Folio and payments

Each reservation has a folio: the charges for the stay and the services used, each with a service date, description and amount. Charges start as drafts when they are added at check-in or during the stay, become posted when they are final, and can be voided when they do not apply. A draft charge is never treated as money owed or received; it is a line waiting to be confirmed.

Guest payments are recorded against the reservation with the date received, amount and reference. A payment is pending until the accounts clerk confirms it against the bank or card statement, and can later be refunded. Checkout reconciles posted charges against confirmed payments only. A pending payment does not settle a folio, however likely it is to clear.

The front desk posts charges; the accounts clerk confirms payments.

• Draft, then posted. Charges are reviewed before they are posted, and voided rather than deleted when wrong.
• Confirmed means confirmed. Only payments confirmed by the accounts clerk count toward the balance.
• Checkout reconciles. Checkout compares posted charges with confirmed payments for the stay, without changing payment status.

Agree which charges are added automatically at check-in and which are added during the stay. Agree who can void a posted charge and what reason is needed. Decide how payments are confirmed (from the card processor, the bank statement or both) and who approves refunds. Card processing and accounting stay in your existing systems. Prepare examples of a prepaid stay, a stay with extra services, a part-paid booking and a refund.

A guest prepaid their stay by bank transfer and added two massages during the week. At checkout the folio shows the stay charges and the two massage charges as posted. The transfer was confirmed by the accounts clerk on arrival, but a card payment for the massages taken that morning is still pending. The front desk can see the difference and asks the accounts clerk to confirm it before closing the stay, rather than assuming it went through.

• Unposted folio charges — Draft charges waiting to be posted.
• Pending payments — Payments waiting for confirmation.

• Folio and payment reconciliation: From draft charges to a settled stay.

Plan integrations with your card processor and accounting system.