A product group is a category of products used for organizing
inventory. Groups are used for filtering inventory lookups, and
monitoring group availability.
An operator must be assigned a Security
Role that allows permission to the Operations - Groups
in order to access this table.
This role permission also controls the operator's ability to add
new groups when adding new products on-the-fly.
There can be as many Groups as required to define the inventory
in as much or as little detail as desired.
Often firms will make as many groups as they have rental items
listed in their published Rate Book or Rate List or Rate Card.
Although Groups are generally sub-divisions of a Product Class, a Group is not limited to a single Product Class, so that different products from one Group can be from different Product Classes.
Examples: Product Class Groups Group # ------------- ------ ------- Air Compressors 125 CFM 1001 175 CFM 1005 250 CFM 1101 300 CFM 1201 Dinnerware 8" Dinner Plates 6405 Bread & Butter 6409 Dessert Plates 6502 Abrasives Belts 7201 Discs 7203 Sheets 7205Numbering Convention for Product Groups:
Alternatively, Group numbers can be automatically assigned.
To activate the auto-assign option, a record needs to be included
in Last Used Transactions table for file
"RSGF".
In the Transaction column, enter the last used Group # so
that the next Group to be added will be assigned the next
sequential number.
Manual numbers can still be entered by over-typing the
auto-assigned Group #.
If Groups are NOT used:
If your firm does not want to setup Groups for Sales, use the
generic blank Group # for Unassigned instead.
Group Information setup:
The prompts load the product Groups include:
Note: Product Class numbers, Group numbers, Website Category
numbers and Subcategory numbers cannot contain the "|" (pipe)
character as this is not interpreted correctly in a browser, and an
error will be triggered preventing its use.
Also to avoid URL errors the 5 special characters "/&?%+"are
not allowed in the numbering sequence when creating new Groups.
A Product Group Search window is provided in Change mode to view and select from a list of existing Groups and descriptions.
Note: The blank Unassigned Group is a special group,
which is ignored for the purposes of Group Bookings, and any other
features of the Group.
For the Group on a product to have any significance, assign the
item to a proper Group.
The Group description can be copied to the products in the Group
as the product Description and Vendor Description
using Clone Group Information to
Products.
The Group description can be modified by the Update Group Information export/import
utility.
If an Alternative Language applies, over-type the displayed Group description using up to 30 characters, with the appropriate description, for this group.
The Alternate Language feature can be activated from the
Company Miscellaneous Parameters.
Groups alternate descriptions can also be updated en masse by the
Restructure Class/Group//Rates/Tag utility
using the Group Cost Restructure option.
The Alternate Language description for the Group can be copied to the products in the Group using Clone Group Information to Products.
When entering Reservations and an item is reserved by entering its Group code instead of assigning a specific unit in advance, the Product Class selected for the Group will determine the overtime definition, and the taxable status.
The Product Class selected also determines the Rental Default Rate Structure which displays when entering the Group Rates.
The Product Class associated with this Group can be modified by the Update Group Information export/import utility.
Enter the default substitute product for this Group, or select
it from the product search window.
The substitute bulk product should be setup as a bulk item with
zero quantity, no rates, special order (so does not appear in
re-order reports) and with the Inventory box unchecked.
Enter a Kit for this Group or select it from the Kits Search window
This kit can be copied to products in the Group using Clone Group Information to Products.
The Group Kit also defaults to any new products entered for this
Group.
Leave this field blank if no Kit is associated with this
Group.
The Kit associated with this Group can also be modified by the
Update Group Information export/import
utility.
Leave this field blank if no Sales List is associated with this
Group.
If a Sales List does apply, enter a SSL# for this Group or select
it from the SSL Search window.
This product list can be copied to products in the Group using
Clone Group Information to Products.
The Group SSL# also defaults to any new products entered for this
Group.
Skip this field if there are no Equipment Specifications
associated with this Group.
