This option initiates the creation of a new booking record. The Create Booking form allows 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 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.
To create a booking:
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 Create Booking form is displayed.
At the SL Account field select the ![[...]](Ellipsis.gif){kind=small}
button.
The Find Account code form is displayed.
Leaving the default CRM Company option default selected enter one or more words to locate the required company record and select the OK command button.
Select the required company (if more than one is presented) from the Companies List Box and select the OK command button.
The Accept SL Account form is displayed. Id this is the correct Sales Ledger account then select the OK command button.
Depending upon background set-up, one or more prompts may be displayed. For example, the Company Notes form may be displayed showing pertinent notes relating to the selected customer. Select the OK command button to move through such prompts.
The SL Account field is now populated and the Tab key may be used to move to the next required field.
Enter the start date for the rental invoicing period. The system defaults today's date
within the date field; however, the
button may be used to invoke a monthly diary form in order to assist in establishing
an alternative date. Use the Tab key to move to the next required field.
Enter the start time for the rental invoicing period. The system defaults 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 ticked in the General 4 Tab within System Parameters. Use the Tab key to move to the next required field.
The next two fields within the sequence may be used as a fast date entry method. Rather than
keying a specific date, a numeric value may be entered in the first of these two fields (up to
9999) for the number of days the agreement is to last. For example, the customer may state
over the telephone that they want the vehicle for two weeks in which case a value of 14
is entered in this field. Use the Tab key to move to the next required field. The
second of these two fields allows entry of a Duration Period; the
button to the right of
this field may be used to select an appropriate duration period e.g. Days, Weeks,
Months or Years 9Days would be selected in this example).
The system defaults today's date within the return date field, or, if values have been
entered in the preceding two fields, a calculated return date may already be present; however, the
button may be used to
establish an alternative return date.
Enter the end time for the rental invoicing period. The system defaults 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 ticked in the General 4 Tab within System Parameters. Use the Tab key to move to the next required field.
The Estimated?TBA? flag is used 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 
. Typically, this field may simply be Tabbed
past.
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.
Enter the Fleet Agree(ment Number) directly or use the
button to locate the
required agreement. This functionality is enabled if the Fleet Booking Screen checkbox is ticked
in the General 5 Tab of System Parameters. Once the Fleet Agreement number is
accessed via the button this creates a link between the
Rental Agreement and Fleet Agreement; once linked the Registration number on the Fleet Agreement is written to the
Label for Spare text 1 field in the General Tab to assist in the search for
rental agreements from Fleet and vice versa.
Enter the Vehicle Group code directly or use the
button to locate the
required code.
At this stage a prompt may be displayed stating Customer Specific rates are present. Do you wish to use them?. Select the Yes command button.
Enter the Tariff Type code directly or use the
button to locate the
required code. Use the Tab key to move to the next required field.
Tip: If the Tariff Type is defined within the Company Rental record then this field may be automatically populated by the system.
Enter the location from which the vehicle is to be hired. The
button to the right of
this field may be used to select an alternative valid location for the vehicle rental company.
Tip: The location code (e.g. LIV - Liverpool) typically defaults-in from the user login id and should rarely have to be entered.
Enter the location to which the hired vehicle is to be returned. The
button to the right of
this field may be used to select an alternative valid location for the vehicle rental company.
Tip: The location code (e.g. LIV - Liverpool) typically defaults-in from the user login id and should rarely have to be entered.
Select the OK command button to verify the correct information has been entered and open the full Agreement form.
Important: The following information is perhaps the definitive key to understanding the underlying structure of the rental system. The booking functionality makes full use of details already stored on the system when the customer is already known to the Daily Rental department, or any other department. As a result, dependent upon the selections made, different pop-up forms may appear at various stages of the booking, either supplying or requesting valid information for the booking. This information is drawn from the following data sources:
The Vehicle Rental module utilises the Sales Ledger account record to source information with regard to credit limits and mandatory purchase order numbers.
This is an extremely powerful and important source of information for the Vehicle Rental module. Dependent upon set-up within this record the rental system can determine default customer specific rates and charges, insurance details, Operator Licence details, consolidated invoicing information, etc. Information held within this record unlocks the full power of the rental system.
Dependent upon set-up within this record the rental system can determine default driver licensing information with regard to convictions, expiry date, etc.
Dependent upon set-up within this record the rental system can determine default vehicle information such as the owning location, hire group, availability for hire, etc.
The Create Booking form is displayed when the
icon (or File/New is
selected from the VEHICLE RENTALS menu.
This form is divided into three parts that are as follows:
In addition to displaying the form name the Title Bar provides a number of other useful identification criteria and buttons.
