Limousine management System FAQ - Online Limousine Reservation System

How do I backup ALERT to a CD?
How can I quickly determine how much a customer paid on a previous trip?
How can I globally update tolls in the Pricing/Destinations?
Will ALERT run on Windows XP?
Will ALERT run on Windows ME?
How do I handle Farm-In and Farm-Out?
How can I add my payment terms to the invoice?
A credit card that was previously entered in a customer profile is not in the list of payment methods on the reservation screen. Where did it go?
None of the four invoice selections looks the way I want it to. What can I do?
I need to use different invoices for different accounts. Is there an easy way to do this?
I frequently have trips booked by travel agents for which I pay them a percentage. How do I handle this in ALERT?
I frequently have trips booked by travel agents for which I Can I fax a trip ticket to a driver?
I click on Finalize to enter charges on trips I know are active. ALERT reports that there are no trips to finalize.
On Reservations, How do I invoke the list of customers without using the mouse?
In Dispatch, I would like to press a single key to be able to select a future date.
Can I email a trip ticket or invoice from ALERT?
When two people on our local area network save a reservation at the same time,
it can result in duplicate reservation numbers. pay them a percentage. How do I handle this in ALERT?
Windows 95/98
Windows 2000
Windows XP
Alert keeps crashing on my PC with a Dual Core Processor

Q: How do I backup ALERT to a CD?
A: In order to backup directly to a CD, you will need to load software such as Drag-to-Disk (included in Roxio's Easy CD Creator). Such software will allow direct access to the CD-R(W) drive.

Q: How can I quickly determine how much a customer paid on a previous trip?
A: Print a Customer Activity Report. Click on Profiles/Customer/Customer Profile, highlight the name of the customer, then click on the Print icon at the top of the screen. We have added the base fare plus vehicle surcharge to a new column in the report.

Q: How can I globally update tolls in the Pricing/Destinations?
A: Call ALERT Support. We will be happy to assist those whose support agreement is current.

Q: Will ALERT run on Windows XP?
A: XP seems to be fine if ALERT is running on just one computer. We have, however, had problems when ALERT is running on a network. The XP work station will not see new reservations added on other computers until ALERT is exited and re-started. This problem does not occur if the computer that ALERT is installed on is XP.

Q: Will ALERT run on Windows ME?
A: We don't know. Microsoft says it is not for business and you should therefore not use it.

Q: How do I handle Farm-In and Farm-Out?
A: See "Farm-In and Farm-Out" in the ALERT Help Contents screen for instructions.

Q: How can I add my payment terms to the invoice?
A: Select "Invoice Footer" from the Admin menu and type any short message. It will be printed at the bottom of every invoice

Q: A credit card that was previously entered in a customer profile is not in the list of payment methods on the reservation screen. Where did it go?
A: The expiration date entered has passed so the credit card is no longer valid. Get the new date from the client and change it in the customer profile or, select "Other Credit Card" from the payment methods list and re-enter the credit card. Check the "Add to customer record" box before saving. The expired card will be replaced with the new one.

Q: None of the four invoice selections looks the way I want it to. What can I do?
A: Give us a call. We can create a custom invoice just the way you want it.

Q: I need to use different invoices for different accounts. Is there an easy way to do this?
not made, it will default to the invoice selected from Admin/Set Report/Invoice. You can also indicate whether you want all trips on one invoice or a separate invoice for each customer (effects auto invoice only).

Q: I frequently have trips booked by travel agents for which I pay them a percentage. How do I handle this in ALERT?
A: See "Travel Agent Booked Trips" in the ALERT Help Contents screen for detailed instructions.

Q: Can I fax a trip ticket to a driver?
A: Yes, if you have a fax modem and software you can fax trip tickets, or any other report. When the "Send Report To?" dialog appears, click on the Select Printer button and select your fax software driver from the list and click OK. Then click on the "Printer" button.

Q: I click on Finalize to enter charges on trips I know are active. ALERT reports that there are no trips to finalize.
A: Make sure your system date is set correctly. You can set the system date by selecting Date & Time from the Windows Control Panel.

Q: On Reservations, How do I invoke the list of customers without using the mouse?
A: Type Alt- L, the short cut key. The short-cut keys are underlined. Any function may be invoked by holding down the Alt key and pressing the letter of the short-cut key.

Q: In Dispatch, I would like to press a single key to be able to select a future date.
A: Press F2. To learn about other "Hot Keys", click on help and review the Hot Key topic.

Q: Can I email a trip ticket or invoice from ALERT?
A: We recommend that you install Win2PDF. Win2PDF creates PDF files from any Windows NT, 2000 or XP application. It installs as a print driver, so all you need to do is print from any application to create a PDF file. You can download an evaluation copy at http://www.win2pdf.com .

Q: When two people on our local area network save a reservation at the same time, it can result in duplicate reservation numbers.
A: Windows, by default may retain saved data that ALERT thinks has been written to disk on the server. Someone saving a reservation at the same time could end up assigning the same reservation code. In all database applications, not just ALERT, it is necessary to disable Write-caching or Write-behind-caching in Windows. Here is how to do it:

Windows 95/98

1. Right-click on My Computer.

2. Click on Properties.

3. Click on Performance tab.

4. Click on File System button.

5. Click on Troubleshooting

6. Check “Disable write-behind caching for all drives”.

7. Exit back to Desktop

8. If asked to reboot your PC, please do so

Windows 2000

9. On your desktop, right-click the My Computer icon, and then click Properties.

10. Click the Hardware tab, and then click Device Manager.

11. Double click on the Disk drives branch to expand it.

12. Right-click on the local hard disk, and then click Properties.

13. To disable write caching, click the Disk Properties tab, click to clear the Write Cache Enabled check box, and then click OK.

14. Microsoft acknowledges that on some computers, disabling the write caching may not be persistent. This means that you will need to check the setting every time you restart the workstation. We will let you know when there is a reliable fix from Microsoft.

Windows XP

15. Click on Start.

16. Click on My Computer.

17. Right-click on C: Drive.

18. Click on Properties, Hardware.

19. Select drive. Usually the first one.

20. Click on Properties, Policies.

21. Assure that the check box for "Enable write caching on this disk" is unchecked .

22. Exit back to the desktop.

Q:Alert keeps crashing on my PC with a Dual Core Processor

Right-click on the alert icon on your desktop.
click on <Properties>
Under comment, click on < Advanced>.
Make sure that "Run in separate memory space: is checked.
Click < Apply>, then <OK>