Equipment Groups


System Maintenance Menu -> Configure System Settings -> Operations Tab -> Inventory -> Groups

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             7205

Numbering Convention for Product Groups:
For ease of use, assign similar numbers to Groups which are close together, per the example above.
If the Groups are numbered according to your firm's Rate Book (Rate Card or Price List) this will likely include most of the required 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:

GROUP#
In Add mode, accept the next available auto-assigned number or enter a preferred Group number up to five characters.

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.


DESCRIPTION
Describe this product Group up to 30 characters.

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.


ALT. LANGUAGE DESCRIPTION
Accept the same default group description as displayed if Alternate languages do not apply to your business.

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.


PRODUCT CLASS
Enter the Product Class that most represents the items of this group, or select it from the Product Class Search window.

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.


BULK RENTAL PRODUCT#
In Counter Worksheet or Convert Reservation To Contract when a document with a product Group is to be converted to a Contract, but the rental product required from that Group is not available, a substitute product can be used as a place holder.
Availability is not checked for the substitute product and a comment is written on the document detail as a reminder that the substitute product later needs to be exchanged for the actual rental asset.

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.


KIT #
A kit refers to items which rent together and can be setup in Kits.

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.


SUGGESTED SALES LIST #
The Suggested Sales List is a list setup in Suggested Sales List which will recommend other items to be sold when the primary item is rented or sold on a Contract, Reservation, Quotation, or Miscellaneous Invoice.

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.


EQUIPMENT SPECIFICATIONS
The Equipment Specifications assigned to a product are viewable during contract entry in the window on the description field.
The first four lines of Equipment Specifications may be printed on the product labels produced from Product Inventory Labels.

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.


SAFETY NOTES
Safety Notes for the product and group are printed beneath the product when rented on a contract.

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.


ALTERNATE DESCRIPTION
The alternative description is used for group and product searches.
During reservation entry, a group can be looked up by using either the Description or the Alternative Description.

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.


RENTAL INFORMATION
This window can be used to setup rental information including rates and seasonal pricing.
USE GROUP RATES FOR GROUP BOOKINGS
This feature is not applicable to sales items.

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.


CLONE GROUP RATES
This feature is not applicable to sales items.

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.


RENTAL CONVERSION
This conversion does not apply to sales items.
Enter 1 (one) if products in this group are always rented as individual units.
If products in this group are rented in pairs or sets, enter the conversion factor.
Note: On the document a quantity 1 would be entered to represent each pair or each set, although the product file quantity always reports these as individual units.

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,


MINIMUM AVAILABLE TO RENT
Enter the minimum quantity that each location should have available for rental.

RATEBOOK CATEGORY
In standard systems this value defaults to the Rental Product Class for the Group, but can be changed as required.
A window is provide to select from categories as outlined in Ratebook Category Search.

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.


SUPPRESS ON RATEBOOK
Check this box if rates for this Group should not be printed on the Rate Book.
Uncheck this box to include this Group in the Rate Book.

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.

UPDATE PRODUCT 'SHOW ON RATEBOOK' FLAG
If the Group Suppress on Ratebook flag is changed, when the operator exits and saves the Group information, the option is provided to also change the flag for all rental products in the Group.

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.


USE CYLINDERS
Check this box if rental products in this Group include containers such as cylinders or bottles that are rented when a consumable sales product such as propane, oxygen, or water is sold, and this Group should be included in the Cylinder Rental Analysis Report.

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.


MISSED RENTAL RATE
Enter an optional daily rate that would be charged for equipment in this Group to be used in the Missed Rental calculation in the Missed Rental Transactions as follows:
Missed Rental Rate * potential rental days missed

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.


GROUP TYPE
This field can be used to define a "free form" 4 character Group type that is information only but that can be used in custom Crystal and ODBC reports for product group categorization.
This Type can also be updated on a Group by the Update Group Information export/import utility.

SEASONAL PRICING
Seasonal rental charges can be setup to generate a single billing per season at the appropriate seasonal rate.
This would be useful for seasonal rentals such as heaters, where a different charge could apply to the different seasons according to demand and usage.
A maximum of four seasons can be defined in sequence based on the starting date.

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:

GROUP ON HAND
To view the quantity On Hand for this Group, click on the icon to recalculate the current count.

GRACE DAYS
Enter the days grace to be considered at the end of the season, so that if a product is returned at the beginning of a new season but within the Grace Days allowed, the customer is not billed for that new season.
The days grace also applies to cycle billing, so that if a product is billed at the beginning of a new season but within the Grace Days allowed, the new season is not considered for billing yet.

SEASON 1 START
Enter the start date for the first seasonal period using MMDD.
The year is not relevant.
e.g. 0101 would be January 1

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.


SEASON 2 START
Enter the start date for the second seasonal period if applicable for products in this Group.
A different rate can be charged for each season.
e.g. 0401 would be April 1

SEASON 3 START
Enter the start date for the third seasonal period if applicable.
e.g. 0701 would be July 1

SEASON 4 START
Enter the start date for the fourth seasonal period if applicable.
e.g. 1001 would be October 1

Note: If only one season start date is entered, a single annual charge would be billed for the year.


Finished?
Click OK to accept and exit this Rental Information window.

BULK GROUP
This flag controls the following actions:
  • Handling Group selection on a document when a quantity of greater than one is selected for the Group from the Inventory Search window:

    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.


CHECK AVAILABILITY
Check this box to always confirm whether an item in this Group is available:
  • for rent at this location during contract entry
  • for rent on reservation entry
  • for sale of sales parts on invoice entry (rentals are not checked on invoice entry)
  • for rental product disposals on invoices
The ability to over-ride requirement availability is controlled by the Allow Overrides on Location Quantities setting in the Company Security Parameters.
This is useful when contracts are done live at the counter as it helps prevent selecting items for rent or sale that are not ready to rent.
When availability checking is on, products can be 'shared' across locations in an Inventory Region to make them available for Contracts and/or for Reservation bookings, as defined in the Region table.

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.


ALTERNATE GROUP#
An Alternate Group number can be defined for the Group, that can be used in Group search utilities.
This must be a unique value.

WARRANTY INFORMATION
Window to access the warranty information fields.
WARRANTY NUMBER OF DAYS
This value is used to calculate a default expiration warranty date on Rental equipment and on serialized Sales parts.
The warranty expiry date is stored on the Fixed Asset Tag of Rental equipment and is calculated from the Date Acquired.
On serialized Sales parts the warranty is calculated from the Date Received and is stored in the serial number window.

The Warranty Days assigned to this Group can also be modified by the Update Group Information export/import utility.


WARRANTY DEPOT
The warranty depot name entered here is cloned to new rental products added for this Group.
The warranty depot is stored on the equipment Fixed Asset Tag.

DEFAULT DEPRECIATION CLASS
Enter the Depreciation Class to default on the Fixed Asset Tags for products in this group, or select one from the drop-down list.

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.


DEFAULT ALTERNATE DEPRECIATION CLASS
Enter the Alternate Depreciation Class to default on the Fixed Asset Tags for products in this group, or select one from the drop-down list.
This applies only to Rental equipment.

This Depreciation Class can also be updated on a Group by the Update Group Information export/import utility.


FREIGHT CHARGE
Special delivery and pickup charges can be setup by group. These charges over-ride the default charge for the division per the service code, but special customer rates still over-ride these group rates.
Not only can a group freight rate be set for this equipment, but for certain groups the freight rate can be set to charge by piece with a minimum charge.
The Freight Charge values for each Group can also be updated using the Update Group Information export/import utility.

The prompts in the window include:

DELIVERY CHARGE
Leave this field blank if there is no special Delivery rate for this general Group, or enter the amount to be charged for delivery for equipment in this group.
If no delivery charge is entered, then the rate on the delivery service code is charged. Special customer rates will still over-ride the delivery rates.

PICKUP CHARGE
Leave this field blank if there is no special Pickup rate for this general Group, or enter the amount to be charged for pickup of equipment in this group.
If no pickup charge is entered, then the rate on the pickup service code is charged. Special customer rates will still over-ride the pickup rates.

ACCUMULATIVE
Uncheck this box if these are flat rates for the products in the group, regardless of the quantity being shipped.
If all products on the contract are in groups with flat freight rates, then the highest flat rate is charged and the other items are all included.

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.

Freight Charge calculation used for flat and accumulated rate combinations:
When the freight charge is calculated, it totals an accumulated charge for each unit of products that is part of a group with an accumulating freight charge. The program then checks for any products on the contract with a non-accumulated freight charge. It then compares the highest rate of the non-accumulated charges vs the accumulated charge total, and selects the greater amount for the contract freight charge. This helps to provide a fair charge for shipping and handling.

MINIMUM
This field is skipped if the freight charge is NOT accumulative.
Leave this field blank if no minimum freight charge applies.
Enter the minimum freight charge that should apply to accumulated charges. The minimum charge is useful for piece items like scaffolding.

