Web enabled business to business computer system for rental car services

Abstract

An Internet enabled, business-to-business computerized transaction system is disclosed in its preferred embodiment for use in providing rental car services for high volume users and comprises an Internet web portal through which the high volume user may access an integrated business computer network for the rental vehicle service provider. The rental vehicle services provider computer network is configured to interconnect a geographically diverse plurality of branch offices, cataloguing their available rental vehicles and schedules for same as well as handling all transactional data relating to its business. The Internet web portal provides ubiquitous connectivity and portability for a multi-level business organization who regularly places high volumes of rental purchases with its business partner. Utilizing the method and apparatus of the present invention large volumes of rental transactions may be placed, monitored, altered during performance, and closed out with financial accounting and payment being made virtually without human intervention.

1 - 46 . (canceled)  
     
     
         47 . A rental vehicle reservation management computer system for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the computer system being configured to: 
 (1) provide a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a purchaser computer,    (2) accept input from the purchaser computer over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens,    (3) create a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to a plurality of replacement vehicles for a plurality of vehicles undergoing repair at a plurality of repair facilities, each rental vehicle reservation having an authorized number of days, and    (4) provide at least one report for display on the purchaser computer through a provided GUI screen, the at least one report comprising details about the plurality of rental vehicle reservations including sorted data therefor that identifies at least one selected from the group consisting of (1) the repair facilities where the vehicles are undergoing repair, (2) the authorized number of days for the plurality of rental vehicle reservations, and (3) a number of days behind for rental vehicle reservations that have been open for more than the authorized number of days, the number of days behind being calculated as a difference between the number of authorized days for an open rental vehicle reservation and a number of days that that rental vehicle reservation has been open.    
     
     
         48 . The system of  claim 47  wherein the at least one report consists of sorted data therefor that identifies the repair facilities where the vehicles are undergoing repair.  
     
     
         49 . The system of  claim 47  wherein the at least one report consists of sorted data therefor that identifies the authorized number of days for the plurality of rental vehicle reservations.  
     
     
         50 . The system of  claim 47  wherein the at least one report consists of sorted data therefor that identifies the number of days behind for rental vehicle reservations.  
     
     
         51 . The system of  claim 47  wherein the computer system is further configured to manage the created rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input.  
     
     
         52 . The system of  claim 51  comprising at least one mainframe and an Internet web portal in communication with the at least one mainframe, wherein the Internet web portal is configured to (1) provide the GUI screens for display over the Internet on the purchaser computer, (2) accept input from the purchaser computer over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens, and (3) provide the at least one report for display on the purchaser computer through a provided GUI screen, and wherein the at least one mainframe is configured to create and manage the rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input.  
     
     
         53 . The system of  claim 52  wherein the at least one mainframe comprises a first mainframe and a second mainframe, the second mainframe being configured to fulfill the rental vehicle reservations.  
     
     
         54 . The system of  claim 51  wherein the computer system is further configured to fulfill the rental vehicle reservations.  
     
     
         55 . The system of  claim 54  wherein the computer system is further configured to create and manage the rental vehicle reservations through execution of a first software program, and wherein the computer system is further configured to fulfill the rental vehicle reservations through execution of a second software program.  
     
     
         56 . The system of  claim 51  wherein the computer system is further configured to manage the created rental vehicle reservations by extending a rental time for at least one of the created rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input.  
     
     
         57 . The system of  claim 51  wherein the computer system is further configured to manage the created rental vehicle reservations by changing a vehicle type for at least one of the created rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input.  
     
     
         58 . The system of  claim 51  wherein the computer system is further configured to manage the created rental vehicle reservations by changing an authorization for at least one of the created rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input.  
     
     
         59 . The system of  claim 51  wherein the computer system is further configured to manage the created rental vehicle reservations by approving an invoice for at least one of the created rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input.  
     
     
         60 . The system of  claim 47  wherein the computer system is further configured to select which of the reports are to be provided for display on the remote computer in response to input from the remote purchaser computer.  
     
