Promotions

Promotions provide a way to apply discounts to units/rentals. Promotions are added per unit, NOT per customer. A customer with multiple units may have multiple promotions.

Promotion Types

All promotions can be added to a unit/rental by a manager or sales associate at any time; during the rental process or to a customer's current unit(s)/rental(s).

Manual Promotions

Manual promotions can be added to a unit/rental by a manager or sales associate. Customers will NOT be able to add these to their unit/rental at any time. There can be multiple manual promotions set up at one time.

Promo Code Promotions

Promo Code promotions can be added to a unit/rental by a customer (with the promo code) or by a manager or sales associate. Customers will enter the promo code on the Rental Confirmation page before they sign their agreement and submit payment for the rental. Promo codes are NOT case sensitive and may include letters, numbers and characters.

Automatic Promotions

Automatic promotions will be added to a unit/rental automatically when a customer completes an online rental. A manager or sales associate will need to add an automatic promotion to a unit/rental during a rental or to a customer's current unit/rental. Automatic promotions are NOT added automatically during a manager or sales associate rental.

Setting up a Promotion

To set up a promotion go to Setup > Promotions.

Click the Add a new Promotion button and fill in the following information:

1. Promotion Name - Name each promotion so when adding them to a unit/rental you can easily tell which is which; e.g. Summer Special, Back to School, Military Discount. The promotion name will be seen by the managers, sales associates and customers.
2. Promotion Description - Use this to explain what the promotion does/is for, and length (if applicable); e.g. 5% for 3 months, 10% off each month, First full month free.
3. Availability - 
   • Start Date: The date the promotion is available for managers and sales associates to add to a unit/rental. This will also be the date a promo code or automatic promotion is available for an online rental by a customer. This date must be today or in the future.
   • End Date: The date the promotion will expire and no longer be available to add to a new or existing unit/rental for managers, sales associates and customers. The end date will not remove any active promotions from units/rentals. This is NOT required and can be changed at anytime. The End Date must be at least one day after the Start Date.
4. Method - Manual, Promo Code or Automatic; see Promotion Methods for more information.
5. Unit Types - Choose which Unit Type(s) this promotion should be for. Unit Types can only be apart of a promo code or an automatic promotion; one Unit Type cannot be apart of both promotion methods; however, Unit Types can be apart of multiple manual promotions and one of the other two promotion methods.
6. Discount Type -
   • Percentage: the percentage that will be taken off each billing cycle. Put a whole number for the percent, not a decimal; e.g. for 15% off enter 15.
   • Amount: the dollar amount that will be taken off each billing cycle.
7. Setup -
   A billing cycle is NOT per month; if the customer has a 3 month billing cycle and the promotion on their unit/rental is for 2 billings cycles that promotion will go for two 3 month billing cycles.
   • When the promotion should begin upon renting a unit: When the promotion should begin after being added to a unit/rental, in billing cycles; immediately or after 'x' amount of billing cycles. A promotion can start up to 12 billing cycles after it has been added to a unit/rental.
     Please note: If you have your protating setting as "bill for first full month,..." and you have the promotion start on the 1st billing cycle, the promotion won't be applied until the third month's rent.
   • This promotion should not expires: Check this if the promotion, once added to a unit/rental, will not expire until the customer moves out or the promotion is removed by a manager or sales associate.
   • Number of billing cycles the promotion discount should last: The number of billing cycles the promotion should be applied to the unit/rental.

When filling out the information needed, each section must have an option filled out/chosen; Required: Promotion Name, Promotion Description, Availability - Start Date, Method, Unit Type(s), Discount Type, Setup. The only field that is not required is the End Date in the Availability section which can be added or changed later if needed.

Adding a Promotion to a Unit/Rental

A promotion can be added to a unit/rental by managers, sales associates and customers.

Managers and sales associates:

Managers and sales associates are able to add a promotion to a unit/rental at anytime:

• While on the Rent a Unit page managers and sales associates will see a Promotion drop down below the Plan drop down. The Promotion drop down will show all available Manual promotions as well as Promo code or Automatic promotions for that Unit Type.
• To add a promotion to a current rental go to the customer's profile, under Rentals click the 'add' link next to Promotions at the bottom of the Billing section (center section).
  On the Add a promotion to unit "#" page there is an Available Promotions drop down. The Available Promotions drop down will show all available Manual promotions as well as Promo code or Automatic promotions for that Unit Type. Once the Available promotion has been chosen, click the Add Promotion button to successfully add the promotion to the unit/rental.

If 'Promotions: add' is not showing at the bottom of the Billing section for a unit/rental that Unit Type does not have a promotion available. 
If 'Active Promotion: details' is showing at the bottom of the Billing section that unit/rental already has a promotion added.

