note: The rental period information provided in this window is necessary in order to generate maintenance provision postings by the hourly rate.
For further information about the maintenance provision postings refer to Rental Product Classes.


Special Pricing
RENTAL RATE LEVEL
Most firms use the same rates for each division, however separate divisions can be assigned a default rate structure to be used for specified rental products from the division.

Leave this field blank to use the Standard Rates as the default for documents for this division, or enter the Rate Level to be used for this division if your firm uses different rates for the same rental product according to the division, or select one from the Rate Level Search window.

Note: This divisional special rate level applies on a document if none has been assigned to the specific customer, however the divisional special rate level works in the background and is not displayed in the Rental Period window on the document.

Setup:
The Special Rates can be setup in the "Rental Rates & Pricing" parameters on the Operations tab of Configure System Settings as follows:

Special Rates to Apply:
The software uses this priority when determining rates:

1st) Customer Rate Level or Multi-tiered Customer Rate structure 2nd) Regional Rental Rates Matrix
3rd) Divisional Rate Level
4th) Standard Rates

When determining which rental rate to use, the software always checks the Rate Level assigned to the customer first in Customer Information.
If a Rate Level other than (Blank) Standard Rates has been assigned, this rate level will be used to determine the rental rates, even if the Rate Level assigned to the customer results in HIGHER rates than the divisional or standard rates.

If the Customer has not been assigned a Rate Level, the Regional Rate Matrix applies according to the Regional Rental Rate Type assigned to the customer. If no "match" is found in the Regional rental rates for a product then the Divisional Rate Level applies. If the Divisional Rate Level is blank (Standard Rates), then the software uses the rates on the rental products as setup in Rental Inventory.

If a customer was assigned a certain rate level, i.e. C - Convention Rates, but the product being rented did not have Special Rates for Rate Level C - Convention Rates setup for it, then the software would use the Divisional Special Rate Level instead, according to the Division selected on the contract.
If the product did not have Special Rates setup for that Divisional Rate Level, then the standard rates would apply.

Customize Special Rates Entirely by Division:
The Suppress Rate Not Used In Division feature can be activated in the Support Application Parameters when a Division uses unique rate codes and never wants to see any other rate codes.
It allows different rate structures to be assigned by Division, suppressing all other rate codes at that division.
The risk is that if a product or its Group has no Special Rates for the Special Rate Level assigned to the Division, then there will be no rates for the product.


SALE PRICING CODE
Most firms use the same pricing company wide, however different pricing for sales merchandise can be setup by divisions or store.

Leave this field blank to use the Standard Sale Prices for this division.

If your firm uses different prices for the sales part according to the division, assign the Special Price Code to be used for this division or select one from the Price Code Search window.

Special Pricing can also be setup for specific customers in Customer Information.

Special Price Codes can be setup in the "Rental Rates & Pricing" parameters on the Operations tab of Configure System Settings in Price Codes window.

The software uses this priority when determining price:
1st) Customer Price Code
2nd) Divisional Price Code
3rd) Standard Prices

TIME-BASED
A Time-Based rental discount can be given on a Quote, Reservation, or Contract, by the counter operator to apply for a limited portion of the rental period, by over-riding the discount percent on the second detail line of the appropriate rental product.
For example, a Time-Based Discount could be applied for the first part of a rental period as an initial Training period.

Time-Based Discounts are based on Over-ride Codes that are flagged as PR type codes for Rental Item Rate Or Discount Change in Over-ride Reason Codes.
Window on the Time-Based field to define the Over-ride Codes that qualify for Time-Based Discounts for this division, with the discount parameters and G/L expense account, as outlined in Time-Base Discounts.

When an operator over-rides a Discount Percent on a Quote, Reservation, or Contract, and there are Time-Base Discounts codes setup for the document Division, the operator is prompted for an Over-ride Code.
If the operator chooses an Over-ride Code setup for Time-Based Discount for that division, then the Time-Based Discount process applies and a window opens to allow the operator to view and modify the discount values, up to the preset maximum days and discount percent.
The Discount % field in the expanded product detail record on the document or on the Rental Return will not display a percent value, because the discount is not necessarily a percent of the whole rental period. (i.e. the discount could terminate after 10 rental days).
The discount is displayed as a dollar amount in the Disc Amt field.

Quotes and Reservations convert any Time-Based Discounts to resulting documents and Contracts push the Time-Based Discounts to resulting Invoices where the information can be viewed but not changed.

Calculation:

The Time-Based Discount is applied on the Extended Amount after other discounts are taken.

