Rental Item Tracking

[AKPolarBear]

I am looking for suggestions on using Macola to track items like tools or equipment that is either rented out to customers or used in-house. We would like to track these items by a unique number and include each items cost and expenses to maintain. In the case of rental items, we would like to bill the rental charge only or the item itself as any other inventory item through OE
I would also consider a simple 3rd party application that is either stand alone or would interface into Macola.
We are using Macola now to capture some of this information but cannot capture labor or things like parts that can be used on several pieces of equipment as needed.

 

[dgillz]

If you upgrade to ES, there is a rental module which is available as a part of eSynergy. You would need to spend some time defining your exact requirements, but this may be a good fit for you.

Please let me know if I can be of assistance.



Software Sales, Training, Implementation and Support for Exact Macola, eSynergy, and Crystal Reports

http://www.trianglepartners.com

 

[MacolaHelp]

Not sure if you have ever dealt w/Service Pro in the past, but they have developed this sort of 3rd party add on software for macola for years & now have ported it to GP & who knows what else. It's pretty slick. Try

http://www.servieprointl.com

for info or use the macola third party partner solution link (if it still blessed. of course). They do great demos & are very knowledgdeable about the service industry & their needs.

 

[AKPolarBear]

I have looked at their website. In fact just yesterday, I asked them to quit sending me so much junk e-mail, which leaves a bad impression of them as a company to me.
Have you actually used their product with Macola?

 

[dgillz]

PolarBear,

I assume you are taling about Service Pro and not eSynergy (Service Pro sends me lots of junk email as well). We have several clients using Service Pro but none on the rental solution.

The only bad things I can say about Service Pro is they do not have a MS SQL Solution yet and you will stay a bit behind the curve in terms of the latest Macola release. For example, I have a client that is still on 7.5.103f because Service Pro has not blessed anything newer. That is 2 year old code.

Then again, considering the quality of Macola's recent releases, that may not be all bad

Software Sales, Training, Implementation and Support for Exact Macola, eSynergy, and Crystal Reports

http://www.trianglepartners.com

 

[MacolaHelp]

Backup/rewind. I just re-read your initial post & have some ideas. Depends on what modules you own in macola. You could create assets for the items or serialize your items to track individually. You could create jobs to collectively group the costs/sales/expenses to maintain for these items. This sounds like a consulting project you need an expert to help you with rather than a quick fix forum like this one. Service Pro is not inexpensive, nor is eSynergy & perhaps neither one will fit your needs or budget. It sounds like you have a new macola consultant, so explain to them in detail what you want to accomplish & have them help you find a solution. If you feel they aren't equal to the task, someone here might be willing to take on the project, but you should expect to be charged for this kind of consulting.

 

[AKPolarBear]

Re: dgillz
Yes, Service Pro is what I meant. I have enough grief keeping up now with our modifications (we are still on 7.6.100)and we are MSSQL based.

Re: macolahelp
Yes, both those products are budget busters. We are in a rock and hard place as far as a rental solution is concerned. It is not our main business, very small in terms of revenue but some of the equipment involved is high dollar value and thus needs tracking. Your suggestion is along the lines of what I was thinking using Macola. I will pursue that course once again.

 

[maccrystal]

Since you are trying to work with what you have, you might want to consider using a combination of the suggestions posted:

Use AR Service codes (for rental charges), OE to add service codes (Rental rate), and Equipment (item number, availability) to the rental order. Yes you can add service codes through OE. Then use Return Material Authorization (RMA) to track the outstanding rental items, referencing the order number. You could setup at Return Reason Code (rental) to track the outstanding Rental though RMA's reports. Bill only the rental Item, not the service code. When the rental item is returned, process the RMA which will return the Item back to stock (make available) and leave the rental charge as is. Then bill the service code for the actual rental time. Job Number could be used to track expenses to maintain the item as they are vouched through AP. You could use the System manager Job tracking to report expenses passed through AP against the rental items job number.

You will need to experiment with this concept and the sequence of the transactions to determine if it would work for you and ensure that all accounting charges are generated as expected. It's not a perfect solution, but if the transaction volume is low it might have possibilities.

http://www.appstratinc.com