Blog
The ARM Dude at the American Rental Association Show in Orlando
The ARM Dude was at the ARA show this past week (February 8-10, 2010) and did a little video blogging while he was there. Here’s the result:
Notice of Interim Release – ARM 4.30, Build 8
We have released the latest Interim Release Download for the ARM product for MAS90 4.30. This file covers level 4.30 through 4.30, build 8, inclusively. Please *do not* download this file unless you are certain that your ARM software falls within the above specified release levels.
ARM Enhancements and Corrections List (Cumulative for all builds of 4.30)
***This IRD contains the integration to allow ARM to work with Paperless Office***
We have made a number of changes to screen libraries in these releases; so, if you have made any changes to any of the screen libraries in either R/O or A/R, then you will need to run the Custom Office rebuild utilities.
Also, there have been some data dictionary changes in the DDICTS libraries for ARM. So, you may also need to download and install the ROodb430 installer. If any UDF’s have been created for ARM, it will be necessary to look those up and press the “UPDATE” button to put those changes back into the DDICTS files after they have been installed.
| Download | Approx. Size | Description |
Interim Release, 4.30 (build  |
8.73 MB | File Name ROird430_8.zip — Interim Release as of 02/05/2010(MAS 4.30.0.17 compatible) |
| ODBC Dictionary Files (4.30) | 1.08 MB | File Name ROodb430_8.zip — Stock ODBC dictionaries for ARM 4.30 |
ARM Enhancements & Corrections – Level 4.30
This release of Automated Rental Management Level 4.30 contains the latest enhancements and corrections for the following issues:
*** NOTE: The Delivery/Return Ticket report that is available from the Routing menu in ARM was reworked in build 6. The ROWFDA1.rpt Crystal Report was changed, new tables were added to the system, and the ODBC files were recompiled. Download the ODBC installer with this build and install it in addition to the IRD installer.
LEVEL 4.30, Build 8 1/6/2010 (Released 2/5/2010)
- Fixed error 42 in the tax module in the STAX_DISC routine that occurred when changing the discount percentage amount. (RO_TAX)
- Fixed error 43 which occurred in the Contract History Inquiry program when selecting a contract to display from the lookup window. (RO_ContractHistoryInquiry_UI.pvc)
- Fixed an issue with the tax calculation program where Tax On Tax calculations were not occurring when they should have been. (RO_TAX)
- Fixed an issue in Invoice Entry where changing the unit price on a shortage line caused the extension to go to zero. (ROWDBE)
- Added logic to prevent user from zeroing out the quantity shipped field on a distributed serialized line. This was causing serial numbers to become orphaned on the contract. Entering zero now prompts the user to invoke the “unship line” utility if he has rights to that function. (ROWDAE,ROWDAE.SUP)
- Fixed an error 11 (missing key) issue in the billing engine that results when attempting to bill a contract from the contract totals or contract preview page. (ROWUCA)
- Reworked contract and inventory logic to insure that no kit line items are reported as being “ON S/O” when the line item is added as a sale line. If the item is added as a rental kit line, then it will be reported as “ON R/O”. However, during the physical count process, quantities on rent will be reported up to the quantity owned in the IM2 file. [defect: 000374] (RO_DAA.RNT, RO_DAA.SHP, ROWDAA, ROWDAB.MST, ROWDAB.WRT, ROWDAC, ROWDAE.ADD, ROWDAE.KDL, ROWDAE.KIT, ROWDAE.REM, ROWDAE.SUP, ROWDBA, ROWDBB, ROWDBE.KDL, ROWDBE.KIT, ROWDBE.SUP, ROWPIB, ROWUZA).
- Corrected an issue in contract entry where the time fields continued to be displayed when the contract profile did not call for time entry. (ROWDAB.SUP)
- Corrected issue in ARM Setup Options where the “Enable Batch Processing” check box could not be activated without generating an error zero. (RO_Options_ui.pvc, RO_Options_bus.pvc, RO_Invoice_bus.pvc) [defect: 000378]
- Added customer city and state to information being passed to Sage Payment Services via ARM software. (ROWDAJ,ROWDAJ.PMT,ROWDAJ.QPT,ROWDBJ, ROWDBJ.PMT, ROWDBJ.QPT, ROWDDA, ROWDDB, ROWUAA.CCP)
- Contract entry modified to allow a user with credit limit override rights to generate an invoice from within contract entry. (ROWDAJ)
LEVEL 4.30, Build 7 10/14/2009 (Released 1/6/2010)
1. Fixed issue with tab sequencing in contract entry where every field suddenly tabbed to the Cancel button instead of to the next control in the tab sequence (ROWDAA.LIB)
2. Fixed an issue in Invoice Entry where invoice number lookup did not use batch file when batch processing was enabled (all invoices were displayed). (ROWDBS)
3. Added rental data to the following A/R reports:
AR_CustomerSalesAnalysis.rpt; AR_CustomerSlsHistByPer.rpt; AR_CustomerListingBal.rpt
4. Fixed issue on Open Contracts Report where tax detail does not print even when the box on the options screen is checked. (ROWRFB) [Defect #350]
5. Fixed issue with billing engine where sale/rental lines would extend at the contract extension amount if there was a partial shipment on the line. (ROWUCA)
6. Fixed issue with billing engine that occurred on a pre-billed arrears contract if the user pre-billed a new line during the second bill cycle and then attempted to return all or part of the line during that pre-bill cycle. The program wanted to bill from the end of the contract header cycle to the return date of the line instead of issuing a credit from the date of the return to the end of the second pre-bill cycle on the line. (ROWUCA)
7. Fixed issue in billing engine where %RO_UPDATE flag is set but not turned off. This causes reservations tracking to stop reporting overbooking messages if an invoice is generated from the totals page of the contract. (ROWUCA)
8. Corrected issue in billing engine with Advanced-based escalation rentals where an expected credit was a very large negative number. (ROWUCA)
