How to ship the Transfer Order and invoice the Sales Order in advance to the Rental Period

This is what happens in the video

If you rent out equipment and want the customer to pay in advance, you can invoice the rental before the item comes back. The trick is to ship the item out with an outbound transfer order first, then run the rental period posting while the customer still has the item.

Use the shipment date as the posting date on the outbound transfer order, because that date defines when the rental period starts. In the example here, the rental starts on 12 September and runs for three days, ending on 14 September.

Keep the inbound transfer order open until the item is returned. You can use it to extend the rental period if the customer keeps the item longer. The ending date you enter on the rental period posting controls the length of the rental, so a later date means a longer rental period and a larger invoice.

Renting out items with payment in advance in Business Central

When you rent out an item and want the customer to pay up front, the goal is to invoice the rental while the customer still has the item. In the shop, when the customer picks up the equipment, you ship the item out and then invoice the sales order for the rental period.

The scenario in this example is a Segway rented out for three days. The rental starts from the shipment date, which is 12 September.

Posting the outbound transfer order with the correct posting date

To invoice the rental while the customer is waiting, start from the rental line and open the outbound transfer order. Set the posting date to 12 September. This is important, because the posting date is the rental date. The date you use on the outbound transfer order is the date the rental period begins.

Once you post the outbound transfer order, the item is shipped out. In this setup there are two transfer orders, so you also receive the relevant transfer order to complete the movement.

Keeping the inbound transfer order open to extend the rental period

After shipping the item out, the inbound transfer order remains open. This is what you use later to handle the return, and it gives you the flexibility to postpone or extend the rental period if the customer keeps the item longer than planned.

Running the rental period posting and setting the ending date

Because the item is already out with the customer, you can run the rental period posting and invoice the rental in advance. The key here is to use the correct ending date for the rental.

In this example, you post from 12 September, the date the item was shipped, up to 14 September. The ending date controls how long the rental period is. If you set a later ending date, the rental period becomes longer and the invoice covers more days. That is how you post the invoice up front while the customer still has the item.

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