In order to give you the most complete job cost reports possible, AccuBuild can automatically create a 'rental expense' for your company owned equipment as you use the equipment on each job.  These entries are created through the Payroll module when you enter your time card transactions with an equipment code.  

In order for the payroll system to calculate the equipment rental expense, the timecard entry must contain a department code that has been defined as Equipment Rental - In House or Equipment Rental - 3rd Party. In addition, the equipment code must be linked to an equipment category that includes the rental expense.  The entry for the rental expense is made 'behind the scenes' and is made in addition to the normal gross wage and burden amounts.  The rental amount is based on the in-house bare (no operator) rental rate as set up for each piece of equipment.

The rental account is expensed to the general ledger based on the account that is set up on the equipment category that is associated with the equipment code but there two methods for defining the job cost phase. The first method is to link a single job cost phase to the equipment category. All rental expense linked to a piece of equipment within the category would be charged to that one phase.  Keep in mind that if you use this method then the Job Cost Capsheet - Job & Phase Totals report may be printed with a summary of the general ledger accounts in order to give you a breakdown of total actual costs for labor, materials, equipment rental expense, etc. for each job cost phase.

The second method is to charge the rental expense to any cost phase entered on the time card screen. For example, you may want to charge an operator's time to Sewer Pipe and to Storm Drain.  The Define Phase Decimal for Rental Expense option on the Equipment Properties screen will allow you to define the phase decimal to be used for the rental expense portion of the entry.  The Phase Decimal field on the Equipment Properties screen defines the decimal number to be used with any job cost phase to denote equipment rental expense. For example, if '4' has been defined as the phase decimal, and you have coded an operator's hours to phase 200.01 Sewer Pipe (.01 represents labor on any phase in this example), then AccuBuild would automatically create an entry for the rental expense and charge it to 200.04.

Each piece of equipment that is entered into the Equipment List must be linked to an equipment category. Examples of equipment categories are:  Heavy Equipment, Company Vehicles, Small Tools, and Office Equipment.  When an entry is made that contains an equipment code, the system will use the linked category code to instruct it how to update the Ledger, Receivables, Job Cost, and the Equipment modules.

The Categories can be created by clicking on the +Category button.

There are six basic types of transactions that are associated with each category code. Each transaction type is associated with a set of general ledger accounts, and some transaction types may be linked to a job cost phase. All six types of transactions do not need to be set up for each group; simply leave the fields blank for the transaction type you do not wish to use with a particular category.

In-House Rentals (Transaction Types 20 & 21) and Outside (3rd) Party Rentals (Transaction Types 25 & 26)   The in-house rental and the outside rental fields should only be completed for a category that is set up for equipment rentals. These transaction types are used to post a 'rental' expense to a job even though the equipment is owned by your company. Charging the job with the rental amount serves two purposes: first, the job cost will reflect a more accurate accounting of the expenses incurred in running the job and, second, the equipment module will reflect that the piece has been utilized. The amount is not an actual expense to the company so the entry is offset to a 'contra' account within the equipment cost account group. 

• Exp Acct -  This field represents the 'debit' side of the rental transaction and should be linked to a direct job cost account that has been set up for company-owned equipment rentals.  A default job cost phase may also be linked.

• Contra Acct - This field represents the 'credit' side of the rental transaction.  The rental expense is not an actual expense to the company so the entry is offset to a 'contra' account within the equipment cost account group.

Outside (3rd Party) Income (Transaction Type 35): This transaction type represents miscellaneous billing amounts that have been linked to a piece of equipment. This entry will use the outside rental rates with an operator as defined in the equipment list.  The category may also be set up to include sales tax.

• A/R Acct - This field represents the debit side of the invoice entry and would be typically linked to the 'Accounts Receivable - Current' account but a separate receivable account may be set up for equipment rental invoices if desired,

• Income Acct - This field represents the credit side of the equipment rental invoice.

Depreciation Expense (Transaction Type 40): All equipment depreciation entries are posted with this transaction type. This type of transaction may only be entered through the Equipment Journal option.

• Depr Exp Acct - Link the equipment expense account for depreciation to this field.

• Accum Depr Acct - Link the asset account for accumulated equipment depreciation to this field.

Direct Expense (Transaction Type 10): Accounts payable invoices, whether entered through the Payables or Orders module, will automatically create a transaction type of this kind in the Equipment module whenever invoices are linked to an equipment code. Likewise, any payroll timecard entry that is linked to a department code that is designated Equipment Maintenance & Repairs is given this transaction type in the Equipment module.

• Expense Acct - Only the equipment journal will use the default account that has been linked to this field.  The payable invoices and the payroll entries will follow the business rules for those modules.

• Contra Acct - Only the equipment journal will use the default account that has been linked to this field for the 'credit' portion of the entry.

Indirect Expense (Transaction Type 60): This type of transaction is automatically generated when the Allocate Indirect Costs option is used to create a journal entry that will apply the total of the indirect equipment costs for a given period to the various pieces of equipment. Indirect costs will only be allocated to equipment codes that have been linked to an equipment category that has the Enable Indirect Calcs checked.  For example, you may not want the small tools category to have the indirect costs allocated to it so you would not place a check in the Enable Indirect Calcs box.

• Exp Acct & Contra Acct - The equipment journal that is automatically created through the Allocate Indirect Costs option will post a debit and credit to the same account number that the original expense was posted to; it will not use the default accounts as set up on this screen. The system will only use these default accounts whenever an equipment journal for indirect expense is manually created.

The values can be edited in the Edit pop-up screen by clicking on the Edit button.