9. Fixed an issue in contract/invoice entry where lines appear to randomly shift their position with respect to each other. This was caused when inserting an accessory trigger item between two existing lines, and then deselecting all of the accessory items so that only the accessory trigger item is added to the contract. The inserted trigger item line and the line immediately below it temporarily shared the same “display index.” During the process to resolve this, the lines were swapped, as the code that resolves duplicate “display indexes” always moves the line with the lowest sequential index to the top during the resolution process. (ROWDAE, ROWDBE)
10. Fixed an issue with comment lines where they were always recording a change record in the line audit file even if you did not make a change to the line. (ROWDAE, ROWDBE)
11. Fixed an issue with the grid controls in contract entry/invoice entry. When moving a row or column, the resulting destination loses some of its formatting until such time as the grid is redrawn with the new configuration. Upper case fields were allowing entry of lower case data. (ROWDAE, ROWDBE, ROWDAE.GRD, ROWDBE.GRD)
12. Fixed an issue in contract entry where the tab sequence jumped to the CANCEL button from the Ship Date field. (ROWDAB.DTE)
13. Added support for automatically changing the sales tax schedule in contract/invoice entry when the ShipTo Zip Code is changed, providing the company Sales Tax Schedule Zip Code Cross-reference file has been populated. (ROWDAB, ROWDBB, RO002_ZipCode_svc.pvc)
14. Fixed several issues with the billing engine (ROWUCA):
a. Fixed an issue with pre-billed arrears contracts where equipment added to the contract outside of the initial prebill period (and also prebilled) could not be returned correctly to the second prebilled period ahead of the rebill of the initial period.
b. Fixed an issue with advanced escalation billing where credit for an entire period was not correctly calculated from the “average daily rate.” There was a rounding issue.
15. Corrected error 23, program ROWFAB, line 1123. { READ DATA FROM construct with no ERR=*NEXT on the line} (ROWFAB)
16. Addressed issue in contract entry where changing the quantity ordered on a kit line on a price quote did not automatically update the component quantities. Addressed the same issue on an open pending return contract where a kit line and its associated components are added as new lines to an existing contract. (ROWDAE.SUP)
17. Corrected an issue in contract entry where quantity changes on component lines were not being recorded in the line audit file if the change order modification was not installed. (ROWDAE.KIT)
18. Fixed issue that occurs when Change Order module is installed (MOD:RO4): when printing change order, changed lines do not create place holder records in the extended description file, causing a need for a left outer join on that table. (ROWFBB) [Defect 000356]
19. Added additional logic to clear work files to the contract and pick sheet printing programs in an attempt to clear line and header files after recovering from a previous print failure. (ROWFAB, ROWFBB)
20. Fixed an issue in contract/invoice entry that allowed an extension amount to be entered on an item-type line without entering a quantity ordered or a quantity shipped. (ROWDAE,ROWDBE)
21. Fixed an issue in contract/invoice entry that allowed the user to enter a “/C” comment and then backspace over the “/C” and enter a regular item code. The resulting line could not be edited. (ROWDAE,ROWDBE)
22. Fixed an issue in contract entry with the Month-to-Month billing method where changing the ship date (security event to allow ship date to control other dates is on) caused the ending cycle date to change to an incorrect value. (ROWDAZ,ROWDAB.DTE)
23. Fixed an issue in contract serial distribution where aborting a serial distribution on a return failed to adjust the quantity returned on the contract line detail record, creating an out of balance condition on the line. (ROWDAE.SER)
24. Modified Route Dispatch Center to remove routing information from the contract header (if the record can be extracted) when a route or stop is deleted. (ROWMRA)
25. Corrected an issue in contract entry where initial ship of a line can incorrectly use the wrong shipping date on the transaction detail records. (ROWDAB, RO_DAA.SHP)
26. Corrected an issue in the billing engine where “catch up” billing on an arrears-based line would be prematurely triggered before the expiration of the current billing cycle on that line. (ROWUCA)
27. Added logic to contract entry customer selection routine to prevent an overridden freight charge from being recalculated if the customer number is changed and the Ship Via method is reset to the default ship via on the customer account. (ROWDAB)
28. Added logic to the invoice update to allow for posting of accumulated deposits in detail if setup options allow for posting G/L in detail. (ROWUAD)
29. Corrected an issue in Quick Route Entry: if a valid contract was routed, and a subsequent entry was an invalid entry, a second line would be created on the route for the previous valid contract; however, all of the totals on the contract header would be set to zero. (ROWQRA)
30. ARM Rebuild Sort File Routine now recalculates the “On Repair” field in Inventory Inquiry. (ROWUZA)
31. Fixed an issue in the level conversion program that generated an error 13 (permissions error) on the RO_ContractHeader table when converting to level 4.30. (RO_LevelConversion.pvc)
32. Revised the logic in the billing engine that reports line under invoice in the exceptions report to only report rental lines. (ROWUCA) [Defect 000371]
33. Fixed issue in invoice update where invalid characters were being written to the “CancelReasonCode” field in the RO_ContractHistoryHeader table. (ROWUAE) [Defect 000368]
