Exact Software this month will launch an Internet-based rental template for e-Synergy, designed to organize all of a company's data and asset management information into one, easy-to-access system. It allows finance, sales, marketing, logistics, accounting and research departments all to have access to the same information on a number of business processes.

“It will blow productivity through the roof,” says Paul Baryski, e-Synergy sales representative. “It provides front office functionality that works with any existing back-office applications, and brings more and more people on board with business processes.”

e-Synergy runs on a browser so it can be used in conjunction with mobile devices such as Personal Digital Assistants and laptops, making it accessible even when a user is not in the office. It can track all essential business practices, including all contracts, all work requests and all customer service issues. Data is never duplicated with e-Synergy so each user is looking at the same, most up-to-date information. And because the need for documentation in the rental industry is so huge, e-Synergy can link Front Page, Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, Word and can import other digital files as well.

A tracking tool lets the user manage projects and assign a hierarchy for all the projects in the system. And for simplicity and convenience's sake, the start page for each unique user can be configured based on his or her individual needs from the system.

All data is stored against one client record so anyone within a rental company can check the status of an order and the availability of equipment. The user can also find out when it is due to be returned and check its maintenance schedule. Additionally, each account is self-serviceable by anyone in the rental company and by the client himself. This allows the client to check the status of his account, see what equipment he has outstanding and when it needs to be returned — all in real time. The rental company user can determine a security clearance for customers, which allows them access only to designated areas of the system.

“The customer can get a real-time view of where they stand with your company within two clicks,” says Baryski.

A typical rental company/customer scenario may unfold like this. A customer may call the rental company to ask about a special it's running on skid steers that he or she just received a mailer about. The employee on the phone can quickly access that customer's account to see instantly which mailer was sent to the customer and when. The rental store employee then has access to all the information on the mailer, which he or she may never have seen if it was sent directly by the marketing department.

The system is designed for both large and small rental companies and because it's based on the Microsoft package most people are already familiar with the fundamentals that it uses to function. It also uses a Web-based interface that most people recognize and feel comfortable using, abbreviating the learning curve further.

“It provides a fast, easy, simple tool without causing a traumatic impact on the rental company,” says Baryski. “It's designed to be a smooth transition.”