Rental Setup and Serialized Rentals - University of Hawaii · Rental Setup and Serialized Rentals Setups for rentals include establishing defaults for the following: • Coding rental

MBS ARC (Textbook) Manual

Rental Setup and Serialized Rentals

Setups for rentals include establishing defaults for the following:

• Coding rental refunds and writeoffs.

• Rental letters.

• Creation of secured rental codes.

• Valid Customer accounts also can be setup prior to renting to ensure an easier rental process for students.

There also are setup options for rentals on the MBS POS side that are

required to allow rentals and to customize how rentals are used in your

store.

Serialized Rentals Setup steps are included as part of Preparing for Rentals

chapter.

A table of contents is on the next page.

ARC Rentals – Setup and Serialized Rentals MBS Systems

MBS TEXTBOOK EXCHANGE, LLC PAGE 2 OF 39

Rental Setup in ARC .............................................................................. 3

Maintain Reason Codes ....................................................................... 3

Maintain Overdue Letters .................................................................... 5

Maintain Overdue Days ....................................................................... 8

Work with Customers ....................................................................... 10

Rental Setup on POS ........................................................................... 14

Rental Support ................................................................................ 14

Secured Rentals .............................................................................. 21

Serialized Rentals ............................................................................... 24

Change Rental Class ........................................................................ 24

Change Rental Price ......................................................................... 27

Serialized Rental Reserve .................................................................. 28

Printing Barcodes ............................................................................. 31

Work with Serials ............................................................................. 33

Making Serialized Rentals Available on MBS POS .................................. 35

Work with Transactions .................................................................... 36



Rental Setup in ARC

There are a few one-time setup options that are used for different rental

processes. Your MBS Client Representative will often assist with these. The

setup steps also are outlined in this section.

Maintain Reason Codes

Rental reason codes are in place for both manual and automatic operations.

The two types of reason codes:

• Void —Select Void to cancel a rental transaction. Canceling a rental

sale transaction should only be done from the register (Post Void or

Rental Refund). Voids can also be used to cancel back office transactions such as rental returns. A void is used to return a book to

inventory in its original condition.

• Writeoff —Writeoffs are used to remove non-returned rentals and

damaged rentals from student accounts or to remove serialized rentals from serialized inventory altogether.

At least one writeoff code is required for the secured rentals process and

clearing of non-returned rentals. A void code is recommended for correcting

return errors in the back office.

Textbook Rental Application > Reason Codes



1. This screen accesses the two different types of reason codes. One

code for Voids and another code for Writeoffs. The screen defaults to the void codes.

To access the Writeoff codes, select the button next to Writeoff. The list of Writeoff codes displays.

2. To add a code, click Add Reason Code.

3. Enter the two-digit reason code, select the type of code, and enter a brief description. Click Save.

4. A message appears on the bottom of the window, stating “Data was inserted.” Click Go Back.

5. The new code now appears in the table.



Maintain Overdue Letters

The Textbook Rental Application contains the ability to print overdue

reminders for non-returned rental textbooks. The setup is located in the

Overdue Rental Letters menu. Defaults for Overdue Day and Overdue Letters

must be set up for Secured Rentals, but printed letters are not required.

The MBS inSite application is the preferred method for sending rental letters.

MBS inSite provides the ability to email reminder and overdue letters instead

of the printed option from Textbooks. If using inSite letters, a default

Overdue Day code and Overdue Letter code also should be set up when

using Secured Rentals.

Textbook Rental Application > Overdue Rental Letters

1. Click Maintain Overdue Letters. A listing of already created letters displays.

2. Click Add to create a new letter code.



3. Enter the required information.

• Letter Code —Abbreviation of the letter description.

• Description —Heading for the type of letter being created (e.g., Charge Secured Rentals).

• Use Only for Overdue Days — If an Overdue Day already exists, enter here. The Tasks option search also is available for overdue days.

• Print Replacement Cost — Yes will design the letter to display the non-returned rental’s charge amount. The replacement cost is

designated as an amount of the original book condition and shelf price.