34. Fixed issue in contract/invoice entry where you could not create a new ship to address by pressing the “Customer” button and then accessing the “Primary Shipto” link. User would get a message telling them they had insufficient rights to create the record. (ROWDAB,ROWDBB) [Defect 000367]
35. Rewrote the credit limit handling routines in contract/invoice entry. The current routines could not handle the “Aging Category” method of credit checking. (ROWDAB,ROWDAO,ROWDBB,ROWDBO,RO_Customer_Svc.pvc)
36. Corrected an issue in contract/invoice entry where inserting a sale component into a sale kit failed to assign a cost of goods sold G/L account. (ROWDAE.NEW, ROWDBE.NEW)
37. Addressed issue in Quick Route Entry that allowed a user to route a voided or expired contract by manually entering the contract number. (ROWQRA)
38. Fixed issue in Contract/Invoice Entry where profile hyperlink failed to launch the Contract Profile Maintenance routine (ROWDAB.SUP, ROWDBB.SUP)
LEVEL 4.30, Build 6 06/15/2009 (Released 10/14/2009)
*** NOTE: The Delivery/Return Ticket report that is available from the Routing menu in ARM was reworked in this build. The ROWFDA1.rpt Crystal Report was changed, new tables were added to the system, and the ODBC files were recompiled. Download the ODBC installer with this build and install it in addition to the IRD installer.
1. Changed out legacy code for Sales Tax Schedule Maintenance in contract/invoice entry to 4.x business framework calls. (ROWDAB, ROWDBB)
2. When moving lines in and out of kit blocks and when moving components between kits, the default user response to the verification prompts has been changed from “Yes” to “No.” (ROWDAE.GRD, ROWDBE.GRD)
3. Fixed issue where changing a customer number on a contract resulted in a failure to load tax exemption information for an exempt customer if the previous customer used the same tax schedule. (ROWDAB)
4. Added logic to clear credit card authorization information when a contract is invoiced and updated back to the contract header. This makes it possible to issue subsequent authorizations against the customer’s card as needed. (ROWUAE)
5. Corrected issue where user gets a “Is this a new ship to?” prompt for a ship to code that is not new, if he previously received this prompt for a code that was new (flag was not reset). (ROWLIB)
6. Resolved a billing issue that occurs when using the Rate Table modification (RTB) and a return is processed against a line during the period for which it has been previously billed. The unit price would be returned as a very large negative value. Deleting the invoice and recreating it resulted in the correct results. (ROWUCA, ROWUCC, RO002_RTBMD1)
7. Corrected issue where comment lines would not print on the Shipper/Receiver Sheet (ROWFSB)
8. Addressed issue where a Kit Item line which has assigned accessory items explodes the kit components but never prompts for the accessory item explosion. (ROWDAE, ROWDBE)
9. Added logic to the batch number routine to check for an existing batch and restart records when attempting to access invoice entry or the billing engine. (ROWMHA)
10. Added logic to contract entry so that when converting a price quote to a standard order, the order is now automatically redisplayed after the conversion instead of a blank screen. (ROWDAB, ROWDAB.WRT)
11. Overhauled selected LIST modes to prevent issue where CONTROL$ variable is not properly set resulting in a displayed lookup that is not appropriate to the current field. [Defect 000208] (ROWDAA, ROWDAB, ROWDAB.PG2, ROWDAC, ROWDAJ, ROWDAR, ROWDAS, ROWDBA, ROWDBB, ROWDBJ, ROWDBR, ROWDBS, ROWFAA)
12. Reworked Delivery/Return Ticket printing to allow tickets to print for all routes/stops pertaining to a contract. Previously, only the last stop would print for any given contract (ROWFDA, ROWFDB, ROWFDA1.RPT – ODBC tables) [ER: 000330]
13. Corrected an issue in ARM Contract/Invoice split commission distribution where selecting a salesperson code shorter than 4-characters in length would be rejected as an invalid salesperson code by the system. (ROWDAR, ROWDBR)
14. *NEW* Added a “Net Invoice” column to the Sales/Revenue Journal; redesigned the invoice batch selection dialogue. (ROWMHA.LIB,ROZJAB)
15. *NEW* Added “Copy” button to the Accessory Maintenance dialogue to speed up entry of accessory packages. (ROWIAN,ROWMAA.LIB)
16. In contract entry, if the “ship date” is changed to a future period, then the calendar at each of the other date positions will default to the month of the ship date if it is invoked in order to minimize the number of button presses to change the other date fields. This only occurs when first setting up the contract. (ROWDAB.DTE)
17. Corrected issue with Contract Defaults Maintenance where translation table shifted characters up one for contract type and line type selections. This resulted in incorrect default selections when creating new contracts. (ROWDAB.SUP, RO_ContractDefaults.M4L)
18. Corrected an issue where a user with A/R Credit Override rights is unable to change the “Hold” status on a contract to any other status if the customer is over his established credit limit. (ROWDAB)
19. Corrected an issue where the “transaction date” on the A/R Transaction Payment History record would be set to the transaction date of the most recent prior transaction if a prior invoice in the update batch had applied a previous prepayment to its invoice. The transaction date would have been the transaction date for this prepayment instead of the invoice date of the credit memo being processed. Added logic to clear the variable records for transaction payment history after a prepayment gets applied. (ROWUAB)
20. Corrected an error 13 in program PO002_ReservationsTracking_upd.pvc that occurred when quick-printing the P/O number and then returning to the same P/O for additional work on the line detail. The internal variables used for the reservation tracking channels needed to be opened to global file handles to prevent the files from being closed by the BEGIN at the beginning of the P/O print routine.
