The Setup Menu

Tax Authorities Defined

RentalPoint is capable of storing several different taxes that can be used when a business has a wide operating area. There are times when bookings are created in another branch that can be in another area of the country or even in a completely different country. For this reason there may be a need to store multiple tax types that can be applied to bookings and sales. Creating and editing taxes in RentalPoint can be done via the Tax Authorities option in the setup menu.

Parameters Used in Conjunction with Tax Authorities

Operator Privileges Affecting Tax Authorities

Edit the GROUP record the operator belongs to and check out figure 1.1 and 1.2 below for more details.

Fig 1.1

Fig 1.2

Adding / Editing Tax Authorities

To enter a new tax click Add New and a new tax row will display in the list.  The tax can now be configured to specifications.

When editing a tax authority, RentalPoint will not overwrite the existing tax authority. The existing tax will be disabled and the system will enter a new one. This ensures that all existing transactions (ie. bookings, invoices etc) will maintain their original tax percentage; 

Existing Bookings will not be automatically recalculated to reflect the new percentage you have added. All new transactions however will use the new rate.

Fig 1.3

 To adjust a tax that was previously disabled, click the 'View disabled taxes' option on the bottom left of the screen.

• The 'Ceiling' column is the dollar limit the tax stops at. For example, if you have a booking for $150 and the ceiling is set at $100, the customer is only charged tax on the first $100 and not the remaining $50. The ceiling limit is applied on the total invoice value.  By default, a zero is loaded into the ceiling column denoting that the entire amount should be taxed.
•  A 'Piggy Back' tax is a tax that is charged on top of another tax. 

Default Tax Authorities

RentalPoint allows you to setup default taxes for Customer Record,  Location or Tax Authority Setup.  Once set up the defaults used are dependent on the parameter settings see parameters used in conjunction with tax authorities in section 2 above for more information

In Tax Authority Set Up

To set a default select the desired line in the grid and click Tax #1 Default. To set a second default select a different line and click Tax #2 Default , see figure 1.3 above

 You can also select the same tax line as both tax 1 and tax 2 default, i.e. if you want to have exempt as the default for both taxes. 

In Customer Setup

Access default customer/vendor taxes on the 'financials' tab

In Location Setup for Multi Location Systems

For multi-location systems default taxes can also be set for each location, tusing the  Set-up > Locations menu option.

Changing Default Tax Authorities

Changing default tax authorities is a two step process.  You must set up the new tax authority AND set it in place of your old default.  The changes here will depend on how you set your defaults above (i.e. by Tax Authority Setup, Location, Customer, Vendor).   The new tax authority will be reflected on all NEW bookings.  It will NOT affect current bookings unless you edit the booking and change the tax authorities.

Steps to Change Tax Authority

1. Disable the old tax authority in the setup->tax authorities table
2. Create new tax authority
3. Set the new tax authority as default1
4. Update each customer record/location record with the new default tax authorities.
5. In order to change all customers/Locations you need to manually enter each customer record to update the default tax authorities OR import the new defaults from an excel file

Update Customer Records with New Default Tax Authority via Export/Import

1. Take a backup of your database first
2. Export your Customer table to an excel file (via others, import/export, export customers), under the fields tab choose customer name, organization, tax authority 1 and tax authority 2), save the file with a .csv extension
3. Edit the excel file produced For the Tax Authority fields
4. Enter the NUMBER of the NEW tax authority as set up in the 'setup tax authorities' option
5. Save as a .csv file
6. In RentalPoint via the 'others' tab import file, customer, and match the fields in your excel file to the fields you want to update in the customer table.

If you have an IT person on staff they should be able to do this for you, however if you need help please feel free to email support@rentp.com

What is the Multi Location Module?

The RentalPoint multi location module is an additional module that may be purchased separately from your main software package. The module allows you to manage your inventory at multiple warehouse locations with the ability to transfer inventory between locations.

