Solutions By Computer
Solutions By Computer rental computer system users can access their transaction databases using Windows tools such as Microsoft Excel and Visual SQL because of OpenAccess software incorporated in the system. The software complies with Open Database Connectivity and uses a Structured Query Language. Users also have the ability to integrate their data with other corporate databases and can easily extract data in the form of custom reports and spreadsheets. The company supplies customers with a library of pre-written queries.
Robert Buckner, chairman and Cartier Conley, general manager at Redfish Rentals Inc., Houma, La., had these comments. “CounterPro's function key design allows us to generate a rental contract, sale invoice, purchase order, work order or equipment transfer with the exact same keystrokes, which are minimal to begin with. CounterPro also interfaces directly into the AccuPro module. This reduces manual data entry for accounting and payroll.
“The main thing that's attractive to us is CounterPro's completeness. It has complete counter and back office functionality. Also, the simple function key system requires minimal training and generates a contract quickly.”
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Genisys
AlphaRental by Genisys Software is in use in a variety of rental industries including general equipment rental stores, construction equipment rental businesses, party rental, special event rental, truck or car rental, aerial lift rental companies and more. The company offers integrated accounting that has the same look and feel of AlphaRental software and is also supported by the same help desk staff. The company will release the new GUI version of AlphaRental in the third quarter of 2003 that will also be Web-enabled.
“You have the ability to set special rates for individual customers, and those rates will follow them to any location they visit, which is fantastic from a customer service standpoint,” says Brian Vaughan, president, Capital Rentals, Sterling, Va. “AlphaRental can easily set up multiple jobsites for each customer, which allows you to move equipment to and from each jobsite and also run reports by jobsite if you want to. Their availability screen is nice because you have everything on the same screen at the same time: category and item number; description; unit or serial number; availability; and rental rates. They have a feature called ‘Flip,’ which allows you to execute multiple sessions/jobs all at the same time using software instead of hardware even on a dumb terminal if you don't have all PCs as workstations. Unlimited amount of text messages can be attached with one keystroke to customer records, equipment, employees, vendors, contracts, basically any area of the system.
“We like having the ability to print a schedule for a customer showing all equipment on rental for every jobsite,” Vaughan adds. “We can easily transfer items to another store or jobsite. We can reserve or rent equipment from any location and have it delivered to the customer. It is easy to add or change items to quotes, reservations or contracts. It is very user friendly and intuitive. It makes training new employees a breeze.”
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RMI Corp.
The Advantage system from RMI Corp. is an end-to-end, fully integrated, business management system that incorporates financial management, relationship management, distribution, rental management, service management, human resources and payroll into one application. The Advantage Solution is built upon Navision Financials, an Enterprise Resource Planning Solution now part of the Microsoft Business Solution's family.
Relationship management is a business strategy, within the Advantage offering, that is designed to streamline processes regarding interactions with prospects, customers and vendors. The rental Advantage application is the area with the Advantage system that handles the rentals and sales of equipment. The distribution component of the system allows construction businesses to effectively respond to their customers' needs through inventory forecasting, purchasing, order promising and tracking. The service management application area is aimed at distributors who provide maintenance and repair service for their products. The general ledger and chart of accounts are central financial areas within the system and are completely integrated with each business area within the system.
Some of the features include “ease of customization for each customer's unique needs,” says Julian Cohen, project manager for National Construction Rentals, Mission Hills, Calif. “It also supports numerous types of rentals, maybe several hundred types of rental terms.” Cohen likes that the system runs on “enterprise software that handles all of our system needs with a single product.”
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Minorplanet Systems
Minorplanet Systems offer the vehicle management information. VMI combines global positioning system and wireless telematics technologies into a leading-edge solution for companies operating several vehicles or several thousand. The system provides minute-by-minute location information and up to 60 real-time, historical and exception-based reports designed for companies seeking to improve revenues and reduce fleet costs.
“In order to effectively manage over 550 vehicles daily, we required a system that would not only help us track the vehicles but also help increase our efficiency and productivity,” says Joe Noorlag, district manager for Trinity Waste Services, Fort Worth, Texas. “The Minorplanet system has more than satisfied our needs. VMI's detailed reports, minute-by-minute tracking and exceptional customer service were the selling points for the company.”
Charles Rucker, operations manager, New Haven Moving Equipment, Los Angeles, also uses the system. “I know where my fleet is without interrupting my drivers. I can also measure the efficiency of each driver.”
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Computer Ease
Computer Ease offers the software product RCSWindows. It is a fully integrated rental and POS system that lets users know what's available in inventory, the amount, the location and the profitability of each item. Now with the inclusion of ODBC, RCSWindows also provides the ease of use and all the functionality of Windows to help monitor a business and increase ROI. A few of the added benefits include e-mailing and faxing contracts from one's desk, Access for report writing, Excel for spreadsheets, non-proprietary hardware and Laser printing.
Chris Campbell, owner, Alabama Rentals, Birmingham, Ala., says this about his Computer Ease system, “The computer system shows me what revenue is generated by what equipment. I use it as the Bible for my business.”
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Point-of-Rental
Reliable, fast and easy-to-use, the Enterprise version of Point-of-Rental runs on the latest Microsoft 2000 server operating system. Features include Internet connectivity, storage of customer drive license images, automatic printing of item instruction/safety sheets and integration with QuickBooks and other PC accounting software.
“The most unique feature of Point-of-Rental is that they also own a rental company,” says David Bardusch, owner of Taylor Rental Center, Webster, N.Y. “They understand how the rental business works, and they can test their product on themselves. With our system being hooked to the Internet we have the ability to verify phone numbers to online phonebooks, which has helped us catch some people giving false information. It also can print directions through Mapquest right from our rental contract without having to re-enter the info into Mapquest. Another great feature is the ability to produce a report that compares the quantities of an item we own to the number of times we send out that many items. We have found out that for some items we carry too many of them because we never rent all of them at one time. This will help us streamline our rental inventory and make it more productive.”
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Alert Management Systems
Alert Management Systems recently released a new Java version, Alert EasyPro 4.2. A Java-based open systems design provides seamless connectivity with other Windows productivity tools including Microsoft Office. Rental transactions and reports can be edited with a palette of Windows text formatting options, saved in a variety of formats and instantly e-mailed or faxed from a desktop. Alert EasyPro's Java architecture is also designed for WAN and VPN environments. Advanced training opportunities and application consulting services are also available.
“The ability to custom-tailor rental rates and merchandise pricing at each location is a real benefit because it allows us to be competitive in each market we serve,” says Mike Miller, president, Handy Rents, Eastlake, Ohio. “Also, because our eight stores are all connected using a centralized server, we can share rental inventory between stores, which helps us keep ROI rates high and control costs. This is a very valuable tool for us. It's even more important than a piece of rental equipment out in the yard. You'd need a whole team of accountants to do what your software does for you.”
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