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MotelMAX(tm) the Hotel/Motel Manager USER MANUAL Version 1.52s - August 1993 MKM Software 2812 Ingrid Lane Metairie, Louisiana 70003 USA Phone: (504) 885-7470 CompuServe: 72704,3566 Copyright (C) MKM Software, 1989-93 All Rights Reserved _______ ____|__ | (R) --| | |------------------- | ____|__ | Association of | | |_| Shareware |__| o | Professionals -----| | |--------------------- |___|___| MEMBER This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442-9427 USA, FAX 616-788-2765 or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.1 Features of MotelMAX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.2 How to Use this Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1.3 MotelMAX - Tutorial. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1.4 Generally Speaking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 Legal Notice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2.1 Disclaimer of Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2.2 Definition of Shareware. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2.3 Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2.4 Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2.5 How to Register. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2.6 MotelMAX - Version List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 2.7 Calling All Users. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 3 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 3.1 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 3.3 Starting MotelMAX - Normally . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 3.4 Starting MotelMAX - Monochrome Monitors. . . . . . . 8 3.5 Sign-On Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 3.7 Quick Start. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 3.7.1 Address Set-up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 3.7.2 Tax Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 3.7.3 Printer Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 3.8 Help Code Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 4 Rs101 - Update Current Check-in's / Reservations. . . . 11 4.1 Check-in/Reservation Browse Table. . . . . . . . . 11 4.2 Reservation Browse Table - Columns . . . . . . . . 11 4.2.1 St - Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 4.2.2 Arriving - Arrival Date . . . . . . . . . . 11 4.2.3 Name - Guest's Name . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 4.2.4 Account - Guest's Account Name. . . . . . . 11 4.2.5 Fol No - Folio Number . . . . . . . . . . . 12 4.2.6 Days. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 4.2.7 Room - Room Type and Number . . . . . . . . 12 4.2.8 Room Chrg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 4.2.9 Total Chrg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 4.2.10 Dpst - Advance Deposit . . . . . . . . . . 12 4.2.11 Dpst Amt - Advance Deposit Amount. . . . . 12 4.3 Reservation Browse Table - Hotkeys . . . . . . . . 12 4.3.1 <Enter> - Edit Reservation. . . . . . . . . 13 4.3.2 <Delete> - Delete Reservation . . . . . . . 13 4.3.3 <Insert> - Add Reservation. . . . . . . . . 13 MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page i 4.3.4 <F1> - Menu of Available Options. . . . . . 13 4.3.5 <F2> - Set Order. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 4.3.6 <F3> - Room Charges . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 4.3.7 <F4> - Check-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 4.3.8 <F5> - Advance Deposit. . . . . . . . . . . 15 4.3.9 <F6> - Masterbill . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 4.3.10 <F7> - Reservation RePrint. . . . . . . . . 16 4.3.11 <F8> - Cancel Reservation . . . . . . . . . 16 4.3.12 <F9> - General Room Availability. . . . . . 16 4.3.13 <F10> - Guest Information . . . . . . . . . 16 4.4 Adding a New Reservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 4.4.1 Arrival Date.....:. . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 4.4.2 Nights...........:. . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 4.4.3 Room Type........:. . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 4.4.4 Room Number......:. . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 4.4.5 Rate(N/G/D)......:. . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 4.5 Entering Guest Information . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 4.5.1 Return Guests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 4.5.2 First Time Guests . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 4.5.3 Bail-Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 4.6 Edit a Reservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 5 Fd101 - Update Current Folios . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 5.1 Current Folios Browse Table - Columns. . . . . . . 21 5.1.1 St - Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 5.1.2 Depart - Departure Date . . . . . . . . . . 21 5.1.3 Guest - Guest's Name. . . . . . . . . . . . 21 5.1.4 Room - Guest's Current room number. . . . . 21 5.1.5 Account - Account or Company Name . . . . . 21 5.1.6 Balance - Guest's Current Balance Due.. . . 21 5.1.7 CR Amt - Guests Credit Limit. . . . . . . . 21 5.1.8 FolNo - Folio number. . . . . . . . . . . . 22 5.2 Current Folio Browse Table - Hotkeys . . . . . . . 22 5.2.1 <F2> - Order. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 5.2.2 <F4> - Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 5.2.3 <F5> - View Folio . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 5.2.4 <F6> - Print Folio. . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 5.2.5 <F7> - Check-out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 5.2.6 <F8> - Close Folio. . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 5.2.7 <F9> Calc - ReCalculate Folio Totals. . . . 23 5.2.8 <F10> - Edit Guest. . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 5.2.9 <Enter> - Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 5.2.10 <A-Z> - Seek. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 6 Fd142 - Front Desk Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 6.1 Transactions (Folio Transactions- Charges/Payments). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 6.2 Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page ii 6.2.1 View Status <F4>. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 6.2.2 Credit Limit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 6.2.3 Guest Info <F10>. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 6.2.4 ReCalc Folio <F9> . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 6.3 Transfer (Room Transfer) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 6.4 Misc Inc (Miscellaneous Income). . . . . . . . . . 25 6.5 Check-out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 6.5.1 Check-out <F7>. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 6.5.2 Close Folio <F8>. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 6.5.3 Print Folio <F6>. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 6.5.4 View Folio <F5> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 6.5.5 Adjust Tax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 7 Fd150 - Update Folio Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . 28 7.1 Folio Transaction Browse Table Columns . . . . . . 28 7.1.1 St - Transaction Status . . . . . . . . . . 28 7.1.2 Date - Transaction Date . . . . . . . . . . 28 7.1.3 Room - Room Number. . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 7.1.4 Code - Transaction Code . . . . . . . . . . 28 7.1.5 Descript - Transaction Description. . . . . 28 7.1.6 Charges - Charge Amount . . . . . . . . . . 28 7.1.7 Payments - Payment Amount . . . . . . . . . 29 7.1.8 Pstd - Posted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 7.1.9 SalesTax - Sales Tax Charge . . . . . . . . 29 7.1.10 OccupTax - Occupancy Tax Charge . . . . . . 29 7.1.11 PostTime - Post Time. . . . . . . . . . . . 29 7.2 Folio Transaction Browse Table - Hotkeys . . . . . 29 7.2.1 <F2> - Tag/UnTag. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 7.2.2 <F4> - View Status. . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 7.2.3 <^Home> - GoTop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 7.2.4 <^End> GoBottom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 7.2.5 <Enter> - Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 8 Fd401 - Update Direct Bill Folios . . . . . . . . . . . 34 9 Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 9.1 Rp310 - Reservation Reports . . . . . . . . . . 35 9.1.1 Arrivals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 9.1.2 Rp300 - No-Shows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 9.1.3 Rp340 - Gen Avail (Bkd) . . . . . . . . . . 35 9.1.4 Rp341 - Gen Avail (Avl) . . . . . . . . . . 36 9.1.5 Rp320 - SpecAvail . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 9.2 Rp320 - Front Desk Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 9.2.1 Current Guests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 9.2.2 Rp550 - Make-up List. . . . . . . . . . . . 36 9.2.3 Rp540 - Departures. . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 9.2.4 Rp531 - Folio Status. . . . . . . . . . . . 37 9.2.5 Rp530 - Direct Bills. . . . . . . . . . . . 37 MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page iii 9.3 Rp330 - Transaction Reports. . . . . . . . . . . . 37 9.3.1 Rp332-4 GL Accounts & GL Journal. . . . . . 37 9.3.2 Rp336 - Transactions. . . . . . . . . . . . 38 9.3.3 Rp338 - Activity Report . . . . . . . . . . 38 9.4 Rp340 - Accounting Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 9.4.1 Rp601 - Shift RePrint . . . . . . . . . . . 39 9.4.2 Rp606 - Balance RePrint . . . . . . . . . . 39 9.4.3 Rp620 - Folio RePrint . . . . . . . . . . . 39 9.4.4 Rp605 - Trial Balance . . . . . . . . . . . 40 9.4.5 Rp612 - Income / Expense Report . . . . . . 40 9.5 Rp350 - System Manager Reports . . . . . . . . . . 40 9.6 Rp655 - Activity Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 9.7 Rp503 - Shift Summaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 9.8 Rp504 - Monthly Account Summary. . . . . . . . . . 40 9.9 Rp520 - Folios by Shift-In . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 9.10 Rp521 - Folios by Shift Out. . . . . . . . . . . . 41 9.11 Rp522 - Folios by Close Shift. . . . . . . . . . . 41 10 Utility Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 10.1 Re-Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 10.2 Optimize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 10.3 Ac105 - Accounting Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 10.3.1 Ac120 - Journal Entries. . . . . . . . . . 42 10.3.2 Ac510 - Close Account Month. . . . . . . . 42 10.3.3 Ac520 - Close Account Year . . . . . . . . 43 10.4 Sy125 - Manager Set-up Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . 43 10.4.1 Sy420 - Update User Names and Access . . . 43 10.4.2 Sy430 - Update General Ledger. . . . . . . 44 10.4.3 Sy610 - System Sequence Numbers. . . . . . 44 10.4.4 Sy620 - Update Cancellation Notice . . . . 45 10.5 Sy135 - MotelMAX Set-up Menu. . . . . . . . . . . 45 10.5.1 Sy100 - MotelMAX Site Set-up . . . . . . . 45 10.5.2 Sy120 - Printer Set-up . . . . . . . . . . 47 10.5.3 Sy130 - Update Rate Tables . . . . . . . . 49 10.5.4 Sy146 - Update General Availability. . . . 53 10.5.5 Sy160 - Update Room Types. . . . . . . . . 54 10.5.6 Sy170 - Update Room Set-up . . . . . . . . 54 10.5.7 Sy223 - Pack Guest File. . . . . . . . . . 55 10.5.8 Sy220 - Disk Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 10.5.9 Sy224 - System Information . . . . . . . . 57 10.5.10 Sy225 - Set System Colors. . . . . . . . . 57 10.5.11 Sy226 - Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 11 Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 APPENDIX A - New Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 APPENDIX B - Tutorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page iv 1 Introduction ============ Thank you for trying MotelMAX, the Hotel/Motel Manager. MotelMAX was designed with the assistance of hotel managers to use the power of the personal computer in organizing their work sites. It is distinguished by an attractive user interface which is very easy to use. You don't have to be a computer expert to learn and use this program. 1.1 Features of MotelMAX Easy to Learn - New users can learn MotelMAX in 30 minutes. They can move along step by step and follow screen messages to work their way through the program. The user interface is consistent, so once you learn one section of MotelMAX, for example, reservations - you are familiar with other sections of the program, since they look and work the same way. Try the tutorial in Appendix B. One Step Check-in/Check-Out - Checking a guest in or out is as easy as pressing a single key. MotelMAX verifies that everything is ready. Automatic Room Rates - MotelMAX can automatically assign room rates according to the rate specifications that you design or you can bypass this option and plug in your own rates at check-in time. Guest History - A guest's most recent stay, room number and room rate are fixed parts of the guest information and can be referenced at any time. Group Billings - MotelMAX handles group billings and includes the ability to transfer charges from one folio to another. Detailed Activity Records - Front Desk operators sign on by opening an accounting shift. MotelMAX tracks all activity conducted during that shift. All transactions are date and time stamped, permitting you to reconstruct activity during any shift or series of shifts. Also, want to know how business is going? Run an activity report for any date range and find out instantly exactly how things are going and in great detail. MotelMAX saves everything. Flexibility - You can design MotelMAX to fit exactly to the needs of your property. Options you do not need can be unplugged. Rooms, room types and room rates can be described to your individual needs. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 1 Password Protected - Users of MotelMAX must have a valid username and password. You can likewise limit the access of users to certain parts of the program. 1.2 How to Use this Manual The User Manual is a general reference guide to the program. It explains each section of MotelMAX screen by screen. If you are new to computers, not to worry, using this program does not require any computer expertise. MotelMAX advises you of your options as you go along and checks your input before processing it. MotelMAX does a lot of work for you and it saves everything. If you are a fairly novice computer user, we ask that you refer to Appendix A of this manual. There we describe some general rules that you should follow when using MotelMAX, or for that matter any computer software. 1.3 MotelMAX - Tutorial Appendix B supplies a tutorial for new users. The tutorial will take you through starting the program, checking in two guests, posting charges / payments to their folios, viewing / printing folios and closing a shift. This short tutorial will be helpful in getting you started right away. Once you sign- on, it will take you about five minutes to book two guests and check them in, really, and you will find it to be the most efficient means of learning the program and what MotelMAX can do for you - highly recommended. 1.4 Generally Speaking When using MotelMAX, there are some simple constants that apply throughout the program. Pressing <Enter> will usually take you one step forward. Pressing the <ESC> key takes you one step back to where you were. Pressing <ESC> several times will always take you back to the Main Menu and the option to exit. Look to the bottom of the screen for a display of available commands, options, "hotkeys" and for context sensitive help. When MotelMAX needs to get information from you, it will display a popup box or window, hereafter, referred to as an edit window. When you enter data in an edit window, always exit the window by pressing <Enter> or <PageDown>. This will guarantee the information you have just entered is properly saved. If you exit an edit window by pressing <ESC>, your entries will not be saved. Exit the MotelMAX program by pressing the <ESC> key enough times to take you back to the Main Menu. There you can press MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 2 <ESC> again or you can select the option to "Quit". This is the correct way to exit the program. All your data will be saved. Please do not turn off your computer or re-boot the computer while you are in the MotelMAX program. This 'may' cause loss of data and other problems. If this should happen or, for example, there is a power failure while you are using the program, next time you run MotelMAX, start the program with the command: MotelMAX NEW <Enter> This start switch will check all the data files to be sure they are in good condition, however, it will not recover any lost data. Next, move to the Utility Menu and select the option to 'Optimize'. This is a double check of all files. Your best guard against lost data is to back up your data often. