Version 4.0 Update

V4.0 has the following updates, features and changes you should review before you continue. Some bug fixes are not listed here because they are only corrections and not changes to the way the feature works. You can request a complete list of bug corrections by contacting a support team member.

YES! Data backups from each store ARE REQUIRED!
V4.0 includes database changes, as well as foreign key constraints which require a complete data backup from each store be imported in order to update the data at the corporate office. learn more. . . .

The V4.0 update requires the store level system to have foreign keys completely functional before the update can be successfully completed. The store's data may have gone through several version changes, and may have even been converted from the previous DOS version of the software. Any one or all of these updates may have left some data behind that is no longer valid.

For example, if you had purged the inventory file in a previous version, but that purge left loaner records in the loaner file, you may never even have realized that they were there. Because you never had to lookup loaner records that you don't have inventory records for anymore, but the database still has those records. This data integrity step helps to clean up old unused or unnecessary records so that the foreign key constraints can be completely enforced.

Another example, is you may have payment records for customers that are no longer in the customer file. Again, if you never try to access these payment records you may not even know that they are in the database, but the system cannot complete the validation of the data and enforce the foreign key constraints without all the records tying together properly and completely without errors.

If a store skips this step and does not complete the update properly, when you receive their backup to restore at home office you will get the following error message:

If you do get this error at home office while importing backups from a store, click OK. The import will be aborted.

The data must be corrected at the store level. The store should contact a Support Team member as soon as possible to help them correct ALL the foreign key constraint issues associated with this store. A new backup will have to be made after the data has been corrected and the new backup will have to be imported at the home office.

WARNING!! The RAM System Corporate Edition cannot be updated until ALL data in ALL stores is corrected.

MENU OPTIONS HAVE BEEN MOVED

Some menu options have been moved in an effort to make the system more user-friendly. The programming department has grouped some items together under "Activity Menus" similar to the store-level system. Take a few moments to scan through the new menu options. If you still can't find an option you are looking for, please call a support team member and they will be happy to help you.

This is just one example of how some options under the Operation menu have been re-arranged.

COMPANY SETUP

Changes to the Company Setup section that MUST BE SET before you will be able to use some areas of The RAM System Corporate Edition.

- New settings added to Company Setup to help you use new features and use existing features more securely.
Operation > Utilities > Company Setup

Some areas of Company Setup have been rearranged, please be sure to check the tab name before making changes to these settings.

Operation > Utilities > Company Setup > Company Info Tab

This is not a new feature, but simply a reminder, that you can print the Company Setup File Listing, from this tab. Click the PRINT button on this tab, to print a list of all Company Setup settings for this location.

Operation > Utilities > Company Setup > Misc. Information Tab

NEW! OVERTIME CALCULATION - the overtime calculation field was added to the Corporate Edition. This option was previously added to the store level system.

NEW!! Features

Now you can put items in the home office location inventory, or the location 99 inventory in for service and track the items on the Items Serviced report at the corporate level.

This feature is not available for warehouse inventory.

Operation > Item Activity > Service Inventory
Available in The RAM System (store-level software)

So what does this mean for corporate users? With stores transferring customers to other locations, the corporate user is most often concerned with the transfer of merchandise, but this new feature will also change the number "on-rent" at both locations.

FROM The RAM System
In V4.0 you are able to transfer an active customer, all their items, history and payments to another location. If your customer moves across town or even to another town and wants to continue renting from your corporate location you can transfer the customer.

Transferring a customer out to another location, effectively terminates the active agreement and transfers the inventory items out to the chosen location. When the receiving location transfers the customer in, the customer record, payment history, any service or loaner items and all the inventory currently being rented is transferred in. The customer is added to the BOR/COR/AOR on that day, and can resume making payments at the new location.

Assign Manual Receipt Numbers to a User

So what does this mean for corporate users? In V4.0, you are able to reconcile a book of manual receipts to a particular user, by assigning a user ONLY a block of numbers that is in a particular manual receipt book, that user cannot assign manual receipt numbers that cannot be reconciled, or that have already been assigned.

FROM The RAM System
Now in V4.0, you can assign a block (or book) of manual receipt numbers to a user, and if the user tries to input a manual receipt number outside of this block, an error message is displayed. This will help district managers reconcile their receipt books, and help to keep store managers and clerks honest.

There is also a new view password button.

UPDATED Features

Manual Time Transactions

In V4.0 there is a new drop-down menu associated with manual time transactions. This allows a manager or district manager the ability to quickly correct an employee's time when it is incorrect.

Right-click on the time transactions grid, to display the drop-down menu. Once you choose one of these options, you are required to input a begin date/time for the transaction.

Read Transactions Topic

Commitment

In the Commitment screen, you are able to apply a commitment to all the active agreements for a customer. There is a new button on the Commitment screen which allows you to duplicate the commitment for all late, active, non-committed agreements.

To apply the commitment to all active agreements, click the APPLY TO ALL AGREEMENTS button instead of the SAVE button.

Available in The RAM System (store-level software)

In V4.0, changes to Company Setup are being logged and reported on the Daily Exceptions report. These changes are printed on the Daily Close Report at the end of each day. You can also print a list of exceptions go to Reports > Auditing Reports > Exceptions

Available in The RAM System (store-level software)

Export Customers - Terminated Customers

In V4.0, you can now export terminated customers within a terminated date range. You can also specify customers terminated within a date range with a specific termination reason code. To export all terminated customers within a date range, regardless of the termination reason, leave this field blank.

Read Export Customer Topic

In V4.0 the report names for some support files were discontinued. The description field is used, and shortened automatically by the various reports using that description. For example, if you have a brand, General Electric Company, a portion of this name is used on the reports which include the brand's description. The part that doesn't fit is left off.

Read Brand Topic
Read Category Topic
Read Color Topic
Read Style Topic
Read Offset Topic
Read Vendor Topic

In V4.0 a checkbox was added to the Export Shared Support Files option, to automatically email the exported files to the email addresses saved in the Location file. In order to use this feature, you must input your email settings in Company Setup and have the email addresses for the other locations in your corporate chain set up in the Location file.

Read Export Shared Support Files Topic
Read Location Topic
Read Company Setup - Email Tab Topic

You are now able to sort the verified inventory by category. You can also choose beginning and ending category to check.

Read Bar Code Audit Topic

UPDATED Reports

The Idle Inventory report was changed so that the sort by Item Number does not sub-group by category. Now when you choose item number for the Idle Inventory, the items are listed in numeric order without a category grouping.

Read Idle Inventory Topic

The customer charges payment history was added to the Agreement Payment Report.

Available in The RAM System (store-level software)

A few things have been added to the Item History Report that were requested by customers, like yourself. The RBV was added to the item information at the top, and new notations were added showing the number of days an item was on rent on each agreement, along with how much rent was collected per agreement.

Available in The RAM System (store-level software)

The total number of customers assigned to each zip code in the customer file, now prints as a separate column on this report.

Read Zip Code Report Topic

The total for each sales tax code is listed on the sales tax report. There is a new summary at the end of this report, which calculates taxable sales and tax collected for each tax code, for the date range you specify.

Read Sales Tax Report Topic

The bad check report was updated to display the word "VOID" on checks that were voided.

Read Bad Check Report Topic