General Settings holds the core configuration that shapes how VEVS Car Rental Software behaves across the board — from the maps shown when you set up a location to the email account used to send messages to customers. It is a short page with two important sections, and getting both right early saves a great deal of troubleshooting later. This guide walks through each field, the connection test, and the practical decisions behind them.
What General Settings covers
The page is the central place for two areas of platform-wide behaviour: the Map Provider, which decides how maps are displayed and how addresses are suggested, and the Email Account (SMTP), which is the outgoing mail server used for reservation and other notification emails. Neither setting belongs to a single vehicle or a single booking. They apply to the whole system, which is why they live together under one heading.
Because both are foundational, a mistake here tends to surface in many places at once: addresses that will not suggest, maps that do not render, or customers who never receive their booking confirmation.
Where to access it
In the admin area, open the left menu Settings and choose General Settings. The page is titled GENERAL SETTINGS and contains the two sections described below, followed by a single save action.
Map Provider
This section controls which map service the software uses. There are two choices and one conditional field.
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Provider | Choose between OpenStreetMap and Google Maps. |
| API key | The key used for map rendering and address suggestions. This field is shown only when Google Maps is selected. |
Choosing a provider
OpenStreetMap requires no API key and is a straightforward choice when you want maps and address suggestions without managing credentials. Google Maps requires an API key, and the field appears only once that provider is selected, so the page does not ask you for credentials you do not need. If you switch back to OpenStreetMap, the key field is hidden again.
Whichever you choose, the setting affects the maps used when you set up a location and the address suggestions staff see while doing so. It is therefore worth confirming the choice before you build out your locations, rather than changing it after the team has become used to one behaviour.
Email Account (SMTP)
This section sets up the outgoing mail server used for customer emails. The fields mirror the details your email service provides, so the easiest approach is to have that information open when you sit down to configure it.
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| SMTP Host | The mail server domain or hostname provided by your email service. |
| SMTP Port | The connection port. Common ports are 587 (TLS), 465 (SSL), and 25 (no encryption or internal). |
| Encryption | The encryption required by your provider: None, TLS, or SSL. |
| SMTP Username | Usually your full mailbox address, or the SMTP login issued by your provider. |
| SMTP Password | The password or app password for that mailbox. The field is masked as you type. |
| From Email | The sender address shown to customers in reservation emails. |
| From Name | The human-readable sender name, such as your company or brand name. |
Why the sender fields matter
The SMTP details get the message out, but the From Email and From Name decide how the message is recognised when it arrives. A sender name that matches your rental brand, paired with a mailbox your customers might plausibly reply to, makes a booking confirmation look like a normal business email rather than an anonymous system message.
Testing the email connection
Click Test Connection in the Email Account (SMTP) section to check that your settings work. A dialog titled SMTP Test Connection opens with two steps.
- Enter the address in Send test email to. Leave it empty to send to your own logged-in email address.
- Click Send Test Email.
If the test succeeds, a confirmation message is shown. A full communication log is also displayed so you can see exactly what happened during the send. That log is the most useful part of the test: when something fails, it shows the conversation between the software and the mail server rather than just a generic error, which makes a mis-typed port or a mismatched encryption setting much easier to spot.
Test before you rely on the settings. A successful save does not by itself prove that mail is being delivered — the connection test is what confirms it.
How to save
- Open Settings → General Settings.
- Choose your Map Provider and, if using Google Maps, paste the API key.
- Enter your Email Account (SMTP) details.
- Click Save Settings.
When saved successfully, the message "Settings saved successfully." appears. Tell your team when the map provider or the sender identity changes, so nobody is surprised at the counter.
Permissions and trial limits
- The Save Settings button and editing are only available to users with permission to update these settings; otherwise the page is shown read-only.
- The API key field appears only when Google Maps is selected; it is hidden for OpenStreetMap.
- On a trial environment, the Google Maps API key and SMTP settings are locked and cannot be changed.
- The SMTP Password is masked as you type, so it is not displayed on screen while being entered.
Why these two settings deserve attention
Maps and email are the quiet infrastructure of an online rental business. Maps help staff place locations accurately and help customers understand where they are collecting a vehicle. Email carries the reservation confirmation and the other notifications that keep a booking moving. Neither is glamorous, but a fault in either is immediately visible to customers, and both are easier to configure carefully once than to debug under pressure.
Practical use cases
Opening a new branch
Before adding a location, confirm which map provider you are using. If it is Google Maps, have the API key ready so the address field behaves as expected from the first attempt rather than halfway through setup.
Moving to a branded mailbox
When your business starts using a professional mailbox, update the SMTP details, the from-address, and the from-name together, then run a test. Doing all four in one sitting avoids a period where messages are sent from an old identity.
Handling a deliverability problem
If customers report missing emails, start here. Re-run the connection test and read the communication log before changing anything else; the log usually identifies the failing step.
Separating duties
In a larger team, give edit permission only to the administrator who manages infrastructure. Everyone else can view the page read-only, which reduces the chance of an accidental change to a working configuration.
Configuration considerations
Port and encryption must agree. The common pairings are port 587 with TLS, port 465 with SSL, and port 25 for no encryption or internal relay. If the test fails, check that pair first, then the username and password. If your mailbox uses multi-factor authentication, an app password is usually required in the SMTP Password field instead of the regular account password.
Decide whether the From Email should be the same mailbox used for authentication. Many providers expect them to match, and a mismatch is a common cause of rejected or filtered mail. Choose a From Name that a customer will recognise instantly — your trading name is almost always better than an internal system label.
Best practices
- After entering your SMTP details, always use Test Connection to confirm emails are being sent before relying on them for customer bookings.
- If your mailbox uses multi-factor authentication, use an app password rather than your regular account password.
- Send the first test to your own address so you can inspect the sender name and formatting as a customer would.
- Restrict edit permission to the people responsible for infrastructure.
- Re-test after any provider, mailbox, or DNS change, even if nothing on this page was edited.
Conclusion
General Settings is a short page that carries a lot of weight. The map provider shapes how locations are set up and displayed, and the SMTP account determines whether customers actually receive the emails your business depends on. Configure both deliberately, test the mail connection rather than assuming it, and keep editing permission tight. Once these two foundations are right, the rest of the platform has a much better chance of behaving the way your customers expect.