Setting Up A Lot To Be Visible and Available To The End User
IMPORTANT NOTE: Show Only Visible Lots can be toggled on or off.
With the checkbox left unchecked (or in the off position) all lots that are set to Visible on the Lot Administration page will show, as well as lots that are not set to be visible but have an active waiting list.
With the box checked (or in the on position) only lots that are set as Visible on the Lot Administration page will show and non-visible lots will not show even if they have an active waiting list.
The setting can be found in Manage System Settings in the permits tab. See below.
When do we use this?
This instruction outlines the six factors that come into play when creating a lot for permit sales that will determine if the lot is visible and available to the user when selecting lots to purchase permits for.
There are 6 factors that affect lot visibility.
- Lot creation as a visible lot
- Lot must not be a "Temporary Only Lot"
- You must Allocate permits to the lot
- You must create a Permit Allocation for the lots you want to be visible:
- You must activate the Permit Allocation
- User type must match lot user type
Factor 1 - Create a lot and select it to be visible
Once the allocation is set up we can now create our lot. There are 2 of the 6 factors involved in lot creation.
Factor 1 - Simply the creation of the lot itself as a visible lot (checkbox)
Factor 2 - Make sure the lot is NOT set to Temporary only
From the Parking Management Menu hover over Lot Administration and select Pricing & Lot Admin from the resulting drop down menu.
The Permit Pricing & Lot Administration window will open.
To create a new lot click on Add New Lot in the upper right of the screen.
In this scenario we will be setting up a lot with the following data:
Setting up a Lot as Visible:
- Check the box beside "This lot is visible to site users" to ensure the lot will be visible on the user side.
- Lot Name: Parkade Level 1
- Lot Short Name: PL1
- Default Cost: 530.00
- Check to select This lot can be used for a second permit
(This allows end users to have more than one permit in the lot however if space is limited Administrators can limit this to a single permit) - Check to select Allow the use of a waiting list with this lot
- Set the Lot category to Parkade Building
- LPR Lot Group: Hotel (Note. This is for LPR functionality)
Click on Insert this Lot to save it.
In the Location tab, enter a description in the Location field. This information will be visible on the user side when selecting lots.
Ensure that Lot Allocation is set to yearly so it will be in sync with the Allocation you set up earlier.
Temporary Parking Tab - You can designate a number of spaces as Temporary Parking.
In this example we will set up Temp Parking with the following data:
- Max permits per Day: 30
- Daily Cost: 12.00 (This is the maximum fee for parking anything over 6 hours.)
- Hourly costs: 2 Hours - 3.00, 4 Hours - 6.00, 6 Hours - 9.00
Statistics Tab - This tab allows the admin to set certain parameters to the lot.
- Total Spaces: 100
- ADA: 10 (These are special needs spots, Handicap, Expectant Mothers, etc.)
- Visitor: 20
Click Update this Lot to save this configuration.
Factor 3 - Allocate Permits to the lot
We will now need to set up Permits for this lot. To access the permit setup. Hover over Lot Administration to display the submenu and select Allocate.
As you can see at this point in the process the lot has been created but there are no permits associated with the lot.
As a best practice, notice there are gaps between permit numbers in as much as we don't have any lots that permit numbers end and start in sequence.
That is to say we don't have a permit numbers 1 through 10 in one lot and then the next lot starts at 11 to 20 for example.
Important Note:
Note: It is always a good idea to leave a gap in case the lot changes over time. For example if a series of parking spots were redrawn to allow narrower spots for motorcycle parking,
the number of spots in a lot would increase. Having the gap allows the administrator to add permits to an existing lot.
In our example we will be allocating 100 permits to the lot numbered 520 through 619. Once you have updated the start and end range for this lot Click Update Lot to submit your changes.
A pop up will appear confirming your action.
Upon return to the Permit Number Administration page note that the lot now has permit numbers listed.
To view the actual permits click on the Lot name (Parkade Level 1)
This will display a list of permits as shown below.
Factor 4 - Sales Window (originally known as Permit Allocation)
The first step is to Set up Sales Windows. To access Sales Windows hover over Allocations (The clock icon) and select Sales Windows from the drop down menu.
The Permit Allocation Screen will open.
From the Select Allocation drop down select Insert New Allocation
In this example we will create an allocation for a yearly lot using the following data. To do that, click the "New" button above the current windows
- Allocation Title: 2020 Annual
- Allocation Type: Yearly
- Sale Start: Jan 1, 2020
- Start Date: Jan 1, 2020
- End Date; Dec 31, 2020
Click on Insert New to submit the allocation. Your resulting screen should go back to the main Sales Window page showing that Window that you have just created.
Factor 5 - Activate the Permit Allocation
You will now have to make this allocation active. To do so go back to the Allocations menu and select Active Sales Window.
Select the allocation you just created by clicking the radio button beside the allocation title.
To activate this allocation click Update Current Allocation.
How To Test That The Lot Is Visible On The User Side.
Factor 6 - User Type Must Match Lot User Type
Keeping in mind this lot is set up as a Full Time Staff lot you will need to log in to the system as a full time staff member to test visibility.
Simply put if the user type you are testing does not match the lot user type we set above, the lot will not be visible on the user side.
Hover over the User Management menu icon and select User search from the drop down menu.
Each standard build of OPS-COM has a test user by the name John Doe. We will use this user to test visibility.
In the search engine, search for the username: johndoe.
To access johndoe's user profile click on his username.
Ensure that johndoe's user type is set to Full Time Staff for this test, as we have designated the lot as a Full Time Staff lot.
- Select Full Time Staff from the user type drop down
- Select Human Resources as the department type (any department type will do)
- Click on Submit Registration Information for Processing
- On the confirmation screen click on Information Correct
- On the next screen click on Return to Profile
Once back in the user profile scroll down to see the Auto Login Address.
Click the URL to be automatically logged into the system as johndoe
Once you are in the users profile, Click on Permits.
Click I Agree on the Disclaimer page.
Click on Standard Parking to advance to the lot selection screen.
On the Standard Permit Registration Page notice the lot is available to be reserved.
