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Customer Boats [FM]

Customer Boats​

From the DockMaster menu, select File Maintenance > Customer Boats

The Customer Boats master file allows you to define the boat and its attached motors, trailers, and other attached items that belong to the customer. Boats can be re-assigned to other customers if they are sold between customers. If the customer trades his boat for another you can assign the boat to inventory as a trade-in. If either of these actions occur all of its service history will remain attached.

  • The Marina Management module uses the Customer Boat file for:
    • Entering Slip Assignments for new arrivals.
    • Entering Arrival and Departure dates.
    • Entering Billing Code(s) for seasonal and periodic billing.
  • The Service Management module will use the Customer Boat file to reference information about a customer's boat, motor and trailer for use on Work Orders, Estimates, and Templates.
  • The Sales Management module will use the Customer Boat file for trade-ins and assigning sold boats to customers when the contract closes. Note: When selling motors and trailers that are not on a contract with a boat those units do not update any customer boat records.

The Customer Boats File contains seven tabs for maintaining customer boat information. The tabs include the following information:

  • The Boat Information tab contains information about the boat, slip location, and pertinent date information.
  • The Engine / Trailer tab contains information about the engines and trailers.
  • The Billing / Phone tab contains information used for billing charges in the Storage and Billing module.
  • The Desc / Misc Info / Rental tab contains a description code grid, Rental information area, and a grid that can be designed by the user to include any additional information that needs to be tracked about a customer’s boat. You can create the prompts for this tab in the program called Custom Prompts on the Utility menu in System Administration.
  • The Operations History tab contains a grid of the service history for the boat. When a work order is created for the boat it will automatically be available for viewing in this grid.
  • The Movement History tab contains the slip movement history for this boat.
  • The Comments tab contains a free form text box that can be used for commenting miscellaneous information about the boat. Comments are time stamped automatically when the boat is saved .

There are links at the bottom of the page, allowing for quick navigation to areas relevant to the currently selected boat.

  • Customer Maint – Allows you access to maintain information in the customer file.
  • Reservation Entry – Allows you access to the Reservation Entry screen.
  • Work Order Inquiry – Allows you to inquire on a work order for the current customer in Service Monitor.
  • Storage Proposal – Allows you to create a Storage Proposal for the current boat.
  • Serialized Inquiry - If the boat currently being maintained was sold to the customer in DockMaster it will open the linked serial inventory item, otherwise you will receive a no items present message.

Boat Information [tab]

  • Boat ID - To create a new boat click the new icon or key an N and press enter. The next available id will be assigned. If you are maintaining an existing boat, simply key in the id without the leading zeros or look up the boat by searching for it.
  • Boat Name - If the boat has a name it can be entered here. Note this field is included in the cross reference search tool. It also prints on documents and reports when its field is included.
  • Do Not Launch - This flag if set will prompt a warning to the clerk in launch management that the boat should not be launched. It is normally used when the boat is being serviced and cannot be put in the water, or when the customer account is delinquent.
  • Customer ID - Enter the customer ID that owns the boat.
  • Manufacturer - Enter the name of the boat manufacturer.
  • Model - Enter the model of the boat.
  • Mfg Year - Enter the year the boat was manufactured. The year can be entered as a two or four digit number, however you should be consistent when either format.
  • Registration - Enter the boat's official registration number (exclude any spaces). Any combination of up to 25 letters and numbers can be used. Note: The registration number is used in the cross reference search tool.
  • Serial Number - Enter the serial number for this boat. Any combination of up to 25 letters or numbers can be used.

The length overall, length waterline, beam, draft, height, and weight fields are not required, but when a boat is placed the information entered will be used to ensure that the slip meets the dimension requirements of the boat. Also, these fields can be used to calculate storage fees on a per foot and square foot basis. (See also Billing Codes). The lengths, beam, draft, and height should be input in one of the following formats: 23', 23’10, 23’10", or 23.10. A period or apostrophe can be used to separate feet from inches.

  • Length Overall - Enter the overall length of the boat (including attachments to the bow and stern).

  • Length Waterline - Enter the length of the boat at the waterline. See above for input format.