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 3 2 Legal Notice ============ 2.1 Disclaimer of Warranty Users of MotelMAX must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "MotelMAX is supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of MotelMAX." 2.2 Definition of Shareware MotelMAX (Standard Version) is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge to the user for evaluation. Feel free to share it with others, but please do not give it away altered or as part of another system. The essence of "user- supported" software is to provide personal computer users with quality software without high prices, and yet to provide incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products. 2.3 Registration If you find this program useful and find that you are using MotelMAX and continue to use MotelMAX after a reasonable trial period, you must make a registration payment of $85.00 to MKM Software. The $85.00 registration fee will license one copy for use on any one computer at any one time. You must treat this software just like a book. An example is that this software may be used by any number of people and may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as there is no possibility of it being used at one location while it's being used at another. Just as a book cannot be read by two different persons at the same time. Users of MotelMAX must register and pay for their copies of MotelMAX within 45 days of first use or their license is withdrawn. Site-License arrangements may be made by contacting MKM Software. 2.4 Distribution Anyone distributing the Standard Version of MotelMAX for any kind of remuneration must first contact MKM Software for authorization. This authorization will be automatically granted to distributors recognized by the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP) as adhering to its guidelines for shareware distributors, and such distributors may begin offering MotelMAX immediately (However MKM Software must still MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 4 be advised so that the distributor can be kept up-to-date with the latest version of MotelMAX.). You are encouraged to pass a copy of the Standard Version of MotelMAX along to others for evaluation. Please encourage them to register their copy if they find that they can use it. All registered users will receive a personalized copy of the latest version of the program without any shareware notices, a printed user manual and 90 days of free technical support. Registered users are kept apprised of program updates and additional programs that can be used to generate reports and analyze and graph current and past business data. 2.5 How to Register You can register/purchase any version of MotelMAX directly through MKM Software if you pay by check. For a credit card purchase (MasterCard, Visa, American Express, or Discover) contact Public (software) Library at the numbers listed below. These numbers are for registering any version of MotelMAX or for ordering the latest shareware version. Public (software) Library cannot provide program information or product support for MotelMAX. Contact MKM Software for information about dealer pricing, volume discounts, site licensing, the status of shipment of the product, the latest version number or for technical information. To Register by Check or for Technical Support, contact: MKM Software 2812 Ingrid Lane Metairie, Louisiana 70003 USA Voice........: 504-885-7470 CompuServe...: 72704,3566 To Register by Credit Card (AmEx, Discover, MC or Visa), contact: Public (software) Library Voice (USA)..............: 1-800-242-4PsL FAX......................: 713-524-6398 Voice (International)....: 713-524-6394 CompuServe...............: 71355,470 Public (software) Library cannot provide product support. 2.6 MotelMAX - Version List MotelMAX comes in several versions depending upon what MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 5 functions you need and the number of rooms at your site. The Standard Version supports up to fifty rooms and is distributed as shareware. Other versions which are not distributed as shareware include an additional module to manage reservations and advance deposits. MotelMAX - Standard Version 50 rooms............................ $ 85 MotelMAX w/Reservations & Advance Deposits 50 rooms............................ $ 135 100 rooms............................ $ 175 101+ rooms........................... $ 250 Shipping and Handling US/Canada........... $ 4 Shipping and Handling Overseas............ $ 11 2.7 Calling All Users If your city, town, county, parish, state, province, locale, territory, region, or country has devised some tax mechanism which is not handled by MotelMAX, please let us know. We currently include two tax methods, sales and occupancy taxes. Sales taxes are straight forward. The occupancy tax is designed for those US states that add a surcharge to room rates above a certain amount. A future version will include Canadian GST. We would likewise welcome your comments on any additional features you would like to see in future versions of MotelMAX or changes in existing features, specifically, formatting of the folio invoice, reservation confirmation form, and information recorded per guest. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 6 3 Getting Started =============== 3.1 Installation This section explains how to install and start the MotelMAX program. The MotelMAX program files are stored in compressed format on a floppy diskette. They are compressed in order to save space. To install the program first copy the compressed file(s) from the floppy diskette to the hard drive, then decompress or uncrunch the installation files. If you are familiar with some standard DOS commands you can probably bypass these instructions, however, here is a step by step description for installing MotelMAX on your computer's hard drive: 3.1.1 Make sure you are in the 'root' directory of your hard drive, type: CD \ <Enter> 3.1.2 Make a directory on your hard drive called MotelMAX. MD MotelMAX <Enter> 3.1.3 Move to the MotelMAX directory. CD MotelMAX <Enter> 3.1.4 Place the MotelMAX installation diskette in the floppy drive and copy the contents to your hard drive. Let's assume the diskette is in floppy drive A: and your hard drive is C:. You would enter this command: COPY A:*.* C:\MotelMAX <Enter> 3.1.5 Unpack the MotelMAX program which is now on your hard drive in the MotelMAX Directory. Enter these Commands: MTLMAX <Enter> You will notice that the MotelMAX program now uncrunches and installs in your MotelMAX Directory. When this is done, you can get rid of the install file on your hard drive (carefully) by entering this command: DEL MTLMAX.EXE <Enter> MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 7 3.2 Install Problems If you have any problems installing MotelMAX, call our technical support number. This can apply to the installation of files, setting up your printer or configuring MotelMAX for your specific site, including room set-ups and rate tables. 3.3 Starting MotelMAX - Normally The installation is now complete. Start the program by entering the command: MotelMAX <Enter> 3.4 Starting MotelMAX - Monochrome Monitors If you have a monochrome monitor, you can force MotelMAX to display in monochrome by entering the command: MotelMAX M <Enter> 3.5 Sign-On Screen The initial screen is the shareware sign-on screen. This screen can be exited by pressing the keys <ALT-F10>. Review the sign-on screen and if you choose to use MotelMAX register and support the shareware concept. The shareware screen is not in the registered version of the program. Also, at the top of the screen next to the version number, there is a release date represented by the month and year. If your version is more than one year old, contact your distributor to get the latest version. 3.6 Username and Password When you exit the sign-on screen you have to enter a valid username and password in order to access MotelMAX. For the shareware version enter: Username: MOTELMAX <Enter> Password: MOTELMAX <Enter> You can continue using these access codes until you set-up your own codes. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 8 3.7 Quick Start Once you complete the sign-on, the Main Menu is displayed. MotelMAX comes with sample data, rate tables and room set-ups to get you started right away. But to quickly customize the program, please move to the Utility option on the Main Menu and press <Enter>. Next, select the fifth option 'Set-up' and press <Enter> again. There are several important options, but for now we are only concerned with one option, 'Site Set-up': 3.7.1 Address Set-up Select "Site Set-up". Enter your company name and address. MotelMAX will use this information on reports and folio printouts. 3.7.2 Tax Rates Enter the sales tax rate for your location. Some areas have a tax surcharge for room charges above a certain level. For example, in some areas there is a 5% surcharge on room rates above $100. In this case, you would enter a 'Tax Level' of 100 and an 'Occupancy Tax' of 5.00 for 5%. 3.7.3 Printer Selection In order to correctly print reports, MotelMAX needs to know what kind of printer you are using. We include two of the most popular printers among our selections. If you have a dot matrix printer, select "EPSON". If you have a laser printer, select "HPIII". This will get you started. Later, we can enter the exact specifications for your printer. Refer to the section printer set-up later in this manual. Enter your printer port. Most computers use printer port 1. If you do not know the answer, just use 1. Press <Enter> enough times to exit the edit window or press <PageDown> to exit and save your entries. Do not exit Edit windows by pressing <ESC> because your entries will not be saved. There are other options on the Utility and Set-up Menus, but more about that later. Now you are ready to begin entering check-in's or reservations. Press ESCape enough times to return to the Main Menu option 'Check-in's' or if you are MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 9 using another version of MotelMAX select the option 'Reservations', press <Enter> and let's begin. 3.8 Help Code Index You will notice in the top, left corner of most screens there is a 5 character alpha/numeric code, for example, Rs101. This code is an index or bookmark in the user manual. It tells you precisely where to look in the manual to find help text relevant to your current location in the program. In fact, you can access the user manual online by selecting the option 'Manual' on the Utility Menu. Next, press <ALT-S> and enter the 5 character help code. Now, press <Enter> and seek the first appearance of that code in the manual. Press <ALT-A> to find the same key word again. This is a very quick way of getting you the information that you need. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 10 4 Rs101 - Update Current Check-in's / Reservations ================================================ 4.1 Check-in/Reservation Browse Table In the Standard Version of MotelMAX all check-in's are listed in a browse table. The browse table is sorted by the Guest's last name. Press any letter key <A-Z> and the highlighted cursor will move to the first guest whose last name begins with that letter. In the Standard Version when you book a 'reservation' we assume the guest is arriving today. Other versions of MotelMAX permit you to enter reservations up two years in advance and to accept one or more advance deposits for a reservation. The display and function of both versions is the same and hereafter we will refer to this as the reservation browse table. The browse table is one of the most important tools in MotelMAX. In practically all portions of the program, information is first presented or displayed in a browse table format, so once you learn to navigate the browse table you will be well on your way to understanding how to use MotelMAX. The browse table offers a brief overview of current reservations or check-in's. 4.2 Reservation Browse Table - Columns Each reservation occupies one row in the table and each column contains essential information for the reservation as described below: 4.2.1 St - Status This is a quick, visual guide to the status of the reservation. A solid arrow > indicates the guest is due to arrive today. The letter "M" stands for Masterbill. A number in the status column indicates how many days remain before the guest is due to arrive. 4.2.2 Arriving - Arrival Date Scheduled date of the guest's arrival. 4.2.3 Name - Guest's Name 4.2.4 Account - Guest's Account Name MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 11 4.2.5 Fol No - Folio Number Folio Numbers are automatically assigned by MotelMAX. 4.2.6 Days Number of days the guest is scheduled to stay. You can change the length of stay by editing this reservation. Also, after the guest has checked-in, you can modify the number of days by adding new room charges. All availability tables will be updated accordingly. 4.2.7 Room - Room Type and Number Room Number reserved for this reservation and the room type. The room number may be blank because MotelMAX does not require you to assign a room number until the guest checks-in. 4.2.8 Room Chrg Total amount of projected room charges. This amount is calculated by MotelMAX. It can be changed if you edit the reservation, or if you modify the rate tables. 4.2.9 Total Chrg Total amount of all projected charges. 4.2.10 Dpst - Advance Deposit Number of Advance deposits received. There is no limit to the number of advance deposits you can apply to a reservation. This is useful with regard to MasterBills where numerous advance deposits are accepted on behalf of a group. 4.2.11 Dpst Amt - Advance Deposit Amount Total dollar amount of all advance deposits received for this reservation. 4.3 Reservation Browse Table - Hotkeys As you scroll up and down through the reservation browse table, refer to the bottom of the screen for a list of the most pertinent "hotkeys" available. When you press a hotkey, it will act on the currently highlighted reservation. For new users, you may want to press <F1> for a Menu Box or list of available options. These options include: MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 12 4.3.1 <Enter> - Edit Reservation Edit the currently highlighted reservation. You can change the arrival date, the length of stay, really any aspect of the reservation except the guest's name. If you want to assign this reservation to another guest, it is best to delete this reservation and create a new one for the new guest. 4.3.2 <Delete> - Delete Reservation Delete or Cancel the currently highlighted reservation. MotelMAX will ask you to confirm that you wish to cancel the reservation. If you agree, the reservation will be deleted and the room, now no longer needed, will be put back into inventory for use by another reservation. General room availability files (number of available rooms by room type) are updated and the specific room availability files are updated as well. 4.3.3 <Insert> - Add Reservation Add a new reservation. This option has no reference to the currently highlighted reservation. A new reservation will be inserted in the reservation browse table in a position determined by the browse table sort order ("Set Order" option <F2>) and it will be the currently highlighted option. 4.3.4 <F1> - Display a Menu of Available Options. This is an excellent tool for new users who need to see all available options and the associated hotkey. You can highlight the option you want and press the <Enter> key to select it. Once you are familiar with how the program works and what commands are available, you probably will bypass this option key and use the <Function> Key options instead. The equivalent function key is placed next to each option on the menu to help you see the association, however, while you are in the menu, the hotkey is not active. 