• Print Overdue Fee — Select Yes to design the letter to display the amount to be charged for overdue fees.

• Print Sales Tax — Yes will show the estimated sales tax that will be charged for non-returned rentals.

Sales Tax on a reminder letter will use a flat tax rate. Secured Rental

charges on POS will use a tax table matrix set up on the MBS POS system.

This can lead to slight differences in the tax amount on the letter versus the

actual required tax amount. Ask your Client Representative or POS Support

about any questions regarding this difference.

4. Click Save. A message appears: “Data was inserted.” Click Go Back

after adding letters.

Now that the letter code is created, text for the letter can be added. This

step is only needed if printed letters will be generated. Letters emailed from

inSite are created with letter text on inSite.

5. To add text, highlight the desired letter code and click Enter Text from the Options menu.



6. Enter the text on this screen. This information is included in the

beginning of the letter. The book information will appear following this text. Line breaks will appear on print-outs as they appear on-screen.

7. Click Enter Trailer Text to add text to the end of the letter (such as contact information). Enter the text in the box. Click Save.



Maintain Overdue Days

ARC allows the user to set codes relating to the number of days a rental is

past due. This allows the system to generate letters based on number of

days past due and apply late charges according to the store’s policies.

Textbook Rental Application > Overdue Rental Letters > Click Maintain

Overdue Days

1. Click Add to set a number of days.



2. Enter the required information.

• Days Overdue — Number of days after the rental due date (if only creating Overdue Days for Secured Rentals, the default day is 0 or 1).

• Default Letter Code — Enter the letter code created in Maintain Overdue Letters when a letter should be printed for the overdue day.

• Charge Replacement Cost? —The settings in Replacement Cost Calculation Options creates charges for non-returned rentals (see

below).

• Price Condition to Use? —Additional Fee Options settings are used

to charge a penalty fee instead of/or in addition to a replacement charge (see below).

• Price Time in Effect to Use? — Current Shelf Price bases the replacement cost off the shelf price at the current time in Maintain

Book Information. Shelf Price at Time of Rental bases the replacement cost off what the shelf price had been at the time of the original rental

sale transaction.

• Percentage of Shelf Price — Enter a percent to charge a fraction of the original replacement cost (zero equals 100 percent).

• Deduct Original Rental Fee? — Subtracts the amount originally paid for the rental sale transaction from the replacement cost.

• Charge and Additional Replacement Fee? / Fee Amount — Enter a dollar amount or percentage of total replacement cost to charge a

penalty fee per book.

• Taxable — Tax settings can be set up to display on letters. This is

only for the fee, not the replacement cost. The table will not necessary reflect the same tax as the POS register.

3. Click Save.



Work with Customers

The Customers section of the Textbook Rental Application is an interface that

works with the merchandise customer database.

Accounts in the Customers menu can be added:

• Manually in the Customers menu in the Textbook Rental Application.

• Manually at the MBS POS register.

• Created by the customer on inSite.

• Automatically imported list of customers. The MBS Client

Representative will provide the specifications for a customer import list.

• Integrated with accounts created/maintained in ARC – Textbooks.

For existing accounts, rental information can be reviewed and processes

completed. These include:

• Access and update the ARC Rental Customer Database.

• View transaction histories for customers.

• View current rented books.

• Create customers for text rentals.

• Return or writeoff rentals, or void a return or writeoff.

• Print transaction reports.



Textbook Rental Application > Customers

1. This table in ARC lists all of the customers currently entered into ARC.

To add a new customer, click New Customer.

2. While the system automatically can assign an account number, it is

recommended to use the student ID or other identification to track a student. Press Enter or click Save to have the system assign an

account number. Enter the customer information and click Save.



Some key fields on this screen include:

• Customer Number/Name/Phone Number/Email/Address —

Enter the customer information. Customer Number and Name are the

only required fields on this screen, but the student contact information is helpful for rental returns.

