Manual Billing

Introduction

Guest’s bill (folio) is a record of financial transaction between a guest and the Hotel. Guest bills are
opened during the arrival stage and typically closed during the departure stage. Guest bill (fig 16.1)
is opened by the receptionist by simply recording the Guest’s name, Room no., date of arrival, date
of departure, terms and the Guest Signature on it. The necessary information is obtained from the
registration card. Vouchers (bills) are documents used to transmit transaction information from the
sources of transaction to the front office. A common use of vouchers is to notify the front office of
guest charge purchases at the hotel’s revenue outlets generally most of the vouchers are receiving
from the Food and Beverage department. Usually a guest bill (folio) consists of seven columns
concerning maximum length of guest stay and each column represents all the charges of a guest or a
group for that particular day.

Procedure of generating Restaurant and Bar bills.

Prior to opened a Restaurant or Bar bill should raised respectively Kitchen Order Ticket (KOT) and
Bar Order Ticket (BOT).

Kitchen Order Ticket (KOT)

XYZ Hotel (Pvt) Ltd
K.O.T

(Fig 16.2)

TABLE NO: WAITER NO: DATE:

NO. OF COVER: ROOM NO: TIME: The KOT (fig.16.2) system is also known as
QTY. DESCRIPTION CHAIR NO: the Triplicate checking system. This comes
in book form and has three identical copies
of three different colours and is serial
numbered for control purposes. In the
operation of the triplicate check system, the
food is issued from the kitchen only when
the top copy of the KOT is given to the
251 Aboyeur(barker) and 2nd copy goes to the
cashier for billing purposes and third copy
remains in the book for reference purposes. It is the duty of the night auditor to check all three
copies in order to satisfy that money has been received for food that has been issued.

1
Bar Order Ticket (BOT)

XYZ Hotel (Pvt) Ltd

B.O.T
(Fig.16.3)

TABLE NO: WAITER NO: DATE: The same procedure is adopted at

NO. OF COVER: ROOM NO: TIME:
QTY. DESCRIPTION CHAIR NO: the Bar where the waiter has to
raise a BOT in order to collect
beverages from the Bar. Here the
barman collects the BOT and
issues the beverages (fig 16.3) and
the second copy goes to the
cashier and third copy remains in
3654
the book for reference. The night
auditor checks all three copies to
ensure the accuracy of the bills.

In some cases the same Order Ticket Book is used both for Food & Beverages, and is
called the Captains Order Ticket

Posting Charges
The process of recording transactions from outlet bills to guest folio is called posting. When bills
are received at the reception from different revenue outlets e.g. Restaurant (Fig.16:4), Bar
(Fig.16:5), Laundry(Fig16.6), Telephone bill(Fig16.7) ect., That Should be sorted out departmental
wise and Room number order and amounts calculated and transferred to the particular guest folio
under the relevant columns.

When processing vouchers they are arranged in room number order for posting. All vouchers
belonging to the same category are totaled for each room number and the total is entered under the
particular heading of the guest folio.
Vouchers should be first checked to see whether the same guest signature appears for the same
room number and also should be checked individually and collectively for mistakes in additions.
The posting should be done only after the vouchers are checked properly.

When maintaining guest bills of resident guests (fig.16.8) it is necessary to maintain it as a running
account. Before posting daily charges the bills of all running accounts e.g. bills passed on from the
previous day, are updated by bringing forward the previous days balance. This means that the
previous days total is brought forward and entered on the balance brought forward column of the
current day. This is usually done late at night as the sales activities are at a minimum level.

The entries made on the debit columns should be in respect of charges on the guest, while entries
made on the credit columns should be deductions from the guest’s charges e.g. discounts, cash
advances paid etc., the total credits are added at the end of the credit column.

2
XYZ HOTEL (PVT) LTD.
P.O Box 120

ROOM NO
124,Srimath Kuda Rathwaththa Mawatha,
Kandy. Sri Lanka
R/C NO.
Telephone 081-65416548484 Bill No: 041684 VOUCHER NO

Name________________________________________________________________________ CHILDRENS

ADULTS

Adderss ______________________________________________________ Arrival Departure No. of Pax

BASIS : RO-BB-HB-FB-AI
BASIC-RO/BB/HB/FB

DATE

APARTMENT ONLY
BED & BREAKFAST
HALF BOARD
FULL BOARD
BREAKFAST
LUNCH
DINNER
A LA CARTE
LIQUOR
CIGARETTES
LAUNDRY
TELEPHONE

SERVICE CHARGE 10%

ROOM SERVICE
CORKAGE
BILLIARDS
BOATING
VEHICLE HIRE

TAX %

DAY’S TOTAL

AMOUNT B/F(Debit)

(Credit)

GRAND TOTAL

LESS ADVANCE DEPOSIT

LESS COMMISSION
LESS DISCOUNT
LESS CASH PAID
LESS CREDIT CARD PAYMENT

BALANCE DUE

VAT NO: 0000012-7000

………………………………… ……………………………….
GUEST SIGNATURE CASHIER SIGNATURE

(Fig. 16.1)

