Welcome to our guide on automating delivery charges based on specific delivery zones within the HirePOS system. This document will walk you through the steps to set up delivery zones and corresponding selling units, allowing your business to streamline delivery charge calculations for accurate and efficient billing.

To automate delivery charges, the first step is to establish delivery zones. You can do this by navigating to the following path:

Setup > Delivery/Pickup > Zones

Once you are in the Zones section, click the + New Zone button to create a new delivery zone. After entering the necessary details, click Save New to save each zone as you add them. For example, you might create zones labeled A, B, C, and D. Please note that zone names can be a maximum of 20 characters in length.

After setting up the delivery zones, the next step is to create a selling unit for each zone that incurs a delivery charge. This allows for differentiated pricing based on the delivery area. To do this, go to:

Setup > Item Related > Selling Units

Create a new selling unit for each of the different zones that you charge out. In the Selling Unit details, you only need to enter a unique Unit Description, which ideally should match the description of the Zone. Remember, the Selling Unit Description is also limited to a maximum of 20 characters, just like the Zones. Click the Other tab, and in the Zone dropdown, choose the Zone that the selling unit relates to, then click Save New. Ensure that no other settings are added in the Selling Unit setup; all you need is the unique Description entered and the Zone linked in the Other tab.

To establish the delivery charge item, follow these steps:

Setup > Items

In the Items section, click the + New Item button. Here, you will need to enter a description for the item, such as Delivery Charge. Additionally, provide a unique item code, such as DEL, or you may opt to leave it as the automatically generated number. Choose an Item Type, typically an Item Type that is NOT Hire, like a Misc item type, or you may set up a dedicated item type for Delivery. In the Configuration section, check the Non Stock checkbox.

Next, click the Rates/Prices tab to begin adding the various selling units and their relevant prices. Click the Unit dropdown to select a Unit, enter the Sell Ex or Sell Inc, and Tax code, then go to the next line and select the next Zone unit, and so on.

Now that you've set up the basics, you can automate the selection of the relevant charge unit based on the Delivery Zone. In the Booking/Invoice screen, go to the Delivery/Pickup details popup where you enter the delivery address details. If you cannot see the Zone dropdown, there is a + Country/Zone link adjacent to the Postcode field where you can expand the fields to see the Zone dropdown. Select the relevant Zone for the delivery.

Note that the Zone selection can be automated by presetting a list of City/Postcodes via Setup > Delivery/Pickup, and choosing a City in the Delivery/Pickup details instead, which will select the Zone for you.

On a new invoice line, search for the Delivery Charge item you set up earlier, and add this item to the Booking/Invoice. The autocalc feature will automatically select the relevant selling unit that relates to the zone you are delivering to, thus automating the charge rate. The Qty/Units will always recalculate to 1 as the Zone rate is a total charge (not a per Km charge for example).

There are two methods for handling Delivery Only vs Delivery & Pickup, given that Selling Units with a Zone trigger "autocalc" and charge Qty as 1 (assuming the unit/rate is the total charge):

• Create two separate invoice lines, one for delivery and one for pickup.

• OR Create two separate items in the item setup: one for 'Delivery Only' and another for 'Delivery & Pickup.' Add the Zone Rate/Prices to each item accordingly; i.e. the 'Delivery & Pickup' rates may be double those of 'Delivery Only.'
  In this scenario, you only create one Invoice line, but choose the relevant item based on customer requirements.