4.3.5 <F2> - Set Order Reservations can be displayed in different sort order depending on your need at the time. There are four orders to select from: 4.3.5.1 Guest Name MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 13 Reservations are sorted by the guest's last name. Because this is a character or letter sort, you can use the quick key searches to find the reservation you need. Press any letter key <A..Z> and the highlighted cursor will move directly to the first guest whose last name begins with that letter without regard to upper or lower case. Also, press <Alt-S> and enter the first four letters of the name you are searching for. MotelMAX will jump to the first guest whose last name matches those letters. These quick keys work on all browse tables that are sorted by letters. You can tell if a browse table is sorted alphabetically by looking at the browse table title: 'Reservations by Name'. 4.3.5.2 Account Name Reservations are sorted by the guest's account or company name. Guest records that have a blank account name will be at the top. The reservations are sorted alphabetically, so the quick key searches work when the browse title reads: 'Reservations by Account'. 4.3.5.3 Room Number Reservations are sorted by room number with a secondary sort by last name. Quick key searches will not work on this sort order. 4.3.5.4 Arrival Date Sorting reservations by Arrival Date is a useful way of checking which guests are due today and which ones have yet to check-in. There is a secondary sort by guest name. Quick key searches will not work on this sort order. 4.3.6 <F3> - Room Charges Display an itemized list of room charges for the highlighted reservation. When you book a reservation, MotelMAX will automatically calculate the room rates based on the rate tables that you set-up. This is an excellent way to learn how the rate tables work. Build a reservation, then look at the rates assigned by MotelMAX. The display includes the MotelMAX assigned rates, referred to as the normal rate, and the actual room rate assigned if you should choose to add you own MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 14 rate. 4.3.7 <F4> - Check-in You will use this key often. Press the <F4> key to Check-in the currently highlighted reservation. But first, MotelMAX verifies the reservation is ready for check-in: 4.3.7.1 Verify Arrival Date The first check is to verify this is, in fact, the arrival date. The reservation arrival date must be today, or it must be prior to 8:00 am of the day after the arrival date. (Always be sure that your computer is set to the correct date and time.) This will handle late check-in's, (guest arriving after midnight). If there is a solid arrow '>' in the status column of the reservation browse table, the reservation is ready for check-in. 4.3.7.2 Verify Room Number Prior to check-in, the reservation must have an assigned room number except Masterbills which do not have room numbers. 4.3.7.3 Advance Deposit Finally, if you are using the version of MotelMAX that handles reservations and advance deposits, MotelMAX checks that all advance deposits for this reservation have been posted prior to check-in. If MotelMAX finds an unposted deposit, you cannot check-in. You must either post that deposit, or delete it. Press <F5> to access the Advance Deposit Browse Table. 4.3.8 <F5> - Advance Deposit Enter one or more advance deposits for this reservation, or, refund an advance deposit prior to check-in. You can enter as many deposits for a reservation as necessary. Refer to the section "Advance Deposits" for a more detailed description of this option. The Standard Version of MotelMAX does not accept advance deposits and this option is not displayed. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 15 4.3.9 <F6> - Masterbill Create a new Masterbill. A Masterbill is a Folio that is not tied to a particular room number or room type. It has many uses. Refer to the Help Index Code for Masterbills for a complete explanation with examples. One of the most common uses is when you have a group and you need one folio for the entire group. You can create a Masterbill and transfer, for example, room charges from the individual folios of the group members to the masterbill or master folio. 4.3.10 <F7> - Reservation RePrint Print or Re-print a reservation confirmation form. Output may be sent to the screen or printer. 4.3.11 <F8> - Cancel Reservation Delete or Cancel a Reservation. All availability files will be adjusted accordingly. You can also cancel a reservation by pressing the <Delete> key. 4.3.12 <F9> - General Room Availability Display General Room Availability for the current week. General Room Availability indicates availability by room type. This table will show how many rooms are booked per room type, the percentage of occupancy and the number of rooms booked compared to the total number of rooms. As you book a reservation, press the <F9> key and notice the effect on the General Room Availability Table. 4.3.13 <F10> - Guest Information Edit Guest Information (address, credit card info, etc.) for the currently highlighted reservation. Once you assign the guest to a reservation, you can still edit the guest information. You may update the address, credit card information or correct a misspelling of the guest's name, but do not change the guest's names. Each guest, should have a unique guest number. 4.4 Adding a New Reservation You can add a new reservation by pressing the <Insert> key while in the reservation browse table. Detailed screen messages located at the bottom of the screen will lead you through the reservation process. MotelMAX will ensure that you enter only valid entries. Pop up windows will provide a list of valid choices when needed. Here are the items of MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 16 information necessary to complete a reservation. 4.4.1 Arrival Date.....: MotelMAX will check that the arrival date is either today or some time in the future. You cannot enter an arrival date which is prior to today. Pressing the <TAB> key will set the date automatically to today. Pressing the <Up> or <Down> arrow keys will move the date one day back or forward. This can save keystrokes. In the Standard Version of MotelMAX, we assume the arrival date is today and MotelMAX updates the arrival date accordingly. 4.4.2 Nights...........: Enter the number of nights the guest will stay. MotelMAX will calculate the rate for each night and reserve a room in the room availability files. 4.4.3 Room Type........: Enter the Room Type. The room types available were determined by you when you set-up MotelMAX. Enter the number "9" for a list of the room types that you have defined. You must select a valid room type, one that is on this list. If the room type you enter is not available during any night of the guest's stay, MotelMAX will display a "Caution" message. This will not prevent you from booking the reservation but warn you a given room type is being overbooked on a given date. 4.4.4 Room Number......: Optional, enter a specific room number. If you are unsure and the room number box is empty, press the <Enter> key and MotelMAX will display a list of available rooms in a calendar format. If there is already a room number, and you want to change to another room, press the <SpaceBar> and delete part of the room number and then press <Enter> to access the room selection calendar. Dates appear horizontally along the top of the calendar and room numbers are listed in a column along the left side of the calendar. A number '1' on the calendar means the room has been booked for that date, a '2' means double booked, etc. A space means the room is available. Notice how MotelMAX highlights the date range you are booking. You want to find a room that has all spaces beneath the highlighted booking dates. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 17 Move the cursor to highlight the room you want and press <Enter> again. If the room you select is already booked, MotelMAX will ask if you want to override the room availability warning and double book the room. Room availability reports will record the room as double- booked. 4.4.5 Rate(N/G/D)......: Indicate the room rate category. There are 3 choices: 4.4.5.1 <N>ormal - Normal Room Rate MotelMAX will assign a rate according to the rate tables you have set-up. 4.4.5.2 <G>roup - Group Room Rate MotelMAX will prompt you for a room rate, you enter the amount and that amount will override the amount found in the rate table. 4.4.5.3 <D>iscount - Discount Room Rate Enter a percentage discount from the MotelMAX assigned rate. MotelMAX will prompt you for the discount rate. This provides a very flexible rate mechanism. Refer to the Section on Rate Tables in MotelMAX Set-up for a complete discussion and examples of MotelMAX assigned rates. Please note, selecting the option <G> lets you enter whatever room rate you choose. While MotelMAX has an elaborate mechanism for assigning room rates, you can bypass that system with a single keystroke. If you want to go around the rate system, select <G> and assign or hardwire the rate you want. 4.5 Entering Guest Information Once you complete these items, MotelMAX will display an alphabetical listing of the Guest file and prompt you to select a guest name for this reservation. A reservation is not complete unless it is assigned to a guest. 4.5.1 Return Guests If this is a return guest, you can locate information MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 18 from their previous stay and reuse it. The guests are sorted by last name, so if you press any letter key, you will move quickly to the first guest whose last name begins with that letter. Also, press <Alt-S> and MotelMAX will prompt you for a guest name. Enter the first 4 or 5 letters and MotelMAX will conduct a quick search for a matching last name. 4.5.2 First Time Guests If the reservation is being booked by a first time guest, press the <Insert> key and enter the complete Guest Information. MotelMAX will automatically assign a unique guest number to this guest. This will finish the reservation and you will notice that this reservation and guest will now appear on the reservation browse table, awaiting arrival and check-in. If the arrival date is today, just press <F4> and you can immediately check the guest in. If you would like a printout of the reservation confirmation form, press <F7>. 4.5.3 Bail-Out At this point the reservation is complete and ready to be saved. However, you are still not committed or locked into the reservation. Press the <ESC> key if you would like to exit and cancel this reservation. Otherwise, press <Enter> and the reservation will be saved and added to the reservation browse table. 4.6 Edit a Reservation If at any time some portion of the reservation should change, you can easily edit a reservation. Move the cursor to highlight the reservation that you wish to change and press the <Enter> key. The same window you saw when adding a new reservation will appear. Modify the reservation accordingly. You may want to change the arrival date or length of stay. The rules are the same as adding a new reservation. When you are done, all availability tables will be updated with the new information. Use the <Enter> key to move from item to item within the reservation form. Cursor down to the last item and press <Enter> to effect the changes that you have made. If you press the <ESC> key, you will exit from editing the reservation and the original reservation will be restored - unchanged and MotelMAX will advise you accordingly. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 19 When adding or editing a reservation, you can not exit the edit window by using the <PageDown> key. This is the one exception. If you try it, MotelMAX will ask you to use the <Enter> key or the <Arrow> keys. The reason - this is the most important data entry part of the program. There is plenty of hidden action as MotelMAX verifies your entries and keeps all tables accurately updated. This makes it necessary in this one instance to move along one step at a time. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 20 5 Fd101 - Update Current Folios ============================= All current open folios for checked-in guests are listed in a browse table. The table of folios is sorted by the Guest's last name. Just like the reservation browse table, you can press any letter key <A-Z> and the highlighted cursor will move to the first guest whose last name begins with that letter. This is the central point for working with checked-in guests. From here you can update the individual folios and it is from here that you will print, check-out or close all folios. 5.1 Current Folios Browse Table - Columns Let's begin with a column by column summary of the contents of the browse table followed by a description of the available options: 5.1.1 St - Status A solid arrow in this column '>' indicates the guest departs today. A number indicates how many days remain before the scheduled departure. An asterisk indicates the departure date has passed which means the guest should be checked-out, or, additional room charges need to be added to the reservation. A 'check mark' shows that the guest has been check-out, but the folio now needs to be closed. 5.1.2 Depart - Departure Date The scheduled departure date is automatically added by MotelMAX. 5.1.3 Guest - Guest's Name. 5.1.4 Room - Guest's Current room number. 5.1.5 Account - Account or Company Name This is an optional entry field. 5.1.6 Balance - Guest's Current Balance Due. 5.1.7 CR Amt - Guests Credit Limit This is an amount you establish as the maximum amount a guest can accumulate as a balance due on a folio. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 21 5.1.8 FolNo - Folio number The folio number is automatically assigned by MotelMAX. 5.2 Current Folio Browse Table - Hotkeys Refer to the bottom of the screen for a list of the options available on the front desk browse table. Here is a summary of those options: 5.2.1 <F2> - Order Set the Sort Order of the browse table contents. Folios can be sorted by Last Name, Account Name, Room No or Departure Date. 5.2.2 <F4> - Status View a detailed summary of the status of this folio. This is the complete story; arrival, departure, status, summary of charges, summary of payments and balance due. This is a very useful option you may want to make frequent use of. Press any key to return to the browse table. 5.2.3 <F5> - View Folio Display a print out of the folio just as it will appear on check-out. The display will include all posted charges and payments. This is an excellent folio preview. Use the Up/Down arrow keys to scroll through the folio display to ensure it appears exactly as you expect. 5.2.4 <F6> - Print Folio Same as <F5> only the output will go to the printer. This is not a check-out, it is a printed folio preview; or, if the guest has already checked-out, it is a folio re-print. 5.2.5 <F7> - Check-out Check-out the currently highlighted guest. This is an important step, so MotelMAX will conduct a few checks to be sure everything is ready for check-out, then ask you to confirm your choice. Refer to the section Check-out for more details on what criteria must be met before MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 22 MotelMAX will Check-out a folio. 5.2.6 <F8> - Close Folio Once a Folio has been checked-out, it must now be closed. At this point it will be removed from the browse table of current folios. MotelMAX will make a few checks before it permits you to close a folio. Refer to the section 'Closing a Folio' for more details. 5.2.7 <F9> Calc - ReCalculate Folio Totals Use this option to recalculate folio charges and payments and verify the folio totals. This may be necessary if a hardware problem occurs or if folio results are not as you expect. In some cases, it may be necessary to re- index all files to ensure accurate folio totals. This is a safety device for use in rare occasions when files may be damaged. 5.2.8 <F10> - Edit Guest Access complete guest information as entered when the reservation was taken. This includes address and credit card details. You may view or edit guest information as needed. 5.2.9 <Enter> - Menu Access a menu containing all options available when browsing current folios. This includes all the above listed options including some additional ones, such as, folio transactions, room transfer, adjusting tax rates, etc. Refer to the next section, 'Fd142 - Front Desk Menu' for complete details. 5.2.10 <A-Z> - Seek If the browse table sort order is set to Guest Name or Account Name, you can press any letter key A-Z and MotelMAX will move to the first guest in the browse table whose name or account name begins with that letter. This is the recommended method of moving through all browse tables. You can substantially reduce the number of keystrokes used to accomplish your tasks. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 23 6 Fd142 - Front Desk Menu ======================= The Front Desk Menu contains all the options available when browsing the current checked-in list guest folios, including perhaps the most important - 'Transactions' - the adding, updating and posting of all charges and payments. 6.1 Transactions (Folio Transactions - Charges/Payments) Select this option to update a guest folio by adding, editing or posting charges and payments. Use this option also if you want to transfer charges from one folio to the next. Options are too numerous to discuss here. Please refer to section Fd150 - 'Front Desk Transactions' for a complete discussion of these menu options. 6.2 Status This option includes several sub-options which pertain to the status of the folio: 6.2.1 View Status <F4> View Folio Status - same as discussed above. 6.2.2 Credit Limit Update the guest credit limit. An edit window is displayed requesting a) the name or initials of the person setting the credit limit and b) the credit limit dollar amount. 6.2.3 Guest Info <F10> View or Edit Guest Information as entered at the time of reservation. 6.2.4 ReCalc Folio <F9> This option will review all charges and payments posted to a folio and update the folio totals. It exits only for rare cases when a folio balance may be wrong, because a power spike or some hardware problem occurred and a folio total was not properly updated. Normally, there is no need to use this option, however, in some cases you will view or print a folio and receive an 'Invoice Error' message from MotelMAX. This is MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 24 because, as a precaution, MotelMAX stores the folio total in two separate locations. If these two totals do not match and you receive an error message, run the recalc option to re-calculate the folio. 6.3 Transfer (Room Transfer) Select this option when you choose to transfer a guest from one room to another. MotelMAX begins by displaying the current room settings and asking you to confirm that you choose to continue with the room transfer. If you answer <Y>es, MotelMAX requests the room type and the room number the guest will transfer to. This information request works exactly like a reservation. You must enter a valid room type and a valid room number. Also, the room type and room number must be available. Blank out the room number using the <SpaceBar>, press <Enter> and MotelMAX will display a table of available room numbers and their availability status. You can press the <ESC> key at any time to cancel the room transfer and return to the folio browse table. 6.4 Misc Inc (Miscellaneous Income) Use this option to post charges and payments received from vending machines, parking fees or similar income sources. This option will create a special Miscellaneous Income folio where you can post these charges and payments. The folio is not attached to a guest and cannot accept room charges, room adjustments or extra guest charges. You can post as many charges and payments as you like to a single Miscellaneous Income Folio, but you can only open one 'Miscellaneous Income' folio at a time. Miscellaneous Income folios can be checked-out and closed like all other folios. Before you can check-out and close a Miscellaneous Income folio, the balance due must equal zero. You cannot send a Miscellaneous Income folio to direct bill. 6.5 Check-out This menu option contains several sub-options which pertain to the checking out and closing of folios. The first four options can be accessed using 'hotkeys' and have been discussed previously. The other option is 'Adjust Tax' which exists for guests who may be tax exempt or for some other special case wherein their tax rate may differ from the normal rate. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 25 6.5.1 Check-out <F7> Press <F7> to check-out the currently highlighted guest. MotelMAX will verify that the balance due is equal to zero and that today is the scheduled departure date. If this is an early departure, be sure to delete all unposted room charges prior to check-out. This will keep your room availability tables accurate. If the balance due is not equal to zero, you can still check-out the guest but the folio will be re-classified as a direct bill folio. See the direct bill folio section for more details. 6.5.2 Close Folio <F8> Once you check-out a guest the folio remains in the browse table until you specifically close the folio. At that point this folio is marked and on closing the shift, it will be archived. 6.5.3 Print Folio <F6> You can print out a folio at any time. Only posted charges and payments are printed. The last line of the printout will include the folio status - whether check- out or still open. Checked-out folios include the check- out date and time. 6.5.4 View Folio <F5> Preview the guest's folio. This is an excellent option to verify the folio contains the charges and payments you expect. Only posted charges and payments are displayed. When you are learning the program, run this option often to see the results of the charges and payments you post to a folio. Notice that when you enter a charge or payment you can also enter up to 20 characters of description. This description is printed on the folio. Experiment with different looks to produce the folios display that you prefer, but don't waste any paper, just display it to the screen using the <F5> function key. This is a useful option for training new users of the program. 6.5.5 Adjust Tax MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 26 MotelMAX will assign to all folios the tax rates that you define as part of the Set-up procedure. However, you can change these rates for a given folio using this option. Select this option and MotelMAX will prompt you to enter the alternate sales tax rate and room occupancy tax for this folio. Once done, MotelMAX will re-calculate the folio totals based on the tax rates you entered. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 27 7 Fd150 - Update Folio Transactions ================================= This browse table contains an itemized listing of all folio transactions and whether they have been posted. The transactions are sorted by transaction date with payments preceding charges within each date. Again, we will first examine the content of the browse table then the available options. 7.1 Folio Transaction Browse Table Columns The browse table of current folios is comprised of the following columns: 7.1.1 St - Transaction Status A check mark indicates the item has been posted. A solid arrow '>' says the item is ready to be posted, and a number indicates the number of days before the item can be posted. An asterisk shows the posting date has passed and the item is available for posting. 7.1.2 Date - Transaction Date Transaction date automatically assigned by MotelMAX. 7.1.3 Room - Room Number This is the room number of the guest at the time the item was posted. If a guest transfers to a different room, any charge that is already posted will keep its original room number. 7.1.4 Code - Transaction Code A code abbreviation of the transaction type, for example, RCH = room charge, AMX = American Express payment. 7.1.5 Descript - Transaction Description A brief description of the item. In most cases, the operator can enter free text in this area. Whatever is entered here, will also appear on the printed folio. 7.1.6 Charges - Charge Amount The base charge amount for the current transaction. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 28 7.1.7 Payments - Payment Amount The base payment amount. 7.1.8 Pstd - Posted Whether the item is posted, Yes/No. 7.1.9 SalesTax - Sales Tax Charge MotelMAX assigned sales tax charge. 7.1.10 OccupTax - Occupancy Tax Charge MotelMAX assigned. 7.1.11 PostTime - Post Time When the item was posted. 7.2 Folio Transaction Browse Table - Hotkeys As you move through the browse table, highlight the item that you want, then select one of the following options: 7.2.1 <F2> - Tag/UnTag This option exists only for transferring charges and payments between folios. Use the <F2> key to tag or to untag a given transaction item. A special character (a diamond) will appear in the status field when an item is tagged. Next, press the <Enter> key to access the transactions menu. Select the option 'Transfer' to send all tagged items to another folio - perhaps a masterbill. Posted and Unposted items can be transferred. Be sure you know in advance the number of the folio you wish to transfer to. 7.2.2 <F4> - View Status Same as described earlier. You are currently working with the itemized details of a given folio - use this option to view a Status Summary of the same folio. As you post charges, access the Status Summary again to see the effect of the postings and the new balance due. 7.2.3 <^Home> - GoTop This option moves the cursor. Press these keys <Ctrl><Home> at the same time to move to the first item in the browse table. This option key combination can be MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 29 used on all browse tables with the same result. 7.2.4 <^End> GoBottom Use this key combination <Ctrl><End> to move to the last item in the browse table. This command applies to all browse tables. 7.2.5 <Enter> - Menu Access the transactions menu. Use the Left/Right arrow keys to move to the option you want and press <Enter>, or you can press the first letter of the option that you want and move directly to that option. The options and sub-options are explained below. 7.2.5.1 Fpost Post the currently highlighted item. Only posted items appear on the printed folio. On check-out, all unposted items are deleted. You can only post an item if the transaction date is today or has passed. The letter 'F' precedes the word post, to produce a unique quick key option 'F' - so the letter 'P' could be used for <P>ayments. 7.2.5.2 Edit Edit the currently highlighted item. You can only edit an item that has not been posted. 7.2.5.3 Void Void the currently highlighted item. If the item is not posted, it will be deleted. If the item is posted but posted during the 'current shift', it will be zeroed out (voided) but not deleted. Finally, if it was posted during a prior shift, it cannot be voided. Enter a refund or negative transaction to make the adjustment. 7.2.5.4 Refund Issue a refund against the currently highlighted charge. MotelMAX will prompt you to enter the refund amount. Enter a positive number, MotelMAX will take care of the sign. The amount cannot be greater than the amount of the original charge. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 30 7.2.5.5 Charges Use this option to add new charges to a folio. MotelMAX will assign the current date as the transaction date. You must enter the amount and in some cases you can enter a free text description that will appear on the printed folio. MotelMAX will prompt you for what kind of charge you wish to enter, including the following: 7.2.5.5.1 Phone Add a new telephone charge. 7.2.5.5.2 Other-Tax Enter an 'Other Charge' and have MotelMAX assign the appropriate sales tax. 7.2.5.5.3 Other Enter an 'Other Charge' but do not include sales tax. 7.2.5.5.4 Extra Gst Add a new Extra Guest Charge. 7.2.5.5.5 Adjm Room Add a room adjustment charge. This can be either a plus or minus amount. 7.2.5.5.6 Room Chrg Add a new room charge. MotelMAX will automatically add a new room charge to the end of the list of room charges and at the same time, extend the departure date by one day. As always, availability tables are updated accordingly. 7.2.5.6 Payments Use this option to add new payments to the folio. There are two other choices not shown here, Credit Card 1 and Credit Card 2. These categories are for any credit card of your choice not already covered by the four credit card options. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 31 7.2.5.6.1 Amex Add an American Express payment. Enter the amount and optionally a description. 7.2.5.6.2 Discover Add a Discover Card Payment. 7.2.5.6.3 MCard Add a MasterCard Payment. 7.2.5.6.4 Visa Add a Visa Payment. 7.2.5.6.5 Check Add a Payment made by check. 7.2.5.6.6 Kash Add a Cash Payment. We use the letter <K> only to have a unique quick key. 7.2.5.7 Transfer There are two sub-options described as follows. 7.2.5.7.1 Transfer Transfer all tagged charges to another folio. MotelMAX will prompt you for the number of the folio that will receive the charges. You must enter the number of a folio that is currently checked-in. MotelMAX asks you to verify your choice. You can transfer posted and unposted items and you can transfer an item as many times as you want. 7.2.5.7.2 DB / CR (Debit/Credit) Debit/Credit a posted 'payment' or posted 'deposit' for this folio. MotelMAX will prompt you for the folio number of the folio that will received the credit transaction. A debit transaction is posted to the sending folio. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 32 If the currently highlighted item is a posted 'charge', MotelMAX will enter a credit transaction to this folio and post a debit transaction to the receiving folio. You can only DB/CR partial portions of a posted item. Don't DB/CR the entire amount of an item - tag it and transfer it. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 33 8 Fd401 - Update Direct Bill Folios ================================= Direct Bill Folios are folios which have been checked out but were not closed because the balance due was not equal to zero. The folios are removed from the browse table of current guests so as not to clutter the screen. When you are looking at current guest folios that is all you want to see. Direct Bill Folios again are those who have check-out but whose bill is unresolved. They have their own browse table, but to keep things simple the interface and available hotkey functions are exactly the same as you find for current folios. If you decide to change screen colors, make sure the browse table for direct bill folios is noticeably different in color from the browse table for current folios. In most cases, you need to post a final payment after which you can close and clear out the direct bill folio. You can add new charges, or print additional copies of the folio as needed, again, using the same keys you are familiar with from the browse table of current guests. However, you should never add a new room charge to a direct bill folio. If it is necessary to add a room charge, use the charge option 'room adjustment' instead. Once the balance due is equal to zero, close the folio just as you do for current folios. The direct bill folio will now be removed from the browse table. When you close this shift, this folio and all its transactions will be copied to the archives. All postings of charges and payments to direct bill folios affect the accounts receivable category - 'direct bill', and not the city ledger. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 34 9 Reports ======= Following is a description of the various reports printed by MotelMAX. 9.1 Rp310 - Reservation Reports Reservation reports include the following: 9.1.1 Arrivals List all reservations due for arrival during a specified date range. When you select this option, a second menu will appear asking you to select the order in which the arrivals report will appear. There are eight different ways in which the report can be sorted, using the Arrival Date, the Guest's Name, the Account Name or the Room Number. The sorting methods are self explanatory, for example, 'by Guest Name and Arrival Date'. Once you select the sort method, MotelMAX prompts you for a Date Range for this report. You can include reservations for any date range although MotelMAX will only search among currently active reservations and folios for the results. The date range and the sort order that you select will be printed at the top of the report. This report is printed in condensed print characters to permit more columns on the page. If you have print problems, consult the section on printer set-up. 9.1.2 Rp300 - No-Shows This report will print a list of reservations for which the arrival date has passed. These no-show reservations should be deleted so that the availability tables will updated and the reserved rooms will be free for use by other reservations. 9.1.3 Rp340 - Gen Avail (Bkd) This report is run for a given date range. The default range is the next two weeks. For each day there is a list of rooms booked per room type. Also, the total of all rooms booked compared to the total number of rooms available and the percentage of occupancy. Room type 0, the house accounts, are not considered available and are not calculated as part of the percentage of occupancy. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 35 Room type 0 might include rooms under repair or rooms let under special conditions. The percentage of occupancy is a true number of actual rooms booked against the actual number of rooms available. 9.1.4 Rp341 - Gen Avail (Avl) This report is the same as above except that the numbers represent the number of rooms available as opposed to the number booked. 9.1.5 Rp320 - SpecAvail Specific room availability is a report of room usage on an individual basis. The report is printed for the month you enter and the follow month. It shows on a room by room basis the booking for the two calendar months. The number 1 represents booked once. The numbers 2 or more represent multiple bookings. 9.2 Rp320 - Front Desk Reports These are reports devised for running the front desk. 9.2.1 Current Guests List all current guests. A submenu will appear offering several different ways in which the report might be sorted. You can sort the results by account, room number or guest name. This is a who is in list and it includes the arrival and departure dates. 9.2.2 Rp550 - Make-up List This report lists all rooms for guest currently checked and not scheduled for departure. These rooms have to be prepared for these guests whose stay will extend through this night. 9.2.3 Rp540 - Departures List guests scheduled for departure during a date range that you specify. The default is the next two weeks. The results are printed in order by departure date. You can limit the report results to include only those MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 36 guest leaving the next day by changing the report range. 9.2.4 Rp531 - Folio Status Print a listing of all current folios and the status of each folio, including the total charges, total payments, deposits paid and balance due. The total are for posted amounts only. 9.2.5 Rp530 - Direct Bills This report is exactly like the folio status report above except it is for direct bill folios only. 9.3 Rp330 - Transaction Reports There are four transaction report formats: 9.3.1 Rp332-4 GL Accounts & GL Journal The GL Accounts and GL Journal reports both contain itemized listings of accounting transactions but presented in different ways. The GL Accounts report lists transactions sorted by Accounting Category. This report is useful in proving totals on the shift report, monthly account summaries or general ledger. The GL Journal report lists transactions in the same order in which they occurred. This report is useful for reconstructing accounting activity during a given shift. Both reports can be limited in scope by a shift number range or by a date range. If the report scope is determined by shift number, the report totals should match those on the shift report or monthly account summary comprised of the same shift numbers. The GL reports contain the following columns: SeqNo Sequence Number - a counter to more easily locate items on the report. ShfNo Shift Number - shift during which the transaction was posted. TrnNo MotelMAX assigned sequential transactions number. Transaction numbers are reset to one at the beginning of each month. C Category - 'R' - Receivables, 'I' - Income, MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 37 'D' - Deposits, 'P' - Payments, and 'L' - Liabilities. TrnCd Transaction Account Code. Credits Transaction Credit Amount. Debits Transaction Debit Amount. Descript Transaction description. In many cases, this is assigned by MotelMAX. FolNo Folio Number to which the transaction was posted. Room Room Number of the folio at the time the transaction was posted. TrnDate Transaction Date. Posted Transactions posted Yes/No. DB Transaction was posted to a direct bill folio Yes/No. 9.3.2 Rp336 - Transactions This report lets you print transactions for a specific accounting code. For example, you might choose to print all American Express payments for a given shift number range or for a given date range. This report can be used to prove numbers on a monthly account summary sheet or shift report. As long as you are working within the same shift number range, the results should be identical. The same cannot be said for reports selected by date range. These totals can not be counted upon to match totals on the monthly account summary and shift reports. 9.3.3 Rp338 - Activity Report This report is designed to answer questions such as: How did we do this weekend? How are we doing this month? The activity report will ask you to enter a date or shift number range then proceed to calculate various totals for business activity during the selected range. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 38 This is an extensive report which will tell you how MotelMAX is being used. Whether room rates are being assigned by the program or by the front desk operators. What are the rates, the high, low and average. Over time this report can yield information about business activity which will help you project future activity and to spot unusual business activity. Report Scope ( by Date or by Shift No ) It is important to understand that transaction reports based on shift numbers should match or prove to shift report totals and to monthly account summary totals. When transactions are selected by date range, you cannot expect the same results. It is a point that bears repeating to avoid confusion when interpreting results. 9.4 Rp340 - Accounting Reports Various accounting reports are available to help you review, analyze and in some cases reprint reports that may be missing. These reports contain the results of your business activity, therefore, this menu is not accessible to everyone. The user must have 'accounting' access rights in order to access this menu. You may want to take note of this when you set-up user names and access rights. 9.4.1 Rp601 - Shift RePrint Enter a shift number and MotelMAX will reprint the shift report for that shift. This is useful in case the first report is lost or if you are doing some accounting checks and are not able to get a copy of the original report. You have to know the shift number in advance. 9.4.2 Rp606 - Balance RePrint Reprint a monthly account summary for a given account month. Enter the month number. 9.4.3 Rp620 - Folio RePrint Reprint a guest folio. You must enter the folio number. MotelMAX searches amoung current folios and among all archives to print a folio summary. This printout contains more details than the actual folio printed at guest check-out. MotelMAX does not now print an itemized MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 39 listing of all transactions. For this report to work, the folio archive (A_FOL.DBF) must not have been deleted. 9.4.4 Rp605 - Trial Balance Check that accounting totals are in balance for a given shift number range. You can specify any valid shift number range. MotelMAX has to be able to locate the starting shift number and the ending shift number records for this report to work. 9.4.5 Rp612 - Income / Expense Report Track income totals per account code for the month and for the year. The report provides the dollar total and the ratio of the dollar total to total income. Expenses are not tracked in the Shareware version of MotelMAX. 9.5 Rp350 - System Manager Reports This menu provides access to reports consistently used by the system manager. 9.6 Rp655 - Activity Report This report has been discussed earlier. This is a second way access a transaction report for business activity. You can select the report by shift number range or by date range. 9.7 Rp503 - Shift Summaries This report lists all shift currently logged in the system. It is a guide to the shift numbers, the operator's name, the start date, start time and number of check-ins and check-outs. Use this report as a guide when selecting shift number ranges. 9.8 Rp504 - Monthly Account Summary List all Monthly Account Summaries currently on file. The report is a guide to the month numbers and to the Start and Ending Shift for each account month. We use the term month only because most users will close out each calendar month. However, you may choose to close out whenever you like. You may decide to close each week or each MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 40 quarter. For this reason, the so called 'account month' is assigned a month number in order to give the 'account month' a unique identifier. 9.9 Rp520 - Folios by Shift-In Print a list of all folios that checked in during a given shift range. You may choose to limit this to one shift in which case you a list of all folios that checked in during one shift. This is another tool provided by MotelMAX that helps you to reconstruct all activity that occurs during a shift. This may be used to resolve any questions that can arise with regard to shift reports or monthly account summaries. 9.10 Rp521 - Folios by Shift Out This report provides a list of all folios that were checked out during a given shift range. It is exactly like the previous report only it covers a different activity for the folio. 9.11 Rp522 - Folios by Close Shift Like the two previous reports, this report will give you a list all folios that were closed during a given shift range. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 41 10 Utility Menu =========== 10.1 Re-Index Index files are used by MotelMAX to quickly locate specific information. If the computer is switched off while the program is on or if there is a loss of power, these index files can be damaged. In such cases, you should rebuild all index files using this option. Under normal circumstances this is not necessary. MotelMAX will always update index files as needed. This option is made available as a precaution. 10.2 Optimize Run optimize once a week. It will re-condition all data files and it will rebuild all index files. This is like a quick tune-up. It will ensure the best performance for the program. 10.3 Ac105 - Accounting Menu 10.3.1 Ac120 - Journal Entries From time to time, a front desk operator will accept a Mastercard payment, let's say $100.00 and enter it into the wrong account, for example, American Express. Journal Entries are transfers of amounts from one account to another within the same accounting category. In the example above, we would want to transfer $100.00 from the Current Asset Account - American Express and transfer it to the Current Asset Account - Mastercard. In short, we want to decrease the American Express account by $100.00 and increase Mastercard by $100.00. Follow the screen prompts to complete this one-sided transaction. MotelMAX will verify all entries. You cannot make a mistake. If you do not know the account numbers, enter <0> and press <Enter>. A pop-up menu will provide a list of choices. As always, look to the bottom of the screen for additional context sensitive help. 10.3.2 Ac510 - Close Account Month Closing the month will build a monthly account summary which is really a composite of all shifts for the current account month. You can view this composite account MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 42 summary prior to closing the month. If the monthly account summary is balanced and you choose to proceed, MotelMAX sums all totals for the current month and updates the general ledger with current totals for the month and for the year. Next it moves all cleared transactions to archive files. Again, we use the term 'close account month' only because most users will close-out on a monthly basis. It is your choice. You might choose to close each week or each quarter. It is a matter of preference. We recommend that you close at least each calendar month. This will maximize performance of the program. As part of the closing, MotelMAX takes certain steps to ensure the best performance of the program. 10.3.3 Ac520 - Close Account Year This option updates the general ledger by moving Year-to- date amounts to last year's total and resetting all YTD amounts for all accounts back to 0. You probably will want to close the month just prior to closing the year. This is not necessary, only recommended. For best results, when you close a month or a year, we recommend that you dedicate a shift to that single activity. For example, prior to closing a month or a year, first exit the shift you are in. When asked whether to close the shift, answer <Y>es. Next, sign-on to MotelMAX again and open a new shift. Do not take reservations, or post transactions, instead, go directly to the accounting menu and close the month or close the year. Afterwards, exit the program and close the shift. This will provide a clear demarcation between account months and between account years. 10.4 Sy125 - Manager Set-up Menu Options on the manager set-up menu do not need to be accessed by everyone using MotelMAX. You should limit access to this menu as described in the next section - 'User Names'. 10.4.1 Sy420 - Update User Names and Access You can limit who has access to MotelMAX by assigning MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 43 user names and passwords. In order for a user to sign-on to MotelMAX, they must enter a valid user name and password. These names and passwords are assigned by the system manager. Any user name or password can be changed or deleted unless it is the name of the current active username. There are two 'system user' passwords which cannot be deleted. This guarantees there is always an available user name. The system manager can also assign access rights to individual users by indicating <Y>es or <N>o next to the area in question. For example, a new front desk operator may have access to the areas 'Reservations' and 'Front Desk', however, this user does not need access to 'Reports', 'Accounting' or 'Files'. This would mean the user can only check-in or check-out guests. The user would not be able to access accounting information on current or past monthly account summaries or access site set-up files. This is a very flexible utility and how you choose to implement it will depend upon the needs of your particular site. 10.4.2 Sy430 - Update General Ledger View the general ledger and current amounts for each account. This version of MotelMAX does not permit changes to the general ledger. Other versions permit the adding of new accounts for income or current assets. 10.4.3 Sy610 - System Sequence Numbers MotelMAX automatically assigns id numbers to guests and folios as you add them. There is no need for users to update or change sequence numbers. However, access to these numbers is permitted in order to provide users complete access and control of MotelMAX. In some cases, you might choose to institute some controls which help you to analyze business activity. An example might be when you start a new year, you might want to move the sequence number for the next folio to 7001 so you know the first folio for the new year will be 7001 and at any time during the account year you can take MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 44 a quick check of the folio number and determine how many folios have been opened for the current year. These numbers are automatically controlled by MotelMAX. There is no need for you to ever change them. MotelMAX will take care that duplicate numbers are not assigned to current 'active' folios, guests, shifts or account month numbers. 10.4.4 Sy620 - Update Cancellation Notice The cancellation notice is attached to the reservation confirmation form printout. You can have the cancellation notice read anyway you wish. A typical cancellation notice will advise guests of the penalty for canceling a room reservation, typically, the forfeiting of a portion of the advance deposit and a processing fee for the deposit refund. If the cancellation notice is left blank, it will not be printed on the reservation confirmation form, of course, since there is nothing to print, but neither will the heading 'Cancellation Notice' appear. 10.5 Sy135 - MotelMAX Set-up Menu This menu contains all the options you need to set-up MotelMAX for use at your site. Work your way through these menu options to customize MotelMAX for your particular needs. 10.5.1 Sy100 - MotelMAX Site Set-up Enter basic address and telephone information for your site. MotelMAX will use this information when printing folios and reports. Additional items of information needed to complete this screen are as follows: 10.5.1.1 Valid Date...: This date is entered automatically by MotelMAX. It sets the limit for which reservations can be taken. You cannot book reservations beyond this date. To increase this date, you must update the general and specific room availability tables. 