The Create Booking dialogue box contains the following fields:
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
Note: Once selected, the full Sales Ledger account name and address and associated CRM/Marketing company or target record name and address details are displayed in the two name and address areas located at the bottom of the form; the sales ledger details are displayed on the left of the form and cannot be edited; the CRM/Marketing name and address details are displayed on the right and can be edited (any edits are for the purposes of the current agreement and are not saved back to the CRM/Marketing module).
CRM Company: The 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: The vehicle hire group code. This can be up to four characters in length. Selection of the appropriate group is made via the
??: Selection of this icon enables a word search for a specific vehicle description suitable for a hire request (from a possible list of several thousand vehicles, for example). The search returns matches for the entered text in the Vehicle Search form and this reduced list forms the basis of the user choice for the vehicle required and populates the associated Hire Group field.
The search is filtered such that only vehicles which are currently on the live rental fleet are displayed in the results grid. Entering the text Land Rover for example would find all Land Rover vehicles; entering the text Land Rover hard would find only Land Rover hard tops. Uniformity of vehicle descriptions is paramount if this function is to operate correctly. Land Rover as a search criterion would not find a vehicle with a description of Landrover for example. The word search functions for a maximum of three words, each word being between 3 characters and 16 characters long.
Selection of the required vehicle populates the Hire Group field in the Create Booking form with the hire group code to which the vehicle belongs.
Note: The Vehicle Search icon is only enabled if the Group Search By Vehicle parameter is ticked within the General 3 Tab within System Parameters.
Tariff type: The tariff code. This can be up to two characters in length. Selection of the appropriate tariff is made via the
From: Consists of four distinct fields. This is the start date and time for the rental invoicing period. The system defaults today's date within the date field; however, the
The second From field displays the start time for the rental invoicing period. The system defaults 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 ticked in the General 4 Tab within System Parameters.
Duration: Displays the quantity (date, weeks, months, years, etc) for the appropriate duration period.
Duration Period: Displays the appropriate duration period e.g. weeks, months, etc, for the hire period. The combination of this field and the Duration field determines the To date.
Note: There is a priority in the Priorities 2 Tab of System Parameters called Allow All Tariff Rates which determines if a user can see use all Tariff Rates when a Quote or Booking is made. If the user ID permission level is equal to or greater than this parameter then all tariff rates are shown for selection; if the user ID permission level is less than the parameter then the user is only allowed to select a tariff rate where the Long Term Tariff Type equals the Duration Period on the Quote/Booking.
To: Consists of three distinct fields. This is the end date and time for the rental invoicing period.
Tip: The first field within the sequence may be used as a fast date entry method. Rather than keying a specific date, a numeric value may be entered here (up to 99 for the number of the days the agreement is to last. For example, the customer may state over the telephone that they want the vehicle for two weeks in which case a value of 14 is entered in this field.
The system defaults today's date within the date field; however, the
The third To field displays the end time for the rental invoicing period. The system defaults 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 ticked in the General 4 Tab within System Parameters.
Estimated?TBA?: 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
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: The location from which the vehicle is to be hired. The
Tip: The location code (e.g. 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: The location code (e.g. 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: The location to which the hired vehicle is to be returned. The
Tip: The location code (e.g. 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: The location code (e.g. 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.
Account Contact: The contact name associated with the selected Sales Ledger account. This field cannot be edited.
Account Name: The full company name associated with the selected Sales Ledger account. This field cannot be edited.
Address: The full five lines of address associated with the selected Sales Ledger account. This field cannot be edited.
Postcode: The postcode associated with the selected Sales Ledger account. This field cannot be edited.
Telephone: The telephone number associated with the selected Sales Ledger account. This field cannot be edited.
Contact: The CRM/Marketing company/target contact name associated with the selected Sales Ledger account. This field can be edited (any edits are for the purposes of the current agreement and are not saved back to the CRM/Marketing module).
Name: The full CRM/Marketing company/target name associated with the selected Sales Ledger account. This field can be edited (any edits are for the purposes of the current agreement and are not saved back to the CRM/Marketing module).
Address: The full five lines of CRM/Marketing company/target address associated with the selected Sales Ledger account. This field can be edited (any edits are for the purposes of the current agreement and are not saved back to the CRM/Marketing module).
Postcode: The CRM/Marketing company/target postcode associated with the selected Sales Ledger account. This field can be edited (any edits are for the purposes of the current agreement and are not saved back to the CRM/Marketing module).
Telephone: The CRM/Marketing company/target telephone number associated with the selected Sales Ledger account. This field can be edited (any edits are for the purposes of the current agreement and are not saved back to the CRM/Marketing module).
COMMAND BUTTONS:
OK: Confirms any information that is entered and proceeds to the full Rental Agreement form so that the booking/agreement may be progressed.
Cancel: Returns you to the Reservations form.
Help:Displays online context-sensitive help using the default browser.
