Introduction
When a speeding ticket, parking fine or toll bill arrives for one of your vehicles, it is addressed to you as the owner. This page shows how to find out who had the vehicle at that moment, record the fine, and bill the customer for it, with or without your own handling fee.
Two screens do the work:
- The screen headed Fine lookup (the main menu calls it FIne finder, with that spelling). At the top is a Fine date box; below it, a list of every rental that was running at that date and time.
- The screen headed Fine, reached from the Fines tile. It lists every fine you have recorded, with a New Fine button top left and Bulk process to invoice top right. Opening a fine shows its details on the left, its status, type and handling-fee choice on the right, a list of Attachments below, and the Fine portal URL at the bottom.
You would be here because:
- A fine from the Central Fine Collection Agency (CJIB) lands on the desk and you need to know which customer had the car on that date.
- You want to bill the fine, plus your admin fee, to the customer.
- A pile of fines came in this week and you want to invoice them all in one go.
Terms used on this screen
| The screen says | It means |
|---|---|
| Asset | The vehicle |
| Fine issuer id | The reference or name of whoever issued the fine, such as the fine number or the authority |
| Fine amount | What the authority is charging you |
| Invoiced amount | What you pass on to the customer for the fine itself |
| Charge handling fee | Whether your own admin fee is added to the customer's invoice |
| Fine portal URL | A web address where the customer can see the fine or object to it |
Every way to do this task
| Route | What you get | Covered here |
|---|---|---|
| Main menu Bookings, then FIne finder | The list of rentals running at a date and time | Yes |
| Main menu Bookings, then Show more, then the Fine finder tile | The same list | Yes |
| The Fines tile under Financials or under Bookings, then Show more | The list of recorded fines, where you record and invoice them | Yes |
Use this page whenever a fine or toll bill arrives for a vehicle you rented out.
How to use
Configuration
Three things decide what ends up on the customer's invoice. Set them up once.
1. The handling fee amount
- From the main menu, open Admin, then Settings, then click the Other tile. The screen is headed Financial setup.
- On the Fine handling fee row, click Setup. A window headed Edit Fine Handling Fee Option opens.
- Fill in the two fields and press Save. Cancel closes without saving.
| Field | Default | What it does | What it will accept |
|---|---|---|---|
| Default Amount | 15 | Your admin fee per fine, before value-added tax (VAT) | Any amount; decimals allowed |
| Description | Fine handling fee | The text on the invoice line | Any text |
2. Two entries on your list of invoice items. The fine line and the handling-fee line take their wording and VAT rate from your Invoice items list (main menu Financials, Invoice items tile; how to add one is in Raise an invoice by hand). You need:
| Entry | Category | What to set |
|---|---|---|
| The fine itself | Fine | A description such as "Traffic fine"; is tax set to No, since a fine is passed on without VAT |
| Your admin fee | HandlingFee | is tax Yes with your VAT rate, and pick your fee in the Fine handling fee option box that appears |
3. The fine portal address. Open Admin, then Settings, then the Financial tile. In Financial settings, fill in Fine portal URL, for example the CJIB's website, and save. Every fine you record from then on starts with this address filled in. Fines already recorded keep the address they had.
Before you start: recording and invoicing fines needs a company administrator account. The Fines tile shows for everyone, but other accounts cannot open it. The fine lookup list works on any staff account. If the Fine or HandlingFee invoice item is missing, the invoice line comes out with no description and no VAT. Ask your company administrator to add it.
Using the fine screens
Find who had the vehicle
- From the main menu, open Bookings, then FIne finder. The screen is headed Fine lookup.
- In Fine date, enter the date and time printed on the fine. It starts at the current date and time, so change both parts.
- In the filter above RegistrationNumber, type the licence plate. The list shows the rentals that were running at that moment.
- Click the row, or the pencil icon at the end of it, to open the booking and see the customer and driver.
The list shows rentals with the status PickedUp, DroppedOff, DroppedOffNotification or Draft. Confirmed bookings that were never collected, cancellations, quotes and no-shows are left out. is internal marks use of the vehicle by your own staff.
Record the fine
- From the main menu, open Financials and click the Fines tile. The screen is headed Fine.
- Click New Fine. The screen headed Fine opens.