10.5.1.2 Room Types...: Enter the number of room types you have for your site. The maximum number is five. A typical setup might include 3 room types: 'Standard', 'Deluxe' MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 45 and 'Suite'. You will have to describe these room types on another screen. 10.5.1.3 Sales Tax....: Enter the local sales tax rate for your area as a percentage. 10.5.1.4 Tax Level....: Some states have a tax surcharge for room rates above a certain amount. For example, room nights billed above $100.00 in some areas are subject to a 5% surcharge (on the entire room charge amount). Enter the amount for which the surcharge would be applied for your area. In our example, that would $100.00. Enter zero if no surcharge applies for your area. 10.5.1.5 Occupancy Tax.: Enter the percentage surcharge for room nights billed above the tax level entered on the previous line. In the example above, you would enter 5% here. 10.5.1.6 Extra Guests..: Enter your standard extra guest charge. In some cases, room nights are billed for a maximum of two guests. Additional guests are charged the amount you enter here per night. 10.5.1.7 Track Rsv Code: Enter <Y>es if you want to track reservation and business codes. When operators book a reservation, these prompt will appear asking for this information. Enter <N>o if you choose not to record this information. In this case, the screen prompts will not appear when you are booking a reservation. 10.5.1.8 Hotel Code....: Enter a one-letter Hotel Code (A-Z). This code is useful if you are using MotelMAX at different sites. At some point, you may want to pool all transactions from both sites into one file. This hotel code will help you to determine the origin of MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 46 all transactions. You must enter a letter code here. 10.5.1.9 Printer Type..: Select the printer type that you are using. Enter spaces if you do not know and press the <Enter> key. A picklist will appear with different printer to select. If your printer type is not on this list, you can add it to the list on the next menu option 'Printer Set-up'. The printer selection is important because it will send printer codes that control the format of reports. If your printed results are not correct, call technical support for information. We probably have the correct codes for your printer, or we can find them. 10.5.1.10 Printer Port...: Enter the printer port you are using. This is probably port 1. If you do not know which printer port you are using, enter number 1. 10.5.2 Sy120 - Printer Set-up MotelMAX comes with a list of printers from which you can choose to match the printer that you have. We include Epson and HP LaserJet, two of the most popular printers. If you have another kind of printer, you need to add it to the list. Adding a printer to the printer browse table is done as always by pressing the <Insert> key. Printer set-up requires that you enter the following information for your printer: 10.5.2.1 Printer ID....: Enter a unique identification code to distinguish this printer from other printers on the list. 10.5.2.2 Description...: Enter a free text description of your printer type. The next three entries are printer codes or ESCape sequences that you can find in your printer manual. If you do not have these codes, please call our technical support number and we can probably find them for you. Have your printer name and model number available. Here MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 47 is some quasi technical stuff about printer codes. For MotelMAX to make your printer print in condensed type, it must send a special code to the printer, sometimes called an Escape Sequence. These printer codes can consist of printable and non-printable characters. Printable characters like a-z and 0-9 can be typed in directly as printer codes. Non-printable characters like ESCape (which produces an arrow pointing left) cannot be entered directly. We have to enter the ASCII code for ESCape, which is 27, as a three-digit number preceded by a "\". The result is \027. Refer to the sample printer set-ups to see how this works. For example, the reset command for HP printers is ESCape 'E'. Since ESCape is a non-printable character, we enter this reset command as \027E - substituting the ASCII code '27' for ESCape. 10.5.2.3 Reset.........: Enter the code or 'ESCape Sequence' that resets your printer to normal print settings. For Epson printers, this code is ESCape and '@'. Since ESCape is a non-printable character, enter this printer code as \027@. 10.5.2.4 Condensed.....: Enter the code or 'ESCape Sequence' that places your printer in condensed print. This print style is used often to permit MotelMAX to print more columns of information on reports. 10.5.2.5 Landscape.....: This code is optional since MotelMAX does not currently print reports in landscape mode. The next entries are for page formatting. You can designate the top left corner of the page to begin, page length and page width depending upon the print format, normal or condensed. You should find the default settings acceptable. However, as always you can modify program output needed. If you want to experiment with these options, do not use the original printer set-up, make a new one, for example, EPSN2. Make EPSN2 your selection on the 'Site Set-up' screen. Change the EPSN2 set-up as many times as you want to experiment with different page formats. If you find that you have improved your set-up, leave EPSN2 as MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 48 your printer on the 'Site Set-up' screen. Otherwise, return to 'Site Set-up' and re-select EPSON as your printer. You will be back to where you started without having to make numerous changes. 10.5.3 Sy130 - Update Rate Tables MotelMAX will automatically assign room rates at reservation time, check-in and whenever room charges are added to a folio. The rates assigned are based on the rate tables you enter here. The assigning of room rates is a powerful and very flexible tool provided with MotelMAX. You can easily use this tool or if you choose you can bypass this option and assign your own rates at the time of reservation. Rate tables are presented in a browse table. Press <Insert> to add a new table, <Enter> to edit a table, <Delete> to delete a rate table. Be careful not to delete tables unless the 'Thru Date' has expired. A better method is to use the <F6> key to archive rate tables. Only the expired rate tables are deleted. The <F5> hotkey will create a new rate table from an old rate table. The new table will carry forward rates from the old table. Use this option when you only want to make some minor changes in a rate table. The best way to understand rate tables is to create some tables, book some reservations and press the <F3> key to get an itemized listing of the individual room charges assigned by MotelMAX. You will find there are perhaps more pricing mechanisms than you need. These can be easily worked around or put to good use. 152.SHW There are specific terms that need to be defined to understand how to use the rate tables. Let's begin by defining some terms, then presenting three scenarios for designing rate tables going from the easiest to the more complex. Select the scenario that most resembles your site and your concerns. First, a definition of terms: Thru Date......: The rate table is valid from the thru date of the previous table through the date you enter here. Lets create a sample table called - JUNE93. If the previous rate table has a 'Thru Date' of 01/01/93 and the JUNE93 table has a 'Thru MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 49 Date' of 06/30/93', then all room nights posted between 01/02/93 and 06/30/93 will be priced according to the JUNE93 rate table. Season.........: Enter a name for the rate table for easy identification. The next terms pertain to rate types. The rate types are determined by how long the guest stays and on which days of the week. Daily..........: Daily Rate applies to room nights which occur on Sunday through Thursday. If a guest stays Monday and Tuesday night, the room is rated at the Daily Rate. Of course the daily rate can differ depending upon the room type. The daily rate for a standard room will be different than the daily rate for a suite. This will be true for each of the five rate types we are about to describe. Weekend........: Weekend Rate - applies to room nights on Friday and Saturday. If a guest stays Thursday and Friday night, the is rated at the daily rate for Thursday and at the weekend rate for Friday. Weekly.........: If the guest stays 7 days or more, each day of the 7 day stay is billed at 1/7 of the amount you enter here. MotelMAX will assign whole number rates and avoid fractions. Mid-Week Pack..: This is an optional package designed for guest that arrive on Sunday and stay through Thursday. You may choose to assign them a special rate called the Midweek package. This is designed for resort sites that offer special packages for mid-week stays. Enter the total amount of the five day stay. Each night is billed at 1/5 of the total amount. MotelMAX will break the individual rates down to whole numbers. Weekend Package: This package is designed for stays that comprise both Friday and Saturday night. Enter the total amount of the two-night stay. This is a device you can use to offer weekend packages at a rate either more or less than the normal rate. Now let's describe 3 scenarios or cases and illustrate how to setup the rates tables for your individual site. We will start with the easiest and work to a more MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 50 complex. 10.5.3.2 Case I - Fixed Rates CASE I: Fixed Rates, we do not use special packages. Description..: You have two room types, Standard and Deluxe. Standard Rooms are billed at $50.00 per night and Deluxe rooms are billed at $75.00 per night. You offer no packages. You do not offer weekly rates. Setup........: Create one, just one, rate table with a 'Thru Date' of 12/31/95 because the date is not a factor. This rate table will be valid through that date. Enter "Standard" for the rate table 'Season' or description. The rate type is really not a factor either. It does not matter if the guest stays on a weekday or weekend and there are only two room types. You could construct one table as follows: Type1 Type2 ===================================== Daily.......: 50.00 75.00 Weekend.....: 50.00 75.00 Weekly......: 350.00 525.00 MidWeek.....: 250.00 375.00 Weekend Pck.: 100.00 150.00 Whether the guest stays on a weekday (daily rate) or weekend (weekend rate), the rate is still $50 for room type 1. If the guest stays 7 days (weekly rate), the rate is seven time the normal rate, $350. If the guest stays Sunday through Thursday (Midweek Package), the rate is five times the normal rate, $250. And finally, if the guest stays Friday and Saturday night (weekend package), the charge is twice the normal rate, $100. Although MotelMAX offers various elaborate rate packages, we bypassed these packages by substituting the normal rate times the number of days in the package: weekly - 7, mid-week - 5, weekend - 2. The package options are there should you choose to use them; otherwise, just fill in the normal rate for the number of days in the package. You must put in an amount for the packages. You can construct this table in minutes and you are MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 51 finished. 10.5.3.3 Case II - Changing Rates Temporarily Your rate table is setup just like the rate table in CASE I. The rate table will expire December 31, 1995. Effective January 1, 1996, you would like to increase all room rates by $5.00. Press the <Insert> key to add a new rate table. Enter a 'Thru Date' of 12/31/96. Name the new rate table 'Stand96' and edit the rate table to appear as follows: Type1 Type2 ===================================== Daily.......: 55.00 80.00 Weekend.....: 55.00 80.00 Weekly......: 385.00 560.00 MidWeek.....: 275.00 400.00 Weekend Pck.: 110.00 160.00 All room nights billed after 12/31/95 and before 01/01/97 will be billed according to the new rate table. You might experiment by adding a test reservation that begins near the end of 1995 and extends into 1996. Press the <F3> function key to view the individual room charges assigned by MotelMAX. You will see how both rate tables were used. 10.5.3.4 CASE III - Change Rates Temporarily In this example, we will change rates during one week, then revert back to the previous rate schedule. This examples is useful for changing rates during a set period of time, for example, a holiday, then resetting rates back to the normal schedule. We will build on the setup created in the first two cases. We have a standard rate table for 1995 and another rate table for 1996. However, during the first week of September 1995, we want to increase our rates by $10.00, but after the first week of September 1995 we want to resume our Standard 1995 room rates. The rate increase will last just one week. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 52 We need to create two new tables. The first table will stop the Standard 95 rates on 08/31/95 and initiate the new rates, the second table will reset the rates back to the Standard 1995 rates. Create the first table by placing the highlighted cursor on the Standard 1995 rate table entry. Press the <F5> key to create a new table from this table. Change the 'Thru Date' to 08/31/95. This means the rate table is valid through August 8, 1995. Change the season to Stnd95a. Press <PageDown> to save the rate table. The second table we make will handle all room rates for the first week of September 1995. Place the highlighted cursor on the Stnd95a table we just created. Press <F5> again to create a new table from an old table (saves plenty of keystrokes). Change the 'Thru Date' to 09/07/95. This makes the table valid from the date following the previous table 09/01/95 through 09/07/95. Change the season to Special 1995 - abbreviated as Spec95. Now update all the rates by $10. The table should appear as follows: Type1 Type2 ===================================== Daily.......: 60.00 85.00 Weekend.....: 60.00 85.00 Weekly......: 420.00 595.00 MidWeek.....: 300.00 425.00 Weekend Pck.: 120.00 170.00 Using the technique described in Case III, you can set temporary special rates for any time and length of time. By setting up the rate tables, MotelMAX will automatically rate the room nights for you as reservations are booked. If you care to offer special rates based on packages or special dates, this is easily accomplished with MotelMAX. 10.5.4 Sy146 - Update General Availability This option is used to access the general room availability table. This table records room use by room type and the percentage of occupancy. If you want to have these number reflected accurately, you must enter the correct number of rooms per room type for your site. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 53 Use the <Enter> key to change a portion of the table. MotelMAX will ask for date range for which these totals will apply. Enter a start date and an end date, then enter the number of rooms per room type for this date range. For example, if 10 rooms or room type 1 are being taken out of use for 3 weeks for repairs, you can modify your rate table to reflect this change so that you have an accurate percentage of use. Enter the start and ending date of the three week period, then decrease the number of room type 1 by 10 and increase the number of room type 0 by 10. Room type 0 is for rooms not in use and these rooms are not considered when MotelMAX calculates percentage of use. When you exit the edit window with your changes, MotelMAX will update the general availability table with the number of room types and the percentage of occupancy. Use the <Insert> key if you want to add new dates to the end of the table. MotelMAX will do this for you automatically after you close a month, however, under certain conditions you may want to do this on your own. Use the <Delete> key to remove old dates from the general availability table. However, before you do this you may want to print an general room availability report. There is no need to keep the old data in the general availability file. MotelMAX will not let you delete a date unless it is at least one month old. 10.5.5 Sy160 - Update Room Types Describe the different room types for your site. Room Type 0 is reserved for 'House Account' - these are rooms that are not in service. All rooms described as room type 0 will not be included in the calculation of percentage of occupancy. The descriptions you enter here will appear throughout the program on screens, reports and the reservation confirmation form. These are general descriptions such as 'Standard', 'Deluxe', and 'Suite'. Complete the screen by entering the total number of room types not including type 0 - 'House Account'. 