GHOP2043

TOPIC 4 PART 2
GUEST ACCOUNTING MODULE
AND NIGHT AUDIT 1
 GUEST ACCOUNTING
MODULE
Learning Objectives:
• To identify the features and functions of the
guest accounting module of a hotel PMS
• To describe the different types of folios that a
guest accounting module may use to monitor
transactions
• To identify the role and function of night audit
• To explain how managers can use the reports
generated by this module
2
 INTRODUCTION
• A guest accounting module processes and
monitors financial transactions that occur
between the guest and the hotel
• When remote POS devices throughout the
hotel are interfaced with this module, guest
charges are communicated to front office and
automatically posted to electronic guest folios
• This module is the most critical component of
the front office system 3
 BASIC RESPONSIBILITIES OF A
CASHIER
• Although cashiers work in front office, they are
members of accounting department
• Duties of the cashier sometimes blended into front
desk agent
• Responsibilities include:
• Posting charges (recording them on guest bills)
• Presenting final statements
• Resolving protests by departing guests
• Handling cash & credit card transactions
4
 GUEST ACCOUNTING
MODULE
• The guest accounting module gives mgmt
considerable control over financial aspects of the
hotel guest cycle
• It provides automated guest billing where
transactions are printed on guest folio upon
check-out
• This module is primarily responsible for:
• Online charge postings
• Automatic file updating and maintenance
• Folio display / printing upon demand 5
 GUEST ACCOUNTING
MODULE
• The sequence of activities involved in the
process of guest accounting is:
• Check-in
• Account creation
• Account entry
• Account posting
• Account update
• Account settlement
• Check-out 6
 TYPES OF ACCOUNTS /
FOLIOS
• The PMS ensures that pre-registration folios are
prepared for guests arriving with reservations
• Pre-registration folios are typically produced by
the reservations module, when a reservation
record is created
• When guests arrive without reservations, front
desk enter the data into the guest accounting
module at check-in
• Data elements needed to create folio are referred
to as header information 7
 TYPES OF ACCOUNTS /
FOLIOS
Header elements for creating Common types of accounts /
folio: folios :
•Guest name •Individual folios
•Street address •Master folios
•Email address •Non-guest folios (city or city-
ledger accounts)
•Room number
•Folio number •Employee folios
•Control folios
•Semi-permanent folios
•Permanent folios 8
 INDIVIDUAL FOLIOS

• Individual folios
• Referred to as room folios / guest
folios
• Assigned to in-house guests to
record their financial transactions
9
 MASTER FOLIOS

• Referred to as group folios

• Applies to more than one guest room
• Records transactions not posted to individual folios
• Billing service for groups & conventions
• Example: UUM room charges billed to master folio
but F&B charges to individual guests
10
 NON-GUEST FOLIOS
• Non-guest folios (city/city-ledger account)
• Individuals or companies who have in-house
charge privileges but are not registered guests
at the hotel
• They have pre-establish credit in order to use
hotel facilities
• Non-guest account numbers assigned at the
time the accounts are created and may be
printed on special account cards
• When charging to non-guest accounts, cashiers
may request to see account card
11
 NON-GUEST FOLIOS
• Non-guest folios (continued)
• Posting transactions to non-guest folio similar
to individual folios
• Difference between non-guest & individual
folio is the account settlement
• Individual folios are settled at time of check-
out
• For non-guest accounts, terms of settlement
defined at time of account creation (monthly
payment, half-yearly)
• Settlement means bringing an active account
to zero 12
 EMPLOYEE FOLIOS

• Employee folios
• Charge privileges sometimes offered
to employees
• Process is similar to non-guest folio
• Records employee purchases,
compute discounts, separate
authorized business charges from
personal expenditures
13
 CONTROL FOLIOS

• Control folios
• Used for each revenue centre to track all
transactions posted to other folios (master,
individual, non-guest, employee)
• Basis for double-entry accounting & cross-
checking balances of all folios

14
 SEMI-PERMANENT FOLIOS
• Semi-permanent folios
• Used to track “bill to” accounts
receivable
• Eg. Guest who establishes credit
privileges prior to check-in allowed to
settle folio balance by billing a
sponsoring organization
• Front desk agent transfers guest folio
balance to semi-permanent folio
15
 PERMANENT FOLIOS
• Permanent folios
• Track guest folio balances that are settled
using credit cards
• Permanent folio established for each
entity with which a hotel has contractual
payment program
• Eg. Visa card, Master card, American
Express, Diners Club
• When guest charges a folio balance to
credit card, guest accounting module
transfers the balance to the appropriate
16

permanent folio
 POSTING TO ACCOUNTS
• Account entries can be made from terminals at
front desk , from remote POS that interface with
PMS and from the guest accounting module itself
• Most guest accounting module rely on specific
data entry requirements to ensure amounts are
properly posted to appropriate folios
• Data entry requirements consists of:
• Room no. (or account no. for non-guest)
• Identification code
• Reference code
• Charge total 17
 POSTING TO ACCOUNTS
• After room number is entered, identification
code (ID) is required
• Identification code enables guest accounting
module to post a charge to the correct folio when
multiple accounts exist under the same room
number
• Before a charge is posted to a folio, reference
code is also needed, which is the serial number
of a departmental source document
• The departmental source code helps the module
to analyze account entries made by individual
employees through POS terminals 18
 POSTING TO ACCOUNTS
• Final data entry requirement is to input the
amount of the charge
• Before accepting a charge and posting it to
folio, the module starts a credit
monitoring routine
• This routine compares the current folio
balance with the house limit (credit limit
set by management)
• This ensures the outstanding balances
during a guest’s stay do not exceed the
account’s credit limit 19
 POSTING TO ACCOUNTS
• When in-house guests make charge
purchases during their stay at the hotel,
they are usually asked to present room
keycard
• If guest presents a keycard for an
unoccupied room (an account with no-
post status) or a guest account that has
been settled, the system will not permit
cashier to post the charge
20
 NIGHT AUDIT
• Each night, various tasks such as automatically
posting the room charge to each guest’s account
must be performed
• All the accounts must be cross-checked to
ensure that everything balances
• The tasks were traditionally carried out
manually by a team of night auditors
• Each guest folio would have to be examined in
turn, the quoted room rate found, the charge
posted & the new balance due calculated
• Then night audit module of the PMS automates
these procedures and uses the computer for
accuracy & reliability 21
 NIGHT AUDIT
• Common procedures carried out during
night audit:
• Posting room & tax
• Changing the system date
• Performing system back-ups
• Printing historical reports
• Printing operational materials for the
next day
22
 ACCOUNT SETTLEMENT
• Ability to print clear, itemized guest
statements may significantly reduce guest
disputes about folio charges
• Eg. If guest finds out discrepancy about
telephone charge on her folio, cashier can
locate the record for the phone call and verify
the room number from which the call was
made
• System update routines can be programmed to
generate pre-printed folios for guests expected
to check-out that day
• Pre-printing folios speeds up check-out
procedures & minimizes guest discrepancies 23
GUEST ACCOUNTING REPORTS
• Guest accounting modules can produce
statements and reports summarizing financial
transactions that occur between the guests and
the hotel, activities within the revenue centres
and audit findings
• Ledger summary report
• Present guest, non-guest and credit card
activities by beginning balance, cumulative
charges and credits
• Revenue centre report
• Show cash, charge and paid-out totals by
dept 24
GUEST ACCOUNTING REPORTS
• Guest check control report
• Compare guest checks used in
revenue outlets (F&B) with source
documents to identify discrepancies
• Transfer report
• Shows transfers to non-guest (city
ledgers) from guest accounts

25
 SUMMARY
• The guest accounting module tracks all
guest charges and payments, producing
the final guest bill
• The ability to produce a bill that is
accurate indicates to guests whether they
have stayed in an efficient hotel or not
• The efficiency of a computerized system
allows for the correction, adjustment
and transfer of charges
26