  • Beam - Enter the beam of the boat. See above for input format.

  • Draft - Enter the draft of the boat. See above for input format.

  • Height - Enter the height of the boat. See above for input format.

  • Weight - Enter the overall weight of the boat including engines.

  • Hull Color - Enter the hull color of the boat.

  • Warranty Date - Enter the boat's manufacturer warranty expiration date. The information entered in the field defaults in the work order header.

  • Fuel Cloud Id - Enter the boat's Fuel Cloud ID

  • Current Slip - You can assign a slip through Boat Placement in the marina management module.

The assignment date, arrival date, and departure date are updated when the boat is arrived or departed through boat placement in the Marina Management module.

  • Temp Depart Date - This field is used in conjunction with reservations entry to allow you to designate a slip as available for transient use. For example, if you have a storage customer who is taking his boat out of a slip for two weeks, you can put in a temporary departure and return date for this boat which would then allow this slip to be used in the selection process by reservations. Note: the slip must be designated as a transient slip in the Slip Maintenance.
  • Temp Return Date - This date should only be entered if a date was entered in the temporary departure date field. See above for a detailed explanation of the use of this field
  • Contract Start and End Dates - These fields allow you to enter a contract start and end date for the slip contract. They are used for the rent roll report as well as other custom reports as needed
  • Summer Slip - Enter the customer's preferred summer slip location. This field is for information purposes only; no validation is performed.
  • Winter Slip - Enter the customer's preferred winter slip location. This field is for information purposes only; no validation is performed.
  • Number of Spars - Enter the Number of Spars (masts) on this boat. This field is for information purposes only; no validation is performed.
  • Feet of Spar - Enter the Feet of Spar on this boat. This field can be used to calculate storage charges based on feet of spar.
  • Insurance Company - Enter the customer's boat Insurance Company. Insurance information can be very useful when you require storage customers to carry boat insurance. Access reports can be written to list boats which have policies about to expire.
  • Insurance Expiration Date - Enter the Insurance policy Expiration Date.

Engine / Trailer [tab]

The Engine / Trailer tab allows you to enter additional information about the boat's engine and trailer. The Service module will access this information when a customer’s boat is placed on a Work Order. The Boat Sales module can also pull this information into the Trade-in window if your customer is trading in a boat you have on file.

--Engines--​

Note: An unlimited number of engines or other unit information can be entered in the engines grid.

  • Engine Make – Click on the engine make cell to enter manufacturer information about an engine, generator, icemaker etc.
  • Model – Click on the model cell to enter motor model information.
  • Serial Number - Click on the serial Number cell to enter each motor’s serial number.
  • Transom ID - Click on the transom ID cell to enter information about the motor’s transom plate.
  • Drive - Click on the drive cell to enter information about the motor’s out-drive.
  • Size - Click on the size cell to enter information about the horsepower of the engine.
  • Year - Click on the year cell to enter the production year of the engine.
  • Hours - Click on the hours cell to enter the hours for this engine.

--Trailers--​

  • Trailer Make - Click on the trailer make cell to enter trailer information.

  • Model - Click on the model type cell to enter trailer model information.

  • Serial Number - Click on the serial number cell to enter a serial number for the trailer.

  • Registration - Click on the registration cell to enter a registration number for this trailer.

  • Location - Click on the location cell to enter the physical location of the trailer on your property.

  • Parts Kit – Enter a parts kit ID for this boat. Parts kits can be maintained through the Inventory Management module in Parts Kit Maintenance.

  • Access - Enter information about how you can gain Access to the boat in the event of an emergency. The access information will appear in boat inquiry and work order maintenance and can be printed on a Work Order if desired.

Billing / Phone [tab]

DockMaster interfaces to multiple phone systems to apply charges to a customer’s work order based on the calls generated at the extension assigned here. Enter up to three phone extensions that are assigned to this customer’s boat. 

