This is probably the most utilised form within the entire rental system. This form enables an agreements to be reviewed or edited.
What do you want to do?
The Agreement form can be accessed from numerous routes; however, the most common methods of accessing the form are as follows:
The Create Booking form enables the basic details of a booking to be taken by prompting for the customer, hire group, tariff and period of rental details. Once the appropriate information is entered and the OK command button is selected then a basic booking is generated with an agreement number and an agreement status of B. This booking may then be progressed into a fully developed agreement using this form by utilising the appropriate icon functions and tabs until the full agreement lifecycle is complete; alternatively, for any number of reasons, it may be necessary to cancel the agreement.
The Open Agreement form is to locate and retrieve an existing booking or agreement by way of selecting one or more of the available selection criteria fields.
The Allocations Summary form is displayed when the Reservations option is selected from the Vehicle Rental menu and a single-left-click of the mouse is used in any individual cell within the form.
To examine any of the agreements which relate to a particular vehicle then double click on that vehicle line within the grid with the left mouse button and a further window appears displaying a list of associated agreements. This window lists agreements to which this vehicle is allocated, or an agreement that is in progress at this time. A double=left-click of any agreement opens the rental agreement form.
Using this form an agreement may be progressed from a booking through all the intermediate stages through to the ultimate closure of that agreement. A booking may be progressed by utilising the appropriate icon functions and tabs until the full agreement lifecycle is complete.
All agreements follow a logical pre-determined structure; however, in order to accommodate the work flow processes of individual rental companies the system also enables the input of mandatory / non-mandatory, free-format or table-derived information. The structured progress of a typical agreement is as follows:
Event Status Create a booking B Allocate a vehicle A Start the rental agreement O Off-Hire vehicle H ( *** ) Finish rental agreement R Invoice agreement R Close rental agreement C ***: Off-hire status and functionality are dependent upon whether the Off-hire used and Off-hire brokerages fields are selected in the Supplier/Misc Tab within System Parameters.
Tip: Initially the rental agreement form may appear quite complex; however, it may help to know that within this form (and many others within the rental module) the menu bar and icon bar functionality typically mirror each other; it is down to user preference as to whether the menu options or icons are used to carry out the required functions. Also, the top third of the dialogue box may effectively be ignored while progressing the agreement because this information has already been input at the Create Agreement stage.
Additional Tip: To progress an agreement it is useful to follow
the sequence of tabs and central icon bank. The tabs and central icon bank (from
to
)
are ordered in the logical agreement sequence of events. In addition, icons are only enabled
at the appropriate stage of the agreement for example, the
icon is not enabled
until after a vehicle is allocated to the agreement.
To access a Rental Agreement:
From the Master Menu, select the Vehicle rentals option and Company required.
The VEHICLE RENTALS Menu is displayed.
Select the Reservations option.
The Reservations and Availability form is displayed.
Select the 
icon.
The Open Agreement form is displayed.
Locate the required agreement using the appropriate selection criteria and select the Open command button.
The Rental Agreement form is displayed.
The Rental Agreement form is displayed when the the
icon is selected from the
Reservations form.
This form is divided into five parts that are as follows:
Title Bar
In addition to displaying the form name the Title Bar displays the Agreement Number as well as a number of other useful identification criteria and buttons.
