CONTROL SCREEN

The Controll Screen, as the name indicates, allows you to control the features, utilities and database management of your Holiday Rentals software through easy to use toolbar buttons and menu options.

After a short while, you will be able to select the appropriate options from the Control Screen through training provided by us on a one to one basis over the Internet. We also provide a training manual, in PDF format.

Note the version number of the software below the DataTrac logo. Our software is being continually improved and the latest files can be downloaded by clicking on the Updates button in the toolbar.

HOST / letting information screen

This screeen appears when you click on the Host button in the toolbar on the Control Screen and is used to create, edit or delete Host records.

The screen is made up of various frames or tabs with self explanatory headings allowing you to comprehensively store information on the Host (Landlord), notes, list the property for rental purposes together with photo management, financial info, current and historical bookings and mainteance on the property. Additionally, you can communicate with the Host via the SMS and eMail buttons and generate Tenant (Guest) and Landlord (Host) invoices from this screen.

GUEST / Tenant Information Screen

This screeen appears when you click on the Guest button in the toolbar on the Control Screen and is used to create, edit or delete Guest (Tenant) records.

The screen is made up of various frames or tabs with self explanatory headings allowing you to comprehensively store information on the Guest (Tenant), record notes, profile the tenant and match his / her requirements against properties in the rentals pool and financial info. Additionally, you can communicate with the Guest via the SMS and eMail buttons and generate Tenant (Guest) invoices from this screen.

TENANT CRITERIA SCREEN

After you have listed and advertised your holiday rental properties, you will begin receiving enquiries from prospective Tenants (Guests). The screen below allows you to create, edit and delete, enquiries and to store information on the Guest's requirements. Note you can also, record notes, set action dates and reminders for the enquiries and view current bookings.

After you have created the enquiry which shows in the display on the left of the screen, you will want to check which holiday properties match the enquiry.  You do by clicking on the Filter Data button (right bottom corner) which displays the Filter Guest Prospects screen.

In this screen, you have the flexibility to remove listings in the top table should you feel that they are unsuited to the Guest’s enquiry, view details of what the accommodation offers, print listing sheets or brochures on the properties that can be eMailed to the prospective Guest by clicking on the eMail button.

To print a listing sheet, tick the Detailed Listing checkbox in the Print Options frame which will process and display brochures for all properties shown in the Listings table that look as follows:

The fields in question, photographs and other details in the Listing Sheet are populated from the Host screen and allow you all the flexibility that you need to fully describe the property in question.

Notice also, the following buttons at the bottom of the screen:

Current Bookings	allows you to view the Bookings Management Screen which is dealth with later in this presentation
Create Bookings	allows you to immediately create a booking for the relevant enquiry by automatically creating a record for the Guest in the Tenant table of the database and simultaneously, a provisional booking in the bookings table. When done, the program automatically opens the Bookings Management Screen for the booking to completed by confirming the status of the booking and the applicable rates.

We now discuss the Bookings Management Screen which can be accessed independently of the procedure that we have just covered via the Bookings button on the Control Screen.

Bookings Management Screen

Processing Tab

This is multi-tasking screen in which you can create, edit or delete bookings, view the bookings database, provisional bookings and bookings schedule by clicking on the relevant buttons or tabs.  Notice that we provide for different types of bookings which in turn are colour coded namely Provisional, Booked and Owner.  The calendars in the right top corner can be used to select dates for the booking or you may use the Date From and Date To calendars that are displayed when you click on the dropdown arrows, in the frame below.

Creating a booking entails three quick steps which are shown and explained in the next three screenshots:

1. Select the Parties

2. Select the Dates

3. Select the Rates

Select the Parties

In this screen the Hosts and Guests are displayed respectively.  All that is required is to highlight the relevant Parties followed by clicking on the Select Parties button.  This will close the screen and return you to the home screen where the dates for the booking can be selected.

Select the Dates

In this screen, enter the dates for the booking using the main calendar or the dropdowns below it and the booking status according to the colour coding options.  When done, click on the Show Rates button in the right top corner of the screen which displays the Rates options in various frames.

Select the Rates

Notice the headings of the various frames which simplify the use of this screen.  The Host, Guest and Property and Date Range and No. of Nights are automatically populated from Steps 1 and 2 of create a booking process.  The Rates per Night and Rates Legend are also automatically populated from the Landlord (Host) financial parameters which are completed when the relevant property is originally listed or edited from time to time.

Generally, all that you to do in this screen is to tick the relevant rate that will apply to this booking i.e. Peak | High | Mid | Low which results in the charges being calculated and shown in the Charges frame.

When done, click on the Save button which completes the booking resulting in the display returning the home screen.

Completed Booking

We have now completed for purposes of this presentation the Processing tab.   We now cover the remaining tabs of the Bookings Management Screen

Bookings Database

Holiday Rentals Module including Guest ' Controls - Bookings Database

We now cover some but not all of the above functionalities.

Lease Agreement

You can print your Lease Agreement, an example of which looks as follows, from the Bookings Database screen for the selected booking and eMail it, in PDF format to the Guest.  The example Lease Agrement is comprised of two pages with the second page containing the relevant terms and conditions.

Housekeeping Details Report

You can print the Housekeeping Details report, an example of which looks as follows, from the Bookings Database screen for the selected booking.

Invoicing

Tenant (Guest) Invoice

You can generate Tenant Invoices, an example of which looks as follows, from the Bookings Database screen for the selected booking.  The Tenant Invoice: Processing Screen is very flexible and allows you to do many things including adding further lines into the financial details grid, printing and eMailing the invoice and viewing financial transactions for the Guest via the Multiple View and Report Viewer buttons and accessing the Cash Book.

Landlord (Host) Invoice

You can generate Landlord Invoices, an example of which looks as follows, from the Bookings Database screen for the selected booking.  The Landlord Invoice: Processing Screen is very flexible and allows you to do many things including adding further lines into the financial details grid, printing and eMailing the invoice and viewing financial transactions for the Host via the Multiple View and Report Viewer buttons and accessing the Cash Book.

Multiple Ledger View

This feature in DataTrac is extremely useful and allows you to see in one screen, all the relevant ledgers that make up the financial records of a typical Holiday Rentals transaction.  Hence, you can see the Landlord and Tenant Ledgers which show invoicing and cash book entries and the Trust Account, General Ledger and / or Deposits tabs show the pertinent info for these ledgers.

Cash Book

You can access the Cash Book for Receipts and Payments processing from the toolbar on the Bookings Database tab.  This screen allows you also easily see, as in the example screenshot below, the transactions history for Tenants, Landlords, etc. which is particularly useful when processing entries. Notice also that there are various other buttons on the Cash Book screen which allow you to access other features of our software without having to leave the particular screen.

Report Viewer

You can access the Report Viewer likewise from the toolbar on the Bookings Database tab.  This is a very important feature of our software as it contains the majority of the reports that you need to manage your Holiday Rentals business.

To give you an idea of the reports suite, we set out below, the content of some of the main menu options: