Cash Customers & On Account Customers

Note: ON ACCOUNT customers and REPEAT CASH customers may be setup on an "as needed" basis.

The Rental System handles the cash-paying customer by assigning to him a blank CUSTOMER # within the Customer Information file. This set-up makes contract entry fast and easy to learn. It also eliminates one-time customers from appearing on your Customer Lists.

The CASH customer record is re-used with each contract. The customer's real name and address are stored on the contract but NOT in the Customer Information file itself. However, contract and invoice inquiries can be made by customer name, even though the blank Customer number was used for them all.

The Set-Up
Check the Customer Information to make sure that a blank CUSTOMER # is setup for the CASH customer. Select Customer Information, press ADD Key. If the Blank Cash Customer is already set-up, use CHANGE Key to access the fields, in order to customize it to your firm.

CUSTOMER #: Instead of accepting the next Customer #, use the SPACE BAR to blank out the next available number in sequence and create a BLANK Customer Number.
This entry will represent the Cash customers, and will be re-used every time a cash sale is made.
NAME: Type the word CASH.
The actual customer's name and address can then be entered for specific documents in the Counter programs.
ALPHA: Accept the word CASH.
ADDRESS 1 & 2: Leave these fields blank, as relevant details can be entered in document entry.
CITY: Enter the name of your own city because most of your cash customers come from your city.
This entry defaults to the screen for Counter programs, saving retyping the Customer's actual city every time.
The city may be overridden in the Counter programs, when this city does not apply.
PROV./STATE: Enter the name of your own province or state.
This entry defaults to the screen when in the Counter programs, saving retyping the Customer's actual province or state every time.
The province may be overridden in the Counter programs, when this province does not apply.
PHONE: Leave this field blank.
POSTAL/ZIP CODE: Leave this field blank.
ON ACCOUNT: Uncheck this box since the Cash Customer should not have any invoices on account.

To call up the CASH customer, when using the counter programs, such as entering a Contract, Invoice or Reservation, leave the CUSTOMER # field blank without typing in any Customer number, so that name CASH appears on the screen. When prompted for the customer's information, type in the correct address:

NAME: Type the customer's real name over CASH.
ADDRESS: Enter in the customer's address.
CITY: Accept YOUR city, or type in the correct city. Your city appears on the screen, since the Cash Customer's address was pre-set to your city in Customer Information .
PROV/STATED: Accept YOUR province or state. Your province or state appears on the screen, since the Cash Customer's address was pre-set to this in Customer Information .
PHONE: Enter in the customer's telephone number.
POSTAL/ZIP: Enter in the customer's postal or zip code.

Special Features of the CASH Customer:
By typing in the customer's name and address, the customer's correct address prints on the contract or invoice or reservation. The Customer's invoices or contracts or reservations can be looked-up by typing in the Customer's Name. This is true, even though the customer is NOT permanently stored in Customer Information.

Any identification (Driver's License Number) or Reference (Credit Card Number or Vehicle License Number) entered with the Counter programs will be checked against the Bad Risk Customer List to verify that the Customer is okay before proceeding.

Many rental firms do not want cash customers to be saved in the Customer Information.
However, if your firm wants to do promotional mailing, the software can be set to automatically Add Cash Customers to the Customer Information file, during contract and invoice entry.
This is set in Divisional Contract Parameters with a default Customer# to Clone.

Alternatively a company flag can be set to allow operators to manually Add Customers On-The-Fly from Company Miscellaneous Parameters.
If your firm selects this option, your staff should always check to see if the customer is already in the customer records first, before adding the customer. Otherwise, the Customer Information will quickly become useless, with out of date and duplicate information.

Each client who has an Accounts Receivable account with your firm must have a separate customer number.

The Set-Up
When setting up Account Customers in Customer Information, setup the following fields:

ON ACCOUNT

Check this box to allow invoices on account.

CREDIT RATING

Enter the correct credit rating for the customer.
Refer to Customer Information for guidance on assigning the correct rating.
The credit ratings are setup in Credit Ratings.

CREDIT LIMIT

Set a credit limit for this customer. The Credit Limit is checked during contract entry and invoicing. If the Customer's Balance exceeds the Credit Limit assigned, the counter clerk will be warned.

A flag in the Company Security Parameters can be set to prevent the customer number from being entered on a document if the customer's Credit Limit has been reached or exceeded. This processing applies to contracts, reservations, invoices, quotes, sales orders, and leases.
It does not apply to invoices entered in A/R Invoices, or to Estimate and Work Order functions.

If this feature is not activated, a Credit Limit warning still displays on the screen, but this will not prevent the transaction from being entered.

The software will report on any credit limits which were overridden using Print Override Report, so that further action may be taken.

BILL TO vs. SHIP TO ADDRESSES
Sometimes, an Account customer will have several different Locations. The general rule is to determine for each location, setup separate Customer numbers. If your firm will be receiving just one payment for all of the locations, setup just one Customer Number with the address of the check issuer. This will become the "BILL TO" address, and the other locations will become the "SHIP TO" addresses when making contracts, invoices, quotations and orders.

To store the other locations' addresses in the software, use Site Information. When entering contracts, invoices or quotations, lookup and select the other locations as the "SHIP TO" address, by pressing the Window Key at the SITE # prompt. This will save retyping the other locations' address every time.

IDENTIFICATION AND REFERENCE PROMPTS
During contract or invoice entry, there are fields for Identification and Reference.
These can be used for the person who ordered the job and their telephone number, or any other relevant information.
These fields can be optional or mandatory for Cash and/or On Account customers according to the flag in the Divisional Miscellaneous Parameters.

If I.D. or Reference is filled in by the clerk, it will be automatically saved in Customer Information. This enables the I.D. and Reference to re-appear as defaults on the next contract or invoice for that customer. If information from a previous contract appears which does NOT apply to this contract or invoice, it can be over-typed.

There are often repeat customers who pay cash for all of their invoices. These customers may be setup in Customer Information to store their addresses and identification.
Customer Lists which exclude the Cash Customers can be printed.

The Set-Up
When entering Repeat Cash Customers in Customer Information, setup the customer information as is done for an On Account customer, except for these prompts:

ON ACCOUNT: Uncheck this box to indicate that this customer may NOT charge invoices on account.
I.D.: Enter the Customer's Driver's License number here, or any other identification. This will always appear during contract entry and invoicing.
This field can be optional or mandatory for Cash and/or On Account customers according to the flag in the Divisional Miscellaneous Parameters.
REFERENCE: Enter the Customer's Credit Card number here, or any other reference. This will always appear during contract entry and invoicing.
This field can be optional or mandatory for Cash and/or On Account customers according to the flag in the Divisional Miscellaneous Parameters.
CREDIT RATING: Select a credit rating that has been setup in Credit Ratings, to warn that this customer should be C.O.D. ONLY.
CREDIT LIMIT: Enter 0.00 for a zero credit limit. Since the customer will not have any invoices on account, the credit limit does not apply.

4) All CASH Customers Automatically Stored
The software can automatically add all cash customers to the Customer Information as contracts or invoices are entered for them. This is an advantage for marketing or promotional mailings.
This is setup in Divisional Contract Parameters.