| Menu | Icon | Description |
|---|---|---|
| File > New |  |
Displays the Create Booking form that enables a new booking to be created. |
| File > Open |  |
Displays the Open agreement form that enables an existing booking to be located and opened by entering one or more of the selection criteria fields. |
| File > Close |  |
Closes the current agreement and exits to the Reservations form. If any amendments have been made to the agreement that have not yet been saved then the system prompts: Do you want to save changes to Agreement ????? (where ????? is the agreement number). |
| File > Save |  |
Saves any amendments that have been made to the agreement in the current session. |
| File > Print/Agreement |  |
Displays the Print Agreement form. This form is typically displayed when the OK command button is selected following entry of the appropriate details in the Start Rental form. However, an agreement can also be printed/reprinted at any time by selecting this menu option. |
| File > Print/Invoice | |
Displays the Print Invoice form. This form is typically displayed when the OK command button is selected following entry of the appropriate details in the Finish Rental form. However, an invoice can also be printed at any time by selecting this menu option. |
| File > Print/Credit | |
Displays the Invoice List Box form. This form may be used to select an invoice to be credited. Only full invoices may be credited; partial credits must be carried out via the Misc Credit option from the main menu. The Print Credit form is subsequently displayed. |
| File > Print/Receipt | |
Displays the Print Receipt form. Following the taking of cash payments on a cash agreement a cash receipt may be generated at any time by selecting this menu option. |
| File > Exit |  |
Exits the current agreement to the Reservations form. If any amendments have been made to the agreement that have not yet been saved then the system prompts: Do you want to save changes to Agreement ????? (where ????? is the agreement number. |
| Agreement > Allocate/Unallocate |
 |
This is a toggle menu option. If the agreement status is currently set to Booking then the menu option Allocate Vehicle/Supplier is available and enabled because this is the next logical process to be carried out in the agreement. If selected, the Allocate Vehicle/Supplier form is displayed; this enables a specific vehicle registration (or supplier in the case of a brokered agreement) to be allocated to the booking/agreement. If the agreement status is currently set to Allocated then the menu option Unallocate Vehicle/Supplier is available and enabled because this is one of the next possible logical processes to be carried out in the agreement (the other process being Start Rental). If selected, a small pop-up form is displayed asking Unallocate Vehicle/Supplier ?; selection of the Yes command button enables a specific vehicle registration number or (or supplier in the case of a brokered agreement) to be unallocated from the agreement in the event that there is a problem with the vehicle/supplier that was initially selected or a more appropriate vehicle/supplier is now available. At any other stage of the agreement then this menu option reads Unallocate Vehicle/Supplier but is disabled as this function is no longer permissible once the agreement is on hire. |
| Agreement > Start Rental | |
If the agreement status is currently set to Allocated then this menu option is available and enabled because this is the next logical process to be carried out in the agreement. If selected, the Start Rental form is displayed; this enables a number of details (some mandatory and some for memo purposes only) to be completed prior to starting the rental agreement. This process may be carried out immediately following the vehicle allocation or may be left until a time nearer to when the agreement is to start. This is ultimately an operational decision and may vary dependent upon particular hire circumstances. |
| Agreement > Finish Rental | 
|
If the agreement status is currently set to On-hire (or Off-Hired if the Off hire used function is set for use within the Supplier/Misc Tab within System Parameters) then this icon is available and enabled because this is the next logical process to be carried out in the agreement. If selected, the Finish Rental form is displayed; this enables a number of details (some mandatory and some for memo purposes only) to be completed prior to finishing the rental agreement. |
| Agreement > Close Rental | |
Once a rental has finished and has been invoiced, it is no longer required except for analysis purposes. It needs to be Closed, and the status set to Closed. This enables the agreement to be archived, therefore keeping the size of the live agreement file as small as reasonably possible. Agreements can also be Closed/cancelled if they are only at Booking status but this is simply to cancel a booking that has not taken place and as such needs to be cancelled. Ensure that all of the required charges have been raised and invoiced. Once the agreement is closed no further invoicing is possible. The system validates the agreement value and invoiced and paid values; if there is a balance then the values are displayed in the Close Agreement form. At this point the system prompts for confirmation that the agreement is to be closed. Select the OK or Cancel command button as applicable. Closing an agreement is priority driven via the Close an agreement priority in the Priorities Tab within System Parameters. |
| Agreement > Notes | Displays the Rental Company Notes form that currently works in two directions. Any notes that are added within this form are saved back to the CRM Company Rental Details form in the Company Comments section of the General 3 Tab. Any notes that are present in the Company Comments section of the CRM Company Rental Details form (either added directly in MK.drcom or through this form) are automatically displayed when the customer is selected within a particular agreement. | |
| Agreement > Comments History | Displays the Comments History form which works in conjunction with the Agreement Comments form. Comments specific to the currently selected agreement may be added within the Agreement Comments form, saved and then viewed via the Comments History form. | |
| Agreement > Authorisations | Displays the Previous Authorisations Used form which presents a log of authorisations/purchase order numbers if an one or more authorisations have been entered against the agreement and the agreement has been invoiced. | |
| Agreement > Returns | The Returns form enables the details of a vehicle return (carried out via the Swap Vehicle process) to be viewed and edited. | |
| Agreement > Exchange Rate | ||
| Agreement > External Vehicle | This form is used to create or edit external brokerage vehicle details; these vehicles are not held within the CRM module as with the standard vehicle rental functionality. All the external vehicle data is entered (and subsequently modified if necessary) within this form; it can, however, be viewed in the External Vehicle Tab. If an External Vehicle Swap has been carried out on the agreement then selection of this menu option displays the External Vehicle Selection form (instead of simply the External Vehicle Details form) which displays the On-hire/Off-hire details of all the vehicles that have been used within the agreement. Selection of any vehicle row from within this grid results in the display of the External Vehicle Details form as normal. | |
| Agreement > O Licence Details | This form currently works in two directions. Any O(perator) Licence details that are added within this form are saved back to the CRM Company Rental Details form in the O Licence Details section of the General 2 Tab. Any O(perator) Licence details that are present in the O Licence Details section of the CRM Company Rental Details form (either added directly in MK.drcom or through this form) are automatically displayed when the customer is selected within a particular agreement. | |
| Agreement > Display Credits | Opens the Invoice list box form which displays all of the credits that have been previously generated against this agreement (including Miscellaneous Credits). Any credit may be selected from the list box (by highlighting and selecting the OK command button) and the Document Archive function then enables the display of the actual printed credit for reference purposes or for re-printing. | |
| Agreement > Display Invoices | Opens the Invoice list box form which displays all of the invoices that have been previously generated against this agreement (including Miscellaneous Invoices). Any invoice may be selected from the list box (by highlighting and selecting the OK command button) and the Document Archive function then enables the display of the actual printed invoice for reference purposes or for re-printing. | |
| Agreement > Invoice Text | Displays the Invoice Text form. This form enables entry of up to 5 lines of sixty alphanumeric text which may then, provided the formats have been correctly set up, be printed on an invoice for the currently selected agreement. | |
| Tools > Clone |  |
Displays the Clone the Agreement form enables up to 250 copy bookings/agreements to be cloned from the currently selected booking. |
| Tools > Offhire | |
Displays the Off-Hire form. This is largely used for external brokered type business so that the customer can ring the rental company to inform them that they no longer require the vehicle and receive an off-hire number as confirmation of this fact. The rental company may then have to inform the third party supplier that the vehicle requires collection, etc. However, standard rental businesses may also wish to incorporate this function into the rental process. This is a toggle-function: once the off-hire option is used and the vehicle is off-hired then this menu option toggles to a value of On-Hire enabling the vehicle to be placed on-hire again. |
| Tools > Swap Vehicle | |
If the agreement status is currently set to On-Hire then the Swap Vehicle menu option is available and enabled because a vehicle swap is one of a number of next possible processes that may be carried out in the agreement. |
| Tools > Add Comments | |
This form works in conjunction with the Comments History form. Comments specific to the currently selected agreement may be added within this form and saved. Any number of comments may be added and each comment is audited with regard to which user adds the comment in addition to the date and time the comment is added. All of the audited comments may then be viewed via the Comments History form. |
| Tools > Add Comments | |