21. Corrected error 12, program ROZJAC, line 0460. Program was trying to read the RO_AD file instead of the AR_Salesperson file.
22. Fixed issue in Invoice Data Entry where user never received a prompt to explode Accessory Package. The explosion was automatic all the time. (ROWDBE, ROWDBE.ACC)
23. Corrected error 14, program ROWURA, line 0316. Error occurred when user attempted to rebuild reservations tracking for a specific item from within the Reservations Inquiry program. (ROWURA)
24. Fixed issue with ARM Inventory Inquiry where Accessory Inquiry list box is disabled when in inquiry mode. This also disables the scroll bar, preventing viewing of accessory items below the visible screen. (ROWIAN)
25. Added lookup to “Reason” field. When setting the “Hold” status flag, this field is opened for the user to select a reason code. The lookup was missing. (ROWDAA.LIB, ROWDAB)
26. Added the “Shipping date” and “Pickup date” fields to the check against the holiday file in contract entry. (ROWDAB.DTE)
27. Corrected an issue in “Serial Item Return-to-Stock Entry” where user was unable to return an item to stock if the serial number had been transferred to a different warehouse prior to the attempted restock. (ROWDHA)
28. Improved accuracy of the module which calculates the rate factor for the monthly billing method. (RO_LIB.M)
29. Added logic to the billing module which validates the presence of any “in invoicing” flags found on the contract line detail. Lines with this flag set are skipped for continuing rebilling. (ROWUCA)
30. Corrected issue in reprint module for invoices printed from invoice history: salesperson name not correctly loaded into the workfile. (ROWFR3)
31. Corrected issue in Contract entry where changing the line type from “R” to “S” failed to properly record the “On S/O” committment in Inventory Inquiry. (ROWDAE.ADD)
32. Added logic to the contract/invoice entry to prevent the erroneous validation of a ’sale only’ product line, causing a ’sale only’ item to be added to the contract as a rental item. (ROWDAE,ROWDBE)
33. Corrected the error 11 which occurred in invoice printing when an auto-invoice print was initiated from contract entry after a previous contract had been quick-printed. (ROWDAA)
34. Added logic to the Invoice Print routine to prevent the program from prompting the user to print the Sales Journal if the invoice was quick-printed or auto-printed from contract entry. (ROWFEA, ROWFEB)
35. Corrected error 47 in program ROWRNB, line 0770 that occurred when sorting by salesperson and there are no divisions in A/R. (ROWRNA, ROWRNB)
36. Corrected error 43 in Delivery/Return ticket printing which occurred when using route number lookup. (ROWFDA)
LEVEL 4.30, Build 5 03/12/2009 (Released 6/15/2009)
*** Integrated Paperless Office this build: forms, journals, reports, period end ***
1. Removed legacy “credit limit override” password and replaced with appropriate Security Event. (ROWDAB, ROWDAO, ROWDBB, ROWDBO)
2. Eliminated error 32, program ROWDAE.ADD when reading for master order line.
3. Eliminated error 41, program ROWICA, line 4740.
4. Fixed issue with line search where search routine was not finding the correct line. (ROWDAE.GRD, ROWDBE.GRD)
5. Corrected issue that prevented Sales/COGS g/l accounts from printing on the Gross profit report unless A/R Sales Commission reporting was active. (ROZJAC)
6. Fixed issue where customer memos designated to “pop-up” would not pop when changing the customer number on an existing contract. (ROWDAB, ROWDAS)
7. In Invoice History Reprint, changed the “balance remaining” field to reflect the balance remaining on the contract after the current return amount is applied (ROWFR3).
8. Fixed issue with billing engine (ROWUCA): IF user selects “all line types” on and advanced, “open-pending” contract where the bill through date is less than the current cycle date, the generated invoice advanced the rental cycle date even though no rebill lines were invoiced.
9. Fixed issue with ARM Orders panel in A/R Customer Maintenance/Inquiry where the Customer P/O number did not show. (AR_Customer.m4l)
10. Added line ship dates from transaction detail shipper record to the detail print line for picking sheets (ROWFBA, ROWFBB).