WEBSITE OPTIONS
Window to access the website access options.
SHOW ON WEBSITE
Select one of the following options:
  • Select Yes if this product Group should be displayed on the website.
  • Select No to prevent this Group from showing on the website.
  • Select System Default if the default from the value set in Show on Website Default in Global Portal Settings should apply.
This flag can also be updated on a Group by the Update Group Information export/import utility.

BITMAP IMAGE NAME
Enter the image name for the picture representing this group on the website.

SPECIFICATION URL
If this Group is visible on your company's Portal website, then a URL can be established when the Group is viewed in the Shopping Cart feature, to provide a direct Link to a vendor's website to display the product specification information.
This is a convenient method of keeping your equipment specs current with the vendor's without requiring constant updating of your own company Group information.
Type in the preferred URL link to access the vendor's product specification information.

This URL can also be updated on a Group by the Update Group Information export/import utility.


INTERNET DESCRIPTION
An optional description can be entered for this group that replaces the primary group description on the Portal screens.
This can be useful if your descriptions are geared for staff use, and a more public description is required for web users.

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.


MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE
General Maintenance Schedule records can be assigned to the Group, so that when the scheduling report is generated from Print Maintenance Schedule, all the products in the Group that do not yet have an individual Maintenance Schedule already setup for them in Maintenance Schedule, can be reviewed to determine if service is required according to the general Group schedules.
Individual product Maintenance Schedules are then generated.
If both the Group and the product have Maintenance Schedules, then the group schedule is ignored and the product schedule applies.

Multiple Maintenance Schedule records can be setup as outlined in Group Maintenance Schedule, that can be view in the Group Maintenance Schedule Inquiry.


FILE ATTACHMENTS
Multiple external documents or images can be associated with this group when setup in the File Attachments window.
Up to 10 attachments can also be updated for a Group by the Update Group Information export/import utility.

This field is disabled if there is no attachment directory defined in Company Miscellaneous Parameters.


SAFETY SHEET NAME / ALTERNATE LANGUAGE
An optional Safety Sheet document can be selected from the Directory Browser select only drop-down box for each of the primary and alternate languages.
The appropriate safety sheet prints automatically when a specific contract that includes a rental or sales product from this Group is printed from Contract Summary & Totals or Print Contracts.

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 Crystal or Standard forms:
    With Crystal or Standard form formats, the Group Safety Sheets must be stored on each Client in the \scsbin\docs\ directory, explained in Group Safety Sheet Names.
  • 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.


MIN MAX LOCATIONS
Setup the required minimum and maximum quantities to be maintained by location, for this Group as outlined in Min/Max Locations.
These re-order quantities are used to trigger the Group on the Group Min/Max Report.

SERVICE CODES
Optional Service Charges can be associated with a Group so that when a product in the Group is invoiced for a sale or rental, a flat rate or a percent of the charge can be automatically billed for the related services as outlined in Group Service Codes.

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.


ORDER CODES
Window to access and select Order Codes that apply to this product Group, as outlined in Product Purchase Order Codes with the order information notes, that are used in Purchase Orders, Print Purchase Orders, and P.O. Worksheet.

Note: Group Order Codes only apply if there are no Order Codes on the specific product.


REPLACEMENT COST
This field can be used to define a replacement cost for rental equipment in this Group, that is used as the default replacement cost value when new rental inventory records are entered in Add Rental Products, Warehouse Receiving, Convert Fast-Track Inventory Records, and is also useful for data analysis reporting.

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.


DISC% OF REVENUE OFF LIST
The list price of a non-bulk rental asset can be discounted based on the amount of revenue it has generated during its rental life.

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.

MAX DISC% FROM BASE LIST
Enter the maximum discount percentage from the base list which can be taken.
This sets a limit on how much the list can be reduced. .

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.


Price Change History:
Any changes made to the List Price or Base List Price are tracked.
An audit report on Price Change History can be generated from Product Value Override Report.
Price changes are also included in the more general Override Report.

Automate Update of Selling Price:
This process to update the selling price on non-bulk rentals by a percent of the revenue can be set to run regularly automatically using Automatic Job Scheduling where the start time and frequency can be defined for the job RSPF113B.