If specifications do apply, window on this field and enter the
Equipment Specification codes for this Group as outlined in
Group Equipment Specifications.
These Equipment Specifications can be copied to products in the
Group using Clone Group Information to
Products.
Group Equipment Specifications will also default to any new
products entered for this Group.
Skip this field if there are no Safety Notes associated with
this Group.
If Safety Notes do apply, window on this field and enter any Safety
Note codes for this Group as outlined in Group
Safety Notes.
The Safety Notes associated with this Group can be modified by
the Update Group Information export/import
utility.
These Safety Notes can be copied to products in the Group using
Clone Group Information to Products.
Group Safety Notes also default to any new products entered for
this Group.
Skip this field if there are no Alternate Descriptions for this
Group.
If there are Alternate descriptions, window on this field and enter
any Alternate Descriptions for this Group, as outlined in Alternate Group Descriptions.
Alternate group descriptions also default to any new products
entered for this Group.
The Alternate Descriptions associated with this Group can be
modified by the Update Group Information
export/import utility.
These alternate descriptions can be copied to the products using
Clone Group Information to
Products.
Check this box to use the rates in the Group
Rates window for booking this Group on a Reservation or
Quotation.
Uncheck this box if the operator should be prompted to pick an item from the Group to determine the rental rates that should be used when this Group is booked on a Reservation or Quote.
The Use Group Rates flag assigned to this Group can also be modified by the Update Group Information export/import utility.
Group Rates:
Click on the icon to access the Group Rates window.
In Add mode the rates will default from the rates in the associated
Rental Product Class.
The rates defined in this window will apply to any rental products in this Group that have not been setup with their own specific rate structure.
Special Customer Rates by Group:
Special customer pricing can be defined using the Multi-Tiered Customer Special Pricing feature by
assigning preferred 'Tier 1' rates by Group in the First Tier Rental Rates window in Customer Information for relevant customers.
The Restructure Class/Group/Rates/Tag
utility can be used to organize the required Product/Class/Group
structure in preparation for setting up these special
rates.
Uncheck this box if Group Rates should not be eligible for cloning to products in the Group.
Check this box if rates are setup in the Group Rates window and your firm wants the ability
to update the rental rates of all items in this group with the same
rental rates using the utility Clone Group
Rates To Products.
This would only be useful if all items in the group rent using the
same rate structure, but at varying rate amounts.
The rate structure could be copied to the products in the Group and
then the rate amounts could be modified for specific products.
The Clone Rates flag assigned to this Group can also be modified by the Update Group Information export/import utility.
Note: If the rates of the products are exactly the same, it is not necessary to copy them down to the products as products with no rates will always default to the Group rates anyway.
e.g. For Candelabra that are always rented in pairs; set the Rental Conversion to equal 2. When the candelabra goes out on a contract or invoice, as quantity one,
The 'Ratebook Category can also be assigned to a Group by the Update Group Information export/import utility.
Note: This category is not required by standard Rate Book, and only applies to a Custom Rate Book program that relies on Ratebook Categories for printing.
When new rental equipment is added for a Group in Add Rental Products the new product will inherit
this show/suppress flag.
The Suppress on Ratebook flag assigned to this Group can also be
modified by the Update Group Information
export/import utility.
Click NO to only change the show/suppress flag at the Group level.
Click YES to immediately change the products in the Group to
reflect the Group show/suppress on Rate Book flag.
Any products currently being locked by another session are not
updated, and an error report is triggered as outlined in Information Log.
Note: This does not apply to "re-rent" equipment as re-rentals do not belong to your rental fleet and should not print on a Rate Book.
Uncheck this box if this Group should not be included in the Cylinder Rental Analysis Report.
Note: This flag does not require cylinders to be mandatory for products in the Group.
This estimated value prints on the spreadsheet output of the Missed Rental Transactions Report.
Note: This Missed Rental Rate on the group could change over time, so applying this rate for older entries may not be an accurate estimate.
