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Close Contract
This article explains the steps for closing a contract in Point of Rental as well as the different fields within the Close Contract and Close Contract Options windows.
Topics in this article include
1. In Expert, go to Program Menu > Counter System > Close Contract. In Elite, navigate to the Transactions icon in the Left Menu and select Close Contract.
2. Use the Close Contract screen to search for and select the contract you want to close.
3. After you select the desired contract, you will be able to choose from the various closing options.
4. Depending on which option you selected, the items will show as returned in the contract processing screen. You have now successfully closed the contract.
For further descriptions of the various fields and options, refer to the sections below on the Close Contract and Close Contract Options windows.
After selecting the Close Contract option, you will be taken to a window that allows you to search for and select the contract you want to close.
You can search for a contract by entering the contract number, customer name, or items, or by using any of the search options from the “Search By” drop-down menu. Under Field Search, you can search for a certain word or phrase anywhere within the field selected from the drop-down menu.
Note: A notification can be added for any refund on a Closed Contract. You can set the minimum refund amount before you are notified. See our article on System Notifications for more details.
You can select any of the contracts by clicking on the contract number. If you click on the plus sign, then all the items on that contract will be displayed.
Status - These checkboxes allow the selection of only contracts that have a certain status. Some statuses will be unavailable when performing certain functions. For example, the Closed status will be unavailable when you are closing contracts.
Store to Display - This drop-down menu allows the selection of only contracts for the desired store.
Payment - These checkboxes allow the selection of only contracts for Account and/or Cash customers.
Search button - This button will perform the search of all contracts that meet the selection criteria based on the boxes checked.
Note: Any amounts that are due from an account customer will be displayed in green. Any amounts that are due on a closed contract for a cash customer will be displayed in red. For any contract marked for delivery or pickup, the contract status will be bold.
After you search for and select a contract, it will be displayed for your verification. If the contract cannot be found or you reject the contract, you will be asked for the contract number again. In Expert, if the contract number you enter is already closed, you will be notified and returned to the Main Menu.
When you select an open contract, you will see the following menu.
These different options are explained below.
Cancel - This closes the options window without doing anything.
Close All Items - This automatically closes all open rental items. This means that if the contract contains any non-returned rental items the program will return them, compute the actual rental periods, and charge the standard rates for the actual periods. The standard rate means that the customer will be charged the lowest rate for the period that they kept the item. For example, if the customer initially rented the item for one day but kept it for one week, they would be charged the weekly rate.
Close All Items, No Overtime - This automatically closes all open rental items without charging any additional fees even if the items(s) were returned after the date and time due. For example, if an item was initially rented for one day but kept for one week, no extra charges would be assessed. This option may require a password depending on how your Parameters are defined. If this is a delivered contract, then no password will be required. When this option is used a Transaction Edit is written showing that the contract was closed with no overtime.
Close All Fulfilled Items—This option will compare the items on the contract with their prep-out entries to see if they have a prep-in entry. If so, the lines will close, and the charge for the items will be adjusted.
Close All Fulfilled Items, No Overtime - This option mirrors what Close All Fulfilled Items does, but it will not adjust the duration or charge on the line.
Partial Return - This allows you to return an entire line item or a partial quantity of a line item. You specify which line item is being returned and how many. If the entire quantity is not being returned, a new line item is added to the contract with the quantity equal to the number being returned. The original line item quantity will be decreased by the same amount. For this type of close, you must have fewer than 200 line items in the contract.
Called Off Rent - This allows you to stop the rental time on items but does not close out the contract or the items. Using this, you can stop the rental time on a pickup item when the customer calls in. Then, when the item is returned to your store, close out the ticket as normal. The system will allow you to enter a Call Log entry when you stop time to give the customer a call number for verification. In addition, the contract will be marked as a pickup, and the pickup date and time can be set.
Simulate All Close - This allows you to give the customer a final price quote over the phone without actually closing the contract. You will be asked to enter the estimated date and time the contract is to be closed. The program will then simulate a full contract close and show you the estimated amount due. This transaction will not appear on the Transaction Summary at the end of the day.
Line Item Billing - This allows you to close the contract with all previously closed line items on that contract. This allows the customer to be billed for the items already returned. A new contract with a letter after the contract number will be created with all of the open line items. This option is only available if you have previously closed items on the contract.
Continuation Bill - This allows you to close a monthly contract and reopen a new contract for billing purposes. You will be asked to enter the close date. This is the date the contract will be closed and the new contract will be opened. All items will be opened for a one-month period. If you have already continuation-billed this contract, then this selection will be dimmed and not accessible. If the selection is dim, you need to select the latest contract to re-bill (i.e., contract 12345A instead of 12345).
Site Transfer - This allows you to call off rent on the original contract and to display it as Pickup Due. It will open a new contract for the new location displaying it as a delivery to the new address.