Folio and payments

Folio charges hold a service date, description, amount and status against a reservation. Payments hold a receipt date, amount, reference and their own status. Finance Officer can distinguish a Draft charge from Posted or Voided and a Pending payment from Confirmed or Refunded. A payment is not confirmed merely because a guest has checked out. The separate records make the financial review more precise.

• Charge source. Check the reservation and service date before posting a folio amount.
• Receipt evidence. Use the payment reference and received date when confirming money received.
• Departure comparison. Compare posted charges with confirmed payments and acknowledge any outstanding account.

The Property Manager can follow the reservation from request through checkout while each specialist keeps the record they own up to date. A change to one part of the stay should be checked against the linked records before the next person acts. The team should use the reservation number when discussing a particular visit, especially where a guest has stayed before.

Agree when a charge becomes Posted, who may void an error and what supporting information Finance Officer needs. Decide who confirms payment provider results and how refunds are recorded. Set the correction path for an incorrect amount before the desk begins using the folio at departure.

Keep the first operating cycle small enough that the desk, manager and finance team can check the same case together. Review who can see guest contact details and financial amounts, and test the shift handoff with an arrival and a departure on the same day. A clear owner for each status change matters more than an attractive calendar display.

A guest books two nights and requests an extra service. Finance Officer prepares a Draft folio charge on the reservation with a description and service date. The team checks the amount before posting it. The guest makes a payment, but the payment stays Pending until its receipt is confirmed. At checkout, Finance Officer reviews the Posted charge against Confirmed payments. If the guest has an unpaid balance, the team acknowledges the outstanding account before closing the stay; changing the reservation state does not settle the payment.

Use that case during rehearsal. Have the next person open the linked reservation and explain what they would do, which record they would change, and what evidence they need before doing so. If the decision is still unclear, settle the property rule before relying on the view during a busy shift.

• Folio to review — Find draft stay charges that need financial review.
• Payment follow-up — See pending payments with their dates, amounts and references.

See the operating handoff and implementation for the decisions to rehearse before the property uses this flow.