Setup Seasonal Rates:
This feature is activated when a unique Seasonal Rental Rate
Code is defined in the Company Rate
Parameters for "Seasonal Pricing", along with a Cycle Bill
Day Code to flag seasonal contracts to enable seasonal billing
to be generated by batch in Cycle
Billing.
An optional Default Marketing Comment can also be defined to
cause the related comment to print on the resulting invoices.
Then when a document is created and is assigned the Seasonal
Rental Rate Code as the Special Rate in the Rental Period window on a document header, all
rental products and Groups added to the document default to the
Seasonal Rental Rate Code and this becomes the only rate
added to the document for this product/Group.
If there is no valid rate for the Seasonal Rental Rate Code,
a warning is triggered and the complete rate structure applies for
the product or Group billing on this document.
Contracts that are flagged for Seasonal Billing can be manually
put "Off Rent" but zero hours will always be calculated to
eliminate conflicts with the seasonal billing process.
This includes the Off Rent hours generated by Delivery and
Pickup Tickets.
Note: Because a contract with a Seasonal Cycle Billing Day Code, could also carry other rental products and because different seasonal periods can be defined, it may be necessary to run the seasonal billing code once a month at month end.
The prompts in the Group are:
Note: In document entry when a seasonal rate is used, the Date Due back for the product automatically reflects the last day of the current season.
Note: If only one season start date is entered, a single annual charge would be billed for the year.
Uncheck this box if a quantity greater than one is selected for the Group and the Group must be listed on the Counter Worksheet multiple detail lines, each with quantity one.
Check this box if a quantity greater than one is selected for the Group, and the Group should be listed only once on the worksheet with the full quantity on one detail line.
Eligibility for non-bulk products in the Group to utilize the initial "Suspension Period" as activated by the Group Suspend Upon Receipt flag below.
The Bulk Group flag assigned to this Group can also be modified by the Update Group Information export/import utility.
Uncheck this box to skip checking the availability of the items
in this group during contract, reservation, or invoice entry.
The Status for products in a Group that does not use availability
checking will display as N/A (Not Applicable) in the document
product search and in the Cycle Billing Edit
Report.
Note: Invoicing does not check requirements for rentals
according to this Group "Check Availability" flag.
The Allow Overrides on Location Quantities setting in the
Company Security Parameters can be used to
control how product quantity over-rides are processed on
documents.
Availability checking does not apply to Manufacturing Receiving as this feature was meant to log the Manufacturing runs after they are completed so checking for parts was not relevant.
Availability checking for Rental equipment in a Rental Product Class that is flagged as a re-rent class does not apply even if that equipment belongs to a Group flagged to require availability checking.
The Availability checking flag assigned to this Group can also be modified by the Update Group Information export/import utility.
The Warranty Days assigned to this Group can also be modified by the Update Group Information export/import utility.
The Default Depreciation Class assigned to this Group can also
be modified by the Update Group Information
export/import utility.
This applies only to Rental equipment, and the Update Depreciation Class by Group utility can be
used to push this default Depreciation Class to products in the
Group.
This Depreciation Class can also be updated on a Group by the Update Group Information export/import utility.
The prompts in the window include:
Check this box if these freight charges should be charged per
unit. The freight charges are then accumulated by quantity and
across groups.
This can be useful if equipment is large, requiring a trailer for
each unit, or useful for bulk items like scaffolding that require a
lot of individual handling.
This URL can also be updated on a Group by the Update Group Information export/import utility.
This description can also be updated on a Group by the Update Group Information export/import utility.
These settings to display the group, image, and specifications, on the website apply to both the Portal as outlined in Portal Overview.
This flag and the image names can also be setup for classes in Inventory/Division Settings.
Fields in the Sales Product Classes, Rental Product Classes, and in Sales Inventory and in and in Rental Inventory also control how products displayed on the website.