     
         61 . A method for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the method comprising: 
 (1) providing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a purchaser computer,    (2) accepting input from the purchaser computer over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens,    (3) creating a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to a plurality of replacement vehicles for a plurality of vehicles undergoing repair at a plurality of repair facilities, each rental vehicle reservation having an authorized number of days, and    (4) providing at least one report for display on the purchaser computer through a provided GUI screen, the at least one report comprising details about the plurality of rental vehicle reservations including sorted data therefor that identifies at least one selected from the group consisting of (1) the repair facilities where the vehicles are undergoing repair, (2) the authorized number of days for the plurality of rental vehicle reservations, and (3) a number of days behind for rental vehicle reservations that have been open for more than the authorized number of days, the number of days behind being calculated as a difference between the number of authorized days for an open rental vehicle reservation and a number of days that that rental vehicle reservation has been open.    
     
     
         62 . The method of  claim 61  wherein the at least one report includes sorted data therefor that identifies the repair facilities where the vehicles are undergoing repair.  
     
     
         63 . The method of  claim 61  wherein the at least one report includes sorted data therefor that identifies the authorized number of days for the plurality of rental vehicle reservations.  
     
     
         64 . The method of  claim 61  wherein the at least one report includes sorted data therefor that identifies the number of days behind for rental vehicle reservations.  
     
     
         65 . The method of  claim 61  further comprising managing the created rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input.  
     
     
         66 . The method of  claim 65  further comprising: 
 performing the GUI screen providing step, the input accepting step, and the report providing step with an Internet web portal, and    performing the creating step and the managing step with at least one mainframe.    
     
     
         67 . The method of  claim 66  wherein the at least one mainframe comprises a first mainframe and a second mainframe, wherein the step of performing the creating step and the managing step comprises performing the creating step and the managing step with the first mainframe, the method further comprising: 
 fulfilling the rental vehicle reservations, and    performing the fulfilling step with the second mainframe.    
     
     
         68 . The method of  claim 65  further comprising fulfilling the rental vehicle reservations.  
     
     
         69 . The method of  claim 68  further comprising: 
 performing the creating step and the providing step by executing a first software program, and    performing the fulfilling step by executing a second software program.    
     
     
         70 . The method of  claim 65  wherein the managing step comprises extending a rental time for at least one of the created rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input.  
     
     
         71 . The method of  claim 65  wherein the managing step comprises changing a vehicle type for at least one of the created rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input.  
     
     
         72 . The method of  claim 65  wherein the managing step comprises changing an authorization for at least one of the created rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input.  
     
     
         73 . The method of  claim 65  wherein the managing step comprises approving an invoice for at least one of the created rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input.  
     
     
         74 . The method of  claim 61  further comprising selecting which of the reports are to be provided for display on the purchaser computer in response to input from the purchaser computer.  
     
     
         75 . The method of  claim 61  wherein the purchaser computer comprises a computer operated by an insurance adjuster.  
     
     
         76 . A rental vehicle reservation management computer system for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the computer system being configured to: 
 (1) provide a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers,    (2) accept input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens,    (3) create and manage a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, each rental vehicle reservation having an authorized number of days,    (4) determine whether any of the rental vehicle reservations have been open beyond the authorized number of days;    (5) determine a number of days behind with respect to the authorized number of days for any rental vehicle reservations that are determined to have been open beyond the authorized number of days; and    (6) provide a report for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, the report comprising the determined number of days behind for a plurality of the rental vehicle reservations.    
     
     
         77 . The system of  claim 76  wherein the computer system is further configured to generate the report such that the rental vehicle reservations described therein are in a sorted order with respect to each reservation's determined number of days behind.  
     
     
         78 . The system of  claim 77  comprising at least one mainframe and an Internet web portal in communication with the at least one mainframe, wherein the Internet web portal is configured to (1) provide the GUI screens for display over the Internet on the remote purchaser computers, (2) accept input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens, and (3) provide the report for display on the at least one remote purchaser computer through a provided GUI screen, and wherein the at least one mainframe is configured to create and manage the rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input.  
     
     
         79 . The system of  claim 78  wherein the at least one mainframe comprises a first mainframe and a second mainframe, the second mainframe being configured to fulfill the rental vehicle reservations.  
     
     
         80 . The system of  claim 76  wherein the computer system is further configured to fulfill the rental vehicle reservations.  
     
     
         81 . The system of  claim 80  wherein the computer system is further configured to create and manage the rental vehicle reservations through execution of a first software program, and wherein the computer system is further configured to fulfill the rental vehicle reservations through execution of a second software program.  
     
