Rental Conversion

<< Back to Rental Module

This page lists information on converting from another rental system to the TrackAbout Rental Module.

Spreadsheet Template for all Rental Conversion Files

This section is all you really need. If you need more information, please consult the Data Loading section below.

Below is a link to the Rental Conversion Template that will help you format the data that will need to be imported into Trackabout.

The tabs in this template are numbered according to the order in which the data needs to be entered and loaded by TrackAbout.

Google Doc spreadsheet: Rental Data Collection Template

Use this spreadsheet in conjunction with the Rental Conversion Tasks google spreadsheet provided by your TrackAbout Support representative.

The information in the Data Loading section of this page (below) groups the information from the Rental Conversion Tasks google spreadsheet by who will be entering / loading the information. (The google spreadsheet is more practical in that is lists the tasks in the order they need to be completed.)

The information in the Data File Formats section of this page (below) gives detailed, technical information about the data which needs to be entered into the Rental Data Collection Template. However, the file should be self-explanatory.

Data Loading

Initial Data Load in Preparation for Rental Comparison

This data is entered manually by you:

• Locations (edit in website as needed)
• Rental Tax Categories (i.e., Cylinder Rent, Equipment Rent, Cylinder Agreement, Hazmat Fees, etc.)
• Rental Class Groups - Gives an extra layer of classification. It is OK for there to be only one Rental Class Group for each Rental Billing Period Type.
• Rental Classes (Rental Tax Categories, Rental Class Groups, Rental Billing Period Types, and Asset Classifications must be entered first. The fact that rental rates can be assigned to all Asset Types in a Rental Class should be considered when creating Rental Classes.)
• Edit Asset Types (Asset Classifications and Rental Classes must be entered first.)
  • Enter "Description on Rental Bill"
  • Mark Asset Types as Exchange if needed
• Standard Rates (Rental Classes and Rental Methods need to be established before entering Standard Rates.)
• Rate Brackets (Rental Classes and Rental Methods need to be established before entering Rate Brackets.)
• Bracketed Rates (Rate Brackets need to be established before entering Bracketed Rates.)
• Flat Fees (Rental Tax Categories and Customers must be entered before Flat Fees.)

Needed for Database Entry

This is data which TrackAbout needs from you to be able to enter information either directly into the database or via Support bulk-load tools:

• Rental Payment Terms (See Excel template)
• Rental Tax Regions (See Excel template. Rental Tax Categories must be entered first.)
• Rental Methods - Legacy Codes are needed (See Excel template. Rental Tax Categories must be entered first.)
• Rental Billing Period Types - Cylinder Rental and Equipment Rental are the most common. (Each Rental Billing Period Type will have its own rental run.)
• Asset Agreement Types - Accounting Codes and options are needed (See Excel template. Rental Tax Categories must be entered first.)
• Asset Agreements (See Excel template. Asset Agreement Types and Rental Classes must be entered first.)

This data will need to be entered directly into the database by TrackAbout Support:

• Rental Payment Terms (entries into this table need accounting codes) - this can be Net15, Net30, etc., or Net15, Cash Sale, C.O.D., etc.
• Rental Methods - add Rental Tax Categories and Legacy Codes (via Console tool)
• Rental Tax Statuses - Confirm that the already-existing defaults are good. (See Excel template.)
• Rental Billing Period Types (i.e., Cylinder Rent, Equipment Rental, etc. Each Rental Billing Period Type will have its own rental run.)
• Asset Agreement Types - Leases, Customer Owned, etc.

This data is bulk loaded:

• Item Info (Asset Classifications) - by TrackAbout (edit in website as needed)
  
• Rental Tax Regions - by you (Tax Categories must be entered before Tax Regions if any Tax Category is tax exempt for any Tax Region.)
  
• Customers - format set up by TrackAbout; import by you (Locations, Payment Terms, Rental Tax Regions, Rental Tax Statuses and Rate Brackets need to be entered into the system before the Customer information can be uploaded.)
• Customer-Specific Rental Rates - by TrackAbout (See Excel template. Rental Classes, Customers and Rental Methods need to be entered before the import of Customer Rates)
• Asset Agreements - by TrackAbout (Asset Agreement Types, Asset Types, and Customers must be entered into the db before Asset Agreements can be loaded.)
• Beginning Balances (per customer) - by TrackAbout using either 'Right Size Customer Balances' for non-Exchange types OR 'Bulk Load Billing Period Exchange Balances' for Exchange types (See Excel template. Customers must be entered first)

This data might be needed during Rental Comparison:

• Balances - only needs to be loaded after initial load if there is a problem.