11. Fixed an issue with “cash drawer lite” where a post authorization for a credit card during the invoice update would report an error and abort the update even though the error log indicated the post authorization was successful. (ROWUAA.CCP)
12. Fixed an issue in contract/invoice entry (error 65) which occurred when taking a credit card payment when no credit card processor was active on the system. (ROWDAJ, ROWDBJ, RO_NoCreditCard.pvc)
13. Fixed issue in serial distribution window when the “Dist” button has been used to activate line-by-line distribution: user receives no warning if the serial number has been distributed on a previous line of the same contract. (ROWDAE.SER, ROWDBE.SER)
14. Fixed issue with text in the RO_02 file ending in a single space having that space stripped and causing words to run together. (ROWFAB, ROWFBB, ROWFDB)
15. Fixed issue that occurred when returning serialized equipment: if the user got an “out of balance distribution” error message and chose to abort the distribution, the program removed the wrong transaction receiver record along with the serial distributions for that receiver record. This caused previously returned serial numbers to appear as though they were now unreturned. ( ROWDAE.SER, ROWDAE.SUP, RO_LineHandler.pvc)
16. Fixed issue where the Equipment Usage record (RO_I4) is not updated with previous renter information if the unit is returned first to an “on repair” status. (ROWUAD)
17. Fixed issue in Open Order by Item Report which prevented special and misc. items from printing on the report when the user selected either or both of those options. (ROWRGA) [Defect 000297]
18. Fixed issue on Serialized Item Availability report where rental items were still included on the report even when the user selects not to include them. Fixed issue where rental history information (if available) is not printed if the user elects not to include rental items. (RO_SerialAvailabilityReport_Rpt.pvc)[Defect 000309]
19. Added logic to line entry grid selection logic to initiate processing for Bill Code selection if user changes bill code (ROWDBE)
20. Fixed error 47 that occurred when opening an invoice is cash management is not active (ROWDBB).
21. Fixed issue where saving a new credit card in ARM Credit Card entry caused the Customer Credit Limit to be zeroed out. (ROWDAJ.PMT,ROWDBJ.PMT)
22. Fixed issue with arrears billing methods where the rate factor is zeroed out for all contact lines if additional equipent is added to a prebilled contract and the additional lines are invoiced. (ROWUAE, RO_LIB.B, RO_LIB.D, RO_LIB.M, RO_LIB.R)
23. Fixed issue where the R/O Setup Option “Use Item Default Warehouse” (3. Line Entry) had not been implemented. (ROWDAE.NEW, ROWDBE.NEW)
24. Resolved user interface issues with accessory item package setup in Inventory Maintenance and Inquiry (ROWIAN, ROWIAA.LIB, ROWMAA.LIB) [Defect 000274]
25. Resolved issue that occurred when user over-types a rental item code with a sale item only code on a new line (before the line is saved) and uses the <down-arrow> key to leave the line. The sale only item retains the “rental” setting of the previous line. (ROWDAE, ROWDBE)
26. Fixed issue with Cash Management’s Quick Payment entry buttons where the buttons were not disabled for price quotes. This allowed a credit card payment to be taken on a price quote. (ROWDAB.SUP, ROWDBB.SUP)
27. Fixed issue in A/R Customer Maintenance on the Orders tab where search by customer PO did not work. (AR_Customer.M4L) [Defect 000316]
28. Fixed issue that occurred if you rented an item in a warehouse which did not have a warehouse detail record (IM2): you could not see the qty shipped in inquiry. (ROWDAE.SUP, RO_DAA.SHP) [Defect 000289]
29. Added some additional logic in an effort to eliminate the issue where a sale only item occasionally attaches to a contract as a rental item. (ROWDAE, ROWDAE.NEW, ROWDAT, ROWDBE, ROWDBE.NEW, ROWDBT, ROWDAU, ROWDBU)
30. Corrected an issue where the rental “On R/O” field would be doubled if the user “unshipped” the line by typing a quantity of zero into the quantity shipped field reshipped the line, and unshipped it again in the same manner. (ROWDAE, ROWDAE.SUP, ROWDAE.ADD, ROWDAE.REM, ROWDAE.TRN, RO_UNSHIP.UTL)
31. Special/General notations button on contract entry and invoice entry header will now be a highlighted color when notes are present in the file. (ROWDAA.LIB, ROWDAB, ROWDBA.LIB, ROWDBB) [Request: 000326]
32. Added logic to insure that a contract could be unshipped (on the header) if it contained lines that were in a “new” status (unshipped lines could have been added to a contract after it was initially shipped, or the user answered “no” to the “ship all lines” prompt). [Defect: 000327] (RO_UNSHIP.UTL)
33. Increased the width of the description field on the accessory selection dialogue from 25 characters to 32 characters to accommodate the complete description of the item. (Screen panel change only) [Defect: 000328] (ROWDAA.LIB)
34. Fixed return issue in billing engine where multiple receivers processed against a single line for different time periods all invoiced for the time period of the first receiver processed. (ROWUCA)