     
         82 . The system of  claim 76  wherein the computer system is further configured to provide the report for display on the at least one remote purchaser computer through a provided GUI screen in response to the accepted input.  
     
     
         83 . A method for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the method comprising: 
 (1) providing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers,    (2) accepting input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens,    (3) creating and managing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, each rental vehicle reservation having an authorized number of days,    (4) determining whether any of the rental vehicle reservations have been open beyond the authorized number of days;    (5) determining a number of days behind with respect to the authorized number of days for any rental vehicle reservations that are determined to have been open beyond the authorized number of days; and    (6) providing a report for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, the report comprising the determined number of days behind for a plurality of the rental vehicle reservations.    
     
     
         84 . The method of  claim 83  further comprising generating the report such that the rental vehicle reservations described therein are in a sorted order with respect to each reservation's determined number of days behind.  
     
     
         85 . The method of  claim 84  further comprising: 
 performing the GUI screen providing step, the input accepting step, and the report providing step with an Internet web portal, and    performing the creating step and the managing step with at least one mainframe.    
     
     
         86 . The method of  claim 85  wherein the at least one mainframe comprises a first mainframe and a second mainframe, wherein the step of performing the creating step and the managing step comprises performing the creating step and the managing step with the first mainframe, the method further comprising: 
 fulfilling the rental vehicle reservations, and    performing the fulfilling step with the second mainframe.    
     
     
         87 . The method of  claim 83  further comprising fulfilling the rental vehicle reservations.  
     
     
         88 . The method of  claim 87  further comprising: 
 performing the creating step and the providing step by executing a first software program, and    performing the fulfilling step by executing a second software program.    
     
     
         89 . The method of  claim 83  further comprising providing the report for display on the at least one remote purchaser computer through a provided GUI screen in response to the accepted input.  
     
     
         90 . The method of  claim 83  wherein the at least one remote purchaser computer comprises a computer operated by an insurance adjuster.  
     
     
         91 . A computer system for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the computer system being configured to: 
 (1) provide a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers,    (2) accept input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens,    (3) create and make a plurality of transactional changes to a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, each rental vehicle reservation having an authorized number of days,    (4) determine whether any of the rental vehicle reservations have been open beyond the authorized number of days;    (5) determine a number of days behind with respect to the authorized number of days for any rental vehicle reservations that are determined to have been open beyond the authorized number of days; and    (6) provide a report for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, the report comprising the determined number of days behind for a plurality of the rental vehicle reservations.    
     
     
         92 . The system of  claim 91  wherein the computer system is further configured to generate the report such that the rental vehicle reservations described therein are in a sorted order with respect to each reservation's determined number of days behind.  
     
     
         93 . The system of  claim 92  comprising at least one mainframe and an Internet web portal in communication with the at least one mainframe, wherein the Internet web portal is configured to (1) provide the GUI screens for display over the Internet on the remote purchaser computers, (2) accept input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens, and (3) provide the report for display on the at least one remote purchaser computer through a provided GUI screen, and wherein the at least one mainframe is configured to create and make transactional changes to the rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input.  
     
     
         94 . The system of  claim 93  wherein the at least one mainframe comprises a first mainframe and a second mainframe, the second mainframe being configured to fulfill the rental vehicle reservations.  
     
     
         95 . The system of  claim 91  wherein the computer system is further configured to fulfill the rental vehicle reservations.  
     
     
         96 . The system of  claim 95  wherein the computer system is further configured to create and make transactional changes to the rental vehicle reservations through execution of a first software program, and wherein the computer system is further configured to fulfill the rental vehicle reservations through execution of a second software program.  
     
     
         97 . The system of  claim 91  wherein the computer system is further configured to provide the report for display on the at least one remote purchaser computer through a provided GUI screen in response to the accepted input.  
     
     
         98 . A method for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the method comprising: 
 (1) providing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers,    (2) accepting input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens,    (3) creating and making a plurality of transactional changes to a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, each rental vehicle reservation having an authorized number of days,    (4) determining whether any of the rental vehicle reservations have been open beyond the authorized number of days;    (5) determining a number of days behind with respect to the authorized number of days for any rental vehicle reservations that are determined to have been open beyond the authorized number of days; and    (6) providing a report for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, the report comprising the determined number of days behind for a plurality of the rental vehicle reservations.    
     
