How to manage the effects of rate plans on accounting will explain to you how a setting in the Accounting and Policies section in a rate plan impacts your accounting.
During the Rate Plan Setup process, the Accounting and Policies section defines the effects of any reservation booked on this rate plan.
In any setup, these 7 topics need to be considered. We explain the effects of these in the following:
Service Type
Any service type belongs to a Revenue Account in the apaleo Accounting section, number 5000 in Finance > Accounting. Depending on the selected type, a new section Sub Accounts is depicted in this Accounting and Policies section to specify the Accounting handling further.
Effect: Revenues are split by their type (Accommodation, F&B, other) in the accounting section.
VAT Type
Any VAT selection should be made in accordance with advance accounting knowledge. Taxes are displayed on the invoice and split off in the accounting section.
Effect: revenues are split into different types, sub accounts and further into their tax type.
Note: this is raw data an accounting system can use in the general ledger after exporting it from apaleo.
Sub-Account
Predefined Sub-Accounts are integrated in the apaleo Accounting scheme automatically. Custom Sub-Accounts, to deviate in more detail based on the hoteliers needs, can be set in Settings > Finance > Custom Sub-Accounts. Any of these Custom Sub-Accounts can be selected in this Accounting & Policies section.
Effect: when a reservation is paid, the revenue is booked onto the selected sub-account (custom or default).
Note: there are predefined sub-accounts and apaleo knows when to deviate where. Trust me, it does.
Cancellation Policy
If a reservation is cancelled and cancellation policies applies, charges are posted on the folio. This process can be automated in the Settings > Automation section.
Effect: depending on the service type, cancellation revenues are booked onto the Sub Account Cancellation Fees.
Note: Sub Account Cancellation Fee is a Predefined Sub-Account.
No-Show policy
If a reservation is a No-Show and the No-Show policy applies, charges are posted on the folio. This process can be automated in the Settings > Automation section. No-Show Revenue can only be derived from unused services, applicable taxes can be predefined in Rate Plans > Restrictions > No-Show.
Effect: no-show revenues are booked onto the Revenue Sub Account No-Show. If different No-show policies are installed, different sub-accounts in this section are credited.
Minimum guarantee
You can define the minimum guarantee a guest has to provide.
Depending on the guarantee type, a payment account is integrated into the reservation. If it is a prepayment, the credit card is automatically integrated into the folio. If the booking has a credit card as a guarantee, it can be selected on the reservation > folio during the payment process Add payment > Reservations payment account.
Effect: no direct accounting effect.
Note: a payment on the folio effects Payments Account, number 1000 in Finance > Accounting.
Further explanation: Guarantee types in apaleo & How to manage payment accounts
City Tax check box
This is only applicable for hotels where guests need to pay a city tax.
If city taxes are enabled in Settings > Distribution, city taxes are automatically booked onto the Account City Tax 6000 in the Finance > Accounting section. However, should this automation be disabled due to hotel internal preferences, we recommend to create a customer Sub-Account to route these payments to a specific account that can be identified easily. An Other Sub-Account section is recommended.
Effect: if the city tax is paid by the customer, it is automatically routed to Account 6000 or the set custom sub-account.
Now, we hope you can understand the effects of a rate plan on accounting better.
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