Frequently Asked Questions

• Accounting
• Computer
• Discount Plans
• Graphs
• International
• Letters
• Login
• Map or Map Editor
• Other
• Security
• Setup
• Units
• Windows

Category: Accounting

Can RentPlus use other check formats besides the 9039 form?

You may also use Quicken-style checks (check on top, and 2 vouchers below the check). To activate the Quicken-style checks (Form #9209), contact technical support. Top

How can I change the built-in general ledger chart of accounts?

At the RentPlus Explorer select Menu->Tools->Setup->General Ledger

Use the General Ledger Chart of Accounts dialog to setup the General Ledger the way you want it. Edit existing Chart of Accout descriptions and numbers to match yours. Add or Discontinue Chart of Account entries as needed. Use the Move Up and Move Down to sort the Chart of Accounts. Note that you cannot discontinue Chart of Account entries that are set as default accounts.

Note also that every place you set a rate, such as for a unit rental or product you sell, you will have a chance to set the general ledger accounts that are associated with that rate. Use the RentPlus General Ledger icon (which looks like a small open book) to set those accounts.Top

Use the Payout Wizard. After completing the payee and amount information, you will have options to describe the method of payout - usually a check, but for bank charges and transfers, use the bank transfer option.

In the case of a transfer, make sure the payout is done against the account you are taking the money out of. On the distribution page, make sure that the account the money is going into is selected.Top

Actually each different payment type - cash, check, Visa, Mastercard, Amex, etc can be setup to have the receipts of that type go to a particular bank account. Here's how:

1. Select menu: Tools | Options
2. Select the Payment Types tab
3. Select the payment type you wish to set and click Properties.
4. Set the properties for this payment type, especially the "General Ledger Account - AFTER it is deposited" category.

Remember, you have to make changes to this setting for every payment type you accept.Top

Use the Business Summary Report to get the numbers to reconcile your receipts.
Here is the formula:

Plus: Charges Summary by Period - Net Total
Less: Accounts Receivable Age - Total
Plus: Prepayments Age - Total
Less: Receipts Summary by Type - Net Total
Equals: Refunds Due to Customers Top

Category: Computer

A minimum 200mhz processor system is recommended. Will RentPlus work on slower systems?

If it is a Pentium of at least 166 mhz, it should be okay, although it will be very slow. If you are unable to upgrade your processor, try adding memory to bump your system up to at least 64mb of RAM - that should speed things up considerably. 

For best results, we recommend Pentium III systems with 128MB of RAM and that operate at speeds greater than 500mhz. If using a Windows-based access security system, additional memory, up to 256MB, may be required for optimum performance.Top

Does RentPlus have the "millenium bug"? That is, is it Year 2000 compliant?

No it does not, and yes it is compliant. RentPlus has been designed from the ground up to be year 2000 compliant. All dates are always shown with 4-digit years, as in "3/15/1998". Top

How much disk space does RentPlus take?

The installation takes a little over 30mb of disk space.

After that, it depends on how much data you put into the system. Roughly speaking, you can estimate about 1 megabyte of space for every ten units every year, so a 100 unit facility will use up about 10mb per year.

If you add photos to RentPlus, this will use additional disk space. How much depends on the resolution of the photos. If the photos are saved as low-resolution "jpeg" files, you can fit about 20 pictures in 1 megabyte of space. If they are saved as "bitmap" files, then you will use much more space. Top

Category: Discount Plans

Why don't all of my Discount Plans show on the move-in screen?

When you start the move-in, your first step is to select the rental plan. The rental plan, will be for either a monthly, weekly, or daily period. Only discount plans set up for the selected period are shown in the move-in screeen. Top

Category: Graphs

What should I do if the graph does not appear on the screen when I click a "Graph" button?

Sometimes a lack of system resources (Windows memory) slows down or prevents the propert display of the graph. If this happens, PRESS F5.

This will usually immediately display the graph. Top

Category: International

Will RentPlus work outside of the United States?