--Billing Codes--​

  • Billing Codes - Enter a valid Billing Code for this boat. Billing codes are used to generate charges for a boat through the Marina Management module's Process Storage Bills function. The number of billing codes you can enter is unlimited. After entering a code, its Description, Cycle, Months, and Rate fields will get populated automatically. The rate can also be overridden as desired. The Override rate cell will highlight in red if the rate is overridden. Note: Do not attach Billing Codes that have a (F)lat Cycle; this cycle is reserved for the Reservations only.
  • Description – This field will display a description of the Billing Code selected and is not maintainable.
  • Cycle - This field will display the billing Cycle of the Billing Code selected and is not maintainable. The cycle determines how often storage bills will be generated for this boat. A definition of each Cycle type is shown below:
    • (D)aily will bill this boat owner each day of the billing date range selected.
    • (M)onthly will bill this boat owner each month storage bills are generated.
    • (S)easonal will bill this boat owner in each month designated in the Months field. For example, if the customer were to be billed in April and October of each year, then you would enter 4,10 in the Months field.
    • (A)nnual will bill this boat owner once a year in the month designated in the Months field. For example, if the customer were to be billed in October of each year, then enter 10 in the Months field.
    • (Q)uarterly will bill this boat owner in each month designated in the Months field. For example, if the customer were to be billed in March, June, Sept., and Dec., then you would enter 3,6,9,12 in the Months field.
  • Months – This field will display the default billing Months for the Billing Code selected; however, you can override the defaults. The billing code may have a minimum and/or maximum boat length requirement. If the boat does not meet the length criteria of the billing code, you will be prompted to change the bill code.
  • Rate - The default rate set up for this billing code is displayed; click on the Override Rate cell next to the rate to override the default.
  • Override Rate – Click in the Override Rate column next to the Billing Code Rate you want to change. Important: The billing system is designed to allow the user to change the default rate on a Billing Code's File and have this new rate automatically update all boats with this code attached to it. If you override the default rate for a billing code, the rate will no longer get updated when the master Billing Code file is changed. The Override rate cell will highlight in red if the rate is overridden.

--Billing Code Installments--​

An Installment Schedule can be added to either an Annual or Seasonal Bill code. A Seasonal Bill code gives you an option of seasonal billing months or installment billing. If the Seasonal Bill code is defined with billing months, like April (4) and October (10), then the installment grid will be inactivated and may not be defined. If however, the Seasonal Bill code is defined with only 1 billing month, like January (1), then the installment grid will be active and may be defined with installment payment dates. An example of an installment schedule might be that you have a customer that has an annual dockage contract that renews every January. The customer wants to be billed in 4 installments: January, February, March, and April. By setting up four installments for 01/01, 02/01, 03/01, and 04/01 at 25% each in the Installments grid, this customer will receive four invoices totaling the one contracted amount.

  • Month/Day – Click in the Month/Day column to enter the month and day that the billing installment should get generated (the format is MM/DD). Note: Only Month and Day is required to avoid having to change the schedule every time the year changes.
  • Percentage – Enter the Percentage of the total contract amount that you want to bill on this installment date.

Click the Apply button to create the installment schedule for the billing code being maintained.

Desc / Misc Info / Rental [tab]

--Boat Description Codes--​

The description codes are not required. The entry you make here allows you to add additional categories to the boat in terms of its general characteristics.

  • Code – Click on the Code column to enter a Boat Description Code for this boat. You can enter an unlimited number of description codes for this boat. Upon entering a code its description will appear to the right, and the cursor will drop to the next line.

--Miscellaneous Information--​

The Miscellaneous Information grid can be designed by you to store additional data that you require on a boat. You can create the prompts and their data types for the grid in the Utilities menu in System Administration.

  • Click in the Miscellaneous Info column to enter information in the grid.

Operations History [tab]

This tab displays all of the boat's service history in the grid. To inquire on a specific Work Order or Operation, double click anywhere on a row in the grid. Note that the grid can be sorted or filtered by clicking the column headers and that the find panel or filter editor can be selected to filter the grid as desired.

Movement History [tab]

This tab displays the boat's complete history of slip / rack movement. Note that the grid can be sorted or filtered by clicking the column headers and that the find panel or filter editor can be selected to filter the grid as desired.

Comments [tab]

The Comments tab contains a free form text box that can be used for commenting miscellaneous information about the boat. Comments are time stamped automatically when the boat is saved .