Other optional fields include:

• A/R Account and F/A Account — If the account also will be used for

Accounts Receivable and Financial Aid, the student ID or other account number for these areas can be entered. Select “Yes” to Add or

update… information?

• Sort by — Defaults to first/last name. If other information entered on the student account will be needed for sorting, provide this information

here. For instance, zip code number if sorting by zip code.

• Customer Status Code and Group Codes — Status codes are used

for Customer Relations Management (CRM) and include options to flag the account as active, inactive, online, etc.

Group Codes are used to assign the customer as part of a group that

can tie to loyalty and promotions. These codes are maintained in

Merchandise and Accounting > Settings.

• Loyalty Enabled? — If the customer signs up for an active Loyalty

program, this flag will flip to “Yes”.



• Graduation Year — Enter the four-digit graduation year (20XX).

• Allow CRM Communication —Information related to this student will be gathered for running Customer Relations Management reports if

Yes is selected.

• Update Rental Customer? — A new customer is defaulted to allow

rental. Turn this option off by flipping the flag to “No”.

Clicking Save will open a window asking “Allow Rental?” “No” prevents

this customer from renting. Click Save.

3. Click Save once all customer information is entered.

Additional customer information settings are located in the customer

information chapter.



Rental Setup on POS

MBS POS Server > Management Maintenance Functions > Store Options

Maintenance > Transaction Settings (2) > Rental Support

Rental Support

Rental support contains settings for working with rentals at the register. The

options include allowing rentals, accepting customer IDs, selecting Customer

Information Setup, and working with receipts.



Check the Allow Rentals at this Store box to activate rentals as available

for processing at the register.

1. Select a Validate Rental Customer Account option from the dropdown

box. The three options are:

• Required. The prompt requires the cashier to either swipe or type the

customer’s ID#. This means the account entered must be checked

against the Customer Rental File. If the customer account does not

exist, it needs to be added either at POS or in the Text Rental

Application before the rental transaction is completed. Secured Rentals

should always be set to Required.

• Override Allowed. Prompt displays “Click Enter to bypass” on the

register. If the entered account is not in the Rental Customer file at

POS, a manager-level employee can override and allow the rental

transaction to complete.

• Do Not Validate. Nothing is displayed.

2. Enter the default term code associated with the Default Due Date in the

Default Term Code field. This is used only for Serialized Rentals. Non-

Serialized Rental Terms are validated from the active terms in the text

rental application.

3. Enter a date in the Default Rental Due Date in this format: mm/dd/yyyy

(05/31/2017). The date is required for Serialized Rentals.

4. Click the Other Valid Due Dates button to enter up to four additional

Valid Due Dates. Enter dates in these fields in the same format as the

Default Rental Due Date. The valid due dates are exclusive to Serialized

Rentals.

When using Serialized Rentals, manually change the Rental Due Dates with

each new term when entering Valid Due Dates. This step is not needed for

Non-Serialized Rentals.



5. Click the Rental Transaction Receipt Messages button to create a

message that prints on rental receipts. The message may consist of up to

five lines with each line containing up to 38 characters.

6. Click OK to apply the changes.

If printing a rental pre-defined agreement on the receipt, please see the

rental chapter of the MBS POS manual for how to enter a Rental Terms and

Agreements document. You can choose to print this four line receipt

message in addition to a Rental Terms and Agreements.



7. Click the MSR Position button to swipe rental IDs at the register.

8. Select a Track Number from the dropdown box: 0, 1, or 2. Provide a

numeral for the Track Starting Position. The Number Length field accepts

up to two numerals.

9. Click OK to apply the changes.



Other options in Rental Support include:

• Require Cust. ID on Rental Returns. Check this box to accept

rental returns with a valid ID. Always check this option when Secured

Rentals is active.

• Print Duplicate Receipt. Check this box to print an extra Rental

Transactions receipt.

