Reservations

A reservation is useful for recording an equipment booking for a future date.
By entering reservations, equipment can be scheduled to be available on the date that it is needed and booking conflicts can be avoided.
A bookings schedule (product requirements) is maintained so that availability of equipment on any date can be determined.

During the reservation entry, delivery, pickup, or 'Will Call' requirement can also be recorded per the Divisional Delivery/Pickup Parameters.
Scheduling can then be controlled using the Delivery/Pickup Dispatch.

Event management processing can be used to decide reservation dates and calculate event rates.
This processing can be activated in the Company Rate Parameters.

The Counter Worksheet can be used to enter a reservation for equipment rentals and sales.
Use this Reservation program when entering a new reservation where the default Reservation # needs to be over-typed, or to change an existing reservation.

The ability to over-type the document number is controlled by the "Allow Custom Document#" flag for the document type defined in Last Used Transactions.

The reservation entry is similar in format to Contracts.
The main differences between the contract entry and the reservation entry are:

• Location:
  In Change mode the Location field can only be changed on an existing Reservation, if the document has no products selected or only includes Groups and the specific products have not been selected from the inventory location yet.

• Creation Date:
  When a reservation is created in Counter Worksheet, Convert Quotes To Reservations, or Reservations, the actual creation date and time is saved.
  This date and time stamp can be viewed in the reservation header screen.

  Note: Date Range Control does not apply to the Creation Date.
  It is the Date Out that is checked to make sure the date is valid against the date ranges set as acceptable in Date Range Control for Reservation module RSRH.

• Reserving a Product Group:
  A specific product # (e.g. #4522 ROUND TABLE 8') or a product Group (e.g. Group 453 CHAIRS) can be reserved.
  It is useful to reserve a Group when not sure which specific product number within the Group (e.g. Brown Chairs, White Chairs, Stacking Chairs) is to be assigned at the time of booking.
  Later when the reservation is to be filled and converted to a contract, staff would pick the specific product and replace the Group with the actual product number being rented.

• Product Booking Requirements on Reservations:
  The requirements table tracks product booking times to monitor product availability, and can be viewed in Requirements Inquiry by Product/Group.
  When a filled or "Honored" Reservations is not deleted when converted to a Contract, and the "Delete Requirements for Honoured" flag is set in the Company Reservation Parameters, the booking requirements for the products are deleted when the reservation is honoured.
  The utility to Regenerate Requirements File will exclude bookings on honoured reservations.

• Product Availability Overrides on Reservations:
  The "Allow Overrides On Location Quantities For Reservations" can be activated from the Company Security Parameters.

• Product Over-bookings on Reservations and Fulfillment:
  When quantity overrides are not allowed on Reservations per the "Allow Overrides On Location Quantities For Reservations" on the Company Security Parameters, then the "Region Reservation Fulfillment" feature can be used to find and transfer available product quantity automatically from other locations in the 'Default Inventory Region' to fill the Reservation for specific products, by using the Region Reservation Fulfillment utility to generate the Internal Branch Transfer transactions to fill the overbookings.
  When a Reservation requires product transfers for fulfillment using this feature, the Reservation cannot be converted to a Contract in the Convert Reservation to a Contract utility, until the transfers are completed.

  Refer to "Regional Reservation Processing" in the Divisional Inventory Parameters for more information on this feature.

• Honoured Reservations Restriction:
  When a filled or "Honored" Reservation is not deleted when converted to a Contract, and the "Delete Requirements for Honoured" flag is set in the Company Reservation Parameters, all honoured reservations become historical reference documents and cannot be changed and additional deposits cannot be taken.
  An honoured reservation can be converted again to a Contract if required.
  If this "Delete Requirements for Honoured" reservations feature is not used, honoured reservations can be modified as the reservation is still considered an active document and still has the associated bookings.

ENTERING THE RESERVATION

The customer billing information can be entered on the left portion of the header screen, and the shipping information can be entered on the right portion.
The fields in the Reservation header are similar to the Counter Worksheet Header.
The options accessible in the window on the Additional field of the Reservation header include:

• Comments:
  This window is only accessible when reviewing an existing Reservation, to view the associated notes as outlined in Document Comments.

• Name Check List:
  This window to accesses the Name Check Select information on this document.

  When the customer number on the document was selected by entering or scanning an FOB code, the associated name from the Name Check List becomes the default on the document, if that employee has permission to rent.

• Default Tax Codes:
  Window to review and set the Default Tax Codes.

• Off Rental Reason Codes:
  Window to review and set the Valid Off Rent Reason Codes for this document.

• No Charge Weekends:
  Window to review and set the No Charge Weekends information for this document.

• Business Source:
  Window to review and set the Business Source for this document.

  A flag in the "Required Document Information" of the Company Contract Parameters, can be set to make the Business Source a mandatory field on counter documents including Contracts, Invoices, Reservations, Quotations, and Worksheets.
  When a Business Source is mandatory on a document, the Blank code is not allowed even if there is a blank code record in the Business Source Codes table.

• Honored Reservations:
  Window to review any contracts that have been previously created from this Reservation as outlined in Honored Reservations.

• File Attachments:
  Window to review and set any File Attachments associated with this document.
  The link to an attached document will be passed on to any resulting documents created by converting the reservation.

• Created By:
  In Change Mode window to view the date and time this document was created and whether it was Staff that created the document through the application, or whether it was a a Customer or Salesman that initially created the original document request through Web Services or Portal.
  The associated email address is displayed.

• Document Email:
  Window to review and enter an Email Address associated with this document.
  This value is used by the 'Logic Platform' in the search utility to find a document.
  It is not used for actual emailing at this time.

