The following article explains how to check out a group where some or all charges are being direct billed to a City Ledger Account.
There are two options when it comes to checking out guests with a Group who having billing to a City Ledger 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 the City Ledger in the Front Office manual)
- Use the Check-Out tab 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 tab of the Group Wizard, you will see a list of the group reservations. In the top right hand corner of the screen you will see that this group is setup to direct bill to the City Ledger > Topsail Yachts.
The Prime column represents the charges on Folio 8. If Room Charges (or any incidental charges) are suppose to transfer to the City Ledger 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.
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 City Account.
Once all the Prime boxes are checked, if there is still a Total Due, this indicates that the guest has other incidental charges (ie: telephone, F&B, etc…) on Folio 1 of their guest account. These charges must be addressed one of two ways; obtaining a payment from the guest, or transferring these charges along with the other charges to the City Ledger.
To include these charges in the transfer to the City Ledger, check the Other box beside the appropriate guest name. The Total Due will update to reflect $0.00.
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.
Select the reservations 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 City Ledger 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 City Ledger Account.
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.