3
XYZ HOTEL (PVT) LTD.   RESTAURANT BILL
P.O Box 120
124,Srimath Kuda Rathwaththa Mawatha,
Kandy. Sri Lanka Date………………………
Telephone 081-65416548484

BILL NO: 9564 STEWARD NO:

ROOM NO: TABLE NO:
K.O.T NO:
CASH/ CREDIT

DESCRIPTION QTY RATE VALUE

TOTAL
SERVICE CHARGE 10%
TAXES
TOTAL BILL

VAT NO: 0000012-7000

……………………….
Guest signature

( Fig.16.4)

XYZ HOTEL (PVT) LTD.   BEVERAGE BILL

P.O Box 120
124,Srimath Kuda Rathwaththa Mawatha,
Kandy. Sri Lanka Date………………………
Telephone 081-65416548484

BILL NO: 258 STEWARD NO:

ROOM NO: TABLE NO:
B.O.T NO:
CASH/ CREDIT

DESCRIPTION QTY RATE VALUE

TOTAL
SERVICE CHARGE 10%
TAXES
TOTAL BILL

VAT NO: 0000012-7000

……………………….
Guest signature

(Fig 16.5)

4
XYZ HOTEL (PVT) LTD.   LAUNDRY BILL
P.O Box 120
124,Srimath Kuda Rathwaththa Mawatha,
Kandy. Sri Lanka Date………………………
Telephone 081-65416548484

BILL NO: 03564

ROOM NO: ROOM BOY:

DESCRIPTION QTY RATE VALUE

TOTAL
SERVICE CHARGE 10%
TAXES
TOTAL BILL

VAT NO: 0000012-7000

……………………….
Guest signature

(Fig.16.6)

XYZ HOTEL (PVT) LTD.   TELEPHONE BILL

P.O Box 120
124,Srimath Kuda Rathwaththa Mawatha,
Kandy. Sri Lanka Date………………………
Telephone 081-65416548484

BILL NO: 0023

ROOM NO: CASH/ CREDIT

TELEPHONE NO: UNITS RATE VALUE

TOTAL
SERVICE CHARGE 10%
TAXES
TOTAL BILL

VAT NO: 0000012-7000

GUEST SIGNATURE ---------------------------

(Fig. 16.7)

5
XYZ HOTEL (PVT) LTD.
P.O Box 120

304
ROOM NO
124, Srimath Kuda Rathwaththa Mawatha,
Kandy. Sri Lanka R/C NO. 0224
Telephone 081-65416548484 Bill No: 041684 VOUCHER NO 5012

Name : MR/MRS. A.Perera CHILDRENS 00

ADULTS 02
Address : C/O ABC Tours, 48/1 Dicmen’s Road,
Colombo.
VAT N O: 0000012-7000 Arrival Departure No. of Pax
08-04-05 11-04-05 02
Basis : R0-BB-HB-FB (3Nts)
DATE 08-04-05 09-04-05 10-04-05 11-04-05
ROOM ONLY
BED & BREAKFAST
HALF BOARD 5000 00 5000 00 5000 00
FULL BOARD
BREAKFAST
LUNCH
DINNER
A LA CARTE 500 00 1000 00 1600 00 1200 00
LIQUOR 2300 00 4200 00
CIGARETTES
LAUNDRY
TELEPHONE 200 00 600 00

5700 00 8300 00 10800 00 1800 00

Sub Total
SERVICE CHARGE 10% 570 00 830 00 1080 00 180 00
ROOM SERVICE
CORKAGE
BILLIARDS 200 00
BOATING
VEHICLE HIRE 6000 00

TAX 10 % 627 00 933 00 1188 00 798 00

DAY’S TOTAL 6897 00 10263 00 13068 00 8778 00

AMOUNT B/F (Debit)

1897 00 12160 00 25228 00

(Credit)

GRAND TOTAL 6897 00 12160 00 25228 00 34006 00

LESS ADVANCE DEPOSIT 5000 00
LESS COMMISSION
LESS DISCOUNT
LESS CASH PAID
LESS CREDIT CARD PAYMENT 4000 00
BALANCE DUE
1897 00 30006 00

…………………………… ……………………………….
GUEST SIGNATURE CASHIER SIGNATURE
(Fig. 16.8)

6
Process of guest folio

Hotel allows in house guests to sign the vouchers and to settle at the time of departure these
vouchers are called credit vouchers, when the cashier receives these from the different revenue
departments they should be follow the following procedure in order process guest folio.

1. Arrange the bills/vouchers departmental wise e.g. put all room service bills together
separating from other vouchers.
2. Sort out departmental bills room wise in terms of floors e.g.100 line 200 lines starting with
101, 201.
3. Put these bills in pigeonholes especially made for credit bills according to the room numbers.
4. When preparing guest folios take all bills/vouchers pertaining to one floor at a time e.g. 1st
floor 100 lines and take out the guest folios from the guest pigeonholes pertaining to that
particular floor.
5. Determine the room number and guest signature by comparing the bills/vouchers against the
particular guest folio.
6. Checked the totals of credit vouchers before posting to the guest folios.