This form works in conjunction with the Comments History form. Comments specific to the currently selected agreement may be added within this form and saved. Any number of comments may be added and each comment is audited with regard to which user adds the comment in addition to the date and time the comment is added. All of the audited comments may then be viewed via the Comments History form. |
| Tools > Transfer Booking | |
Displays the Transfer Booking form enables a booking that exists within one vehicle rental company to be transferred to another rental company within the same rental system. If a booking is made for one rental company and it is subsequently discovered that a vehicle is not available at this location then this function facilitates the transfer of this booking to a suitable sister company. This function may only be used within a multi-company environment. |
| Tools > Document Scanning | |
Displays the AK Documents for agreement form which enables the creation, retrieval and review of documents that are scanned in and held against the rental agreement. |
| Admin > CRM |  |
Accesses the CRM module and its associated Company, Customer and Vehicle records. |
| Admin > Company | |
Accesses the Company record within the CRM module for the company associated with the currently selected agreement. |
| Admin > Driver | |
Accesses the Driver record within the CRM module for the driver linked with the currently selected agreement. |
| Admin > Vehicle | |
Accesses the Vehicle record within the CRM module for the vehicle allocated to the currently selected agreement. |
| Admin > Services | Accesses the Service Dates Pop-up form. | |
| Admin > Administrator |  |
Accesses Administrator mail and diary functions. |
| Admin > Audit Log | |
Display the Audit Log form. The audit log audits all field changes within an agreement in addition to any specific major events within that agreement; the date, time and user id are all audited for each field change or event. This function may be used for establishing who carried out a particular procedure or the date on which a particular event was carried out. System changes may also be audited. |
| Reports > |  |
This menu option provides access to the five most frequently used Vehicle Rental reports.
Once written within RepGen an ![[...]](Ellipsis.gif){kind=small} button may be used to locate and select these
reports for inclusion within this menu list within the Reports Group Box in
the Supplier/Misc Tab within Daily
Rental/System Maintenance/System Parameters. |
| Window > | |
This menu option displays all concurrently open rental agreements (in much the same way as Microsoft Word). The rental system enables a number of rental agreements to be opened at the same time; this functionality is enabled if the Open multiple agreements field is selected in the General 3 Tab within System Parameters. A tick is placed against the agreement that is currently being displayed within the form. However, another concurrently open agreement may be selected so that is is displayed within the form by simply selecting it with the mouse. |
| Help > |  |
Provides online access to context sensitive help for the current application using the default browser. |
Status Bar
The status bar contains quick-reference information with regard to agreement audit information and agreement status. The following information is displayed:
Created
Displays two fields of information: the userid/log-in of the person who initially created the agreement; and, the date on which the agreement is created.
Modified
Displays two fields of information: the userid/log-in of the person who last modified the agreement; and, the date on which the agreement was last modified.
Vehicle
The registration number of the vehicle allocated to the agreement. The system displays N/A when the vehicle is at a booking stage or the agreement is for a brokered vehicle.
Status
Displays the current agreement status for example, On-Hire.
Rental Agreement Dialogue Box
The Rental Agreement dialogue box consists of a number of basic fields that were initially populated via the Create Booking form as well as a series of tabs which are used to progress the agreement.
SL Account: Perhaps the most important field within the booking/agreement. Dependent upon the selection made within this field extremely important default record values are brought into play within the agreement from the CRM/Marketing record and linked Sales Ledger account record. The account code may be keyed directly if known; however, selection of the
MK Company: Unique CRM/Marketing magic number linked (if applicable) to the selected Sales Ledger account selected above. This is a display only field and cannot be edited.
Vehicle group: Vehicle hire group code. This can be up to four characters in length. Selection of the appropriate group is made via the
Tariff: The tariff code. This can be up to two characters in length. Selection of the appropriate tariff is made via the
Cost Rate:
From: Consists of two distinct fields. This is the start date and time for the rental invoicing period. The
The second From field displays the start time for the rental invoicing period. The system default's whatever value is held within the default agreement record (typically 8.00. However, the system may be set up to automatically enter the current date/time if the Use current date/time field is selected in the General 4 Tab within System Parameters.
