How to Process a Return | Latner Software Documentation

Processing a return in Latner records equipment coming back off a rental contract, so the units are released for hire again, the meter readings are captured and the contract can be finalised and invoiced.

Overview

A return is the last step in the hire cycle. Off hiring stops the clock; returning is what actually brings the gear home. Latner keeps the two as separate records, but you don't have to run them separately - the Return screen will off hire anything that is still on rent for you.

You process a return from the rental contract, on the Options menu.
You can return several lines at once, and you can return part of a line's quantity.
Returning captures the Return Meter Reading and the Fuel to Bill, and turns those into charge lines on the contract.
Equipment goes back to Available, or to Return Inspection if the model or class is set up to require one.
Rental billing stops at the Actual Off Hire Date, not the return date.
Only Equipment and Sub Hire Equipment lines can be returned. Transport, admin and fuel lines are not returned.
Returns can also be processed on a mobile device, straight from the yard - see Returning on a Mobile Device below.

Before You Begin

A few things need to be in place before the Return option will work the way you expect.

Requirement	Where to Find It
Create Return permission	Security › Configuration › Permission Groups › Rental › Option
Create Off Hire permission (only if you are returning equipment that is still On Rent)	Security › Configuration › Permission Groups › Rental › Option
Mobile Returns permission (only if you are returning on a mobile device)	Security › Configuration › Permission Groups › Rental › Screen
Enforce Meter Reading for Rental Return - makes the meter reading mandatory	Security › Settings › Rental
Rental Return Fuel to Bill Required - makes the fuel figure mandatory	Security › Settings › Rental
Record Fuel to Bill in - must include Rental Return for the Fuel to Bill column to appear	Security › Settings › Rental
Auto Complete Pickup Dockets when Returning Equipment - lets you return lines that are still Pending Pick Up	Security › Settings › Rental
Create Return Inspection after Rental Return - raises a return inspection automatically	Security › Settings › Equipment
An Active rental contract with at least one Equipment or Sub Hire Equipment line in On Rent, Off Hire, Pending Return or Pending Pick Up	Rental › Rental Contracts

The return settings under Security › Settings, found by typing "Return" into the Search box

The Return option is greyed out when the contract has no returnable lines, or when the contract is Completed, Cancelled or Lost. If you can't see the option at all, you don't have the Create Return permission.

Processing the Return

Step 1 - Open the rental contract

Go to Rental › Rental Contracts and open the contract holding the equipment being returned. Check the Details tab to confirm which lines are coming back and what state they're in.

Rental contract 27 for Lend Lease, Active and out of the Sydney branch, with three pieces of equipment on rent

Click Options in the top right and choose Return. The Off Hire option sits just above it, but you don't need to run it first - the return will off hire anything still on rent as part of the same action.

The Options menu on a rental contract - Return sits directly under Off Hire

Step 3 - Check the return branch and dates

The top of the Return screen carries the contract, branch, customer and site for reference - those fields are read only. Three fields are yours to set, and all three are required:

Return Branch - the branch the equipment is physically coming back to. It defaults to the contract's branch, and is left blank when the contract contains cross branch hired equipment so you have to make a deliberate choice.
Actual Off Hire Date - the date and time the hire stopped. This is what rental billing is calculated to. It defaults to the last off hire date already recorded on the contract, or to now.
Return Date - the date and time the equipment physically came back. It defaults to now and cannot be earlier than the Actual Off Hire Date.

The Return screen - only lines in a returnable status appear in the grid, and each one shows the branch the unit belongs to

Step 4 - Enter the quantities and readings

Every returnable line on the contract is listed. Set a Return Quantity against each line you're bringing back - use Select All to fill every line with its full quantity in one click, then adjust anything that's only coming back in part. Lines left at zero are ignored.

Return Quantity - required. It must be more than zero and cannot exceed the quantity on rent. A quantity lower than the full line quantity is a partial return.
Return Meter Reading - the reading on the unit as it comes back, to two decimal places. It must be equal to or greater than the equipment's current meter reading.
Fuel to Bill (Litres) - the fuel being charged back to the customer. This column only appears when Record Fuel to Bill in includes Rental Return.

Click a cell to edit it, then tick to confirm the value.

Quantities filled in by Select All, with a meter reading being typed straight into the grid cell

Step 5 - Save

Click Save. Latner confirms with Equipment Returned and the returned lines move to Returned on the contract's Details tab. If you've picked a return branch that differs from where a unit came from, a Cross Branch Return prompt lists the affected equipment first and asks you to confirm.

The contract Details tab after saving - the three equipment lines now read Returned, while the transport lines are untouched

After You Save

One return can touch a fair bit of the contract. Here's what to expect:

A Return record is created with a status of Completed, and appears on the contract's Returned tab. Click the Return # to open it.
Any line that was still On Rent is off hired first, so a matching Off Hire record appears on the Off Hire tab dated to the Actual Off Hire Date. No pick up docket is created by this route.
The equipment's quantity moves from on rent back to available at the Return Branch. Where that differs from the unit's home branch, cross branch return movements are recorded against both branches and the unit's current branch is updated.
Serialised equipment goes to Available, or to Return Inspection when Create Return Inspection after Rental Return is on and the model or class requires one. In that case an open return inspection is raised and the contract line's sub status becomes Pending Return Inspection.
The Return Meter Reading is saved as a meter reading against the equipment and becomes its current reading, which feeds meter based service schedules.
New charge lines may be added to the contract, all in Pending status ready for the next invoice: a Fuel line priced at the fuel type's retail price, and an Excess Hours admin line when the meter reading exceeds the line's max daily hours across the days on rent.
If the returned unit was needed on another contract, Latner promotes the earliest waiting pre-allocated line to reserved automatically.