Customers:

Customers can add a promo code promotion to a unit/rental during the rental process only. The last page of the rental process is the Rental Confirmation; this page is where the customer will enter the promo code. The customer will enter the promo code before they sign the agreement and confirm/pay for the unit/rental.
Automatic promotions will add themselves to a unit/rental for any unit type applicable.

Customer's Promotion Details

Once a promotion has been added to a unit/rental promotion details may be viewed by going to the customer's profile, scroll down to the rentals section and click the 'details' link next to Active Promotion at the bottom of the Billing section (center section) or by clicking the date on the Active Promotions Report (see section below for Active Promotions Report information).

The promotions details page will show:

• Promotion Name
• Promotion Description
• Implementation - Promotion Method
• Date Added - includes user that added the promotion to that unit/rental
• Discount
• Duration - number of billing cycles remaining that the promotion will be applied to the unit/rental (promotions that do not expire will show Continuous)
• Applied - number of times the promotion has been applied to the unit/rental

If 'Active Promotion: details' is not showing at the bottom of the billing section and instead 'Promotions: add' is showing there is not a promotion added to that unit/rental. If neither option is showing that Unit Types does not have a promotion available.

Active Promotions Report

The Active Promotions Report can be found under Reports > All Reports (or Reports > Customers). It will be located at the bottom of the Customers column.

Once a promotion has been added to a unit/rental it will appear on the Active Promotions Report. Promotions will stay on the Active Promotions Report until they have completed their duration or are removed from the unit/rental by a manager or sales associate

The eight columns on the Active Promotions Report are:

1. Date Added - will link to the promotion details for that unit/rental.
2. Unit - will link to unit details
3. Customer - will link to the customer's profile
4. Promotion - Promotion Name, if there is an information bubble next to the Promotion Name that promotion has been retired but is still active on that unit/rental
5. Discount
6. Begins - shows how many billing cycles ago the promotion began or how many billing cycles until the promotion begins
7. Applied - shows how many times the promotion has been applied to that unit/rental
8. Duration - shows how many more billing cycles the promotion will be active on that unit/rental. Continuous means the promotion will not expire.
   A billing cycle is not per month; if the customer has a 3 month billing cycle and the unit/rental has a 2 billing cycles duration that promotion will be applied to the unit/rental two more 3 month billing cycles.

The Active Promotions Report can be sorted four ways; Date Added (default), Unit, Customer and Promotion.

Removing a Promotion from a Unit/Rental

Removing a promotion is done on the customer's promotion details page. Once there click Remove Promotion and verify the promotion should be removed. A promotion can only be removed by a manager or sales associate.

Editing a Promotion

If a promotion has not been added to any unit/rental most of the fields can be edited; promotion method cannot be changed after the original setup.
Once a promotion has been added to a unit/rental the fields that can be edited are restricted to:

• Promotion Name -  If edited, this will change for all current units/rentals with this promotion applied
• Promotion Description - If edited, this will change for all current units/rentals with this promotion applied
• Availability: End Date - Can be added or changed; must be at least one day past the Start Date and must be a date in the future
• Unit Types - Unit Types can be added to the promotion or taken off if they have no applied promotions

Expired Promotion

Under Setup > Promotions the word Expired will show, in orange, next to the promotion name if the promotion has expired; seeing expired means the end date has passed. The promotion can be edited to extend the end date or the promotion can be deleted or retired.
If a promo code or automatic promotion has expired, the Unit Types associated with that promotion will not be available to add to another promo code or automatic promotion until the expired promotion has been deleted or retired.

Deleting vs Retiring a Promotion

On the Promotions page (Setup > Promotions) there will either be a delete or retire button for each promotion.

• Delete means the promotion is not currently added to any unit/rental and has not been applied to any invoices. Deleting a promotion will remove that promotion from the available promotions.
• Retire means the promotion is currently added to at least one unit/rental and/or has been applied to at least one invoice. When a promotion is retired it will NOT remove that promotion from any unit/rental it is currently added to and will only remove that promotion from the available promotions.

Seeing who added/deleted a promotion

To see who added/deleted a promotion from a unit/rental go to a customer's profile, scroll to the bottom of the page, in the bottom left click the Tenant Alterations button. The Tenant Alternations page will show when a promotion was added/deleted, what unit it was added/deleted from, which promotion was added/deleted and the user that added/deleted it.
You can also see who added the promotion on the Customers Promotion Details page.

Promotions showing on the Website

Automatic promotions will show on the website for each Unit Type applicable. Any Unit Type with an automatic promotion will show the original price slashed out and the new price and Promotion Description showing.
Promo code promotions do not appear on your website and will only appear for the customers on the Rental Confirmation screen.

Automatic Promotion List View:

Automatic Promotions Grid View: