How to Assign a Fuel Type to an Equipment Model | Latner Software Documentation

A fuel type tells Latner what a machine runs on and what a litre of it is worth, so that when equipment comes back light on fuel the refuelling charge lands on the rental contract by itself.

Overview

Every machine that burns something has to be refuelled before it can go out again, and someone has to pay for it. In Latner that starts one level up from the machine, on the equipment model.

A fuel type is a configuration record with a Name, a Description, a Cost Price and a Retail Price.
Fuel types are assigned to equipment models, not to individual machines, so every unit built on that model shares the same fuel type.
The fuel type is optional. Electric equipment and attachments are normally left blank.
When someone records Fuel to Bill (Litres) on a rental return or a return inspection, Latner adds a Fuel line to the rental contract, priced at the fuel type's Retail Price.
Without a fuel type on the model there is nothing to price the fuel against, so Latner stops the return rather than guessing.

Before You Begin

You need the permissions to maintain the configuration screens, and it's worth knowing which settings decide where fuel is recorded.

Requirement	Where to Find It
Fuel Type permission - lets you view and create fuel types	Security › Configuration › Permission Groups, under Equipment › Configuration
Equipment Model permission - lets you reach the Models screen	Security › Configuration › Permission Groups, under Equipment › Configuration
Create Equipment Model permission - required to save a change to a model, including its fuel type	Security › Configuration › Permission Groups, under Equipment › Option
Record Fuel to Bill in - decides whether fuel is recorded on the Rental Return, the Return Inspection, or both	Security › Settings › Rental
Rental Return Fuel to Bill Required and Return Inspection Fuel to Bill Required - make the entry mandatory	Security › Settings › Rental

The three Rental settings that govern fuel to bill, filtered on the Settings screen

The two Required settings only apply to equipment whose model has a fuel type. Equipment with no fuel type is returned exactly as it is today, with no fuel prompt at all, so you can roll fuel types out model by model without holding up returns for the rest of the fleet.

Creating and Assigning the Fuel Type

Step 1 - Open the Fuel Types screen

Go to Equipment › Configuration › Fuel Types. This is the master list of everything you can put in a tank, and most sites need only a handful. If the fuel type you want is already there, skip to Step 3.

The Fuel Types screen with the Options menu open - Create Fuel Type is the only action on this screen

Step 2 - Create the fuel type

Choose Options › Create Fuel Type and fill in all four fields. Every one of them is required.

Name - the short code you'll pick from the list, for example DIESEL or UNLEADED PETROL. Names must be unique.
Description - the wording that ends up on the customer's invoice. Latner builds the fuel line description as the fuel type's description followed by the equipment it was for, so write it the way you want a customer to read it.
Cost Price - what a litre costs you. Latner records it for reference; it is not what the customer is charged.
Retail Price - what a litre is charged out at. This is the price that goes onto the fuel line.

Click Save. The new fuel type appears in the list straight away.

The Create Fuel Type dialog - Cost Price is what you pay, Retail Price is what the customer pays

Step 3 - Open the equipment model

Go to Equipment › Configuration › Models and click the model you want to set up. The Fuel Type column on this list is the quickest way to see which models are still missing one.

The Models screen - the Fuel Type column is blank for electric machines and attachments, which is exactly right

Step 4 - Choose the fuel type in General Details

On the model's General Details card, click the value box beside Fuel Type. The whole card switches into edit mode and the field becomes a search box. Start typing, or just browse the list that drops down - it shows each fuel type's name, description, cost price and retail price so you can confirm you're picking the right one.

The Fuel Type picker on the General Details card, listing every fuel type with both of its prices

Step 5 - Save

Click Save in the General Details card header. The card returns to read-only with the fuel type showing against the model.

The saved model - every piece of equipment built on this model now carries this fuel type

After You Assign It

Every existing and future machine on that model is covered immediately. There is nothing to set on the individual equipment records.
Fuel to Bill (Litres) becomes available for that equipment on the rental return, the return inspection, or both, depending on the Record Fuel to Bill in setting.
When litres are entered, Latner adds a Fuel line to the rental contract with the litres as the quantity and the fuel type's Retail Price as the unit price. The line is described as the fuel type's description followed by the equipment line it belongs to, and it starts life as a Pending line ready to be invoiced.
Fuel is also a line type you can add to a rental quote or contract by hand. A fuel line always needs a fuel type, and it takes its description from the one you choose.

Line 1.3 on a rental contract - five litres at the DIESEL fuel type's retail price of $4.50, added by the return

If someone enters fuel to bill for equipment whose model has no fuel type, Latner refuses the return with No fuel type configured against the equipment model. Nothing is saved, so no half-finished return is left behind. Assign the fuel type to the model and run the return again.

FAQs

I can't type into the Fuel Type field on the model. Why?

It isn't a free-text field. Click the value box beside Fuel Type to put the General Details card into edit mode, then pick from the list that appears. Only fuel types created under Equipment › Configuration › Fuel Types are offered, so if the one you want is missing, create it there first.

Can I set a different fuel type on one particular machine?

No. The fuel type lives on the equipment model, and every unit built on that model shares it. If one machine genuinely runs on something else, it belongs on its own model.

How do I remove a fuel type from a model?

Click the value box beside Fuel Type, clear it with the small x at the end of the field, then Save. The model goes back to having no fuel type, and fuel can no longer be billed against it on a return.

I updated a fuel type's Retail Price. Do the fuel lines already on contracts change?

No. The price is copied onto the fuel line at the moment the line is created, so lines already on a contract keep the price they were raised at. The new price applies to fuel lines created from then on.

The Fuel to Bill (Litres) field doesn't appear on the rental return. Why?

Check Record Fuel to Bill in under Security › Settings › Rental. The field only shows on the screens listed there, so if the setting is set to Return Inspection only, the rental return won't offer it.

Can I bill fuel on sub hire equipment?

Not through the return. Fuel to bill applies to equipment you own and manage; for sub hire equipment Latner asks you to add the charge to the contract yourself as a new line.

Can I make fuel to bill compulsory?

Yes. Turn on Rental Return Fuel to Bill Required or Return Inspection Fuel to Bill Required under Security › Settings › Rental. Once either is on, the matching screen can't be completed without a figure in Fuel to Bill (Litres) for each returning machine whose model has a fuel type. Enter zero if the machine came back full.

Watch the Demo

Prefer to watch it? Step through the same flow here.