The following article reviews how to check out a group when a House Account (or Posting Master) has been set up, and charges are to be routed to it upon check-out.
There are two options when it comes to checking out guests with a Group that has billing to a House Account:
- Check each guest out individually using the Check-Out button (if you are unsure how to do this please see the article “How to Check-Out a Reservation to a House Account” in the Front Office manual)
- Use the Rooming List Section of the Group Wizard to check multiple guests out at once (see below)
The Group Wizard allows you to check out all (or multiple) guests with a Group at once via the Check-Out section. Group check-out would usually take place when a group is departing all together (ie: tour bus) and all the charges on their account have been covered by their group. If a guest has any incidental charges on their guest folio, which they are responsible for paying, these incidental charges must be settled before you can check-out the guest via the Check-Out section.
When you first enter the Check-Out section of the Group Wizard, you will see a list of the group's reservations. In the top right hand corner of the screen you will see that this group is setup to direct bill to a House Account (ie: House) and the House Account # is 9004.
The Prime Column
The Prime column represents the charges on Folio 8. If Room Charges (or any incidental charges) are suppose to transfer to the House Account upon checkout, then these boxes should already be checked.
NOTE: If they are not checked, use the Refresh button to check all the boxes under the Prime column.
Total Due
Once the Prime boxes are checked the Total Due will change to $0.00 to indicate that the room charges will be transferred to the appropriate House Account.
Additional Incidental Charges
Once all the Prime boxes are checked, if there is still an amount under Total Due, this indicates that the guest has other incidental charges (ie: telephone, F&B, etc…) on Folio 1 of their guest account.
To include these charges in the transfer, check the Other box beside the appropriate guest name.
NOTE: A reservation cannot be checked out via the Group Wizard if there are unpaid incidental charges remaining. Incidental charges can be settled using the Payment button on the right. This opens the Payment window and allows a payment to be taken for the outstanding amount. Once the payment is made, the reservation may then be checked out using the Group Check-Out. Charges may also be settled on the individual folios prior to entering the Group Wizard's Check-Out screen, or the reservation may also be checked out individually.
Check Out
Now select the reservations you wish to check-out by checking the box in the last column over. If you wish to check all boxes at once, use the Select All button to place a check-mark next to all guest reservation.
You now have two options, you can:
- Transfer charges but not check out the rooms just yet
- Transfer charges and check-out all rooms at the same time
Transfer charges but not check-out the rooms just yet:
If you wish to transfer all charges on the Guest Folios to the House Account but NOT check-out the guestrooms, you may select the Transfer button located at the bottom right hand corner of the screen. This will transfer all the charges but leave the guests checked in.
Transfer charges and check-out all rooms at the same time:
If you wish to transfer all charges and check-out all rooms at the same time, select the Check-Out button located at the bottom right hand corner of the screen.
A message will appear notifying you that the transaction was successfully completed. All reservations are now successfully checked out of the PMS and all selected charges have been transferred to the House Account.
Now that all charges have been transferred to the House Account, you have two options when checking out the House Account:
- Place a payment on the House Account and then checkout the House Account room.
- Transfer charges on House Account to a City Ledger Account and then checkout House Account (NOTE: This situation would only occur if a group decided they wanted to be invoiced for their bill AFTER charges had already transferred to a House Account)
Place a payment on the House Account and then checkout the House Account room
Click on the Check-Out section of the Group Wizard and proceed to the House Accounts tab.
Select the House Account under the House Accounts section (ensure the black arrow is pointing towards the House Account) and select the Payment button.
Enter the selected method of payment and select OK/Exit to post the payment.
NOTE: The Amount will automatically populate with the total of all charges on the House Account.
The Print Folio button can be used to print a copy of the Group Bill.
Sample of House Account bill:
NOTE: A House Account bill shows only the Res ID from each guestroom, and does not show the actual guest's names.
Finally select the Check-Out button to checkout the House Account.
Transfer charges on House Account to a City Ledger Account and then checkout House Account
REMINDER: This situation would only occur if a group decided they wanted to be invoiced for their bill AFTER charges had already transferred to the House Account
First, you must attach a City Ledger Account to the Group under the Primary Section > Contact & Billing Info tab.
Next, return to the Check-Out section of the Group Wizard and proceed to the House Accounts tab.
Ensure the black arrow is pointing towards the House Account under the House Accounts column and check the box next to Use City Account. Next, press the Check-Out button.
All charges that were located on the House Account have now been transferred to the City Ledger Account. A message will appear to let you know that the transaction was successfully completed.
The group may now be invoiced for the amount owing.
Additional functions within the Group Wizard Check-Out section:
From the Check-Out screen of the Group Wizard, it is possible to view additional information for each of the reservations in the Group using the buttons on the right.
- View Details - this button can be used to view the details of the charges on the guests account. If the incidental charge is to be covered by City Account then there will be a checkmark under the “Check” column. If there is no checkmark then this indicates that this charge is to be paid for by the guest.
- Payment – this allows you to place a payment for the incidental charge directly on the guests account without having to exit the Group Wizard.
- Print Folio – allows you to print the folio after the incidental Payment has been made
- House Account Tab – for group’s setup with House Account billing.
