Control of rental items start when you purchase the item and continues through the life cycle. All rental items are marked in the inventory Database. As they are purchased an identification number such as a serial number is recorded so that each separate item can be identified and tracked. Rental issues are made on the regular Order Entry screen E02. As each item is entered on an invoice the system will automatically request the item’s identification number. At this time, the issue information is added to the existing purchasing information in the Database. It is this issue information that starts the rental cycle. Each month the item is on rental, the system automatically generates an invoice or rent notice for the customer. Rental periods are variable and, along with the rental rate and rental unit-of-measure, can be entered at the time of issue. The normal rental unit-of-measure is a month. However, day, week, year, miles driven and run time are all valid. When the rental unit-of-measure is a measure of actual usage such as miles driven or run time hours, the usage quantity for a period is entered into the system before the rental invoice is created.

When a rental item is returned, the Order Entry screen E02 is again used. This time the entry is actually a return notice which records the critical return information so the customer will be issued a final rental invoice, and the item is identified as being available for rent again. A comprehensive history of all rentals by individual identification number is maintained. This can be reviewed on-line and in hard copy print out at any time. No more guessing, you will have complete information on the status and availability of each item of rental property.

The accounting associated with rentals is the same as that used for normal sales orders and is seamlessly integrated with the rest of the e-DISTAC system. Invoices issued, customer payments as well as purchasing of rental items are all processed through the same screens and reports as any normal purchase or sale. Yet, these rental transactions can all be identified as rental for analysis and accounting purposes.