You'll need to upgrade your license to avail of multi-location features, please contact support@rentp.com for more information.

Using Multi-Locations in RentalPoint

When using a RentalPoint Multi-Location license, most features simply become 'location' aware as outlined below:

• On all multi-location systems, location 0 is your main location which is usually your current main office. Regions can also be used to further organize locations.
• Each user record has a default location (per settings in their operator record), so that on login the system is set to display the bookings at the default location assigned.  Multi-location security is also available, please contact support@rentp.com to avail of these options in user setup.
• Inventory/Equipment becomes 'location' aware  
  • The Qty Owned field once you have moved to a multi-location system, becomes read only and not editable like it is in your current system. This is because a new 'Location' tab appears and this displays the number of items at each location.

• The location tab, now keeps track of where products are. 
  • Figures here can still be updated from one way transfers that may not have been completed yet. On completion of a one way transfer (i.e. check out from source and check in to destination OR archive of transfer booking), the stock qty for the source location is decremented while the stock count for the receiving location is incremented. Until the transfer is completed, it will show up on the running balance for stock movement.  
  • Stock packed in racks will also show here
  • An asset record also becomes location aware showing both a 'Home Location' (i.e. ownership), and a Warehouse Location (i.e. current location of the asset)

What’s the difference between a Location and a Region?

Depending on your company workflow, locations may be organized into regions. A region is not an actual physical entity, but rather a grouping of locations; it does not hold any inventory. For example, your company may have three warehouses in California and two in New York. You can enable regions and group the California warehouses into one region and the New York warehouses into a second region. The multi location module can be run with or without regions.

Regions are enabled via Operational Parameter #174.

Locations Setup

The details of all your locations are accessed via Setup –> Locations. 

Once a location is saved in the system, it can be edited but not removed; This ensures that your historical data is maintained. When the multi location module is activated the system creates a default location. You can change any and all details for this location to make the information relevant to your company.

 Terminology for location can be changed via Setup – Parameters – Terminology – General Tab.

Terminology for location can be changed via Setup –> Parameters –>Terminology –> General Tab.

Address Tab

Location Name                 The name used within the software (ie. drop down lists, internal reports etc.).

Company Name               The name used on client facing documents (ie. Invoice).

Company Number           Tax number used on client facing documents (ie. Invoice).

Main Address                   Also referred to as the billing address.

Map Address                    The physical location of the building. Used in the Get Directions functionality.

Status                                This option is only used when Auto transfer from satellite locations is enabled. (Setup – Parameters – Transfers). 

   If a satellite location (configured with a Status of Other) has a shortage, the system can create a transfer from the Main     location to the satellite location.

Auto Transfer                   If the satellite location has a shortage, this setting determines if the stock is automatically transferred from the Main                                                  location to the satellite location.

Phones Tab

Holds phone numbers for the location  

Accounting Tab

When integrating with an accounting package, this field determines where the transaction file is exported to.

You can configure account integration via Accounts #21.

Defaults Tab

The defaults used when creating a new booking for this location.

Email Tab

Configure email settings that can be used for your operators.

Regions Setup

Enabling Region Support allows you to manage your locations more effectively. As an example, you have several locations in the Eastern Time Zone, you can group them together within a region.

Enabling  Region  Support  allows  you  to manage  your  locations more  effectively. As  an  example,  you  have several  locations  in  the Eastern Time Zone,  you  can group  them  together within  a  region.  (Note: Regions support is only available if you have the multi-location version)

To use the regions functionality it must first be enabled. Go to the Parameters option of the setup menu. Open Operational #174 -  Enable Region Support. Set this to Yes, then Ctrl F5 to update your parameters across RentalPoint.

The option for adding regions should now be available from your Setup menu.

Note also the region scope option at the bottom of the booking grid and on any form that location is available

To configure the regions, select the Regions option from the setup menu. By default the system will create a region for you, you can change the name to make it more descriptive. Once a Region has been added to the system it can be renamed but not deleted.

After entering Regions, go into Setup Locations and assign each of your locations to a Region.

 
Please  note,  once  a  Region  has  been  created,  you  can  rename  it  but  not  delete  it.  Bookings  and  other information in the system will still be linked to the region for reporting information.
 
 Scope and Searching
 
The  secondary  scope  in RentalPoint can also be  sorted by  regions.  If you  select a  region from  the  secondary scope,  any  bookings  that  are  assigned  to  that  region,  or  to  the  locations  in  that  region,  are  displayed.  The secondary  scope  applies  to  other  areas  of RentalPoint,  including  the  Shortages  List,  Products,  and  Purchase Orders.
 
When creating a booking, you can select a region from the list. Only the locations associated with that region display in the location drop down list.
 
Equipment Availability 
 
Searching  for  equipment  based  on  a  region  is  quick  and  easy.  Enabling  Operational  Parameter  #127  – Equipment Search Location Sensitive displays an extra search tab in the equipment grid of the booking. Select the region, then continue entering your equipment as normal. Availability is based on location but the tree view and the search are based on the  quantities in the region.
 
Technicians
 
When entering a  technician,  the  region in which they work can be specified. Then when a booking  is created only those technicians that work in the region specified in the booking can be selected.
 
Custom Printing 
 
When printing custom templates throughout the system, you can specify region specific templates. For example, your Eastern region may have different printouts  then your Western region. Using the custom printing option, you  can  easily  organize  your  templates,  so  the  Eastern  region  does  not  accidentally  use  a Western  region template.
 
Reports
 
Several reports in the system, such as the Booking Cross Section, Invoice Register and Revenue Report can be sorted by regions, making accounting duties much more simplified.  

Freight

Freight can be recorded against a booking either...

• Manually on the booking equipment tab and/or
• Using predefined freight on the booking freight tab.  Using this option freight is set up outside the booking (usually during initial data setup) and selected on the freight tab during booking entry. 

Pricing Parameter #24 defines how freight is entered on the booking

• Single Freight Charge

• Delivery, Collection, Fuel Surcharge (fuel surcharge is across all bookings and is entered when setting the parameter)
• Fuel Surcharge and 'Allow Manual Entry of Freight' preferences are set in the same parameter.  Freight can also be locked, left unlocked or only locked when a booking is confirmed via Pricing Parameter #25

Manual Freight Entry

When activated, users can choose to manually enter freight on the Equipment Tab of a booking (per screenshot below).  It's important to note that the freight tab is still available and any freight entered under the freight tab of the booking will supersede manual freight entry.  This freight cost makes up part of the booking total price.

Predefined Freight - The Display Window

The freight setup window displays differently based on parameter settings. 

• When Pricing Parameter #24 is set to 'Allow Manual Entry of Freight'
  • One charge for freight will be entered on the booking
  • The freight window displays as below
  • Region and Location fields display for multi-location systems only.

• When Pricing Parameter #24 is set to 'Allow Manual Entry of Freight' = NO
  • The freight window displays as below.
  • The parameter also sets either
    • Single Freight Charge
      • A combined charge is stored for delivery and collection 
    • OR 'Delivery, Collection and Fuel Surcharge'
      • Separate delivery and collection charges are stored against the booking along with a fuel surcharge
  • With no manual entry permitted, shipping costs can be calculated using the base rate up to a specified weight, however for freight greater than the defined weight a higher charge can be applied using the Rate per unit entered against each weight threshold.
  • Region and Location fields display for multi-location systems only.

Predefined Freight- Service, Our Truck, Zones, Cost

The Freight Setup window allows for configuration of multiple freight options for pickups and deliveries.

