Checking Rentals In and Out

If your company uses contracts to rent out equipment, use these steps to check out and check in rental equipment, and to collect the appropriate rental amount from the renter.

Depending on your company's requirements and the customer's needs, payment can be made when the equipment is checked out, when the equipment is checked in, and/or on a recurring basis for long-term rentals.

The general steps for handling rental contracts are listed here:

  • On the Rental Counter form, set up a contract with the appropriate items to be rented and the billing terms.
  • Click Check Out to open the Rental Check Out/In form to collect an initial payment.
  • When the rental equipment is returned, click Check In to do the following:
    • Bill the customer for the remaining balance, or provide a refund if the customer was charged an initial payment and is returning the equipment early.
    • Close the applicable contract lines. This prevents future billings if the contract is recurring.
    • Return a partial quantity of the equipment if the customer did not need the full amount.
    Note: If you selected Post Rental Contract Invoice in Background on the Contract Parameters form, then the invoice posting occurs in the background. The invoice is then available in IDM.
  • Optionally, click Calculate Better Rate to find a better rate for each contract line that you are checking in. The Rental Best Rates modal form lists the better rates.

After the contract is set up with the appropriate items for rent, the Contract (Rental) Agreement is signed, and the customer is ready to take or return the equipment, follow these steps to complete the process:

  1. On the Rental Counter form, select a contract and click Check-Out or Check-In to open the Rental Check Out form.
  2. This information is displayed in the header section:
    • Contract number
    • Customer number
    • Ship to location
    • Prepayment percentage
    • User name of user currently signed in
  3. For a rental check out, the Check Out Date is determined by what you have selected in the Default Check Out Start Date field on the Contract Parameters form. The current date and time are displayed in the Billed Thru Date/Time fields. Optionally, select another date and time through which to bill the customer.
  4. For a rental check in, the current date and time are displayed in the Check In Date/Time fields.
  5. In the Contract Lines grid, select the item lines for check out or check in.

    When you check in or check out a rental, the Check In Date for the contract line is updated.

    If you previously calculated better rental rates, the Better Rate column lists the updated rates for each line.

    The Projected Due Date is automatically calculated, but you can select a date manually if needed. If you selected Sync Min Bill Thru and Projected Due Date on the Contract Parameters form, then the Projected Due Date is recalculated if the Check Out Date is changed. See Setting Contract Parameters for more information.

  6. The Billing Details section shows this billing information related to the contract:
    Sales Amount
    The total amount that is currently being processed is displayed.
    Surcharges
    The total surcharges included in the billing are displayed.
    Waiver
    The waiver charges included in billing are displayed.
    Sales Tax 1 and 2
    The sales tax for both tax systems is displayed.
    Total Due
    The total amount due for the current billing, including any previous balance, is displayed.
    Total Required

    The amount required to be collected before the rental check out/in process can be completed is displayed. This is a calculated amount based on the Prepayment Amount Percentage from the Contract Service Type associated with the rental.

    A/R Balance
    The prior balance remaining is displayed if a partial payment was made upon checkout.
    Balance
    The remaining balance is displayed.
  7. Specify this billing information:
    Payment Method
    Select the method of payment for the rental.
    Payment Memo
    Optionally, specify a memo to add to the payment.
    Total Paid
    Specify the total amount being paid.
  8. Optionally, use these check boxes to select the information that you want to include on the invoice when billing a customer:
    Consolidate Partial Lines
    Select this check box to consolidate any partial lines on the report output. A section is displayed on the output showing the rate and unit of rate for partial lines. When this check box is selected, the Print Rate Details, Print Check-out Date, and Print Min Bill Thru fields are cleared and disabled.
    Print Rate Details
    Select this check box to include contract rate and unit of rate on the invoice.
    Print Min Bill Thru
    Select this check box to include minimum bill through date on the invoice.
    Print Check In Date
    Select this check box to include the rental check in date on the invoice.
    Use Profile
    Select this check box to use a customer document profile, if one exists for the customer.
  9. Click Process to check out or in the contract and generate billing.
    When integrated with Distribution SX.e, a new purchase order and a PO line with a negative value are generated when you check in a rental line. This generation occurs if the contract line had an existing cross-reference to a purchase order. A PurchaseOrder BOD is also triggered.
  10. Click Cancel to close the form without saving your changes.

The grids on this form provide line item detail and the values at the bottom of the form are the current totals for the entire contract.

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