35. Corrected error 47, program ROW004.CRW, line 2525.
36. Corrected error 11, program ROWDDA, line 3230.
37. Corrected error 36, program ROWDAJ, line 20824 (AR002_ARMCreditCardSPS.pvc)
38. Fixed issue in conversion program where rental commission amount was not properly transferred to the AR_SalesCommission file due to a field name conflict. (RO_LevelConversion.pvc)
39. Corrected issue in ARM Tax Recalculation utility which caused the Damage Waiver field to be set to zero on contracts and invoices (ROWSTA, ROWSTA.LIB)
40. Fixed issue with Tax Schedule Change routine where damage waivers were being miscoded as sale transactions instead of rental transactions, causing their taxable/non-taxable balances to fail to be added to the tax header files. (ROWLIB)
41. Corrected an obscure issue that resulted in a price quote being changed to a standard order when the customer had no tax schedule assigned and the schedule attached to the order was numeric and invalid and the user moves from the address tab to the header tab. (ROWDAB)
42. Resolved issue where changing status to “ship” and answering prompt “no” to ship all lines presented the user with the “save changes” prompt. (ROWDAB)
43. Added security event for unit price override to the extended amount field in contract and invoice entry. (ROWDAE, ROWDBE)
44. Added logic to billing engine and invoice update to allow a line that may have been skipped during a rebilling because it had an invoice transaction against it to be picked up and rebilled subsequently. (ROWUCA, ROWUAE)
45. Corrected issue in Driver Maintenance where driver license information was not being retained. (ROWMDA.LIB)
46. Corrected issue in Billing Engine with regard to cost based price schedule calculations on shortage/damage bill items..was using std/retail price in calculation instead of standard cost. (ROWUCA)
47. Corrected issue with distribution of serial numbers for damaged items: if there were more than one damaged serial number on a line, the distribution would be accumulated under the last serial number selected as a damaged item. (ROWDAE.DMG, ROWDAA.LIB)
48. Corrected an issue where, under certain circumstances, a Price Quote could be placed in a “shipped” status. (ROWDAB.SUP)
LEVEL 4.30, Build 4 01/20/2009 (Released 03/12/2009)
1. Fixed issue in Cash Drawer update that caused data to be lost in A/R Cash Receipts when the payment reference number was duplicated between two or more transactions to the same customer number in the same update run (ROWUVA)
2. Fixed issue in invoice update which caused the check number and payment date fields to be blanked when applying invoice to account where prepayments had been made previously (ROWUAB)
3. Resolved error 47, program ROWDBJ at line 10017 (Sale invoice attempting to access bill profile string)
4. Resolved error 47, program ROWDBB.SUP, line 223
(Sale invoice attempting to access bill profile string)
5. Fixed an issue on ‘Open-Pending Return’ contracts where changing the tax schedule caused the order status to be reset to ‘Standard – New’. (ROWDAB)
6. Fixed error 26 in program ROWDAE.ADD that occurred when attempting to overtype an item number with a new item on a new line. (ROWDAE)
7. Fixed issue that allowed customer number field to be changed after a payment had been applied to the contract. (ROWDAB.SUP)
8. Corrected issues that prevented reservations tracking from updating correctly when changing or deleting a purchase order in P/O Entry. (PO002_ReservationsTracking_upd.pvc, POWDAA, PO_RO1)
9. Corrected issue where user begins typing extended comment without entering an item number or ‘/C’ comment designator and causes line entry to ‘freeze.’ (ROWDAE, ROWDBE)
10. Fixed issue with Customer Last Transaction lookup in contract entry lines where customer numbers with less than seven characters did not display correctly. (ROWDAE.SUP)
11. Changed out the customer lookup on contract entry and invoice entry to use the AR_Customer lookup instead of the legacy AR1 lookup to facilitate use of UDF fields in A/R Customer Maintenance (ROWDAA.LIB, ROWDBA.LIB, ROWDAS, ROWDBS, ROWDAB, ROWDBB)
12. Made a change to the line handler program to correct an issue that returned a false line count. (RO_LineHandler.pvc)
13. Corrected an issue with return credits for contracts using the escalation billing method. Credits were incorrectly calculated at a fraction of the daily rate (rate factor was incorrect). (ROWUCA)
14. Corrected memory issue (“too many files open” error) that occurred when updating a very large batch of invoices. (ROWUAE)
15. Fixed issue in contract/invoice entry where “entry exceeds available quantity” dialogue is displayed even when the “check quantity available” options is turned off. (ROWDAE, ROWDBE)
16. Fixed a conversion issue where, if ARM Job Cost interface is turned on, this parameter gets switched to “N”. (RO_LevelConversion.pvc)
17. Fixed issue in 4.x conversion program that was deleting the line audit file (RO_2B). It should have been deleting the credit overlap file (RO_2A). (RO_LevelConversion.pvc)
LEVEL 4.30, Build 3 12/31/2008 (Released 1/20/2009)
1. Corrected error 75 that occurred when pressing the “flashlight” lookup in Customer Last Transaction Maintenance. (RO_CustomerLastPurchase_UI.pvc)
2. Corrected an issue in ARM Inventory Inquiry where the inventory memo button would not correctly activate for use (ROWIAA)
3. Corrected issue in contract/invoice entry where the lookup for Ship-to Address maintenance failed to display active ship-to addresses. (ROWDAA.LIB,ROWDAB,ROWDBA.LIB,ROWDBB,ROWLIB)
LEVEL 4.30, Build 2 12/19/2008 (Not released)
1. Corrected issue in contract entry which allowed a user to “unreturn” a receiver which had already been invoiced (ROWDAE.TRN)