- Fill in the fields below. Enter Offence date and Asset first: as soon as both are filled, the app looks up the customer for you. Skim the table once; come back to a row when you need it:
| Field | Default | What it does | What it will accept |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offence date | Empty | Date and time of the offence | Required; must be in the past |
| Asset | Empty | The vehicle | Required; pick from the list |
| Fine issuer id | Empty | The fine reference or issuing authority; printed on the invoice | Required |
| Fine amount | 0 | What the authority charges; printed on the invoice | 0 or more |
| Invoiced amount | 0 | What you bill the customer for the fine itself | 0 or more; leave 0 to charge only the handling fee |
| Customer | Filled by the lookup | Who gets the invoice | Pick from the list to change it |
| Fine type | Traffic | Traffic, Parking, Toll, Fuel or Other; printed on the invoice | One choice |
| Charge handling fee | Yes | Adds your admin fee to the invoice | Yes or No |
| Fine portal URL | Your company address | Printed on the invoice as "Refer to ... for more information." Leave it empty to leave that line out | Any web address |
- To attach the scan of the fine, click New Fine document above Attachments. In the window that opens, choose the file, add Notes if you like, and press Save. The pencil icon on an attachment row opens it again; the bin icon removes it.
- Press Save to keep the fine without invoicing it yet, or go on to the next step.
Invoice one fine
- Press Save and Invoice (bottom right; only there while Fine status is New). The app checks the fine, creates a draft invoice and opens it.
The draft invoice holds:
- a fine line for the Invoiced amount, if that is more than 0;
- a handling-fee line, if Charge handling fee is Yes;
- a copy of every attachment;
- the note "Fine by:" followed by the Fine issuer id, and a due date 14 days away.
The fine's status changes to Processed.
Invoice fines in bulk
On the Fine list, click Bulk process to invoice. The app takes every fine that is still New and has something to charge, creates a draft invoice for each, and opens the invoice list. A fine that fails a check shows a warning and is skipped; it stays New.
Key details
Worked example. A speeding fine of €109.00 from the CJIB, with the fine line set to no VAT and a €15.00 handling fee at 21% VAT:
| Line | Excl. VAT | VAT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traffic fine (Invoiced amount €109.00) | €109.00 | €0.00 | €109.00 |
| Fine handling fee | €15.00 | €3.15 | €18.15 |
| Invoice total | €127.15 |
Set Invoiced amount to 0 and the customer pays only €18.15.
The customer lookup only finds a booking for that vehicle whose pickup is before, and drop-off after, the offence, with the status PickedUp, DroppedOff or DroppedOffNotification. It fills in the first one it finds. It runs each time you change Offence date or Asset. If it finds nothing, it empties Customer, even if you had picked one. So choose the customer by hand last.
Fine status cannot be changed by hand. New means not invoiced yet; Processed means invoiced. Archived is on the list, but the app never sets it.
What the invoice shows. Besides its lines, the invoice has a Fine information block with the licence plate, Offence date, Fine issued by, Fine type, Fine amount and, if filled in, the portal address. An invoice made from a fine has a Fine button at the top that takes you back to the fine.
What to do next: send each draft invoice to the customer; see Send an invoice. When the customer pays, record it; see Record a payment.
Q&A
Why is the invoice total different from the lines? The total is worked out from the Fine amount, while the fine line shows the Invoiced amount. When the two differ, the total is wrong. Keep them the same. If you must charge a different amount, correct the line on the draft invoice before you send it; see Raise an invoice by hand.
Why did my fine disappear after pressing Save and Invoice? If Invoiced amount is 0 and Charge handling fee is No, there is nothing to bill. The screen closes without creating an invoice, and a fine that was never saved is not kept. Press Save instead for a fine you only want on record.
Why is Customer empty, even though the vehicle was rented out? The lookup did not find a matching booking. The booking may still be Confirmed, because the pickup was never registered, or the offence time falls outside the booking's times. Check the time on Fine lookup, then pick the customer by hand in Customer.
Why did Save and Invoice do nothing? The fine already has an invoice. Open it from the invoice list. To correct it, credit it; see Credit an invoice.
Why were some fines left out of the bulk run? Fines that are not New, and fines with Invoiced amount 0 and Charge handling fee No, are left out. A fine missing its issuer, vehicle or offence date shows a warning and is skipped. Open it from the Fine list, fill in the missing field, and run it again.
Why does the handling fee line show no amount or description? There is no HandlingFee entry in Invoice items, or it has no Fine handling fee option picked. Ask your company administrator to set it up, as described under Configuration.
Why can't I open the Fines tile? It needs a company administrator account. See Add an employee and set their permissions.
Why is a rental missing from Fine lookup? Check the time in Fine date, not only the date. A rental collected at 10:00 does not show for a fine at 08:30 the same day.