How often should a branch balance the cash box and take the deposit to the bank? Why?
Balance the cash box and make deposits every day before 2pm or whenever there is a $500 balance.
This helps:
- control our interest costs
- minimize safety issues
- reduce the risk of shortages
Give two reasons why it is to always swipe a debit or credit card. Also, what steps would you take if the card will not swipe when it is provided?
Credit/Debit cards should always be taken via physical swipe because:
- it reduces the risk of a chargeback
- having the physical card allows us to black light the card to ensure it is not fraudulent
- proves the card was in the possession of the renter at the time of the transaction
If the card does NOT swipe:
- DO NOT MANUALLY ENTER
- you must call the merchant and verify the name and address match that of the renter (only obtaining an authorization code is not sufficient)
If an authorization is initially obtained on a credit card, but later in the rental the card is declined, what should we do?
If it is visa or MasterCard, we cannot rerun the card at all. Must must obtain an additional form of payment. All other cards, you must wait a full 24 hours before obtaining a new authorization on the same card. Run sales on previous authorizations, inform your manager, contact the customer, and request new form of payment. Put notes in the notes section of the contract.
When is it OK to accept or refund cash?
Cash Deposit: We do not accept cash deposits from retail customers. Only with a direct bill, confirmation from the body shop that the car is there, and no other available form of payment can we accept a cash deposit of no more than $50.
Refunds: With our deposit policy, there should be no refunding of cash, but in the rare case that it does happen, a check should be issued when refunding.
We can accept cash at the end of the rental if a credit card was used for the deposit upfront and the customer wants to pay the final balance in cash. **
Name four ways to effectively prevent chargebacks
- Taking a physical swipe of the credit card: this proves that the card was present at the time of the transaction, reduces the fees we are charges and proves the card is not fraudulent
- Ensure the name on the card matches the name of the person renting the card. This proves that the person renting is paying for the rental.
- charge the card only once per day
- Don’t “fish for authorizations” (taking progressively larger amounts until the card declines or taking progressively smaller amounts until the card stops declining)
When does a chargeback hit you
That Month
Under what circumstances would a credit card be denied as a form of deposit
When the name on the credit card does not match the renter or when the credit card is expired.
What does a balance at the top right hand corner of your A/R list signify?
This balance is the amount that will hit bad debt at the end of the month
What does a bold balance mean
This balance includes items that will hit bad debt at the end of the current month
When does a returned check hit bad debt and how can this be prevented?
The Same month the check is returned (EOM) unless the check is approved initially through certegy.
Avoid by
- always using certegy
- make sure check is printed with renters name
- customers address, phone number, dL number and certegy approval number on every check
When do the following balances hit bad debt
- Dealer
- 999999/ATMDUE
- Chargebacks
- All other A/Rs
- 60 days if the combined balance is greater than 2k, otherwise its 90 days
- End of month
- End of month
- 90 days
A rental contract for Peter Jones is currently open with a customer owing a balance of $303.15. Customer returns the car after hours without paying you the balance. you contact the customer and he refuses to pay. What steps should you take
At the time the balance is deemed uncollectible close the ticket out billing the customer and then contact the regional accounting office to place the customer on the customer warning screen and send to collections immediately
A dealership account has short paid on accounts receivable with you build them for $35 including taxes. The dealership has paid $30. One investigated it turns out that the branch filled out a warranty rate and error opposed to the agreed internal rate. Walk through an example and RFS how you would take care of this 30 day balance and also what consequences would there be if you did not JV this balance prior to 60 days
Adjust the AR rate plus taxes.
- go to adjustment
-fill the numbers into correct spot (rate in time and miles, tax in tax)
-note why you are writing it off using the script and pencil button
the consequences would be that the AR hits bad debt
You arrive in a new branch and noticed there is an old balance for $25 on the accounts receivable run. the insurance company paid the majority of the rental and it is Determined that there was an error made with the billing. walk-through how you would write this balance off
- go to write off
- put the amount you want to write off
- note the reason why you are writing it off to bad debt
What are the key steps to maintaining acceptable bad debt
- Follow the underwriting policy for proper deposits
2.Do you recall bags to ensure customer deposits stay current
3.Maintain a clean AR list and work all credits monthly - delegate AR items and follow up
5 Document notes in command 10
6 Work AR items in the 30th 60 day column to recognize issues quickly
7 Only bill two approved customers
How should you work the AR list
Work by account, line by line. (90, 60, 30)
Identify billing errors requiring transfer, short pays, and uncollectible items
Complete adjustment entries
Delegate portions of the list to employees in your office
Attempt to collect all items before they reach the 60 day column
What does VLCRF stand for and what is it? Is it a tax.
VLCRF stands for a vehicle license cost recovery fee and the fee we are permitted to charge in the state of Illinois to recover the cost of licensing our fleet. VLF is not a tax and should never be explained as one.
What is an expense
All of the Expenditures necessary to operate a business
Cost vs expense
Cost: money we pay in relation to our vehicles
Expense: money we pay to run the business