This data is sent by you during rental comparison and also after Go Live:

• Customers - in case of changes in Name, Address, Tax Region, etc. (Can be loaded by you from the website, as often as they want but least daily after Go Live. Can also set up a webservice, although an API will soon be in place. This integration is automatic after going live with TECSYS)
• Product Codes - entered manually or new ones can come over via API (If done via API, asset classification must first be established in TrackAbout with AssetTypeName = PCodeName)
• Asset Agreements (Eventually can be brought over in an API. Until that's done, we can bulk load at the end of every month.)
• Transactions (Ships and Returns) for the month - needed for pre-Go-Live comparisons AND for Verifications (if using - compares tracking data to invoiced data) AND if Rental is being run without Core Tracking. Can be imported by you from the website. Also we can set it up so that TrackAbout picks them up from an ftp site; however, soon there will be an API. If using TECSYS, then this data is only needed for the conversion. This integration is automatic after going live with TECSYS. (See Excel template.)

This data is sent by you for Rental Comparisons:

• Legacy Rental Invoices - can be loaded by TrackAbout or by you. (See Excel template.)

This data is exported from TrackAbout and imported into your existing system (This is automatic if using TECSYS.)

• Rental Invoice Accounts Receivables (AR) Info
• Rental Invoice General Ledger (GL) Info. (This is generally just be a few lines from the Rental Billing Period Dashboard's totals.You can just key this in manually each month into your existing system.)
  

At the end of each month the rental bills also need to be printed. This can be done in one of two ways:

1. TrackAbout creates PDFs for the rental bills. You can download these pdfs and print them locally.
2. TrackAbout creates an xml (or other electronic format) file for use by your printing software or your vendors printing software.

• This integration file is already created for integration with SourceHOV Solutions in the US
  

Data File Formats

Customer Rental Rates

This is a list of all special or contract rental rates for customers.

File Loading: This file is loaded by TrackAbout support.

Field	Example	Format	Notes
Customer Number	123456	Text, Max 30 char	This is the full customer number. It can contain numbers, letters and special characters
Asset Type	AC100	Text, Max 400 char	This can be whatever is used to organize rental. This is typically a size or part number. Like "HP" for High Pressure or "AR300" for the part number AR300.
Rental Method	D	Text, Max 100 char	This can be configured to accept any native codes from the existing rental system, however these are the standard values: NR = No Rent D = Daily M = Monthly based on ending balance SBM = Monthly based on starting balance PBD = Peak Balance, with a Daily rate PBM = Peak Balance, with a Monthly rate
Rate	0.20	Numeric. Supports 3 points after the decimal	If this rate is 20 cents a day then this field would be 0.20. It's fine, but not necessary to have the extra zeros in this rate like the one before the . or after the 2 in this case. It's also ok to have a dollar sign in here ($) but it is not needed.
Review/Expiration Date	01/01/2015	Date in MM/DD/YYYY format	This is a date at which these rates will be set to be reviewed. Note that in TrackAbout the rates never really 'expire' but a date is stored after which someone should review the rates. If you do not wish to use this feature then set the date to 12/31/2050
Notes	Rates negotiated by Steve	Text, Max 2000 chars	Any special notes or comments on this rate. Leave blank if not used

Customer Balances

This file contains the current asset balances/counts for customers. Typically this is the data for the start/end of a month.

File Loading: This file is loaded by TrackAbout support.

Field	Example	Format	Notes
Customer Number	123456	Text, Max 30 char	This is the full customer number. It can contain numbers, letters and special characters.
Product Code	AC100	Text, Max 52 char	This is commonly called the Item Number, Part Number, Stock Number or Gas Code in some systems. If this code is broken into two parts, both parts are needed here.
Current Balance	5	Integer	Number of assets of this type with this customer. Negative balances are ok for Exchange type assets.

Indicate in the name of the file the date that this file is accurate. This is typically the start or end of a month. So a good name for this file would be CylinderBalances_EndofFeb2010.txt

If a customer has multiple Product Codes, then repeat the Customer Number on each line. So a simple example might look like:

123456  AC100  5
123456  OX100  3
129999  AC100  2
131212  NI300  2
131212  OX100  1

Asset Agreements (Leases, Customer Owned, etc.)