• Service is used to describe the type of service offered by the Freight description
• Our Truck is used to identify deliveries and returns that need to be tracked by the software in the Delivery & Return window
• Zones are used to denote distance to travel, so that the same service can be used to charge different rates for differing distances.
• Cost is used to advise the user of the cost of freight to the company, to avoid undercharging for freight on a booking

Below both a 'Regular' and an 'Express' service are set up for freight description UPS.

Each service covers two zones charged at different Base Rates and escalating rates per unit

Since 'Our Truck' is set to 'No', bookings using this freight option will not display in the Delivery and Return window since we don't need to track this freight in-house.

Edit any line entry to modify freight settings

Predefined Freight - Rate Calculations

• Base Rate
  Used to calculate the freight charge up to the maximum weight entered.

  Example:

A Base Rate of 7.5  with a Maximum Weight of 10Kg results in a freight charge of $75

• Rate Per Unit (RPU)
  Applies an additional charge for each unit above the maximum weight threshold, up to the next configured weight range.  From the setup shown in line 1 above:

  • Base Rate = 1.5
  • Weight breaks:
    • 5 lb → rate 2
    • 10 lb → rate 2.5
    • 15 lb → rate 3
    • 20 lb → rate 3.5
    • 25 lb → rate 4
  The software analyzes as follows:

  Starts with the BaseRate

  1. Finds the highest matching weight break ≤ booking weight (Use the highest weight tier that does not exceed the booking weight)
  2. Adds:
  $\text{rate}\times (\text{weight}-\text{first break weight})$

  For a booking weight of 20 lb:

  • First break weight = 5
  • Matching bracket = 20 with rate 3.5
  So:

  
  

  $3.5\times (20-5)$

  $3.5\times (20-5)=52.5$

  Then add the base rate:

  $52.5+1.5=54.0$

  $52.5+1.5=54.0$

Fuel surcharge is applied to collection.

Example assuming:

• Collection = 54
• Fuel surcharge rate = 10%

Then:

$10\%\times 54=5.40$

Total:

$54+5.40=59.40$

Using weight thresholds together with multiple freight services provides considerable flexibility when calculating freight charges.

Predefined Freight - Default Built in Methods

Default freight settings can also be configured. These defaults are automatically applied whenever a new booking is created.

Predefined Freight on the Booking

Now that freight has been set up it can be used in bookings. If you haven't done so already, log out and back in again to see the latest freight setup.

When freight is selected on a booking, the software intelligently groups the related options together offering one freight option for matching descriptions with differing service and zone options for that description. This setup provides flexibility for operators to manage different freight scenarios, including:

• Charging based on varying travel distances

• Applying preferred freight rates for selected customers

• Offering different shipping priorities and service levels

For our example, UPS will appear once in the list with options under 'Service' for Regular and Express and options under 'Zone' for 0 and 1

Our number/Their number is simply a toggle showing who is paying for freight.

• Our number: the freight cost is added to the booking
• Their number: the freight cost is noted on the booking but NOT added to the final quote since it will be paid by the client 

When freight is entered or modified click 'Apply' so that the latest freight is visible on the Equipment tab.

Multi Location Freight

When using the multi-location module, an additional Location column will appear in the Freight Setup window allowing the freight option to be assigned either to all locations or to a specific location.

To configure Freight defaults for each location, navigate to Setup → Locations. edit the location to find the default settings for both Delivery and Return Freight options.

Note: When creating a booking, PO, cross rental or transfer, the freight options will display based on the location selected.

Used in conjunction with Locations, regions are used to group specific locations together.  A company with 4 locations, 2 in Eastern Timezone and 2 Pacific Timezone, might create an Eastern and Pacific region, then slot the relevant locations under each region.

To use the regions functionality it must first be enabled. Go to the Parameters option of the setup menu. Open Operational #174 -  Enable Region Support. Set this to Yes and restart RentalPoint.

Once you have restarted RentalPoint, the option for adding regions will be enabled. When RentalPoint is run again you will notice a region scope option at the bottom as well as a new option under the setup menu that allows you to configure regions.