This product should work fine with all English and Western-style languages. 

Dates may be formatted as "m/d/yyyy" or "d/m/yyyy" or "yyyy/m/d". Date and currency settings are obtained from the Windows Regional Settings (Control Panel). 

Letters and receipts can be translated into local languages (set up under Tools | Options | Languages). Each phrase used in a letter or receipt is translated when printed. All screens are in English. Top

Category: Letters

What changes can I make to the late letters?

The general format of the late letters is (1) a header section, with your name and address, the customer's name and address, and some general information such as the date and headline of the letter (2) the messages area of the letter (3) the customer's account ledger and (4) a closing message.

You can make changes to the letter by selecting the Letters folder and double-clicking on the ttile of the letter you wish to modify.

(1) In the header section, you have the option to exclude your company information (for printing on pre-printed forms), and options to change the font, size, and color of most areas.

(2) In the messages section, you can change the text of the messages as well as the font, size and color.

(3) The account ledger section may not be modified.

(4) In the closing message section, you can change the text, font, size and color. Top

Category: Login

How can I make any changes to the Owner column while setting Permissions?

You cannot. By design, the owner permission level gives you access to everything. The owner column is shown in the Permissions form only to show that those permissions are assigned.Top

If you forget or lose your password, attempts to sign on will provide a message similar to "User Login Failed - Your initials or password are mis-entered or invalid".

This is caused by a forgotten or lost User Login ID and/or Password. Get a backdoor password provided by a HI-TECH Representative. Backdoor passwords expire, so as soon as you get into RentPlus be sure that your normal Login name/Password is working or set up a new one.

See link for detailed instructions regarding backdoor password.Top

Category: Map or Map Editor

Do I have to set up the map?

No. You can leave it to be set up later, or you can set up only some of your units. In any case, you can certainly take your time setting up the map. Top

How do I show stacked units on the map?

The simplest method is to show them side by side on the the map. Now this will have the affect of doubling the apparent area taken up by the units, but that is okay. Your map will simply be spread out a little. Remember, the map is only meant to be a general representation, not an exact replica, of your facility.

If you have small, stacked lockers in a separate area, you may wish to place them on a separate map. Top

How many maps should I make?

Generally, make one map for each floor facility. In this setup, the first floor of all of your buildings would be on one map, the second floor of all of your buildings on a second map, and so forth.

It is sometimes helpful to use more maps to cover the practicalities of geography (for example, a flag lot may be better mapped as two maps) or of unit type (place mailboxes on their own map, or parking stalls). Top

Is the map supposed to be an exact representation of my facility?

No. The map is meant to be a general representation, to make clear the location, relative size, and occupancy trends of the facility. Top

Category: Other

When I close RentPlus there is a blank item in the Windows Task Bar, with the Windows logo on it. Why does this happen and what do I do with it?

This indicates that RentPlus was closed without releasing all of the Windows resources. Usually, this will only occur after an error is encountered.

Solution: Restart Windows. The empty task bar item will no longer be there after restarting. Top

Category: Security

Will RentPlus integrate with a security system to control a gate and door alarms?

Yes! RentPlus has a built-in security program that is designed to work with your security system controller. This interface provides these main features:

* Add user and code at move-in
* Remove user and code at move-out
* Suspend access when late
* Un-suspend access when paid up
* Load your unit, user, and access codes into the gate system, including non-tenant users

Interfaces are currently available for:
* Falcon GUI system from Preferred Technology (PTI)
* Digi700 system from Doug West & Associates
* Sentinel III from Sentinel Systems Inc.
* WHAM systems
* MSTC (using the Universal Interface)
  Top

Category: Setup

How do I enter a name like "McCoy"? When I try, it looks like "Mccoy".

If you are getting this result, then you have the "auto-format" feature set to on. Auto-formatting is nice during normal data entry as it automatically provides standard title case as you type in names and addresses. However, it doesn't work right with names that have an extra capital letter, like "McCoy".