     
         99 . The method of  claim 98  further comprising generating the report such that the rental vehicle reservations described therein are in a sorted order with respect to each reservation's determined number of days behind.  
     
     
         100 . The method of  claim 99  further comprising: 
 performing the GUI screen providing step, the input accepting step, and the report providing step with an Internet web portal, and    performing the creating step and the transactional change making step with at least one mainframe.    
     
     
         101 . The method of  claim 100  wherein the at least one mainframe comprises a first mainframe and a second mainframe, wherein the step of performing the creating step and the transactional change making step comprises performing the creating step and the transactional change making step with the first mainframe, the method further comprising: 
 fulfilling the rental vehicle reservations, and    performing the fulfilling step with the second mainframe.    
     
     
         102 . The method of  claim 98  further comprising fulfilling the rental vehicle reservations.  
     
     
         103 . The method of  claim 102  further comprising: 
 performing the creating step and the providing step by executing a first software program, and    performing the fulfilling step by executing a second software program.    
     
     
         104 . The method of  claim 98  further comprising providing the report for display on the at least one remote purchaser computer through a provided GUI screen in response to the accepted input.  
     
     
         105 . The method of  claim 98  wherein the at least one remote purchaser computer comprises a computer operated by an insurance adjuster.  
     
     
         106 . A rental vehicle reservation management computer system for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the computer system being configured to: 
 (1) provide a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers,    (2) accept input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens,    (3) create and manage a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, each rental vehicle reservation having an authorized number of days, and    (4) provide a report for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, the report comprising the authorized number of days for a plurality of the rental vehicle reservations.    
     
     
         107 . The system of  claim 106  wherein the computer system is further configured to generate the report such that the rental vehicle reservations described therein are in a sorted order with respect to each reservation's authorized number of days.  
     
     
         108 . A method for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the method comprising: 
 (1) providing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers,    (2) accepting input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens,    (3) creating and managing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, each rental vehicle reservation having an authorized number of days, and    (4) providing a report for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, the report comprising the authorized number of days for a plurality of the rental vehicle reservations.    
     
     
         109 . The method of  claim 108  further comprising generating the report such that the rental vehicle reservations described therein are in a sorted order with respect to each reservation's authorized number of days.  
     
     
         110 . A rental vehicle reservation management computer system for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the computer system being configured to: 
 (1) provide a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers,    (2) accept input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens,    (3) create and manage a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, and    (4) provide a report for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, the report comprising details about the repair facilities where the third parties' vehicles are undergoing repairs.    
     
     
         111 . The system of  claim 110  wherein the computer system is further configured to generate the report such that the repair facility details comprise information, for each repair facility, about a plurality of the rental vehicle reservations corresponding to the third parties' vehicles which are undergoing repairs at that repair facility.  
     
     
         112 . A method for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the method comprising: 
 (1) providing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers,    (2) accepting input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens,    (3) creating and managing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, and    (4) providing a report for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, the report comprising details about the repair facilities where the third parties' vehicles are undergoing repairs.    
     
     
         113 . The method of  claim 112  wherein the computer system is further configured to generate the report such that the repair facility details comprise information, for each repair facility, about a plurality of the rental vehicle reservations corresponding to the third parties' vehicles which are undergoing repairs at that repair facility.  
     
     
         114 . A rental vehicle reservation management computer system for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the computer system being configured to: 
 (1) provide a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers,    (2) accept input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens,    (3) create and manage a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, and    (4) provide a repair facility callback list for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen.    
     
     
         115 . The system of  claim 114  wherein the computer system is further configured to generate the repair facility callback list such that it is sortable with respect to a plurality of open rental vehicle reservations for third party drivers whose vehicle are undergoing repairs at the same repair facility.  
     
     
         116 . A method for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the method comprising: 
 (1) providing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers,    (2) accepting input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens,    (3) creating and managing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, and    (4) providing a repair facility callback list for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen.    
     
     
         117 . The method of  claim 116  further comprising generating the repair facility callback list such that it is sortable with respect to a plurality of open rental vehicle reservations for third party drivers whose vehicle are undergoing repairs at the same repair facility.  
     
     
         118 . A rental vehicle reservation management computer system for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the computer system being configured to: 
 (1) provide a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers,    (2) accept input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens,    (3) create and manage a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, and    (4) provide a plurality of action item lists for display on the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen.    
     
