Hire & Invoice Date Defaults
The Hire & Invoice Date Defaults preferences control default booking times, automatic date adjustments, delivery and pickup lag times, invoice dates, and quote expiry periods.
Go to Setup > Preferences > Hire & Invoice Date Defaults to configure these settings.
Booking Times
Default Time From
Sets the initial Booked From and Hired From time when creating a new record, using the current date.
Default Time To
Sets the initial Booked To time for new records.
Or Duration (Hours)
Instead of specifying a Default Time To, calculates Booked To by adding the configured number of hours to Booked From.
For example, 24 hours from Monday at 9:00 AM produces Tuesday at 9:00 AM.
You can use either Default Time To or Duration (Hours), but not both. These are initial defaults and do not automatically maintain the booking duration when dates are subsequently changed.
Default 'Booked To' as TBA
Sets Booked To as TBA (To Be Advised) by default, keeping stock allocated indefinitely until returned.
A Booked To date is still maintained for pricing calculations, generally using the end of the following month.
Side By Side Date/Time Picker
Displays date and time controls together rather than switching between them. Applies to the legacy and Compact Invoice screens, not Invoice Version 2.
Use 24 Hr Time
Displays and enters times in 24-hour format instead of AM/PM. This changes presentation, not the underlying date/time values.
The last two options are user-specific preferences. Most other settings on this page apply across the business.
Automatic Date Adjustments
When changing dates on the Invoice screen, HirePOS automatically corrects certain invalid booking date combinations.
When you change | What happens |
|---|---|
Booked From | If moved beyond Booked To, HirePOS advances Booked To to maintain a valid period. |
Booked To | If moved before Booked From, HirePOS moves Booked From backwards to maintain a valid period. |
Booked From with no Booked To | Booked To defaults to 24 hours after Booked From. |
Hired From / Hired To | These do not have the same automatic range corrections. Actual hire dates must form a valid period. |
When correcting a booking date range, HirePOS retains the existing time of day on the automatically adjusted date, moving it to an appropriate day.
Booking duration is not preserved. If you move Booked From from Monday to Tuesday while Booked To remains Friday, the booking becomes shorter. HirePOS only adjusts the other date when needed to correct an invalid range.
These adjustments are independent of the Default Time To and Duration (Hours) settings.
Related dates
Item dates: Changing Booked From/To updates corresponding item-level dates where already populated. Blank item dates remain blank.
Actual hire dates: Changing Hired From/To updates populated item-level actual dates unless Retain Item Dates is selected. Entering actual dates may also change the record to Invoice mode.
Delivery/Pickup: May recalculate according to the lag-time settings below.
Invoice Date: May update according to the enabled invoice-date preferences.
Always review the resulting dates when changing an existing booking, particularly where individual item dates or delivery arrangements are involved.
Lag Time
Lag time allows additional time before and after a booking for delivery, pickup, preparation, or cleaning.
Default Lag Time Hours Before
Sets the default hours before Booked From, typically for delivery.
Default Lag Time Hours After
Sets the default hours after Booked To, typically for pickup.
Autocalc Delivery/Pickup Dates from Lag Time
When enabled, HirePOS calculates:
Delivery Date = Booked From minus Lag Hours Before.
Pickup Date = Booked To plus Lag Hours After.
Changing Booked From or Booked To recalculates the corresponding Delivery or Pickup date.
Important: Automatic calculation can overwrite manually entered delivery and pickup dates. When disabled, existing dates are preserved. Configuring lag hours alone does not enable automatic calculation.
Copy 'Booked To' to 'Hired To' for Off Hires
When processing applicable off-hires or returns, copies Booked To into Hired To, allowing the actual hire end date to reflect the booked end date.
Invoice Date
These settings determine when Invoice Date is updated automatically.
Setting | Behaviour |
|---|---|
Current Date When Converting to Invoice | Uses the current date when converting to Invoice, or when opening an eligible record in Invoice mode. |
Booked From | Sets Invoice Date when Booked From changes. |
Booked To | Sets Invoice Date when Booked To changes. |
Hired From | Sets Invoice Date when Hired From changes, including applicable dispatch workflows. |
Hired To | Sets Invoice Date when Hired To changes, including applicable return workflows. |
Multiple options can be enabled. Each responds to its corresponding event, so the last applicable date change may overwrite Invoice Date.
For example, if both Booked From and Hired From options are enabled, changing Booked From sets Invoice Date initially, but subsequently entering Hired From updates it again.
Automatic Invoice Date changes on Invoice Version 2 are skipped for rolled or exported invoices. Some settings may still be used during recurring or rollover invoice creation.
Quote Expiry
Quote Expiry Days
Sets the default number of days until a new quote expires.
For example, entering 14 sets the Quote Expiry Date to 14 days after creation.
This applies to new quotes and does not automatically update existing quote expiry dates.