Balances and deposits
See which folios owe you money, and which folios hold guest money, on any one date.
Two reports look at folios on one date. Outstanding balance lists the folios that owe you money. Deposit liability lists the folios where you hold the guest's money. Use the first to chase payment. Use the second to know what you must give back or use later.
Before you start
- Permission: View and export reports. Owners, managers and finance staff have it by default.
- Both reports show one row for each folio, not for each reservation. A reservation with two folios can show two rows.
- A folio is a bill. See The Folio tab.
Pick a date
Both reports show the folios on one date. They open on the open business date. Use Today, Yesterday, or the date picker.
Estatell adds up every folio line posted up to that date. So a past date shows the balances as they were then.
One thing is not kept by date: Status. It always shows the status of the booking today. When you pick a past date, a note under the title says "Status as of today".
Outstanding balance
Open Reports, then Finance, then Outstanding balance. The list shows the folios with a balance above 0.00 on the date.
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Folio | The folio number. |
| Reservation | The reservation number. |
| Guest / payer | Who pays the folio: the company, else the paying guest, else the person who booked. |
| Arrival, Departure | The dates of the stay. |
| Status | The status today, such as In house or Checked in. |
| Charges | Charges, taxes and adjustments on the folio. |
| Payments | Money paid, minus refunds, shown as a negative figure. |
| Balance | Charges plus Payments. This is what the folio owes. |
| Days since departure | The date minus the departure date, once the guest has left. Empty while the guest is still here. |
The total row adds Charges, Payments and Balance. The list opens with the oldest debts first, because Days since departure is the first sort, largest first.
Chase a late payment
- Open Outstanding balance on today's date.
- Look at Days since departure. A guest who left 10 days ago and still owes money shows 10.
- Note the Reservation and Guest / payer.
- Open the reservation and record the payment on its Folio tab. See Record a payment.
Deposit liability
Open Reports, then Finance, then Deposit liability. The list shows the folios with a balance below 0.00 on the date. That is money you hold for the guest.
A folio is in credit for one of these reasons:
- The guest paid an advance and has not arrived yet.
- An in-house guest paid more than the folio owes.
- A guest left and you owe a refund.
- You hold a security deposit.
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Folio, Reservation, Guest / payer | As in Outstanding balance. |
| Arrival, Departure, Status | As in Outstanding balance. Status is today's status. |
| Received | Payments received on the folio. |
| Refunded | Money given back. |
| Charged | Charges, taxes and adjustments on the folio. |
| Security deposit | The security deposit you still hold, after refunds. |
| Held | The money you hold in all: Received minus Refunded minus Charged. |
The total row adds all five money columns. Held includes the Security deposit. For example, a guest paid MYR 600.00 (an advance of 500.00 and a deposit of 100.00) and the folio has MYR 396.00 of charges. Held is MYR 204.00 and Security deposit is MYR 100.00.
A security deposit is not revenue. Give it back at check-out. See Check out.
Which report shows this folio
| The folio | Outstanding balance | Deposit liability |
|---|---|---|
| Charges MYR 396.00, nothing paid | Yes, 396.00 | No |
| Charges MYR 396.00, paid MYR 396.00 | No | No |
| Advance MYR 500.00, guest not yet here | No | Yes, Held 500.00 |
| In-house guest paid more than the bill | No | Yes |
| Guest left, refund owed | No | Yes |
| Settled to the city ledger | No | No |
| Folio is Voided | No | No |
A folio with a balance of exactly 0.00 is in neither report.
Special cases
| Situation | What happens | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| A folio was settled to the city ledger | Its balance moved to the company, so the folio is at 0.00 and is in neither report. | Use the company's aging. See Aging and statements and Settle to City ledger. |
| You pick a past date | The money is exact for that date. Status is today's status. | Read the note "Status as of today". |
| A folio holds a security deposit and an unpaid bill | The deposit counts as money received, so the balance is lower by the deposit. | Use the folio to see the deposit line. It is on the unit folio. |
| A master or third-party folio | It shows the first arrival and the last departure of its units, and the status of the reservation. | Open the reservation to see each unit. |
| A guest cancelled and you still hold their advance | The folio stays in Deposit liability until the money goes back. | Refund it. See Refund or void a payment. |
| Days since departure is empty | The guest has not left yet, or the departure is after the date you picked. | Nothing. |