When the Time-Based Discount is on only a portion of the rental period, the formula is:
(# of eligible days / total rental period days) * Time Based Discount % = the Actual Discount% that is then applied to the Extended amount

Note: Invoices with Time-Based Discounts are NOT eligible for Trade Discounts too.
Rental products with Time-Based Discounts are NOT eligible for Customer Discount Programs too.
Time-Based Discounts will not be given on rental equipment that belongs to a product class flagged to not allow discounts in the "Additional Info" window of Rental Product Classes.

Window to view and setup the Time-Based Discounts as defined in Time-Base Discounts.


Weekend Rate Settings
Special rate charges can be setup for Weekend situations to be applied to specific rentals manually or automatically, according to the qualifying time out range, and due back time with an optional grace period.
To utilize the Weekend Rate processing activate the "Prompt For Default Rate Code" in the Company Rate Parameters
DEFAULT RATE
Enter a default weekend rate code or select one from the drop-down list, as setup in Company Default Rates in the "Rental Rates & Pricing" parameters on the Operations tab of the Configure System Settings.

VALID FROM DAY/TIME
Set the starting day and time out from which the special weekend rate code should apply.

VALID TO DAY/TIME
Set the ending day and time out from which the special weekend rate code should apply.

Rental products that go out within this time period will respect the weekend rate if they include the Default Rate defined as the weekend code in their rate structure, and they are returned Monday within the Time Due Back Monday plus grace period allowance.


TIME DUE BACK MONDAY
Set the due back time for the products to be eligible for the special weekend rate.
If the Time Due Back Monday field is blank, the software will use one (1) hour after opening time as determined in the Calendar.

GRACE MINUTES
Enter the number of minutes grace that are allowed after the Time Due Back Monday to still give the weekend rate.

OPTIMIZE ON RETURN
Check this box if the Rental Return should apply the special weekend rate code when it is less than the regular rate calculation.
Uncheck this box to apply the rate code and rate structure from the contract. The special rate is NOT considered unless it was selected on the contract.

Example:
                 DEFAULT WEEKEND RATE....: W   WEEKEND

                 WEEKEND RATE START......: FRI 16:00:00
                 WEEKEND RATE END........: SAT 17:00:00

                 TIME DUE BACK MONDAY....: 09:00:00
                 WEEKEND GRACE MINUTES...: 30

                 OPTIMIZE ON RETURN......: Y
                
When a Contract, Reservation, or Rental Quote is created from Contracts or Counter Worksheet with a time out within the designated Weekend Rate Start/End period, the rate will default to the corresponding special rate code identified in the above example as W.
In this example the due back time for the products, defaults to Monday at 9:00 AM with a grace period of a half hour to be eligible for the weekend rate.
If a product does not have the special rate code (W), the regular rates will be used instead.

Overnight Special Rates
Special rate charges can be setup for Overnight situations to be applied to specific rentals manually or automatically, according to the overnight rate code, start time, and return time for the next morning, and overnight grace period.
To utilize the Overnight Rate processing activate the "Prompt For Default Rate Code" in the Company Rate Parameters
DEFAULT RATE
Enter a default overnight rate code or select one from the drop-down list, as setup in Company Default Rates in the "Rental Rates & Pricing" parameters on the Operations tab of the Configure System Settings.

VALID FROM TIME
Set the time out after which the special overnight rate code should apply.

RETURN TIME
Set the due back time on the next day for the products to be eligible for the special overnight rate.

GRACE MINUTES
Enter the number of minutes grace that are allowed after the Return Time to still be eligible for the overnight rate.

OPTIMIZE ON RETURN
Check this box if the Rental Return should apply the special overnight rate code when it is less than the regular rate calculation.
Uncheck this box to apply the rate code and rate structure from the contract. The special rate is NOT considered unless it was selected on the contract.

Example:
                 DEFAULT OVERNIGHT RATE..: O   OVERNIGHT

                 OVERNIGHT RATE START....: 19:00:00
                 OVERNIGHT RATE RETURN...: 09:00:00
                 OVERNIGHT GRACE MINUTES.: 30
                 OPTIMIZE ON RETURN......: Y
                
When a Contract, Reservation, or Rental Quote is created from Contracts or Counter Worksheet, with a time out after the designated Overnight Rate Start, the rental rate will default to the corresponding special rate code for Overnight, identified in the above example as O.
The due back time for these products defaults to the Overnight Rate Return time, but allows for the grace period specified.
If a product does not have the special rate code, the regular rates will be used instead.

Note: If a Contract is eligible for both Weekend and Overnight special rates, the Overnight rate has precedence.


Finished?
Click OK to exit the window.

Note: Any changes made to the Rate Parameters will not be applied until the Division Parameters are accepted.


Topic Keyword: RSDV90F (3887)
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