Approval chains
Damage, repair, early-end and late-return charges wait as To Confirm, and corporate credit applications wait too. Each goes through an approval chain per Entity: the Rent Managers to start with, and levels you add.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- A yard checker charges a customer for a scratch that was already there, and the invoice goes out before anyone looks.
- A corporate account opens with a large credit limit on one person's say-so.
- A director wants to see every damage charge above an amount, and the software knows only one approver.
How it works
- Charges that need a second look start as To Confirm. These are: damage marked to charge at a return check and a repair charged to the customer. Also an early end inside a notice or lock-in period, and a late return fee.
- With no set-up, a Rent Manager opens Rental > Billing > Bills > Charges, filter To Confirm, and presses Confirm or Drop. Only confirmed charges are billed.
- Each such charge becomes a request on the Rental charge chain of its Entity, made when the charge is made. With no set-up, the Rent Managers approve it.
- An Approvals Administrator adds levels under Approvals > Configuration > Approval Chains. For example, a chain with Only For an amount above a value and a level of directors.
- Approvers get a to-do on the charge. They decide on it under Approvals > Requests > To Approve, or in the Approvals entry of the apps. Approval makes the charge To Bill; refusal drops it.
Everything it does
What goes through a chain in SmartMy Rental
- Rental charge: damage at return, repair charged to the customer, early end and late return fee; the Rent Managers approve with no set-up
- Rental credit application: a company asking for a corporate account with a credit limit. The Rent Managers approve with no set-up. The amount is the limit given, or else the limit asked
Who approves a level you add
- Named users, a group, a field of the request, or the usual approvers (Rent Managers)
- Any one approver of a level decides; for two signatures, add two levels
- Requester May Approve is on for every chain the system makes, so a manager who raised a charge may decide a level they approve
- The customer the charge is about never decides it
Rules
- Chains are per Entity; a new Entity copies its parent's chains
- Only For chains are tried from the top; keep one chain with an empty Only For for everything else
- If a level finds nobody: the request cannot be submitted (to start with), the level is skipped, or its usual approvers decide
What your plan has
- Every plan: the Rental charge chain, for charges To Confirm
- Growth and Scale: the Rental credit application chain, with corporate accounts
- The approvals engine is in every SmartMy account; each Rental chain installs with the part it approves
Who uses it
Yard checker (Rent User)Marks damage to charge at the return check.
Rent ManagerConfirms or drops charges, and approves at the usual level of a chain.
DirectorApproves large charges and credit limits at a level you add.
Approvals AdministratorSets up the chains and their levels.
Where you use it
- Web: Rental > Billing > Bills > Charges (filter To Confirm; Confirm, Drop) and the Charges tab of an order
- Web: Rental > Bookings > Credit Applications
- Web: Approvals > Requests > To Approve and My Requests; Approvals > Configuration > Approval Chains
- The SmartMy Rental Staff and Driver apps: Approvals shows what waits for you (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
What you control
Settings
- Levels and approvers per chain and Entity: the Rent Managers to start with
- Only For conditions, such as a charge above an amount
- If Nobody: The request cannot be submitted, to start with
Notifications
- Approvers get a to-do and an Approval Waiting message, by email and in-app, on each charge or credit application waiting for them
- Approval Waiting tries app push first, but no push sender is set up yet
Questions
Does every damage charge need a manager?
Yes. Damage marked to charge at a return check starts as To Confirm. It is billed only once the chain approves it: a Rent Manager, with no set-up.Do charges for extra km or fuel wait too?
No. Usage over the included km, fuel and charges from failed check points go straight to To Bill. Damage, repairs, early end and late return fees wait.Can we have two levels for large charges?
Yes, on every plan: add a chain with Only For the amount and two levels.Can the customer approve their own charge?
No. The customer a charge is about never decides it. They can dispute a check report instead.Related features
CHECKSCharges from return checks: fuel, AdBlue, kilometres and damageWhen the return check is signed, what the customer owes is worked out from it. That covers kilometres or hours over the allowance, missing fuel, AdBlue and charge, a lost key, and new damage marked to charge. Damage waits for a manager; the rest goes on the next bill.SERVICE AND REPAIRSRepairs, who pays, and warranty and insurance claimsA check point marked Needs repair takes the car out of service and opens a repair. You record who pays: you, the warranty, the insurer or the customer. A customer charge waits for a manager to confirm, and warranty and insurance claims are followed to paid or refused.CUSTOMERSCorporate accounts with credit limits, own rates and bookersCompanies that rent from you often get a credit account with a limit. They also get their own rate plans and a list of people who may book for them. They can apply online, and you approve with the limit you give.CHECKSDisputes on check reportsAfter a check is signed, the customer has a set number of days to dispute the report from their web page. Staff can open a dispute too, a Rent Manager even after the window, and the salesperson is given a to-do to answer it.ACROSS SMARTMY RENTALNotificationsOn every plan, customers hear when a hire is confirmed, called off, due back or overdue. They also get check reports, pay links, receipts and fines, and hear when a driver is on the way or a duty starts. Each goes to the in-app inbox and the first of WhatsApp, email or SMS that works, and your staff get to-dos for what needs them.
See your fleet on it.
Tell us how many cars or machines you hire out, from how many depots, and how bookings reach you today. We will set up your fleet with you on SmartMy Rental.