To configure the regions, select the Regions option from the setup menu. By default the system will create a region for you, you can change the name to make it more descriptive. Once a Region has been added to the system it can be renamed but not deleted.

After entering Regions, go into Setup Locations and assign each of your locations to a Region.
 
Please  note,  once  a  Region  has  been  created,  you  can  rename  it  but  not  delete  it.  Bookings  and  other information in the system will still be linked to the region for reporting information.
 
 Scope and Searching
 
The  secondary  scope  in RentalPoint can also be  sorted by  regions.  If you  select a  region from  the  secondary scope,  any  bookings  that  are  assigned  to  that  region,  or  to  the  locations  in  that  region,  are  displayed.  The secondary  scope  applies  to  other  areas  of RentalPoint,  including  the  Shortages  List,  Products,  and  Purchase Orders.
 
When creating a booking, you can select a region from the list. Only the locations associated with that region display in the location drop down list.
 
Equipment Availability 
 
Searching  for  equipment  based  on  a  region  is  quick  and  easy.  Enabling  Operational  Parameter  #127  – Equipment Search Location Sensitive displays an extra search tab in the equipment grid of the booking. Select the region, then continue entering your equipment as normal. Availability is based on location but the tree view and the search are based on the  quantities in the region.
 
Technicians
 
When entering a  technician,  the  region in which they work can be specified. Then when a booking  is created only those technicians that work in the region specified in the booking can be selected.
 
Custom Printing 
 
When printing custom templates throughout the system, you can specify region specific templates. For example, your Eastern region may have different printouts  then your Western region. Using the custom printing option, you  can  easily  organize  your  templates,  so  the  Eastern  region  does  not  accidentally  use  a Western  region template.
 
Reports
 
Several reports in the system, such as the Booking Cross Section, Invoice Register and Revenue Report can be sorted by regions, making accounting duties much more simplified.  

Divisions

Divisions are useful to distribute and track revenue in different departments. For instance if you have a sound department and a lighting department specifying a division on bookings will allows reporting on a specific department.

Revenue Separation

Divisions are used to separate income from bookings into a specified division or department of a company. A division is selected at the booking level. When a booking is invoiced, the invoice uses the division from the booking. When the invoice is paid, the payment uses the division from the invoice that it is applied to. Using divisions does not affect the booking in any way, it only affects reports and accounting activities after the booking is invoiced. Reports in RentalPoint, such as statements and account receivables, sort revenue by division. Divisions are not mandatory and are only something to be considered if you require more organized income separation.To create divisions click the Division option within the setup menu. Once a division is saved in the system it can be edited but not removed.

A setup window displays with a blank list. To add more divisions click Add New. Once the desired divisions are added, they will be displayed. RentalPoint will need to be restarted for the settings to take effect. The divisions will be available in bookings under the Other Details tab.

To use divisions you'll need to enable accounts parameter #24.

Customers have default division

If you want certain customers to have a default division so that any bookings for that customer will automatically have the correct division selected you can enable accounts parameter #30. Additionally any pre-payments entered for the customer will be allocated to the customer's division before being assigned to a specific invoice when the payment will be applied to the division the invoice was generated for.You can then select a division for each customer on the Others tab of customer properties. This division will then be filled in for any new booking entered for the customer.

Bookings

To add a "Division" filter to the main booking window
In the main setup window,  click on "Custom viewing",  then check "Division" as below -

This will then add a filter to the main booking window so you can filter on division,  as below -

Revenue Report By Division

Profit Analysis Report

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RentalPoint Pricing Parameters are used to customize how your business prices inventory for use.  Take a few minutes to review the setting options below, then contact support@rentp.com for further assistance as needed.

Access Pricing Setup

From the main menu click Setup-->Settings and Preferences

Then select Pricing Setup

Complete the parameter information to suit your company preferences

Pricing Parameters Explained