The Returned tab on the contract, one row per returned line, all pointing back at return 138

The return record itself, where the Documents tab holds any photos taken at the time of the return

The Off Hire tab - off hire 238 was created by the return, not entered separately

Rental billing runs to the Actual Off Hire Date, not the Return Date, so getting the off hire date right matters more than the return date does. If you set it wrong, don't process a second return - cancel the return from the return record's Options menu and start again, or use Change Return Date if only the return date needs moving. Both options are only available while the contract is still Active.

Returning on a Mobile Device

Returns don't have to be done at a desk. The mobile return screen is built for the yard, so the person unloading the truck can process the return on their phone as the gear comes off. On a mobile device go to Rental › Rental Returns, choose the contract, then tap a line to open its Return Detail form.

It captures everything the desktop screen does - Quantity Returned, Return Meter Reading and Fuel to Bill (Litres) - plus a few things the desktop screen can't:

Damage Check Required - ticking it adds a damage line to the contract for someone to price up later.
Notes - free text recorded against that individual line and shown on the return record.
Photos of the equipment as it comes back, which land on the return record's Documents tab.
Additional Return Charges - admin, damage and fuel charge lines added on the spot, available when Allow Additional Mobile Rental Return Charges is switched on.

For the full walkthrough, see How to Complete a Return on a Mobile Device.

The mobile return uses the Return Date as the off hire date as well, so the two are always the same and rental billing stops the moment the gear is booked back in. Where the hire actually stopped earlier than the equipment came back, process the off hire on the desktop first, then complete the mobile return.

FAQs

Do I have to off hire the equipment before I return it?

No. If a line is still On Rent when you return it, Latner creates the off hire for you using the Actual Off Hire Date on the Return screen. You do need the Create Off Hire permission for this - without it the return is rejected with "You don't have permission to Off Hire Equipment that is still On Rent". Running the off hire separately first is still perfectly valid, and is the better choice when the equipment stops earning well before it physically comes back.

Only some of the units are coming back. Can I return part of a line?

Yes. Enter a Return Quantity lower than the line's quantity. Latner splits the line: the original line drops to the returned quantity and moves to Returned, and a new line is created carrying the remaining quantity at whatever status the line was on before. Rates, charge days per week, invoiced totals and any stand downs carry across to the new line, so the balance keeps billing normally.

A line shows in the Return screen, but saving fails with an error about the line status. Why?

The message reads "You cannot return a Rental Contract Detail with status: PENDING_PICK_UP". Only lines in On Rent, Off Hire or Pending Return can be returned outright. A line sitting on Pending Pick Up still has an open pick up docket against it, and can only be returned when Auto Complete Pickup Dockets when Returning Equipment is switched on - with that setting on, Latner completes the docket for you as part of the return. Otherwise, complete the pick up docket in Transport first, then return.

Why can't I see the Fuel to Bill column?

The column is controlled by the Record Fuel to Bill in setting under Security › Settings › Rental. If that setting is set to Return Inspection only, fuel is captured on the inspection instead and the column is hidden on the Return screen.

I entered a fuel figure and got "No fuel type configured against the equipment model".

Fuel is priced from the fuel type set against the equipment model, so a model with no fuel type has nothing to charge. Add the fuel type on the equipment model, then process the return. For externally sub hired equipment the message is different - "Fuel to bill for Sub Hire Equipment must be added to the contract manually as a new line" - because fuel on external sub hire has to be added as its own contract line.

The equipment came back to a different branch. Is that a problem?

Not at all - set the Return Branch to where the gear actually landed. Latner warns you with a Cross Branch Return confirmation listing each unit and the branch it came from, then records a cross branch return out of the origin branch and into the return branch, and moves the unit's current branch across.

The equipment is showing as Return Inspection instead of Available. Can I still hire it out?

Not until the inspection is done. When Create Return Inspection after Rental Return is on and the equipment's model or class is set to require return inspections, the return raises an open inspection and holds the unit on Return Inspection. Complete the inspection and the unit becomes available again.

I processed the return against the wrong contract. How do I undo it?

Open the return record and choose Cancel Rental Return from the Options menu. That reverses every returned line back to Off Hire, deletes the open return inspection and the return meter reading, reverses the cross branch movements and reopens any sub hire order detail. It only works while the contract is Active, while every line on the return is still Returned, and while the equipment hasn't already gone out on another hire.

Can I record damage at the point of return?

On a mobile device, yes - the mobile return form has a Damage Check Required tick box, photo upload, and, when Allow Additional Mobile Rental Return Charges is on, an Additional Return Charges section for admin, damage and fuel lines. On the desktop Return screen, damage is handled through the return inspection instead.

Can equipment be returned on a mobile device?

Yes. Go to Rental › Rental Returns on the mobile app, pick the contract and tap each line to enter the quantity returned, meter reading and fuel. You need the Mobile Returns permission on top of Create Return. The mobile screen also lets you tick Damage Check Required, add notes, attach photos and, when the setting allows it, add extra return charges - but it sets the off hire date to match the return date, so off hire on the desktop first if the two differ. Full steps are in How to Complete a Return on a Mobile Device.

Why can't I complete the rental contract after processing a return?

Every Equipment and Sub Hire Equipment line has to be returned before the contract can be completed - the Complete Rental Contract option is disabled until then, with the tooltip "Can not complete Rental Contract with unreturned details". Check the Details tab for any line still on rent, including the remainder of a partial return.

Watch the Demo

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