Refer to Reservation Details for details on entering the product details.

Refer to Reservation Summary and Totals for details on completing the reservation, including adding services, deposits, taxes, and payment.

DEPOSITS & REMINDERS

While taking the reservation an advance deposit can be taken from the customer to hold the reservation. This increases current cash flow, and ensures that the customer is serious about the reservation.
If this deposit has not yet been collected, the deposit amount required and the date it is required, print on the Reservation.
When the equipment is returned, the deposit is applied against the final invoice.

If the reservation requires a deposit, settings in the Company Contract Parameters can require that the customer pay any Security Deposit on rental equipment and/or the Deposit total based on the rental charge estimate and the "Deposit Multiplier%" defined in the Division Contract Parameters.

If the reservation was taken over the phone, requesting a deposit ensures that the customer comes to your store, providing a second sales opportunity. Often when the customer comes into the showroom, the store displays give new ideas to the customer.
If the reservation is taken over the phone, the customer can be told that the deposit is required by a specific date. Use Reservation Deposits Reminder List to track when the deposit is due.
Use Log Reservation Deposit Reminder Calls to note when the customer was called and set the next call date if the deposit is not made.

SECURITY

The Record Clerk Accessing Reservation setting in the Company Security Parameters can be set to prompt the operator for a clerk code when an existing reservation is accessed.
A note or comment can also be entered about the nature of the changes being made to the reservation.
The clerk code and the notes are tracked in Clerk Document Access Log.

The Rental Quote also respects the separate Company Security Parameters to Prompt for Clerk flag.

An override setting in the Company Security Parameters can be set to either prevent reserving rental equipment when none is available at that location, or instead to allow the quantity over-ride after the warning of insufficient quantity available.
A further parameter can be set to prompt the operator for a reason code when the product reservation quantity is over-ridden.

Field Access Security:
Additional role security can be set to restrict certain actions in document entry by field as defined for the operator in Security Role Permissions.
This security feature can be used to control the operator's ability to over-ride field values include discount percents, dates/times, quantities, rates, price, and terms.

CONVERTING THE RESERVATION TO A CONTRACT

When the date of the reservation draws near, the reservation is converted into a contract using Convert Reservations. All information on the reservation is retained on the contract.
The conversion program provides the option to make last minute changes and additions, and add deposits. The contract becomes the hard copy which the customer signs. It is often used for the Delivery copy as well.

To identify which reservations need converting, use Reservations Report to create a list.
Reservations can be converted a day or two in advance in order to prepare the orders for delivery or customer pickup.
Use the Reservation Pick List to help prepare the orders.

Once the reservation is converted to a contract, if the reservation is not required any longer it can be deleted so that only outstanding reservations are left in the system.
Reservations can be saved if they apply to repeat events.
If filled reservations have been deleted, review the customer's old contracts to determine what the customer requested last time.

WHEN EQUIPMENT IS RETURNED

When the equipment is returned, the invoice for the charges is generated using Rental Return.
Any shortages or breakages can be added to the end of the Rental Return invoice, or if the shortages or breakages are determined afterwards, a separate invoice can be issued using Miscellaneous Invoices.
The invoices created are posted with same Daily Close programs as other invoices.

AUTO PURGE OF OLD RESERVATIONS

If a reservation is taken for a customer who fails to appear on the required date, the reservation remains outstanding until it is deleted using Delete A Single Reservation or until it is automatically purged.

Old reservations can be set to automatically purge after the reservation reaches a specified over due days. e.g. 30 or 60 or 90 days overdue.
The auto purge is executed by the job RSRH98A when setup in the Automated Job Scheduling to delete eligible old reservations according to the "Auto Purge Days" set in the Company Reservation Parameters.
An audit record is written to the Delete Log for RSRH98A to track purged reservations.

If the value for the "Auto Purge Days" prompt is left at zero or blank, the overdue or expired reservations will not be automatically deleted and this will then have to be done manually.

Note: Any Reservations with an outstanding deposit will not be purged.

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

• Delete a Reservation:
  The DELETE button is only active when the role assigned to the operator in Operators has permission to delete reservations.
  The role permission is setup in Security Roles on the Security tab of Configure System Settings.

  To delete an existing reservation, click the DELETE button before selecting the document number, as outlined in Delete a Reservation.
  This delete utility makes permanent deletions of the entire reservation selected.
  If a reservation is deleted, an audit record is generated tracking the Operator and the Date when the document was deleted. This can be viewed in Delete Log for function RSRH99.

• Convert a Reservation:
  Click the CONVERT button before selecting the reservation number that is to be converted and select one of the following actions:

  • Select Contract to convert a reservation to a contract as outlined in Convert Reservation to a Contract.
  • Select Worksheet to convert a reservation to a worksheet as outlined in Convert Reservation to a Worksheet.

  Note: If any attachments such as images or external documents are linked to the source Reservation, they will also be linked to the document resulting from a convert action.

• Release Locked Reservation:
  The RESET IN USE button is only enabled before a Document # is entered and is only visible when the role assigned to the operator in Operators has permission to reset Reservation - In Use.
  The role permission is setup in the "Reset Flags" window in the Security Roles on the Security tab of Configure System Settings.

  Click the RESET IN USE button and enter the reservation number that is to be released, as outlined in Reset Reservation in Use.

  Note: If a document is "In Use", deleting it does NOT release the lock flag.
  The reservation "In Use" flag must be cleared before deleting it.

Click ACCEPT to access the convert program, or CANCEL to abort.