Multiple Maintenance Schedule records can be setup as outlined in Group Maintenance Schedule, that can be view in the Group Maintenance Schedule Inquiry.
This field is disabled if there is no attachment directory defined in Company Miscellaneous Parameters.
Note: Safety Sheets do not print when multiple contracts are printed from Print Contracts.
The Alternate Language feature can be activated from the Company Miscellaneous Parameters.
Safety Sheets using Jasper forms:
With Jasper forms in order to print the Safety Sheets with
documents on Web App or Open Client, the Group Safety Sheets must
be stored on Server as PDF files in the \pro4data\crystal
directory.
The Safety Sheets are printed with the document creating a single
PDF file.
New Safety Sheets can be added by clicking the icon beside this
field to maintain PDF files on the server in the Directory Browser window.
Safety Sheets can also be maintained in the Group Safety Sheet Names table.
Refer to Customer Forms for setup of the
different forms printing options.
Note: Service Codes can also be assigned at the Class level in
Rental Product Classes and Sales Product Classes.
If both the Group and the Class have service codes, then the Group
services have priority and the Class service codes do not
apply.
The Group Service Codes window can also be used to assign a Delivery and Pickup service to apply to products in this Group as outlined in Group Service Codes.
Note: Group Order Codes only apply if there are no Order Codes on the specific product.
When this field is updated manually or updated by the Update Group Information import or the Restructure Class/Group/Rates/Tag utility using the
Group Cost Restructure option, a record is written to the
Audit Log by date, operator, group and
field value for "RSGF_REPLACEMENT".
The Replacement Cost assigned to this Group can also be modified by
the Update Group Information export/import
utility.
The update utility Clone Group Information to Products can be used to push this replacement default cost value from the Group down to any existing rental product records in that Group.
Enter the percentage of revenue that should be reduced from the list price.
Rental Product List Price Formula Example:
$400.00 Revenue at 10% = $40.00, and if base list is
$1500.00 then selling list becomes $1460.00
The original base list price entered for a non-bulk asset can be viewed in Rental Inventory in the window on the current selling List price field.
Example: If base list is $1500.00 and max discount percentage is 50% then the list cannot fall below $750.00
Note: The selling list price in Rental
Inventory for each product is only recalculated using the
latest revenue numbers, when the selling value is viewed or the
asset is used or sold.
If the percent values for the Group are changed, the list prices
need to be recalculated for all non-bulk rental equipment in this
Group.
A cronjob (RSPF113B) can be scheduled to run regularly in Automatic Job Scheduling to update these
Non-bulk rental asset selling prices based on current rental
revenue totals.
Select No if a W.O. should not be generated for all
non-bulk rental products in this Group when returned.
Work Orders can still be triggered at return or exchange for
specific products using the Status Code
Actions By Group feature.
Select Prompt to provide the option to create a Work
Order for non-bulk rental products in this Group when returned or
exchanged.
A paging screen is generated listing the products with the option
to put the products on Work Orders and to print them.
W.O. Customer:
An internal customer number can be defined in the 'Rental Return
Work Order Customer' field of the Division
Work Order Parameters that is assigned to the new service Work
Order based on the document division.
If no default internal customer number is defined for a division
then the customer number and Site from the original Contract are
also assigned to the Work Order.
When the divisional internal customer is assigned to the new Work
Order in place of the Contract customer, the contract site is not
pushed to the W.O. either.
The Create W.O. flag assigned to this Group can also be modified by the Update Group Information export/import utility.
Note: When this processing is activated, additional Work Orders
and Service Check Lists will NOT be generated for non-bulk rentals
by a change to the Product Status
Codes.
The change in Status Code is still made, and any bulk rental
products in this Group will still respect the Time Delay to
enable service based on the Status Code as outlined in
Status Code Actions By Group.
The 'Inspection Form' and the 'Assign To' flags can also be assigned to a Group by the Export/Import Group Inspection Forms and the Update Group Information export/import utilities.