10.5.6 Sy170 - Update Room Set-up This option is used to set-up the individual rooms for your site. MotelMAX comes preset with fifty rooms so you can get started right away. However, you will want to MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 54 begin adding your own rooms as you go along. A browse table of all rooms is presented on the screen. It works like all browse tables. Highlight the room you want to change and press <Enter>. Or press <Delete> to delete the currently highlighted room. If you want to add a new room, press <Insert>. These are the standard commands that apply to all browse tables. When you add a room you must include the following information: Room No....: Enter the room number. You can use an alpha/numeric combination of up to four characters. Room Type..: Enter the room type number. The number has to be in the range that you entered on the room type set- up screen. If you define just four room types, you cannot enter room type 5. Owner ID...: If the room is 'owned' by an investor or entity, enter the owner id here. An owner id is assigned by MotelMAX when you enter the investor or entity in the guest file. This is really the guest number assigned by MotelMAX. A separate report calculates business activity on a room by room basis. This report can be used to determine returns to investors based on billing activity. This option is not available in the shareware version. Description: Enter a free text description of the room. This description can be printed as part of a room list to help new users learn the types of room available. Eventually, you will want to enter your unique room set- ups and delete the preset room set-ups that come with MotelMAX. It is up to the user to confirm that all rooms are entered correctly. MotelMAX does not check that the Specific Room Set-ups match the General Room Availability table. Normally, MotelMAX updates all availability files at the close of each month. However, you may want to refresh the specific room availability file at some time. Press the <F5> function key as displayed on this screen. This will refresh the specific room availability set-up file. 10.5.7 Sy223 - Pack Guest File This option is the second phase of deleting guests from the guest file. When you access the browse table of guests and press the delete key, MotelMAX will not delete MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 55 the guest right away. Instead, the guest is marked for deletion. When you select this option MotelMAX will check the all guests marked for deletion do not have a current open folio, direct bill folio or pending reservation. If that is the case, the guest can be deleted and removed from the guest file. Otherwise, the guest record in untouched. You will want go through the guest file periodically and delete those guests that have been inactive for a period of time. When you access the guest browse table, press the <F1> function key and place the guest in order by departure date. The guests which have been inactive for the longest time will be at the top of the browse table. You may want to begin there in deciding which guests to tag for deletion. You cannot delete a guest that has an active open folio or reservation. When you select 'Pack Guest File', MotelMAX will check if the guest has an active folio and if not remove the record from the active guest file and move the guest to the guest archive file. 10.5.8 Sy220 - Disk Usage Print a report of files used by MotelMAX, the file size, and percentage of disk space used by each file. This report is useful in gauging how much disk space is available. MotelMAX saves all data. As you process folios, the amount of disk space used by the program will increase. This report will tell you exactly how much space is used and how much space is left. If you begin running out of disk space, you will want to remove the archive data files. These are files beginning with "A_" and ending with ".DBF". You can copy these file to floppy diskettes using the DOS copy command or using the DOS backup command. When you have copies of these files on floppy diskette, you can delete the archive files from the hard drive. When you close a shift, MotelMAX checks whether there is enough disk space to complete the close. If not, an error message is displayed. Should this happen, run the Disk Usage report. Backup the archive files to floppy diskettes, then delete the archives from the hard. The largest files are at the top of the list. Do not delete any .ntx files. Also, do not delete any MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 56 data file unless the file name begins with the prefix "A_". 10.5.9 Sy224 - System Information This option produces a report that describes your computer hardware. If for some reason you need to contact technical support for MotelMAX, you may want to print out this report prior to making the call. This report will have important information that technical support can use to help resolve any problems that might occur. 10.5.10 Sy225 - Set System Colors You can reset colors for all browse tables, menus, and edit windows. Follow the familiar screen prompts to select the object for which you want to change the colors. You can only access this option if you have a color monitor. Use the arrow keys, <PageUp> and <PageDown> to move through the different available color selections. There are thousands of possibilities. When you find a selection that you like, press <Enter> to access the Control Menu and then Save your selection by selecting the option to 'Exit / Save'. The best way to learn this utility is to experiment. Select 'Browse Tables' from the first color menu. Next select 'Room Rates' on the browse table selection menu. It is the second item on the menu. You are presented a display of the current color scheme for the Room Rates Browse Table. Now press <Enter> to access the Color Control Menu. Highlight the portion of the browse table that you wish to change, for example, title, box, selected text, etc and press <Enter>. Now press the arrows keys to loop through various different colors. Each color has a unique number and as you select a new number, you will notice how the display image changes. If you end with a different and better color scheme, select 'Exit / Save' from the Control Menu, otherwise select 'Exit / NoSave'. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 57 10.5.11 Sy226 - Manual This option lets you access the user manual online from within the program. You can scroll through the manual or you can use some key combinations to quickly locate keywords or help index codes. Press <Alt-S> and enter a keyword or a help index code and press <Enter>. MotelMAX will move to the first instance of this word in the user manual. Press <Alt-A> and find the same word again. This is a very quick way to find the part of the manual you need for specific help. You must have sufficient computer memory to access this option. You can print the user manual by entering the DOS command at the DOS prompt: PRINT MotelMAX.doc <Enter>. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 58 11 Glossary ======== This section provides a definition of terms as used in the MotelMAX User Manual. If you feel these definitions are inadequate or there are additional terms that need to be clarified, please advise us. We will include your recommendations in future updates. Account Code: When browsing the general ledger, you will notice that each account, for example, American Express, Room Charges, Sales Taxes, etc is assigned a unique five digit account code. These codes are automatically assigned by MotelMAX and cannot be deleted. Account Month: You have the option to close an account month at anytime. When you close a month all shifts since the last account month are summed and compiled into a single month summary. The term 'account month' is used only because most users will close on a true monthly basis, for example, at the end of a calendar month. However, MotelMAX does not force you to do this. An 'account month' can be two weeks, or three calendar months. This is left totally to the users' discretion. However, we recommend that you close the month, at least, on a calendar month basis. When you close a month, MotelMAX does a mini system tune-up and this will optimize program performance. Account Year: You will notice on the general ledger that MotelMAX keeps a year-to-date total for each account category. At some point you will want to close out the year and reset these total back to zero. MotelMAX keeps ytd totals for the current year and for the last year. When you close the year, this year's totals are moved over one column and become last year's totals. City Ledger: An accounts receivable account, City Ledger, is the sum of all posted, unpaid charges for guests currently checked-in. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 59 Direct Bill: An accounts receivable account, Direct Bill, is the sum of all posted, unpaid charges for guests who have checked-out. Typically, a business account where a guest will, by prior agreement, check-out and the folio will be forwarded to their business for payment is an example. The unpaid balance of all such folios will be placed in the direct bill account. General Room Availability: Room inventory tracked by room type. When accessing the reservation browse table, you can press the <F9> function key and display room availability by room type. Hotkeys: Hotkeys are single keys which when pressed, branch to another action. For example, in most browse tables, you can press the hotkey <Insert> and branch to an edit window to add a new record, whether a reservation, user name, rate table, etc. Normally, available hotkeys are displayed at the bottom of the screen. House Account: Applies to a specific room type - always room type "0". Rooms are classified as house accounts when you choose to take them out of use. You might classify a room as such if the room is being repaired or if the room is used as a meeting room. The point is this room should not be used by MotelMAX when it calculates the percentage of occupancy. This is one way to ensure accurate occupancy records. Journal Entries: These are account adjustments or one-sided transactions. Such transactions are needed when an operator, for example, receives a $100 payment and places it in the Visa account when it should have been placed in the MasterCard account. This option lets you back the money out of the Visa Account and place it in the MasterCard Account to ensure correct account totals. MotelMAX as usual handles all error checking. Such errors should be apparent when the operator runs the Payments report on the Front Desk Menu prior to closing a shift. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 60 Miscellaneous Income: Users have the option of creating a Miscellaneous Income Folio to post charges and accept payments from vending machines, parking fees and other services not directly related to guest folios. Charges are placed in a separate ledger account called Miscellaneous Income. MotelMAX will not permit you to place room charges, adjustments or other such charges in a Miscellaneous Income Folio. Room Type: You can assign up to five different room types. Each room type can have a unique room rate. This provides one way of structuring your room charges. MotelMAX keeps a record of what rooms are booked and the percentage of occupancy. The program calculates occupancy based on the number of rooms booked against the total number of bookable rooms. If a room is not bookable, for example, it is under repair or it is used as office, etc assign to it the room type '0'. Essentially, this takes the room out of inventory. Transaction Date: Room charges are created automatically by MotelMAX and are dated on the day for which they apply. This is necessary to control the room availability files. All other transactions are dated on the day they are created. You cannot edit or change a transaction date. Transaction Number: Each time you post a transaction, MotelMAX assigns a unique transaction number. Transactions are numbered sequentially throughout an account month and the first transaction of an account month is always transaction number one. When you close an account month, MotelMAX resets the transaction number to one. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 61 APPENDIX A - New Users We realize that many users of MotelMAX are fairly new to working with computers. This sections is designed to provide some basic information you should have to effectively use this program. When using MotelMAX, there are some simple constants that apply throughout the program. Pressing <Enter> moves you forward one step in program. Pressing the <ESC> key takes you one step back to where you were. The <ESC> key is like a cancel key. Pressing <ESC> several times will always take you back to the Main Menu and the option to exit. Look to the bottom of the screen for a display of available commands, options, "hotkeys" and for context sensitive help. When MotelMAX needs to get information from you, it will display a popup box or window, hereafter, referred to as an edit window. When you enter information in an edit window, always exit the window by pressing <Enter> or <PageDown>. This will guarantee the information you have just entered is properly saved. If you exit an edit window by pressing <ESC>, your entries will not be saved. As an example, select the option 'GuestFile' on the Main Menu. Highlight any guest on the guest browse table and press <Enter>. An Edit Window appears with the guest information. For 'Account Name..', enter "xxxxxxxxxxx" then press the <ESC> key to exit and return to the guest browse table. Now press <Enter> to select the same guest again. Notice that the original information appears and not the characters you entered in the 'Account Name..' field. This is true for all Edit Windows. Exit the MotelMAX program by pressing the <ESC> key enough times to take you back to the Main Menu. There you can press <ESC> again or you can select the option to "Quit". This is the correct way to exit the program. All your data will be saved. If possible, do not turn off your computer or re-boot the computer while you are in the MotelMAX program. This 'may' cause loss of data and other problems. If this should happen or, for example, there is a power failure while you are using the program, next time you run MotelMAX, start the program with the command: MotelMAX NEW <Enter> This start command will check all the data files to be sure they are in good condition, however, it will not recover any lost data. Next, move to the Utility Menu and select the option to 'Optimize'. This is a double check of all files. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 62 Your best guard against lost data is to back up your data often. You may want to refer to a DOS Manual and lookup the commands BACKUP and RESTORE. It is a good idea to back-up all data files, at least, once a week. In the event that your data is lost or damaged, you can restore the data in your backup files. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 63 APPENDIX B - Tutorial This tutorial will take you through starting the program and checking-in two guests. Along the way we will point out certain features of MotelMAX that you may want to explore later on. The information we want you to enter is typed in upper case just for emphasis. You may use whatever case you prefer. We assume you are in the directory where MotelMAX is loaded and we are at the DOS prompt. Let's begin by starting the program: 1 Start the Program: The start command is: MOTELMAX <Enter> Start command for monochrome monitors is: MOTELMAX M <Enter> When you first sign-on, MotelMAX will check that you have all the files you need. If you do not, it will create them. Next you will be asked for your username and password: Username : MOTELMAX <Enter> Password : MOTELMAX <Enter> MotelMAX now opens a new shift and displays a status box with information about the current shift and prompts you to enter the Starting Cash. Typically, an operator will open a shift with a certain amount of cash in the cash drawer. At the end of the shift, they must present a shift report totalling all transactions and return the payment receipts and the ending cash total. Let's start the shift with a cash amount of $300. Starting Cash: 300.00 <Enter> Verify that the starting cash amount is correct. By pressing "Y" or <Enter>. This <Yes/No> dialogue box will appear frequently in the program asking you to verify or confirm that your entries are correct. A new shift is opened and we now move to the Main Menu. 2 Main Menu - Check-In's Select the option 'Check-In's' from the Main Menu. You can do this by pressing the letter "C" or because the option check-in is highlighted, just press <Enter> to select that option. The Check-in Browse Table is now displayed. You will notice that in the upper left corner of the screen there is a help index code "Rs101". Search this code in the User Manual for more details about this screen. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 64 Because the Browse Table is empty, an Edit Window appears prompting you for information about the check-in. Enter this information: Let's assume this first check-in is for three nights: Nights...........: 3 <Enter> Now enter the Room Type. Well, we are new to this program and do not know what the room type is, so, look to the bottom of the screen. There is context sensitive help, enter "9" for a menu of room types. Type 9 <Enter> and view a pop up box of room types. Cursor down to "1 - Standard" and press <Enter>. This room type will be automatically inserted into the edit window for you. Room Type........: 1 Later you will enter you own room types and will probably know the one you want. In this case you could just type in the number "1" and bypass the room type menu display. This is typical of MotelMAX. If you know the answer, enter your data and move quickly through the program. If you are a new user, there is help information to move you along. One other point, MotelMAX will not let you enter a room type that does not exist. Enter the room number you want to book. If you know the room number, just enter it here. If the room is not available or if you enter a room number that does not exist or if you just leave this field blank and press <Enter>. (Press <Enter> now.) MotelMAX asks if you want to book a specific room, answer: "Y" or press <Enter> and MotelMAX will display a calendar of specific room availability. This calendar will make more sense as you begin to book rooms because each time you book a room MotelMAX will place markers on the calendar. For now, notice the highlighted cursor is on room number 201. This is because you selected room type 1 and this is the first room of that type. You could scroll up or down using the arrow keys and select any room of any room type. But let's move along. Press <Enter> to select room 201 as your choice. MotelMAX will automatically insert this room number in the correct field. If this room were already booked, MotelMAX would advise you accordingly. Room Number......: 201 MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 65 The cursor is now on the field for rate. Let's select "N" to use the normal rate mechanism. We will let MotelMAX calculate the room rate for us using the rate table preset at the installation of MotelMAX. Later, you can enter your own rate tables. Rate (N/G/D).....: N <Enter> Now MotelMAX prompts you for guest information. The Guest Browse Table is displayed. Look to the bottom of the screen as always for help. If this were a repeat guest, their guest information would be on file, and you could just select them for this new check-in. However, this is a new guest and we have to add them. Very simple: Press <Insert> An Edit Window appears prompting you for guest information. There are 15 fields of information that you might enter. But we will only complete the first three: Account.........: ABC COMPANY <Enter> First Name......: JACK <Enter> Last Name.......: MARTIN <PageDown> After entering the last name, press the PageDown key instead of enter. This way we can bypass the remaining fields which we do not care about right now and quickly add this new guest to our guest browse table. Now the new guest is in the Guest Browse Table and the highlighted cursor is placed over the new guest. Notice that MotelMAX automatically assigned a unique guest number to this new guest, "000201". Press <Enter> Pressing <Enter> selects this guest for this reservation. MotelMAX asks you to confirm your choice, press "Y" for 'Yes' or move the cursor to the "Yes" prompt and press the <Enter> key. MotelMAX now processes this new check-in and adds this 'reservation' to the Check-in Browse Table. Let's examine this new entry starting from the left column. St - There is a solid arrow in the status column indicating the entry is ready for check-in today. Next is the arrival date followed by the guest name and account name then a unique folio number assigned by MotelMAX, "000101". We see the MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 66 number of days the guest will stay, the room number, room type and the total amount of projected room charges. That was easy. Let's do another check-in. Again, look to the bottom of the screen. <INS> Add New - means press the <Insert> key to add a new check-in. Press <Insert> now and the reservation / check-in Edit Window is displayed. Fill in the prompts this way: Nights............: 2 <Enter> Room Type.........: 1 <Enter> Room Number.......: <Enter> Enter "Y" to book a specific room and return to the room select calendar. Notice that room 201 has several markers places over the days for which it has been booked. Press <Enter> and try to book room 201 again. MotelMAX says it is not available, but it permits you if you want to book it again, that is, override the availability warning. This is an option, but let's say "N" for No. Now cursor down to room 203. Before we select room 203 notice how the date range you are trying to book is emphasized in a different color on line 2 of the room select calendar, the line with all the numbers across. We want to select a room that has no room markers below this emphasized date range. This give a visual presentation of bookings. You will see how the calendar begins to fill up as you book more rooms. Now press <Enter> to select room 203. Next we need to enter a rate type. This time we will bypass MotelMAX's automatic rate assignment and enter our own rate for this check-in. Rate (N/G/D)......: G <Enter> This is the "Group" rate type and MotelMAX will prompt you for the fixed amount per night, enter: 65.00 <Enter>. Instead of having MotelMAX figure out the rate, we said the charge is $65 per night - very simple. Next we have to enter guest information. This is a new or first time guest so we have to enter them into the Guest Browse Table. Press <Insert> to add a new guest. Account.........: <Enter> First Name......: ANN <Enter> Last Name.......: BAKER <PageDown> MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 67 Notice the new guest is added to the Guest Browse Table and placed in alphabetical order with a new unique guest number, "000202". Just like before, press <Enter> to book this guest and confirm your choice by pressing "Y" for "Yes". The Check-in Browse Table now includes two entries and a quick glance at the status column indicates both are ready for Check-in. Before we take that step, let's take moment to examine some of the other options on the Check-in Browse Table. As usual, look to the bottom of the screen for some help. Press <F1> for a menu of available options. We could access these option from the menu, or while in the browse table we could just press the correct function key. Whatever option you select acts upon the currently highlighted Check-in entry. Press <Enter> to select the option "Room Rates" on the Option Menu. MotelMAX displays the room charges assigned by the program to the currently highlighted Check-in. This is a good way to learn how MotelMAX assigns room rates. Press <ESC> to exit the list of Room Charges. Leave the highlighted cursor on the Check-in entry for Ann Baker and let's test a few more options. Press <F2> and view another menu for rearranging the order in which Check-in's appear in the Browse Table. You can order the Browse Table in four different ways according to your needs. Press <F7> to display / print a confirmation form for the currently highlighted check-in. Press <F9> to view a display of the general room availability table. You can see how the two bookings you just made have affected the percentage of occupancy. Notice that 2 rooms of room type 1 have been booked and that eight more remain for the booking dates you assigned. Press <F10> to see how easily you can update the guest information. Also, press <Enter> and you can modify Check-in details for the currently highlighted Check-in. There are other options, but let's go ahead now and check-in these two entries. It is very easy. Place the cursor on the first entry - Ann Baker and press <F4>. MotelMAX asks you to confirm that you want to complete the Check-in. Answer "Y" or press <Enter> since "Yes" is highlighted on the Yes / No dialogue box. Ann Baker is now Checked-in. The entry of Jack Martin is now highlighted. Press <F4> again and confirm your MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 68 choice by pressing <Enter>. Both entries have now been Checked-in. That is all there is to it. Press the <ESC> key to Exit from the Check-in Browse Table and return to the Main Menu. <ESC> is an acceptable means of exiting browse tables because all data have already been saved. It is not like an Edit Window where pressing <ESC> does not save data. We will now move to the Front Desk options and begin posting charges and payments to these folios. 3 Front Desk Select the second option on the Main Menu 'FrontDesk'. You can either press the letter "F" or arrow right to the option 'FrontDesk' and press the <Enter> key. A submenu appears. Select the first option 'Folios'. We want to update current open folios for current guests. The Current Folio Browse Table is now displayed and as you can see our two guests are checked-in. A few things to notice about each entry in the browse table. A number in the St- (Status) Column indicates how many days before that guest is scheduled to Check-out, followed by the scheduled departure date. We say 'scheduled' because you extend or shorten the stay as needed. Refer also to the column headed 'Balance'. The amount is currently "0" because we have not yet posted any charges or payments to these folios. We will do that now. Place the highlighted cursor over the entry for Ann Baker and press <Enter> to access the 'Front Desk Menu'. Refer to other parts of this manual for a complete explanation of the options available on this menu. We are concerned now only with the option 'Transactions'. That option is now highlighted, so press <Enter>. What we see now is an itemized listing of the folio for Ann Baker. The Balance Due is "0", but we are about to changes that. The cursor is on the first room charge. Notice the solid arrow in the St - Status Column. As always this suggests this item is ready for action. Press <Enter> for the 'Transactions Menu'. Select the option 'Fpost' by pressing <Enter> again to Post the currently highlighted transaction. MotelMAX asks you to confirm your choice, press <Enter> since "Yes" is already highlighted. The first item is now posted. Notice the check mark in the status column. Pan right using the <RightArrow> key and notice the column labeled "Pstd" has been changed to "Yes" and further right notice that MotelMAX has recorded the "PostTime". MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 69 Try posting the second charge. BEEP - MotelMAX will not let you post a charge in advance. This charge will be ready for posting in one day, that is, if the number "1" is in the Status Column. You can only post charges if there is a solid arrow in the Status Column. Now, let's add a phone charge. Follow these instructions carefully. This is the fastest and easiest way to add charges. Press <Enter> to access the 'Transactions Menu'. Press "C" to select the option "Charges". Press "P" to add a new phone charge. Fill in the box where the amount is 14.00 and enter the phrase "long distance" for a description. Press <Enter> after each entry. The phone charge is now added to the Transactions Browse Table and it is ready for posting, however, let's assume the amount should have been $16.00. We need to "Edit" this charge. Be sure the cursor is on the new phone charge. Press <Enter> to access the 'Transactions Menu'. Press "E" to select the option "Edit". Our edit window re-appears. Change the amount from 14 to 16 and press <PageDown> or press <Enter> twice. The phone charge has now been updated. Post it now by pressing <Enter> three times - all done. Let's view the effect of our actions. Press <ESC> to exit the Transactions Browse Table and return to the Current Folio Browse Table. Notice that the entry for Ann Baker now has a Balance Amount. We can look at that folio in great detail. Try these options while the cursor is still on the entry for Ann Baker: Press <F4> to view a breakdown of folio details. Press <ESC> to exit from the Folio Status Screen. Now press <F5> to preview the Folio/Invoice as it now stands. Notice that only posted charges appear on the folio. Press <ESC> to return to the browse table. You can use <F6> to print a copy of the current folio summary. Press <F10> if you have to update the guest information. This should be familiar from the Check-in Browse Table; also, press <F2> if you want to change the display order of entries on the Browse Table, again just as you can do for Check-in's. Now, as a test, with the cursor on the entry for Ann Baker, press <F7> as if you wanted to Check this guest out. Notice that MotelMAX will not let you check-out a guest if they have any unposted charges or payments. So to process this folio, you would post all charges and payments until the balance due is equal to zero, then check the guest out using the <F7> key and close the folio using the MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 70 <F8> key. There are many options available for transferring to another room, or transferring charges from one folio to another. Refer to the 'Front Desk' section of the User Manual. These option are beyond the scope of our quick tutorial. Before we exit and close our shift, access the folio for Jack Martin and post some additional charges. Also, post some payments using the same procedures. When you are done, press the <ESC> key to return to the Main Menu. We are now prepared to Exit from the program and to close our shift. Before we do that, we want to organize our records. Presumably, we received some payments and we have to balance with our starting cash amount. To assist us, select the option 'FrontDesk' from the Main Menu. Now select the option 'Payments' on the submenu and answer "Yes" to "View Current Payments", that is, list all payments received during this shift. Press <ESC> to exit from the Current Payments Report display and answer "Yes" to print the Payments Report. This report is designed to help you organize your records, prior to closing your shift and it should be turned in along with your Closing Shift Report which we will produce now. 4 Closing Your Shift From the Main Menu, press <ESC>. MotelMAX asks you to confirm that you wish to exit the program. Answer "Yes". MotelMAX now asks whether you wish to Close the Current Shift. You do not have to. You can exit and return to the same shift. However, for our tutorial we will answer "Yes". MotelMAX now prompts us to enter the Ending Cash Total. This amount would be adjusted had you received any cash payments. Enter the ending cash amount or if the amount is correct, press <Enter>. MotelMAX asks whether you want to automatically print the shift report. Before you answer "Yes", check that your printer is on and that it is online and ready to print. If it is not, MotelMAX will not print the report. You can print it later from the reports menu. Press <Enter> to accept the default of "Yes". Confirm that you want to Close this Shift by pressing <Enter> again. MotelMAX starts processing your work. Gauges keep you apprised of the progress. When done, MotelMAX exits and returns to DOS. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 71 This completes our quick tutorial. You can now begin exploring different features of MotelMAX. You will find that the user interface is consistent. Once you are familiar with Browse Tables and Edit Windows, you will find other portions of the program exactly the same as the ones you now know. The next concern is setting up MotelMAX to handle the specific needs of your site. If you find you need help, contact our technical support number. MotelMAX - User Manual v1.52s Copyright (C) MKM Software 1989-93 - All Rights Reserved Page 72