Enfinity's StreetEage mobile software includes GPS monitoring, in-vehicle navigation, status updates and reporting tools with its rental management software.
Enfinity's StreetEage mobile software includes GPS monitoring, in-vehicle navigation, status updates and reporting tools with its rental management software.
Enfinity's StreetEage mobile software includes GPS monitoring, in-vehicle navigation, status updates and reporting tools with its rental management software.
Enfinity's StreetEage mobile software includes GPS monitoring, in-vehicle navigation, status updates and reporting tools with its rental management software.
Enfinity's StreetEage mobile software includes GPS monitoring, in-vehicle navigation, status updates and reporting tools with its rental management software.

Interviews with Software Manufacturers: Secure and Scalable

July 15, 2015
Earlier this year two venerable rental software brands – Rentalman, long the favorite of most of the national chains – and Enfinity, created by early pioneer Solutions by Computer, united under the brand name of InTempo Software. Matt Hopp, InTempo’s director of customer care, tells RER about mobile functionality, smartphone payments, data protection, telematics integration and more.

Earlier this year two venerable rental software brands – Rentalman, long the favorite of most of the national chains – and Enfinity, created by early pioneer Solutions by Computer, united under the brand name of InTempo Software. Matt Hopp, InTempo’s director of customer care, tells RER about mobile functionality, smartphone payments, data protection, telematics integration and more.

RER: What is new technologically with your company's software?

Hopp: We have a lot going on throughout our range of systems. With Enfinity and CounterPro, it’s EMV. In advance of the liability changes coming this fall stemming from EMV non-compliance, we’ve added EMV capabilities to our software. By integrating both CounterPro and Enfinity with Verifone Point processing, both systems are prepared for EMV.

With RentalMan, expanding the reach of the RentalMan ERP is the primary objective. This involves integrations for CRM solutions, telematics, SmartEquip and many others, as well as EMV compliance. The goal of RentalMan is to increase its universe through tight integrations with the software our customers use throughout their business.

Is strengthening the mobile functionality an important current emphasis?

We’re continuing to strengthen the mobile functionality of Enfinity as a top priority. We’ve already introduced two powerful mobile technologies. The first is eSign, which makes it easy to capture rental commitments from customers who are remote from the rental location, confirm deliveries and execute other documents.  The second is Enfinity’s integration with StreetEagle GPS tracking, which provides mobile resource management, routing and dispatch, and mobility solutions. 

Our mobility goal with RentalMan is to put the power of the system in the hands of the people throughout the rental operation, where and when they need it – from sales reps, to delivery drivers and in the rental yard. It’s not just about getting the right equipment to the right customer on time – it’s about keeping everyone updated along the way.

What are some of the advancements your customers are calling for that you're working on?

Customers are looking for ways to extend their productivity outside of the office. This is a major factor we consider when we plan future developments for all of our systems.

Currently, our primary requests from RentalMan users relate to mobility and telematics. They’re eager to expand the use of mobile devices throughout their organization, whether it’s initiating a contract, or servicing equipment on a jobsite, or any number of other functions that take them away from a rental desk. Telematics is key to maintaining equipment on long term rentals, making sure it’s where it’s supposed to be, and that the customer is running the equipment as agreed. When ready for scheduled maintenance, the system will notify the service team to perform the maintenance.

What about payment by smartphone, how is that capability progressing?

Both CounterPro and Enfinity are integrated with Verifone Point, which comes with the ability to process payments through the smartphone applications of Google Wallet and Apple Pay.

With RentalMan, renters are currently able to make payments via smartphones using RentalMan’s customer portal. Meanwhile, to accommodate the upcoming changes related to EMV compliance, RentalMan customers are in the process of switching to new credit card terminals. These EMV-compliant terminals are capable of accepting payments from Google Wallet and Apple Pay, giving consumers additional, convenient options for payment.

Are customers concerned about the safety of their data, protection against hacking or other invasions of privacy and information theft? What is your company doing to protect your customers?

Customers are rightly concerned about the safety of their data. There are a number of steps we take to help our customers protect against data misuse. First, with Enfinity, we provide guidance on securing networks. Second, all credit card data is secured individually, and those transactions are secure. Third, we provide data recovery services that include journaling all transactions on an hourly basis. Customers also have the option of installing Venue automated offsite data backup. Both of these measures ensure that in the case of a severe loss of data, whether a result of natural disaster, fire or other emergency, a customer can retrieve their undamaged rental management database.

RentalMan is built on the IBM Power i platform, which is an exceptionally secure and scalable foundation with a significant track record of success.  Both our hosted and on-premise customers use the same software with the same features, security and capabilities.  Our cloud environment for RentalMan is hosted with Meridian IT, a leading provider of managed services. 

How important is it to be able to integrate with other types of software, for example, integration with SmartEquip and other software-related service providers?

We have a long, successful history of integrating Enfinity with third party technology. Our firm belief is that by leaving GPS or credit card processing, for example, to the leaders in those categories of technology, and tightly tying that functionality into our software, we’re able to deliver the best solutions to our customers.

RentalMan is the core that supports our customers from end to end of the organization including purchasing, operations, and finance. Around this ERP are many critical applications like SmartEquip, Vertex, Rouse Analytics, telematics, CRM, and many others.

How can you help a rental company better analyze its cost structure and determine which equipment is profitable and which isn't? How can your software help a rental company determine at what point a piece of equipment becomes unprofitable and should be sold?

Enfinity captures all of the data related to processing transactions, including rental contracts, purchase orders and work orders – these records are also used by the system for analysis, to enable rental operators to determine the profitability of units. The analysis supports decisions such as whether a unit should be sold, or requires too many work orders and therefore has too many service issues. Enfinity offers both standardized reporting and Enlighten, a module that features “drag and drop” tools that make it easy to analyze customer, inventory and transaction data and make optimal decisions.

The data that RentalMan collects is the foundation for hundreds of reports available in our base application, many of which are centered around ROI (time vs. dollar) to help determine when is the right time to sell an asset. But there’s no hard and fast rule on exactly when that time is, so our software supports each individual rental company’s business philosophy. We also offer Asset Advisor, a RentalMan module that helps with fleet planning by analyzing factors such as utilization, return on investment and age of equipment.  

How about fleet inspections and diagnostics/interface with telematics systems, what is your functionality in this arena?

We anticipate completing our Enfinity integration with the DPL Telematics system in the near future. This technology will track where rental equipment is located, set up geo-fences and document meter use, among other data points. It will be a powerful resource for tracking everything from on-road vehicles to on-the-job equipment. 

We’ve already integrated RentalMan with various telematics providers through the use of web services. Based on the data transmitted, the system will generate alerts about equipment due for service, whether at a jobsite or in the yard. The data also supports billing the rental customer for any overage on the current billing cycle rather than waiting until the end of the contract.