Steps for a Smooth Balance Check
Understanding Positive and Negative Balances
The Importance of Daily Open Balance Checks
Daily open balance checks are important because they help keep your property’s finances accurate and up-to-date.
By checking balances every day, you can quickly spot and fix any issues like missed charges or unrecorded payments. This prevents financial mistakes, ensures guests are billed correctly, and keeps your financial reports accurate.
Regular balance checks also make sure your property runs smoothly and avoids potential disputes or complications down the line.
Steps for a Smooth Balance Check
Follow these steps to ensure a smooth balance check:
- At the end of each day, create a filtered reservation list using the Advanced filter on the Reservations page.
- Remove any status filters to include reservations of all statuses, including Cancelled and Checked-Out.
- Sort by the departure date and review all reservations with a departure date in the past or before today (e.g., if today is 14/08/2024).
Most reservations should not have an open balance. However, if a balance is not 0, consider the following examples:
- The guest stayed at the hotel but was not checked out in the system.
- A no-show fee was not charged against the pre-paid amount.
- The reservation was cancelled without fees, but the no-show/cancellation refund was not processed.
- The guest departed, but no payment was recorded.
- The guest was allowed to check out "on AR/Accounts Receivables," but no accounts receivable invoice was created.
- Services were only partially paid.
- A service was posted directly on the folio (e.g., with today's business day) even though the guest's arrival is in the future.
Understanding Positive and Negative Balances
Positive balance: Payment posted, but no service—most often due to cancellation or no-show.
Negative balance: Service posted, but no payment or folio closed to AR.