Price updating or price changes (depending on how you refer to them) can be accomplish within Space Manager in a number of different ways. The method to choose depends on the type of increase you wish to accomplish and the scope of units it should be applied to.

I should make clear at this point that changing the price of a UNIT will have no effect on the rates of any contracts for that unit, which were put onto the system prior to the price change. Therefore a unit price change will only effect the default rates for new rentals put onto the system AFTER the price increase has come into effect. To change the prices for current contracts, you should use the CONTRACT PRICE UPDATE system, which is detailed in another help document.

Please note that a unit price update, once it comes into effect, WILL effect the variants displayed on a number of reports which compare a unit's contract rate with the unit's standard rate.

So, for Unit price updates, there are three basic methods that can be used;

1. Using the CONFIGURATIONS MENU, option number 1 (UNITS) you could select the individual unit number and manually edit the rate. This new rate would then be in force immediately you confirm that the changes are correct.
2. Using the CONFIGURATIONS MENU, option number 2 (UNITS SIZE CODES) you could edit the Unit Size Code Update information and provide the new rate for that size code and the date on which it should come into effect. As part of the start-up routines, Space Manager checks for waiting size code price increases and if due, will update the rate for all the Units of that size code. Because this method updates ALL the units to the new rate of the size code to which they belong, it is important to set up your size codes originally so all the unit have the same rate.

Please note that if you change the rate for a Size Code directly, but do not use the update feature, this will have no effect on existing units. The new rate will only appear as the default rate when entering any NEW units onto the system.

3. Using the CONFIGURATION SETTINGS MENU, option number 9 (FILE MANAGEMENT) and then option number 1 (UNIT PRICE UPDATE). This option is detailed below, but in summary can be used to set the price update information for each size code as in 2. above, but on a global basis. By entering various parameters for price increase and the scope the user can automatically set future price increases for all or just selected size codes.

 The process works like this; 

1. You enter a price increase (or decrease) either as a percentage, an fixed amount or to a fix amount.
2. You can then look at the effect this would have on your Unit and Size Code rates. If you are not happy with these rates you can simply enter a new price increase and try again.
3. Once you are happy, you must activate the price increase by entering the date on which the new prices should come into effect.
4. COMPLETE!

In more detail;

1. Using the CONFIGURATION SETTINGS MENU, option number 9 (FILE MANAGEMENT), select option number 1 (UNIT PRICE UPDATE).
2. Select option 1 (Enter Size Code Rate Increase) and use the left and right cursor keys to choose the method for the update;
1. A Percentage - enter a percentage increase or a negative amount for a reduction. Then indicate if you would like the resultant increases (or reduction) to be rounded to whole pounds etc.)
2. A Fixed Amount - enter the amount that the size code rates should be increased by.
3. To a Fixed Amount - enter the actual new rate for your size codes.
3. Now you can select to print a report showing the effect your new price would have on Units or Size Codes if you activated it. If you do not want a report, just press <Esc> to exit the menu.

Please note that at the moment it is just theoretical, no price increase has actually be put through.

4. Once you are happy with the price change you must activate it for it to come into effect. Select option number 4 (Activate Price Update System) and enter the date you want it to be effective from. The date cannot be today or an historic date. If you want the prices to come into effect as soon as possible, the earliest date you can enter is tomorrow.
5. If you have already entered and activated a price increase, then if you enter a 'Y' (yes) for the question 'Overwrite Existing Price Updates' then these will all be replaced by the new update. Entering a 'N' (no) will only add a price update for Size Codes (and therefore units) which do not currently have one already waiting. Entering a 'N' for (no) allows for different percentage changes to be entered for different groups of Size Code, making the system far more powerful. See the next section for more details. Next press 'Y' to log the new price information and thus activate it.

Once the price update has been activated, there is nothing more that needs to be done. The details of the waiting price update can always be viewed by selecting either option number 5 or 6 from the Unit Price Update Menu.

Simply, you put each price increase through individually, starting with the one that effects the most Size Codes and ending with the one that effects the fewest. After each increase has been activated, you simply remove the waiting price increase for the Size Code it does not relate to. Then enter the next price increase and activate that, but this time select NOT to overwrite existing price increases. Continue until all the price changes have been put through.

Option number 5 (Display Actual Size Code Rate) gives you the facility to both view all the waiting Size Code price increases and to edit or delete them.

Example 1. You would like to increase all Units on 01/03/01 by 10% except that Size Codes G100 to G200 need to increase by 7.5% on 01/04/01 and F500 should be only 5% on 25/04/01. All price increases should be in whole pounds.

1. Select Option 1 (Enter Size Code Rate Increase) and select by A Percentage. Enter 10% and 'Y' when asked if you want to round the price increases.
2. Select Option 4 (Activate Price Update System) to activate the price increase and enter the date for the 10% increase of 01/03/01. Do not worry that you are about to activate a 10% increase for those Size Codes which require different increases. Enter 'Y' when asked if you want to overwrite existing price updates (this way we will know that ALL Size Codes are going to start with a price increase of 10%). Next press 'Y' to log the price update information and thus activate it.
3. Select Option 5 (Display Actual Size Code Rates). Using the up and down arrow keys, select each Size code G100 to G200 and press 'C' (clear update) for each one. The Price Update should disappear for these Size Codes.
4. Press <Esc> to exit the screen and once again select Option 1 (Enter Size Code Rate Increase) and select by A Percentage. This time enter 7.5% and 'Y' when asked if you want to round the price increases.
5. Once again select Option 4 (Activate Price Update System) to activate the price increase and enter the date for the 7.5% increase of 01/04/01. This time enter 'N' when asked if you want to overwrite existing price updates (this will ensure that this price increase is only applied to the Size Codes who's waiting increase we cleared earlier on in this procedure). Next press 'Y' to log the price update information and thus activate it.
6. Now select Option 5 (Display Actual Size Code Rates) and using the up and down arrow keys again, select Size code F500 and this time press 'E' (edit mark). Leave the field 'MK' blank and press the <Enter> key to move on. Edit the 'New Rate' and change it to correct amount for a 5% increase (or you could always clear it with 'C' and repeat steps 4 and 5 for the 5% increase!), then enter a date of 25/04/01 in the 'On_Date') field.
7. Check all the size codes and their new rates (and activation dates) to make sure you are happy with them. Now the price updates are complete.

YES! Providing you do so BEFORE the activation dates entered, simply use Option number 7 (Clear All Future Price Updates). This option does exactly the same as pressing the 'C' (clear) key in 3 and 6 above, except for EVERY size Code. Once completed, you are back to square one with no Size Code price increases waiting in the system!