Configuring the Agent Web Service for use with Rental Car Manager
Agent Web Service Overview
The Agent Web Service allows agents to make unallocated bookings in your Rental Car Manager system directly from their web sites or portals. To enable this service you must configure RCM to allow the agent to use the service.
The Agent will need a login to our Development Sandbox which is where they can access their Agent API Credentials and all of the documentation and user guides for the Agent API.
The following article will explain in detail how to create Agents within your RCM system, Setting Up Your Agency Database .
Configuring Rental Car Manager to accept an Agent's Bookings
When you request an Agent API Key you need to supply RCM Support with the following information:
- Agency name and the Branch Code,
- The Agent's username in our Sandbox, if they already have one.
- If they don't have a Sandbox login, we will need to know a contact email address for the Agent
To find the Agency Name and the Branch Code, from the System Setup menu , click on the 'Agencies' icon.
The Agency Name will appear in the list as shown below. To find the Branch Name, click on the 'Branches' button for the Agent
The Agents branch record is now displayed as shown below. Take a note of the Branch Name that you will need to provide to us when you request an Agent key for the agent.
Setting up Agents to use the Web Service
There is also some setup you will need to do to allow the Agent to create Unallocated Bookings. You will need to ensure that there are Agent Category Availability records setup.
From the "Agent Bookings Setup" menu and select the Agent Categories icon (see below). This option allows you to control which categories of vehicles are available to your Agent.
From the list of categories displayed update the option 'Agent Available' to 'Yes' if you wish your Agents to be able to book these vehicles (see below). To update the Agent Available option click the Category name of the vehicle category and tick either Yes or No for the Agent Available field.
After updating the 'Agent Available' flag click on the 'Agent Category Availability' menu tab (see image below). This page lets you further define the category availability based on the following
- Pickup and Drop off locations
- Availability Status which can be one of three options:
- Available for booking (free sale)
- Might be available (place a request)
- Not available
- Minimum booking days
- Pickup Date Start and Pickup Date End
NOTE: You must add a record on this page for each location and class of vehicle you wish to make available to the Agent.
Finally check also that you have set up rates for each category of vehicle you wish to sell via the agent web service.
If specific agent rates have not been set-up in the System Setup>Agencies>Agency Rate tab, then standard rates will be used - System System Setup > Rates .
Agent Key Request Process:
The Developer's Sandbox contains the API Credentials along with the Developers guides and detailed explanations of each API method and an API test area.
If the Agent already has a login to our Sandbox, once we create the key, they can simply log in and access the key.
If the Agent does not have a login to our Sandbox, just let us know and we can create the login and send you the Sandbox URL, username and password to pass on to the Agent.
Following is the Agent Key request process:
Ask the agent if they have a login to our Sandbox, and if so, make note of the login username.
Send an email to RCM Support (support@rentalcarmanager.com) with the following details:
- The Agency Name
- The Agency Branch Code
- Their login details (username) for the Sandbox ( if they have one) - otherwise, let us know if we need to create one for them.
- Note that some of the larger agents may have multiple user logins to the sandbox, so you will need to ask them for the specific username.
- If you are using Branding, let us know which Brand(s) this key will apply to.
When we receive the request, it will be assigned to a consultant to create the API Credentials.
Once created, we will send you a standard email that has all the details that you will need to pass on to your agent.
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