If you want, you can simply turn off the auto-format feature (select menu: Tools | Options and make sure the box marked "auto-format names and addresses" is not checked, then click Ok to save and exit).

If you want to keep auto-formatting, you can do the following: turn it off temporarily (see above), then edit the customer to fixup the name, then turn the autoformatting back on.Top

Select Menu: Tools | Setup | Setup Wizard

Select the individual setup item from menu: Tools | Setup Top

What if I get an error message during RentPlus Installation similar to "Cannot Copy MFC42.DLL Abort or Cancel Running the Setup program".

This can happen when another program such as Norton Antivirus, IOMega Tools Zip Disk Driver or some other program has locked the MSC42.DLL so setup can't copy over it.

Close all other running programs before running the RentPlus Installation program.

See link for detail on workarounds for this problem.Top

Category: Units

Do I have to set the length, width, and height for every unit?

Length and Width are mandatory - they must be entered. Providing length and width provides the system with the details needed to (1) provide statistics about the AREA (square footage) and (2) add the unit to the map.

AREA = LENGTH x WIDTH

The height is optional, but recommended unless all of your units are the exact same height. Height provides the VOLUME (cubic footage) statistics.

VOLUME = LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT Top

Do I have to enter all three rates - monthly, weekly, daily?

No. At least one of the three rates must be completed for each unit.

WHEN ARE THE DIFFERENT RATES USED? When a move-in is performed, you first select the rental plan. The rental plan will be for a monthly, weekly, or daily period. Only units with a rate for the matching period can be selected for that move-in. A monthly, weekly, or daily period in a plan may be based on any multiples of that period, for example, you could have a one month rental (rent added every month), a quarterly rental (rent added every three months), a bi-weekly rental (every two weeks), etc. Top

Category: Windows

Can I create an icon on my desktop to start RentPlus?

Yes. Normally, you can start RentPlus through the Windows Start menu. If you copy the menu's shortcut to your desktop, you are all set. Here's how:

1. Close RentPlus and close or minimize all other running programs.
2. Right click the Windows Task Bar and select properties, then select Start Menu Programs, and then select Advanced.
3. In the right-hand window, double-click Programs, and then double-click RentPlus. Highlight the RentPlus item shown and press Ctrl+C to copy it to the Windows clipboard.
4. Close the Windows Explorer and Taskbar Properties.
5. Click on a blank area of the desktop, and press Ctrl+V to paste the shortcut to the desktop.Top

How can I copy a customer's name and address so I can use it in a letter?

Display the Customer property sheet for the selected customer, then use the mouse to highlight the customer's name and address shown in the box in the upper left corner of the property sheet. When it is highlighted, press Ctrl+C to copy it to the clipboard.

Then open or switch to your word processor, and press Ctrl+V to paste the name and address.Top

What are some useful keyboard shortcuts I should know?

* Ctrl+; (Control with semi-colon) - this inserts the current date into whatever field you are typing.
* Shift-F2 expands the size of the input field (zooms in).
* If you dbl-click on the right hand edge of a column header in the Explorer, the column will automatically resize to fit the largest item in that column.
* When in a combo box, press Alt+{Down} (Alt with the down arrow) to display the drop down menu.
* In a form with tabs, press Ctrl+Tab to switch from page to page.
* Use Tab and Shift-Tab to move forward and backward among the controls on a form.
* Press just the Alt key to jump to the menu.
* Press F1 to display Help about the current form.
* Use the mouse to resize the Help to a size convenient for you.
* Press Ctrl+P to display the Print Dialog to print almost any form or report.Top

When I close RentPlus there is a blank item in the Windows Task Bar, with the Windows logo on it. Why does this happen and what do I do with it?

This indicates that RentPlus was closed without releasing all of the Windows resources. Usually, this will only occur after an error is encountered.

Solution: Restart Windows. The empty task bar item will no longer be there after restarting.Top