This is for information on Leases or Cylinder Agreements with customers. These are more generically called Asset Agreements in TrackAbout. This is for any agreement where the customer doesn't pay rental on a given kind of asset for a given amount of time.

File Loading: This file is loaded by TrackAbout support.

Field	Example	Format	Notes
Asset Agreement Type	LEASE	Text	This is the AccountingCode from the AssetAgreementTypes DB table. If all you have are leases, then put the word "LEASE" in this column. If you have more types of agreements, contact TrackAbout Support to set this up.
Customer Number	123456	Text, Max 30 char	This is the full customer number. It can contain numbers, letters and special characters
Agreement Number	123456-1	Text, Max 50 char	A unique number to identify this agreement. If no number is availible, leave this field blank.
Original Start Date	06/01/2005	Date, MM/DD/YYYY	If this agreement has been renewed and you still have the original start date, we'll take that here. If it is not know, then leave this field blank.
Start Date	01/01/2009	Date, MM/DD/YYYY	Current start date of the agreement.
End Date	12/31/2009	Date, MM/DD/YYYY	Current end date of the agreement.
Renewal Term in Months	12	Integer	If this agreement is renewed, this is the amount of time it will renew for. So it should be 12 for a 1 year lease.
Auto-Renew	1	One character. 1= Yes, autorenew. 0=No, do not autorenew.	Today this is just a flag that is shown to the user on a renewal report. When the agreement is nearing expiration a user will see this agreement compared to the customer's current balance. One of the fields is this "AutoRenew" field. If you don't have this concept in your system, then just set all agreements to either 0 or 1 depending on whether or not you allow renewal without talking to the customer.
Notes	Call John Doe with any questions OR Agreement loaded on xx/xx/2015	Text, Max 2000 char	This is for any notes stored with this agreement.
Asset Type	AC100	Text, Max 400 char	An indicator for what kind of asset(s) this line covers. This is typically a size or part number. Like "HP" for High Pressure or "AR300" for the part number AR300.
Quantity	2	Integer	If this line covers 2 assets then the value here is a 2. If the agreement has many lines, this is just the quantity for this one line.
Rate Per Asset	50.0	Number with 2 places to the right of decimal	How much it costs PER ASSET for this line. If this line covers 2 cylinders for a year at $50 each for a total of $100 then the value in this field will be 50

Customers

This file provides a list of customers, their addresses, tax info and bill delivery options. Note that this is NOT needed for conversions to Tecsys.

File Loading: You can import this file from this location:

• TEST: https://test.trackabout.com/clt/endOfMonth/importHoldersFile.aspx
• PRODUCTION: https://www.trackabout.com/clt/endOfMonth/importHoldersFile.aspx