2. Resolved error 47, program ROWDBJ.PMT, line 3868.
3. Resolved error 47, program ROWDBB, line 2559 (fixed 2550).
4. Fixed issue with accessory explosion if the accessory package contains a kit item. Kit will not longer automatically explode if its setting is “never”. (ROWDAE.ACC,ROWDBE.ACC)
5. Fixed issue with Contract Inquiry where a sale contract displayed the incorrect ship date [Defect: 000246] (ROWISA,ROWISA.LIB,ROWISB)
6. Changed ARM invoice update to read the GL_SalesTax file directly to see if sales tax maintenance has been established by sales tax code. Previously, it relied upon a link between the old GL_15 file and the GL_SalesTax file. If the link were broken, then the correct G/L account is not used. [Defect: 000258] (ROWUAD)
7. Fixed issue in contract/invoice entry where deleting kit component line or line from an accessory package caused the line that rolled into the deleted slot to lose its data in the lower grid. (ROWDAE,ROWDBE)
8. Resolved error 41, program ROWDAJ.PMT, line 0782. Trying to reposition to last column of payment grid that user had been working in. If the LAST.COL variable was zero, the error 41 resulted.
Walking the Inventory Tightrope
Techniques for Effective Management of Rental Inventories
Overview
Clark Haley, CEO of BCS ProSoft
In the rental industry, a company’s profitability is dependent on its ability to keep inventory overhead costs low, while ensuring an ever-adequate supply and selection for your customers. Walking this fine line is difficult at best. While you cannot control all the variables affecting what, when, and from where people rent, it makes sense to control what you can. Successfully managing your rental and sale item inventory can help you to walk this tightrope successfully, balancing profitability with customer satisfaction. In this article we will take a closer look at some of the tips, tricks, and techniques that can help you keep your inventory in perfect balance.
When and Where You Need it – Your Reservations System
Even the most loyal customer will call your competition if you cannot deliver what they want, when and where they need it. Even the most conscientiously managed company cannot satisfy the rental demands of every customer, but there are tangible steps you can take to ensure that you are maximizing the exposure and profitability of the equipment you do own.
An accurate reservation system is paramount. Promising what you cannot deliver will cost you customers, and failing to recognize you’ve got product available to rent will cost you money. A concise and clear reservation calendar for each item, showing the quantity on rent, quantity to be returned, and the quantity available for each day will enable you to give accurate responses to customer inquiries. With an up-to-date calendar in front of you, you are able to suggest an alternate day, securing a deal for customers with a flexible schedule. By using such a calendar, you can better predict peak periods of use, allowing plenty time to arrange for additional quantities of overbooked items.
Overbooking is not inherently bad, as long as you can meet the demand in time. Perhaps you will meet that demand through purchases, but for many companies, subrenting is a viable alternative. Get to know your area competitors personally and work to maintain a professional, friendly relationship. Discuss the willingness to sub-rent equipment subject to availability. To avoid conflict, agree to sub-rental pricing structures in advance. When you put this into practice, take advantage of sublet tracking capabilities available in your software or create a separate virtual warehouse (if your software supports multiple warehouses) for each subrental vendor you work with. You can then transfer equipment into and out of this warehouse as needed, using a zero cost to ensure no change to your own inventory value. A separate warehouse reduces confusion and makes tracking of these items much easier.
Separate warehouses also serves to segregate items offered for sale from those available to rent. Such segregation makes accounting tasks such as depreciation schedules and inventory valuations much simpler.
What’s on Hand – Accurate Physical Counts
When physical inventory quantities do not match the on hand quantities reported by your computer system, confusion reigns. Such confusion makes the most basic tasks, such as contract entry, wrought with problems leading to poor customer service and threatening your competitive edge.
When such disparity exists, salespeople promise customers material that cannot be immediately delivered. Customers are disappointed, and your reputation may suffer. If the on-hand quantity in the computer is greater than what is on the shelf, you may not know to reorder the item from the vendor in time to avoid a true out-of-stock situation. If the on-hand quantity in the computer is less than what is actually on the shelf, you may restock the item when there is still plenty in the warehouse. This results in excess inventory and decreased inventory turnover—both conditions affecting bottom line profitability.
Regardless of how effective you are at maintaining an accurate inventory, you will likely continue to perform periodic physical inventory counts. Everyone who takes part in this task knows what a daunting and time-consuming project this is. Because of the time required, some companies perform a full physical count just once a year. However, performing a complete yearly physical inventory does not ensure that counts will remain accurate over the next several months. How many items will still have an accurate available quantity in the computer 11 months after the physical count?
Do not stop performing those yearly comprehensive physical inventories, but add cycle counting, the process of counting a portion of your inventory more frequently. Elect to count one or more product lines at a time, or a portion of the warehouse by counting a range of bin locations. Set up a cycle count system in which popular products are counted more often than slow moving inventory or in which items particularly susceptible to theft are counted every day. Remember that business does not have to stop during cycle counts; your software should allow transactions to continue even when counts are in process.
One method gaining broad acceptance for automating inventory management is RFID, or radio frequency identification. RFID typically consists of a tag affixed to your products, and a reader that communicates with the tag via low-frequency radio waves. RFID is in use in diverse applications as: manufacturing assembly lines, pet tracking, retail theft control, airport baggage screening, and highway toll collection. The technology lends itself especially well to inventory control in the rental industry. RFID automates many laborious steps and processes, like physical counts and returns, and streamlines delivery scheduling and routing. Accurate, automatic data collection means you have real time information about the location and availability of your products, increasing rental turns and decreasing lost and mis-shelved inventory.
