The yard on the Mac

The yard screen lists every vehicle on your lot. You will be able to see which ones need a notice or have reached a sale date.

Before you start #

You need the dispatcher, advisor, manager or owner role.

Steps #

1. Choose Yard in the sidebar. Each row shows the vehicle, plate, slot, status, arrival time and storage charge.
2. Type in the search box to filter by vehicle, plate or slot.
3. Select a vehicle. The panel on the right shows the lien clock: the date a notice is due, the earliest sale date and the days left. A clock turns orange when the notice is close and red when it is overdue. Each state also carries a word and a symbol.
4. Under Notices you see each notice already sent. The owner's name and phone appear when they are recorded.
5. To log a notice, choose Log a notice (Shift-Command-N), pick Letter, Phone call, Email or Other, set the date it was sent and choose Log notice. The earliest sale date then counts from that day and the notice countdown ends.
6. To add a vehicle yourself, choose New yard record (Command-N). The vehicle is required. Add the plate, VIN, color, slot, the tow call it came from and the owner. Storage Price per day and Free days start from your tow rate card when you leave them empty. Choose Add to yard.
7. To release a vehicle, choose Release vehicle (Shift-Command-R). Type who collected it and tick the checks (photo identity, proof of ownership and permission to collect). Under Signature, the person collecting draws a signature with the trackpad, a mouse or a stylus. Choose Clear to start again. When drawing is out of reach, tick Signed on the paper release form instead. Choose Release. The storage charge stops at that moment.
8. When storage or tow charges are still open, the server refuses the release. An owner or manager can tick Release with the balance on account.
9. With a rule set chosen in Settings, under Compliance rules, the Lien section also lists the rule set's dates for this vehicle, each with its due day, a state and its source. A date that counts from the day a notice was mailed shows that fact until the mailing is logged. The Checks section lists the release, facility, accident scene, abandoned vehicle and private property checklists with the source of each line. The release sheet shows the release checklist beside the checks you tick. The rule set is a starting point. Have an attorney check it.
10. Print the release form or the lien notice from the Documents menu. See "Documents on the Mac".

If something goes wrong #

• Release is greyed: releasing needs the server, so it waits while this Mac is offline.
• A hold is on the vehicle: clear the hold first.
• The yard is empty: vehicles appear here after a tow brings them in.
• Checks shows a line about choosing a rule set: choose one in Settings, under Compliance rules.
• A clock is missing: the lien rules for your state apply to impounds and private property tows only.