• Support Signature Capture. If this option is selected, a rental

transaction will prompt on the pin pad. The prompt asks for the

signature for the rental term agreement. If the tender already requires

signature capture, a prompt displays for first time rentals. A second

prompt requires the tender signature.

• Allow Override for Securing CC. This option allows a Manager

Override to bypass the requirement for a securing credit card during a

textbook rental transaction.

The store will need to define which Security Models will be allowed to

perform the Manager Override for this purpose.

• Print Rental Transaction on Document. This option provides the

ability to always print on a document if the transaction includes a

rental textbook. The register will prompt for a document to be inserted

instead of printing a receipt.

• Use Card Codes. This option is for use if multiple student ID cards

exist on campus. Please work with POS Support to set this up.



• Allow Entry of NEW Customers. To allow cashiers to create new

Rental Customers at the time of the rental transaction, check this box.

It is used in conjunction with the Customer Information Setup

shown as follows.

• Customer Name and Phone. This option is required for creating a

customer during the transaction, and both the Required and Display

options must be checked. The store can choose whether it should

print on the receipt or not.

• Customer Address and Customer Email. These are optional fields

so the store can choose whether or not to require their entry. If a

store chooses not to require this information, it is recommended to still

check the Display option so the cashier has the choice to enter the

information or leave it blank.

• Require Securing Credit Card. This option is required for Secured

Rentals. Checking this field allows the required prompt for securing a

credit card during a transaction.



• Mask Customer# on Receipt. Check this option if you do not wish to

display the customer ID on the receipt (for example, Student ID of

123456 will display similar to XXXX56).

The customer information setup here also defines the parameters of what is

displayed and required for entry with Customer Information Retrieval.



Secured Rentals

Secured rentals allow a securing credit card to be used during a transaction.

This creates a token that only can be retrieved by the registers in the store

so students can be charged for not returning rental books.

Tokenization is required in order for Secured Rentals to work. Any store with

P2Pe would also have tokenization. Contact MBS POS Support if you wish to

verify you have tokenization or in regards to questions over it.

1. In the Store Options Transaction Settings 1 screen, the option for

Use BIN File should be checked to use Secured Rentals.

2. In the Store Options Transaction Settings 2 screen, ensure the

Support Tokenization box is checked. If not, be sure to contact MBS POS

Support.

3. Select Rental Support to setup options specific to Secured Rentals.



There are some options in Rental Support that must be checked to activate

the Securing Rentals feature.

4. Check the Require Securing Credit Card box.

Required for

Secured Rentals Optional

Optional but

recommended



5. The Num Days added to Due Date for Securing Card Exp Date

Validation may be defined for specific stores.

• This option allows entry of the number of days the system will check to

ensure a card doesn’t expire before a non-returned credit card can be

charged.

• The system will add the number entered here to the Rental Due Date

to determine the minimum credit card expiration date.

5. Cust. ID Length.

• Allows the entry of a minimum and maximum student ID length.

• This feature is helpful for avoiding the entry of an inaccurate customer

number.



Serialized Rentals

Serialized Rentals require inventory to be moved from New/Used inventory

classes into a Rental inventory class. Serialized inventory is viewed then as

an Asset as opposed to Inventory. It will not be tracked in the stockledger,

but it can be added and adjusted manually in General Ledger if necessary.

The steps for serialized rentals are different from non-serialized since

inventory has to be serialized before being sold. A book must first be

allowed as a rental in the local database, then re-classed, and then flagged

for rental. The instructions that follow will go through the process of making

a book serialized.

The first step is to flag the book as available to rent in the local database.

This can be done as a book is adopted, or it can be done from Maintain Book

Information. Anytime the Update Book Information screen is displayable,

the option to Allow Rentals will be available.

Change Rental Class

1. From the Adoptions Menu, click Maintain Reclass Documents.

2. Click Add Reclass Batch to create the reclass header. You will be

asked to enter the description for documenting this re-class. Click Save.



3. The header is displayed in the table. Highlight it and click Work with Detail to add a book. A new table will show to which you can add

records. Click Add Book.