     
         119 . The system of  claim 118  wherein each remote purchaser computer is operated by a user, and wherein the computer system is further configured to (1) assign the rental vehicle reservations to a plurality of different users, and (2) generate a different action item list for each user such that any action items corresponding to a rental vehicle reservation assigned to that user are included in the action item list for that user.  
     
     
         120 . A method for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the method comprising: 
 (1) providing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers,    (2) accepting input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens,    (3) creating and managing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, and    (4) providing a plurality of action item lists for display on the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen.    
     
     
         121 . The method of  claim 120  wherein each remote purchaser computer is operated by a user, the method further comprising: 
 assigning the rental vehicle reservations to a plurality of different users, and    generating a different action item list for each user such that any action items corresponding to a rental vehicle reservation assigned to that user are included in the action item list for that user.    
     
     
         122 . The method of  claim 121  wherein a plurality of the users comprise a plurality of insurance adjusters.  
     
     
         123 . A rental vehicle reservation management computer system for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the computer system being configured to: 
 (1) provide a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers, each remote purchaser computer being operated by a user,    (2) accept input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens,    (3) create and manage a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, each reservation having an associated user who handles management thereof, and    (4) provide a report for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, the report comprising a summary of rental vehicle reservations handled by at least one of the users.    
     
     
         124 . The system of  claim 123  wherein the computer system is further configured to generate the report such that the summarized rental vehicle reservations comprise open rental vehicle reservations.  
     
     
         125 . A method for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the method comprising: 
 (1) providing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers, each remote purchaser computer being operated by a user,    (2) accepting input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens,    (3) creating and managing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, each reservation having an associated user who handles management thereof, and    (4) providing a report for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, the report comprising a summary of rental vehicle reservations handled by at least one of the users.    
     
     
         126 . The method of  claim 125  further comprising generating the report such that the summarized rental vehicle reservations comprise open rental vehicle reservations.  
     
     
         127 . The method of  claim 125  wherein the users comprise a plurality of insurance adjusters.  
     
     
         128 . A method for creating and managing a rental vehicle reservation, the method comprising: 
 (1) accessing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens over the Internet, the accessed GUI screens being configured to establish a link to a rental vehicle software program on a remote computer system,    (2) inputting first data to the remote computer system over the Internet and through an accessed GUI screen, the inputted first data for use by the remote computer system when executing the rental vehicle software program to create a rental vehicle reservation with a rental vehicle service provider on behalf of a third party driver, each rental vehicle reservation having an authorized number of days,    (3) inputting second data to the remote computer system over the Internet and through an accessed GUI screen, and    (4) responsive to the second data inputting step, receiving at least one report for display, the at least one report comprising details about the plurality of rental vehicle reservations including data therefor that identifies at least one selected from the group consisting of (1) the repair facilities where the third parties' vehicles are undergoing repairs, (2) the authorized number of days for the plurality of rental vehicle reservations, and (3) a number of days behind for rental vehicle reservations that have been open for more than the authorized number of days, the number of days behind being calculated as a difference between the number of authorized days for an open rental vehicle reservation and a number of days that that rental vehicle reservation has been open.    
     
     
         129 . The method of  claim 128  further comprising sorting the details within the at least one report according to a sort order.  
     
     
         130 . The method of  claim 128  wherein the at least one report consists of only one report selected from the group, wherein the only one report includes sorted data therefor that identifies the repair facilities where the third parties' vehicles are undergoing repairs.  
     
     
         131 . The method of  claim 128  wherein the at least one report consists of only one report selected from the group, wherein the only one report includes sorted data therefor that identifies the authorized number of days for the plurality of rental vehicle reservations.  
     
     
         132 . The method of  claim 128  wherein the at least one report consists of only one report selected from the group, wherein the only one report includes sorted data therefor that identifies the number of days behind for rental vehicle reservations.  
     
     
         133 . The method of  claim 128  further comprising inputting third data to the remote computer system over the Internet and through an accessed GUI screen, the inputted third data for use by the remote computer system when executing the rental vehicle software program to manage the created rental vehicle reservation.  
     
     
         134 . The method of  claim 128  wherein the accessing step comprises accessing the GUI screens through an Internet web browser.