This is what happens in the video
When you work with Rental Management in Business Central, the sales line is where the rental setup comes together. Most of the key fields are controlled by the rental line check mark and the resource setup behind it. This article walks through which fields matter on the sales header and sales line, how the rental price and return date are calculated, and which fields are mandatory before you can post.
You set default rental values on the sales header, but they only act as defaults that are copied to the sales lines. The actual rental behaviour is controlled per line.
The rental line check mark determines whether a line is a rental line. It is set automatically if the item is configured for rental, but you can also tick it manually to rent out an item that is not normally a rental item.
The rental price is the price per day. The system multiplies the daily price by the number of rental days and the quantity. The return date is calculated automatically from the shipment date and the number of rental days.
Three fields are mandatory on a rental line: rental number, rental location code, and return location code. If your setup does not fill these in, you must enter them manually.
Setting rental defaults on the sales header
You can define the default rental location code, return date, and return location code directly on the sales header. This is useful when you create several sales lines for the same customer where the items are being rented out.
Keep in mind that these header values are only used as defaults. They are copied to the sales lines, but the rental logic itself runs on each individual line.
Creating a rental line on the sales order
When you enter a sales order line, the rental line check mark is set automatically if the item is configured for rental in its item setup. If the item is not normally a rental item, you can tick the rental line check mark yourself to turn it into a rental item.
At this stage the line type is still Item. The quantity you enter is the quantity you want to rent out. In this example we are renting out a Segway, and the line has not been swapped yet.
Understanding the rental fields on the line
If you scroll right on the sales line, you find the rental-specific fields:
- Rental type defaults to a rental category.
- Rental number comes from the setup and points to the resource number used for this rental. It has a lookup into the resources that are set up for rental.
- Rental location code is the location code used for the transfer of the item.
In this scenario there are two transfer codes and two transfer orders. The first transfer moves the item from the Basic location to the Allocated location. When the item is shipped back, the second transfer order moves it from the Allocated location back to the Basic location.
How the rental price and return date are calculated
The rental quantity is the number of days you want to rent the item out. If you set it to three days, the unit price comes from the rental price table. With a daily price of 120, three days sums up to 360.
The return date is calculated based on the number of rental days. If the shipment date is the second of September and you rent for three days, the return date follows from there. If you change the shipment date, for example to start renting from September 12, the rental return date is recalculated to September 14.
One thing to watch: changing the rental dates can reset the quantity, so you may need to re-enter it.
The rental unit price always stays as the price per day. When you increase the quantity, the total scales accordingly. Renting two pieces for three days at 120 per day gives three days times 120 times two pieces, which makes 720. Note that the system lets you rent out a quantity even if you do not have enough of the item on hand.
Shipped and received fields after posting
The shipped and received fields on the rental line are filled in when you swap the line and post the transfer orders outbound and inbound. Until you do that, they stay empty.
Mandatory fields on a rental line
The rental line check mark is what marks a line as a rental line, and it triggers a set of mandatory fields. Before you can proceed, you must fill in:
- Rental number
- Rental location code
- Return location code
If these are not filled in automatically by your setup, you have to enter them manually.
Q&A
What makes a sales line a rental line in Business Central?
The rental line check mark determines that a line is a rental line. It is set automatically if the item is configured for rental, but you can tick it manually to rent out an item that is not normally a rental item.
How is the rental return date calculated?
The return date is calculated from the shipment date plus the number of rental days. If you change the shipment date, the return date is recalculated automatically.
How is the rental price calculated?
The rental unit price is the price per day, taken from the rental price table. The total is the daily price multiplied by the number of rental days and the quantity. For example, three days at 120 per day for two pieces gives 720.
Which fields are mandatory on a rental line?
The rental number, rental location code, and return location code are mandatory. If your setup does not fill them in automatically, you must enter them manually.
Do the rental settings on the sales header apply automatically to the lines?
The header values for default rental location code, return date, and return location code are only used as defaults. They are copied to the sales lines, but the rental logic runs on each line.
When are the shipped and received fields filled in on a rental line?
They are filled in when you swap the line and post the transfer orders outbound and inbound.