Setting up Equipment Hire Memberships
While your centre is closed, you may wish to hire out equipment to your customers to keep them moving and generate a separate source of income. This guide will show how best to set up Memberships in Links to allow you to charge your customers for equipment hire.
Setting up a Membership Category
You may need to setup a separate Membership Category, particularly if you will be offering your customers a direct debit option for equipment hire. A separate category will allow you to run a debit for just the equipment hire Membership Types.
1. Go to Admin> Memberships/VP> Memberships> Categories
2. Select [Add New]
3. Enter a Name and Description for the Category, then select the Payment Type either Direct Debit or Upfront
4. If Memberships in this Category will be charged via direct debit, select the Direct Debit tab to enter the debit start date, frequency and Integrated Payments start date
Select OK once you have entered any required settings
Setting up Membership Types
You can now setup your Membership Types and pricing for equipment hire.
- You will need to setup a separate Membership Type for each equipment hire package/price
- It is recommended to use a Joining Fee as a deposit for the equipment hire, this can then be refunded when the equipment is returned
NOTE: you may need to setup a service code for the joining fee/deposit if you do not already have one.
1. Go to Admin> Memberships/VP> Membership Types
2. Setup your Membership Type/s as normal, making sure to include:
- Membership name (equipment hire package)
- Price
- Joining fee if deposit required
- General ledger/financial/sales reporting category as required
Instructions for setting up Membership Types: Setting up Membership Types
Video for setting up Membership Types:
Instructions for setting up Services (for joining fee): Setting up Services
Video for setting up Services (for joining fee):
Selling Equipment Hire through ActiveCarrot
If you are using ActiveCarrot you may wish to have Customers sign up and pay for equipment hire online before coming in to pick up their equipment.
1. Add a description for each Membership that will show online via Admin> Memberships/VP> Membership> Types> Membership Details> Comments tab
2. Publish your Memberships online via Admin> Memberships.VP> Publish MemTypes to Web
3. Click [Select Types] to choose what will go online, at this point you may also wish to remove any other Membership Types from being sold online while your centre is closed, select [OK] once you have updated any required Memberships
4. Add an Equipment Hire Product Group to allow for separate terms and conditions to be entered for equipment hire online compared to your normal memberships, this is done via Admin> Products/Services> Groupings
Instructions for setting up Product Groups: Product Groupings
5. Make sure you update your terms and conditions for selling equipment hire online in your ActiveCarrot Manager Portal
- If you have setup product groups you can set terms and conditions for the Equipment hire group via Site Configuration> Membership> Membership Product Groupings
- If you have not set any product groups or need to edit any other terms, such as direct debit terms, this is done via Site Configuration> Membership> Membership Terms
6. Update any information required for your customers to pick up their equipment, this should be included in their confirmation email and can be edited via Site Configuration> Membership> Membership> Membership Signup Email Header or Footer
7. The Customer will then be able to purchase the equipment hire via the Customer Portal:
Returning the Equipment
When the customer returns the equipment, you will simply need to refund the deposit, then cancel the Membership.
1. To return the deposit, select [Return/Refund] on your POS screen
2. Use the […] to select the service you created for the deposit, enter a reason for the refund, and the Customer receiving the refund. Then select [OK]
3. The transaction will appear as a negative in your POS screen, select the payment method to complete the transaction
4. Go to Members> Contracts> View Customer Contracts
5. Use the […] to find the Customer, select the Equipment Hire Membership Type, then select [Override Expiry…]
6. Enter in the expiry date, reason and comments and select [OK]
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