CREATE WORK ORDER
This parameter can be set to cause a W.O. to be generated when a non-bulk rental product in this Group is returned on a Rental Return, Exchange by Contract or an exchange by Pickup Ticket from the Close Pickup Ticket utility.
Select one of the following options:
  • Select Yes to automatically create a Work Order for any non-bulk rental product in this Group when it is returned or exchanged.
    A paging screen is generated listing the products that will be put on Work Orders with the option to print the W.O.s.
  • 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.


INSPECTION FORMS
Window on this field to access the "Auto-Assign Inspection Forms to Documents" window to setup specific service instruction forms associated with non-bulk rentals, bulk rentals or sales products in this Group.
Multiple Inspection Forms can be selected from the Inspection Forms Search window and flagged whether to automatically be assigned to a document or action based on the type of Form setup in Inspection Forms, including:
  • Work Order
  • Inspection
  • Delivery
  • Pickup

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:

Inspection Form is flagged to "Assign to WO"
Inspection Form is assigned to Model
Model is assigned to product in the Make/Model and Re-Order Information window

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.


SUSPEND UPON RECEIPT
When new non-bulk rental equipment is purchased and received into inventory using Warehouse Receiving, the products can be allowed a preparation or setup period.
During this suspended period the product is excluded from the Utilization analysis statistics, and can optionally also be excluded from depreciation calculations.

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.


ADDITIONAL OPTIONS
Window to view additional conditions that can be activated for products in this Group.
LIQUIDATION VALUE
Enter an optional value for rental products in this Group.
This is information only, and is used in the calculation of the Rental Age Report and is also useful for data analysis reporting.

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.


USEFUL LIFE HOURS
Enter an optional number of expected useful hours before a rental product in this Group is disposed.
This is information only, and is used in the calculation of the Rental Age Report.

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.


USEFUL LIFE MONTHS
Enter an optional number of expected useful months before a rental product in this Group is disposed.
This is information only, and is used in the calculation of the Rental Age Report and is also useful for data analysis reporting.

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.


WAIVER TYPE
This field is only displayed when the Alternate DW Calculation method has been activated in the Company Contract Parameters, which requires the Standard Tax method to be set in the Company Taxing Parameters.
This DW formula uses either a base value or uses the extended rental charge on each product detail line, times one of two different waiver percent rates defined by the product Group, to determine the DW amount to charge by product on the document.

Select one of the following DW options to apply to products in this Group:

  • Enter 1 to use the percent rate setup for DW1

    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.


EXEMPT FROM EARNING REWARDS
Check this box if products in this group should not generate "Reward Dollars" for any transactions on the invoice.
Uncheck this box to allow customers to earn "Reward Dollars" on billed transactions for products in this group at the time the invoice total is calculated.

For more information on this feature refer to the Reward Program Maintenance.


CANNOT BE PAID WITH REWARDS
Check this box to prevent "Reward Dollars" from being used to pay invoiced amounts for products in this group.
Uncheck this box to allow "Reward Dollars" to be used to pay invoiced amounts for products in this group.

Measurements:
Optional measurements for products in this Group can be setup that are useful for delivery/pickup scheduling and are used by the WinRoute system as outlined in the Software Integration.
Product specific measurements can also be defined in the "Re-Order Information" of the Sales Inventory and in the "Make/Model Information" in the Rental Inventory but if a measurement is not supplied at the product level, then the Group measurement applies as the default.
These measurements can also be updated on a Group by the Update Group Information export/import utility.
LENGTH
Enter the product length measurement if relevant.
This is information only that can be useful for delivery/pickup shipping.

WIDTH
Enter the product width measurement if relevant.
This is information only that can be useful for delivery/pickup shipping.

HEIGHT
Enter the product height measurement if relevant.
This is information only that can be useful for delivery/pickup shipping.

WEIGHT
Skip this field if there is no standard weight associated with products in this Group, or enter the weight for products in this Group if a standard weight does apply.
This weight value can be copied to products in the Group using Clone Group Information to Products.
The Group defined weight also defaults to any new products entered for this Group.
Specific product weights can also be adjusted using Update Product Weight.

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.


CUBES
This is an optional standard shipping term that can represent a cubic or volume measurement, or a one-dimensional footprint measurement such as square feet.
Enter the Cubes value for products in this Group to be used in the WinRoute shipping calculation to determine truck scheduling.

Note: The Export/Import Group Delivery - Descartes utility can be used to update this required measurement information for Groups.


Finished?
Click the OK button to accept and exit this sub-window.

Finished?
Click the ACCEPT button to accept and exit, or click the CANCEL button to abort.

ACTIONS:
Additional actions provided by buttons on the Group screen include:


Topic Keyword: RSGF02
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