Field	Example	Format	Notes
Customer Number	123456	Text, Max 30 char	This is the full customer number. It can contain numbers, letters and special characters
Parent Customer Number	123000	Text, Max 30 char	If this line is for a department (aka ship-to, jobsite or child account), then fill in the number of the parent (aka sold-to, bill-to or main account) account in this field. If this is NOT a department, then leave this field blank.
Customer Name	ALPHA BETA INC.	Text, Max 150 char	The name of the customer. If this is a jobsite, this should be the name of the jobsite.
Location Number	3	Text, Max 12 char	Number for your primary location (aka branch or store or warehouse) that services this customer. This is also the location that will get credit for rental revenue.
Shipping Address 1 (Shipping Name)	ALPHA BETA INC.	Text, Max 50 char	The first line of the shipping address block as printed on rental bills. It is usually the same as the name of the customer.
Shipping Address 2	101 MAIN ST	Text, Max 50 char	Second line of the address block as printed on the rental bill. It is usually the first line of shipping street address.
Shipping Address 3	MAINT DEPT	Text, Max 50 char	Third line of the address block as printed on the rental bill. It is usually the second line of shipping street address.
Shipping City	CHICAGO	Text, Max 50 char	City of shipping street address
Shipping State	IL	Text, Max 50 char	State or Province of shipping street address
Shipping Zip/Postal Code	60601	Text, Max 20 char	Zip or postal code of shipping street address. Include the full "+4" postal code if you have it, but it is not necessary
Shipping Country	USA	Text, Max 50 char	Country of shipping street address. Leave blank if not necessary.
Billing Address 1 (Billing Name)	ALPHA BETA INC.	Text, Max 50 char	The first line of the billing address block as printed on rental bills. It is usually the same as the name of the customer.
Billing Address 2	101 MAIN ST	Text, Max 50 char	Second line of the address block as printed on the rental bill. It is usually the first line of billing street address.
Billing Address 3	MAINT DEPT	Text, Max 50 char	Third line of the address block as printed on the rental bill. It is usually the second line of shipping street address.
Billing City	CHICAGO	Text, Max 50 char	City of billing street address
Billing State	IL	Text, Max 50 char	State or Province of billing street address
Billing Zip/Postal Code	60601	Text, Max 20 char	Zip or postal code of billing street address. Include the full "+4" postal code if you have it, but it is not necessary
Billing Country	USA	Text, Max 50 char	Country of billing street address. Leave blank if not necessary.
Tax Region	IL20	Text, Max 25 char	Tax region or code for this customer. This is based on where the customer is located and dictates which taxes this customer is subject to.
Is Tax Exempt	N	Y = Tax Exempt, N = Not Tax Exempt	Flag to indicate whether or not this customer is tax exempt.
Rental Purchase Order Number	2010G45	Text, Max 100 char	This customers purchase order (PO) number that is to be used for rental bills.
Territory or Salesman	North Chicago	Text, Max 50 chars	There is a slot on the rental bill format for "Territory". This is commonly the name of the branch that services this customer, or a region this customer is in, or the initials of the sales person responsible for this account. The idea is that a customer could reference this when calling with questions to get routed to the right person.
Fax Number for Rental Bill Delivery	555-555-1212	Text, Max 200 char	A fax number where rental bills for this customer will be faxed. Check with TrackAbout Support to be sure you can use this feature. This typically requires integration with SourceCorp or whatever company you are using for bill printing and delivery.
Emails for Rental Bill Delivery	test1@company.com, test2@company.com	Text, Max 400 char	Comma separated list of email addresses that should be sent copies of rental bills.
Send via US Mail	Y	Y = Yes, Mail. N=No, Do not Mail.	Indicates whether or not to mail a paper copy of the bills for this customer to the Bill-To address.
Rental Rate Bracket	7	Text, Max 100 char	If this customer is in a rate bracket (rather than just using customer specific rates and/or standard rates) then this is the code for that bracket. For instance brackets might be used if different geographic regions had different default rental rates or if larger customers are put into rate brackets rather than managed with special customer rates. Leave blank if not used.

If not specified, customers are assigned to the SYSTEM tax region during creation. Rental bills are put on a hold status automatically if the corresponding customer is still assigned to the SYSTEM region during bill generation.

Rental Invoice List

This file contains the dollar amounts from the rental invoices created in a rental run from your current rental system. There is one line per rental invoice.

This information is used to compare the rental numbers in TrackAbout with the rental numbers from your business system. This is only needed as part of the conversion and is not needed after the conversion.

• You can upload this informatoin without TrackAbout's help.
  • This file is uploaded from this page:
    • TEST: https://test.trackabout.com/clt/rental/compareRentalRuns.aspx
    • PRODUCTION: https://www.trackabout.com/clt/rental/compareRentalRuns.aspx

• Click the "View/Edit" link
• Then "Import New Legacy Rental Run"

Field	Example	Format	Notes
Customer Number	123456	Text, Max 30 char	This is the full customer number. It can contain numbers, letters and special characters.
Rental Invoice Number	R32323	Text	This is the invoice number on the rental invoice
Pre Tax Total	100.00	Number	Pre-Tax dollar amount of the invoice
Tax	6.50	Number	Dollar amount of tax on the invoice
Grand Total	106.50	Number	Grand total of invoic. This is the amount the customer pays. It should equal the Pre-Tax + Tax values.
Notes		Text	This is typically left blank. It is a place to include any notes on this invoice if it would be helpful in explaining why it might not match the TrackAbout total.

Tax Regions

This file contains information from your business system concerning Tax Regions.

• The file can be uploaded to your website, and there is an example file format to assist you in preparing the file.
  • TEST: https://test.trackabout.com/clt/rental/bulkLoadRentalTaxRegions.aspx
  • PRODUCTION: https://www.trackabout.com/clt/rental/bulkLoadRentalTaxRegions.aspx

Field	Example	Format	Notes
Tax Region Code	TaxRegionCode1	Text, Max 25 char	This is the tax region from your business system. It commonly looks something like TXAB01
Tax Rate Between States	3.50	Decimal, Max 9 char before the decimal, and Max 5 char after decimal
Tax Rate Within State	2.75	Decimal, Max 9 char before the decimal, and Max 5 char after decimal
Accounting Code	Code1	Text, Max 100 char	The code used to send the data back to Accounts Receivable. This field is NOT needed if you are using TECSYS.
Tax Exempt Categories	TaxExemptCategory1,TaxExemptCategory2,TaxExemptCategory3	A comma-separated list of tax exempt categories

Deliveries and Returns

This file contains a list of all of the asset transactions (delivers and returns to customers) that took place in a period of time.

If a delivery has multiple items on it then it will have multiple lines in this file with some of the information repeated from line to line.

• You can upload this informatoin without TrackAbout's help.
  • This file is uploaded from this page:
    • TEST: https://www.trackabout.com/clt/reconciliation/importInvoicesFile.aspx
    • PRODUCTION: https://www.trackabout.com/clt/reconciliation/importInvoicesFile.aspx

Field	Example	Format	Notes
Delivery Ticket number	555555	Text, Max 25 char	This is the number associated with this delivery. This is sometimes an order number, shipment number, picking number or invoice number. Use whichever number your people most commonly use when thinking about this delivery.
Customer Number	123456	Text, Max 30 char	This is the full customer number. It can contain numbers, letters and special characters
Customer Name	ALPHA BETA INC.	Text, Max 150 char	The name of the customer. If this is a jobsite, this should be the name of the jobsite.
Location Number	3	Text, Max 12 char	Number for your location (aka branch or store or warehouse) that made this delivery/return.
Customer Purchase Order (PO) Number	2010GASA100	Text, 100 char	This is the customer's PO number that you use to get paid by that customer. Leave blank if not set or not needed in this integration.
Ship Date	01/01/2010	Date in MM/DD/YYYY format	The date this delivery hit the rental system. For rental comparisons we want whatever date (order date, ship date, invoice date) that your current system uses for rental.
Product Code	AC100	Text, Max 52 char	This is commonly called the Item Number, Part Number, Stock Number or Gas Code in some systems. If this code is broken into two parts, both parts are needed here.
Product Code Description	ACETYLENE SIZE 100	Text, Max 1000 char	This is the description of the product code. This field is optional. Leave it blank to not use this field.
Delivered Quantity	2	Integer	Number of this product code delivered or shipped on this line. 0 is an ok value. Negative values are ok too. Contact TrackAbout do determine how these will be handled.
Returned Quantity	2	Integer	Number of this product code returned on this line. 0 is an ok value. Negative values are ok too. Contact TrackAbout do determine how these will be handled.

Item Info - Asset Type

This file will provide specific information about your assets.

Field	Example	Format	Notes
Category	Industrial	Text, Max 25 char	This is the general category of the item. For a gas distributor this list is typically: Industrial, Medical, Spec Gas, Rental Equipment, Bulk Tanks, Tube Trailers
Group	Oxygen	Text, Max 30 char	This is normally the gas. For a gas distributor this list is typically: Oxygen, Argon, Nitrogen. There is normally a generic "Mix" group used for all mixes.
Asset Type/Product Code	OX-20	Text, Max 50 char	This is the item number used in TECSYS or whatever your ERP system is.
Product Description	INDUSTRIAL OXYGEN, SIZE 20	Text, Max 200 char	This is the text description of the product code.For a gas
Description on Rental Bill
Rental Class Group
Rental Class	Industrial Cylinders	Text, Max 100 char	This is the way that rental is organized. For instance there is commonly a rental class call "Industrial" or "High Pressure" for most kinds of gas cylinders. There is also often another one called "Liquids". So this might be HP (for High Pressure) or LQ (for Liquids)
Replacement Price	200.00	Decimal, Max 18 char before the decimal, Max 2 char after the decimal	This is the amount a customer will be charged should the asset be lost or irreparably damaged.
Tax Category	Cylinder Rent	Text, Max 50 char	We'll normally assume that all items are in the same tax category, but let us know if any are in a different tax category. For gas distributors typically most items are in a "Cylinder Rent" tax category. Sometimes some other items are in a "Bulk Tank Rent" or "Delivery Charge" tax category.
Any Other Fields			We'll take any other fields that you might have like size, weight, vendor, etc. We will probably not use these fields, but they can be helpful to better understand the data.