Group Inspection Forms only apply if there are no Product level
Inspection Forms defined in the product associated Model window, where the Inspection Form is
automatically to be added to the Work Order when the product is
serviced.
ie:
Note: If an Inspection Form is no longer useful and it is deleted from the Inspection Forms table, deleting the form will also remove it from any Groups and Models.
This suspension period only applies to non-bulk rental equipment if the feature is activated in the product Group. This field is only enabled for Rental Groups that are not flagged as a Bulk Group.
The maximum number of days permitted for the trial period is
controlled by the value set in the Days On Suspension After
Product Received in Company Inventory
Parameters.
When the suspension period is up or the product is put on rent, the
product is automatically updated as off suspension.
The suspension information for relevant products can be viewed in the Rental Information window of Rental Inventory and updated in the Product Suspension Information utility if required.
Note: This suspension period is not reflected in the Date In Service captured when the non-bulk rental product was received in Warehouse Receiving and displayed in the Make/Model and Re-Order Information.
When this field is updated manually or updated by the Update Group Information import or the Restructure Class/Group/Rates/Tag utility using the
Group Cost Restructure option, a record is written to the
Audit Log by date, operator, group and
field value for "RSGF_LIQUIDATION_VALUE".
The Liquidation Value can also be updated on a Group by the
Update Group Information export/import
utility.
This field can be updated manually or updated by the Restructure Class/Group/Rates/Tag utility using the
Group Cost Restructure option.
The Useful Life Hours can also be updated on a Group by the
Update Group Information export/import
utility.
When this field is updated manually or updated by the Update Group Information import or the Restructure Class/Group/Rates/Tag utility using the
Group Cost Restructure option, a record is written to the
Audit Log by date, operator, group and
field value for "RSGF_USEFUL_LIFE_MONTHS".
The Useful Life Months can also be updated on a Group by the
Update Group Information export/import
utility.
Select one of the following DW options to apply to products in this Group:
Note: If the Group Control of the Damage Waiver in the Customer Damage Waiver Settings, is de-activate for a specific customer, then the Group Waiver Type selection is ignored and DW1 is always used for that customer.
Enter 2 to use the percent rate setup for DW2
Enter 3 if products in this Group should not be charged Damage
Waiver.
This is useful for small tools or scaffolding.
This value can also be updated on a Group by the Update Group Information export/import utility.
Click the ? beside this field to view the company wide defaults as setup in the Company Alternate Waiver Settings window.
Note: Division and Customer settings will over-ride these Company default rates.
For more information on this feature, refer to Company Alternate Waiver Settings.
For more information on this feature refer to the Reward Program Maintenance.
If the Display Total Product Weight flag in the Company Miscellaneous Parameters is set, then the total weight of rental and sales products is displayed in the Totals window on each counter document including Contracts, Invoices, Quotes, and Reservations. The weight total is also displayed on the screen in P.O.s, and Orders, and when inventory is shipped in Record Quantity Shipped By Transfer, and the total shipment weight prints on the packing slip.
The Weight and Cubes values are used by the WinRoute processing to determine truck scheduling.
Note: The Export/Import Group Delivery - Descartes utility can be used to update this required measurement information for Groups.
ACTIONS:
Additional actions provided by buttons on
the Group screen include:
To delete an existing group, click the DELETE
button before selecting the group number.
This delete utility makes permanent deletions as outlined in
Delete A Product Group.
Unused Groups can also be deleted using the Restructure Class/Group/Rates/Tag - Groups/Rates option.
Copy Group Default Values to Existing Products:
The CLONE button is only active when the role
assigned to the operator in Operators also
has permission to access the Clone Group
Information to Products utility from the menu tree.
Before selecting a Group, click the CLONE button to copy selected values defined for the Group down to products in that Group, as outlined in Clone Group Information to Products.
Note: The Restructure Class/Group/Rates/Tag - Groups/Rates option can be used to create new Groups and to copy Group attributes.
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