Keeping Equipment in Good Repair – Equipment Service Tracking
Depending on the situation, a malfunctioning part can result in inconvenience—or a lawsuit! It’s crucial to keep your equipment in good repair, performing regular preventative maintenance making repairs promptly.
Where appropriate, track the hours of use, meter reading, or mileage of equipment. Make certain warranty information is readily available. Keep detailed records of all maintenance tasks and repairs, including the date of such service, who performed the service, parts replaced, cost of the service, and next scheduled service date.
Electronically flag equipment scheduled for maintenance or repair, or transfer it to a “repair warehouse” to isolate it from your active rental inventory. This helps to eliminate overstated quantities as reservations are being taken. Once the service or repairs are complete, be certain to reassign it back to an active status. If the equipment is damaged beyond repair, it can be scrapped or sold.
Know Your Parts – Organize and Departmentalize
Your customers expect you to be an expert in the equipment you rent and sell. Intimate familiarity with your inventory means you can creatively meet the needs of your clients, increasing sales and increasing customer satisfaction. With hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of rental items, how do you appear the expert during each transaction? An efficiently organized inventory database makes it easy to find the right part, easy to recommend accessories or substitutions when applicable, and easy to train new employees.
Spend some time deciding on a part numbering convention for your parts. Many companies choose to segment their part numbers to denote categories or departments, for example 70-xxxx for linens, 74-xxxx for silverware, and 80-xxxx for portable heaters. Another way to classify part numbers, if supported by your software, is to use product lines or product categories such as LINEN, SILVER, or HEAT.
Store statistics about your part numbers such as weight, color, model year, or horsepower. Many parts in your inventory have supporting documentation that employees or customers will find useful. Use an electronic scanner and scan a photo, instruction manuals, the MSDS, and schematic charts. Many software systems will allow you to “attach” these image files to the item record where they can be instantly viewed or printed. Other examples of documents that you can associate with an item are operation checklists and quick reference cards for fueling, lubrication points, or cleaning instructions.
There is nothing more frustrating for a customer than to bring their equipment home or to the job site and realize they are missing an important accessory. Accessory items are common in the rental industry, with some accessories available as rental items, and others—typically consumables, available for sale. A reliable arrangement for accessing accessory lists during contract entry will increase both sales and customer satisfaction.
Rental Metrics – Mine Your Database
Who, what, when, where, and for how much? The answers to these questions hold the key to your success. Who are your regular customers and are they the same as last year? What items are top sellers? When are you experiencing the highest demand for particular products? Where are your customers located and which location are they renting from? How much revenue did that generator produce last year, last month, last week?
Full-featured rental management software should be able to provide these answers quickly and effectively in the form of on screen queries and printed reports. Armed with this information you are able to analyze the profitability of the items you carry and make decisions about non-profitable items. You can identify rental trends including busy seasons for various product lines enabling you to boost stock in advance to ensure adequate supply. If the sales of once regular customers have tapered off, a phone call or letter inviting them back may be in order. If you rarely rent party supplies from your south of town location, it may make sense to move more of these items to your store up north.
Your inventory of rental and sale items is your most valuable asset. Prudent, well-informed management of this asset maximizes efficiencies and streamlines operations, leading to increased profitability and customer satisfaction.
BCS ProSoft Opens Training Centers in Denver and Houston
For Immediate Release
Editorial Contact: Clark Haley
BCS ProSoft
Phone: (210) 308-5505
Fax: (210) 308-5580
Email: clark.haley@bcsprosoft.com
January 4, 2010, San Antonio, Texas – BCS ProSoft, today announced that it has opened Software Training Centers in it’s Denver and Houston offices. Since 1989 BCS ProSoft has been helping clients take full advantage of their business management systems by offering classroom training through the their San Antonio Training Center. To date, over 3,000 clients have utilized the BCS ProSoft training center in San Antonio, attending classes on Sage MAS modules, Microsoft office products, and Intuit’s Quick Books software. “We believe classroom training is an excellent way to supplement the one-on-one training that we provide to our clients,” commented William Vespe, President of BCS ProSoft. “The addition of Training Centers in Denver and Houston will make it easier for our customers in those cities to access our excellent classes.”
- The Denver Training Center is located at 4401 South Quebec, Suite 200, Denver, CO 80237
- The Houston Training Center is located at 2500 City West Blvd, Suite 300, Houston, TX 77042
- The San Antonio Training Center is located at 2700 Lockhill-Selma, San Antonio, TX 78230
To view the Q1 2010 training schedule for all three locations and to register for classes, click here.
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About BCS ProSoft, Inc.
BCS/ProSoft, Inc. is a leading, full service provider of business management technology solutions to small and medium sized businesses throughout North America with offices in San Antonio, Denver, and Houston. In business since 1986, and with more than 1,000 successful implementations, BCS ProSoft has gained a tremendous amount of experience, which they leverage in each new project. As a Top Partner with Sage Software, BCS ProSoft is an Industry Leader with a proven reputation. For more information go to www.bcsprosoft.com or call (800) 882-6705.