4. Search for the title to serialize and click Save.

5. The book information is displayed with the option to change inventory currently in the Avail Qty column.

6. Since the book is flagged to Allow Rental, the R=Rental option is displayed as a Values for “To Class”. Enter the quantity being re-

classed in the Qty column, and enter R in the To Class column. Click Save.



7. Click Save. The Reclass From, Reclass To, and QTY columns display the information you changed. You can add additional titles by clicking

Add Book, or you can Go Back to finish working with detail.

8. To complete the re-class, highlight the document on Maintain Reclass Documents and click Select for Posting. This will add “Yes” next to the

batch. Click Post Selected to complete the re-class posting.



Change Rental Price

To set the rental price on this title, click Prices on the book information

screen. Enter the rental price in the “For Rental” box and click Save.



Serialized Rental Reserve

Serialized inventory has to be reserved for the term. The Inventory menu

can be accessed during adoptions from Order Quantity Edit and from the

Adopted Book list under the course. It can also be accessed from the

Maintain Book Information menu in the Adoptions main menu at Book >

Inventory > Reserve Rentals.

Reserving inventory also will reduce Open to Buy. This will be reviewed as

well in the following step. These steps will follow using Maintain Book

Information to access the Inventory menu.

1. From the Adoptions Menu, click Maintain Book Information. Select the store and term for the book being rented, and then search for the title.

2. The Update Book Information screen is displayed. Click Inventory from the Tasks bar to go to the Inventory menu.

3. The inventory table displays available serialized inventory in the Grade column heading of Rnt. Click Reserve Rentals to set that inventory as

reserved for this term.



4. Enter the quantity you choose to reserve in the Reserve for Term field.

You can see how many you have available to reserve at Total Serial Rentals Available. You will also need to select the necessary rental

flags.

Rental flags selection for serialized rentals are as follows:

• Allow Rentals for this Term. This flag is to note that this book will be used for this term. Yes must be selected to rent titles at POS and

on inSite.

• Allow New/Used Non-Serialized Rentals on POS/inSite for this

term. It is recommended to select No to these four questions when

renting the title as a serialized book.

• Allow Serialized Rentals on inSite for this term. Selecting Yes will

allow any serialized inventory to be purchased on inSite. It is recommended to not rent both serialized and non-serialized for the

same title.

5. Once the rental flags are selected and the quantity to reserve entered

into Reserve for Term, click Save.

6. The Inventory screen will now display with the rental reserve showing in

the Reserved column. This also will update Open to Buy. Navigate to Order

Quantity Edit (Previous, then Order Quantity Edit from the Tasks bar in

Update Book Information). A Reserved Rentals field will show, and Open to

Buy is reduced by the amount reserved.



Serialized rentals can be worked with and reviewed after the inventory is re-

classed. Barcodes also need to be printed so the title can be rented at the

register. The serial numbers are generated automatically, so there is no

need to manually add serials.



Printing Barcodes

1. Navigate to the Textbook Rentals main menu and click Rental

Textbooks. Locate or search for the title. The table will show a Yes in

the Inventory column if the book is a serialized textbook. The options of Title/Serial Search and column ordering can help with your

sorting/searching for a title.

2. Once you locate the title, you can get a listing of all the serialized

barcodes assigned to it by highlighting the title and clicking Select. A red asterisk will appear next to the title. Click Print Serials. This will

send a listing report to your print queue.

The listing report example is below.

3. To display/work with/print serials, highlight the title in Rental Textbooks and click Serialized Inventory.



The following detail can be worked with:

• Work with Serials. Allows you to Work with Transactions, change the

serial back to retail (Reclass Selected to Retail), and Print Barcode by serial number.

• Print Barcodes. Prints the serialized barcode for all inventory.

• Transfer. Allows you to send inventory from one store to another.

• Inventory by Class Code. Shows the class codes and inventory availability per store.



Work with Serials

1. Click Select and Work with Transactions to display transactions on that

serial number.