Rouse Rates

Users of Rouse Rates use that industry-level rate information to compare against their book rates when making pricing decisions for customers. That information is available through the Rouse interface, but it is also available through the Elite item record.

Topics in this article include

• Pre-requisites

• Rouse Requirements

• Setup

• Security

• Using Rouse Rates in Elite

 Pre-requisites

• The Rouse Module is required. This exports data to Rouse every night so they can use it in their application.
• An active subscription with Rouse is required. 
  • This provides all of the access and functionality in the Rouse application.
  • Required to get an API key from Rouse for this Rouse Rates integration

Rouse Requirements

• A Rouse data-sharing agreement must be signed. Reach out to your Rouse sales rep.

  • Once completed, they will provide a link to your API Key. This must be pasted into the Elite configuration.

• You must provide Rouse with an IP Address.

  • On-Prem: You can get this using https://whatsmyip.com/  (open a browser from your server)

  • AWS Cloud: Contact support and tell them you need an IP address ‘where the SQS Service’ is running.

    • Self-managed cloud (Azure, etc.): Contact your IT company and direct them as with the AWS Cloud above. 

Setup

This integration requires communication with the Rouse API. Two configurations under the Browser Configurations/API Configurations area must be populated with information:

• Rouse API Inputs
• Rouse Configuration.

To get there, go to the gear icon () at the top right of the browser interface. This will open Configurations. Scroll to the ‘API Configurations’ section. 

Rouse API Inputs

The Rouse API Inputs establish the connection between Elite and Rouse. The Rouse API key will come from the individual user account. The required URLs for the rates are listed below.

• Benchmark:  https://public-api.rouseanalytics.com/rentalinsights/benchmark-rates  
• Current: https://public-api.rouseanalytics.com/rentalinsights/custom-grids-current-list-rates

Rouse Configuration

The Rouse Configuration section schedules the time the Rouse rates sync to Elite and whether or not the rate type being synced is spot, contract, or standard. This is set in the Rouse Rate  Type drop-down. The sync process happens once a day. The time the user wants this to occur is set in the time field. However, the ‘Refresh Rouse Rates’ button is a manual process that can be run anytime and will resync the rate information. PofR only sends data once daily (after closing), and Rouse updates their API during the next business day.  It is not real-time.

Users can also configure the rate names and the order in which they would like them to appear when accessed from the item record. This setup is located in App Configurations>System Configurations>Analytics Rate Types. The Display Name can be changed by clicking into the field and entering the desired label. The rate types can also be selected and moved using the ‘Move Up’ or ‘Move Down’ arrows to customize their order.

Security

Users can be restricted from seeing certain rates on a company, group, or individual level. These security settings are located under a new security section called ‘External Analytics.’ If a user does not have access to certain or any rates, they will not be displayed when ‘Rate Analytics’ is opened from the Item Record.

Using Rouse Rates in Elite 

Once configured, the Rouse Rates can be accessed from anywhere the item record can be opened: File Maintenance, Item Availability, within the contract, etc.

The rates are located within the Analysis Menu and are labeled ‘Rate Analytics.’ They only appear on headers or serialized items.

Any synced rates from Rouse will be seen here, along with the label and order they have been set in the configuration. If the item has been on a contract(s) for the month, the monthly utilization will also be displayed.

If no rates have synced from Rouse or if the user has no security rights to see them, the box will give them the following message:

Rate  Analytics can also be accessed from the Item Availability and Special Rates screens. This makes it very easy to reference them while quoting a customer.