To: Consists of two distinct fields. This is the end date and time for the rental invoicing period.
The
The second To field displays the end time for the rental invoicing period. The system default's whatever value is held within the default agreement record (typically 8.00 (the following morning). However, the system may be set up to automatically enter the current date/time if the Use current date/time field is selected in the General 4 Tab within System Parameters.
Estimated?: A flag to denote if the date period for the rental agreement is estimated or precise (the default value is a tick to denote Estimated via a
and the drill down allocation form reflects this by putting an E at the end of the availability text. This advises users to take care when allocating the vehicle to future bookings until the return date and time are confirmed.
If the brokerage off-hire facility is being utilised then de-selection of this tick denotes that the dates are precise and it is an automatic pick-up; in this case, the system displays the Off-hire form so that the vehicle can be automatically off-hired.
Out location: Location from which the vehicle is to be hired. The drop-down-arrow button to the right of this field may be used to select an alternative valid location for the vehicle rental company.
Tip: Location code (for example, LIV - Liverpool) defaults-in from the user login id. The user id is set-up within System Utilities / Management Menu / User Details and the location code is selected in the Personal Tab of this form.
Note: Location code (for example, LIV - Liverpool) must first be set-up within System Utilities / Management Menu / Locations and then must also be defined within Vehicle Rentals / Miscellaneous Options / Locations Link as a valid location for the current daily rental company.
Return location: Location to which the hired vehicle is to be returned. The drop-down-arrow button to the right of this field may be used to select an alternative valid location for the vehicle rental company.
Tip: Location code (for example, LIV - Liverpool) defaults-in from the user login id. The user id is set-up within System Utilities / Management Menu / User Details and the location code is selected in the Personal Tab of this form.
Note: Location code (for example, LIV - Liverpool) must first be set-up within System Utilities / Management Menu / Locations and then must also be defined within Vehicle Rentals / Miscellaneous Options / Locations Link as a valid location for the current daily rental company.
The remainder of the Rental Agreement dialogue box consists of a series of tabs which allow the agreement to be edited and progressed:
As it is name denotes, this tab enables the completion, review or editing of a number of general fields within the agreement. Completion of these fields is dependent upon the work flow process of specific rental companies.
Enables one or more drivers to be attached to the agreement. This tab also displays company or driver's insurance details if applicable.
Amongst other things, this tab contains vehicle odometer, fuel and damage details as well as Delivery and Collection flags and addresses.
Displays the current tariff rates and charges for the agreement. These values may be the default values from the hire group and tariff combination or customer specific tariffs/charges. Once the agreement is populated with the tariff rates and charges they may be manually edited within the agreement provided the user has sufficient priority.
This form is used to add, view, edit or delete new tariff rate values at some stage throughout the life of the agreement.
Displays the last rates and charges that have been invoiced against the agreement. There are also a series of command buttons that enable archived invoices and credit notes to be displayed.
This tab enables deposits and payments to be taken (and refunded if applicable) for cash agreements.
Note: Following three tabs are only displayed if the External hire used field is selected in the Supplier/Misc Tab within System Parameters.
Displays the current third party vehicle supplier tariff rates and charges for the agreement. These values are generated from the Supplier Rates/Charges table created within Miscellaneous Options. Once the agreement is populated with the supplier rates and charges they may be manually edited within the agreement provided the user has sufficient priority.
Displays the last supplier rates and charges invoices that have been posted against the agreement.
With the brokerage system the standard CRM/Marketing vehicle record is not utilised. Instead, a pseudo vehicle record is held within the agreement. This record is created using the External Vehicle Details form and is is subsequently displayed within this tab.