Posting guest’s miscellaneous or sundry charges (fig.16.9) such as follows;

1. Health club
2. Barber shop
3. Beauty saloon
4. Pastry shop
5. Other banquet charges
6. Secretarial service charges
7. Postal charges
8. Laundry
(Fig. 16.9)

XYZ HOTEL (PVT) LTD.   SUNDRY SALES

P.O Box 120
124,Srimath Kuda Rathwaththa Mawatha,
Kandy. Sri Lanka Date………………………
Telephone 081-65416548484

BILL NO: 0023

ROOM NO: CASH/ CREDIT

DESCRIPTION NO. OF ITEMS RATE VALUE

TOTAL
SERVICE CHARGE 10%
TAXES
TOTAL BILL

VAT NO: 0000012-7000

……………………….
Guest signature

7
 Once all credit vouchers posted to guest folio should calculated all credit vouchers
individually and the total figure should be tally with guest folio. And the total credits are deducted
from the total debits the balance remains in the forward balance which means that is the net amount
that will be carried forward for the next day, e.g. If the guest has paid an advanced deposit it is
considered as a credit and should be entered in the credit column and should be deducted from the
total debits and balance should carried forward to the next day or should settled by guest on that
day.
The charges to the travel agent in respect of facilities provided to a group will be presented on one
guest bill irrespective of the number of rooms sold, the amounts charged depends on a prior
agreement between the hotel and the travel agency. The charges are posted in a similar manner as
for individuals. However, charges to be paid by the travel agency/company, should be checked with
the given contract rates. When guest bills are prepared for a group this is referred to as a group bill.
When group clients make use of facilities not paid by the travel agency they have to be charged to
the respective guests personal accounts. These bills are referred to as extra bills as they are outside
the normal group arrangements.

Travel agent bills

When hotels deal with travel agencies, hotels have to negotiate, for rates for season and off season
periods. These contracts may have a validity period and after that the hotel can review the rates
according to hotel standards.
When guest bills are to be settled by travel agents, all bills should be prepared according to the
given instructions e.g. meal plan, extra charges ect.. Travel agents send vouchers (fig 16.10) by
indicating all the billing instructions and the guest bill should forward along with the copy of the
travel agent voucher to the respective travel agency for settlement.

Finalizing Guest bills for night departures

As all guest accounts must be settled at the time of check-out the guest bills for night departures
should be presented before the end of the day.

When the night departure is known, steps should be taken to check the bills of departing guests
before the other bills. This prevents the guest being undercharge or overcharged. In both instances
the hotel may be the looser; it will either loose the money or the customer. By finalizing the bills
beforehand, lesser time will be consumed at the time of departure. When presenting bills for night
departure, make sure to collect all the bills or credit vouchers from the outlets.

8
XYZ HOTEL (PVT) LTD.
P.O Box 120

124, Srimath Kuda Rathwaththa Mawatha, 204
ROOM NO
Kandy. Sri Lanka
Telephone 081-65416548484 Bill No: 041684 R/C NO. 0223
VOUCHER NO 0012
Name : MR/MRS. A.Paz CHILDRENS 00
ADULTS 02
Address : C/O ABC Tours, 48/1 Dicmen’s Road,
Colombo.
VAT N O: 0000012-7000 Arrival Departure No. of
Pax
08-04-05 09-04-05 02
Basis : R0-BB-HB-FB
DATE 08-04-05
ROOM ONLY
BED & BREAKFAST
HALF BOARD
FULL BOARD 8400 00
BREAKFAST
LUNCH
DINNER
A LA CARTE
LIQUOR
CIGARETTES
LAUNDRY
TELEPHONE

8400 00

SERVICE CHARGE 10%

ROOM SERVICE
CORKAGE
BILLIARDS
BOATING
VEHICLE HIRE

TAX %

DAY’S TOTAL 8400 00

AMOUNT B/F (Debit)

(Credit)

GRAND TOTAL 8400 00

LESS ADVANCE DEPOSIT
LESS COMMISSION
LESS DISCOUNT
LESS CASH PAID
LESS CREDIT CARD PAYMENT

BALANCE DUE
8400 00

…………………………… ……………………………….
GUEST SIGNATURE CASHIER SIGNATURE
(Fig. 16.10)

9
Discounts

Hotel may have various discount schemes. Discounts are considered as credits, which have to
deduct from debits in order to get the balance due. Discounts may be granted only for rooms or
beverages or food or may be for all charges.

1. Disccunt could be deducted prior to the calculation of sub total, then it will not effect to the
service charge or tax calculations e.g.1. If the room charge as given
Rs.4000.00 and discount granted 10% on room then can be worked out as follows (fig.16.11).

2. Discount could be deducted after adding the service charge and tax, then the discount for the
room has to be calculated for room, food, beverage or all ROOM CHARGES 3600 00
charges and for that discount amount service charge and tax
should be added and then deducted from the grand total. E.g 2
method of calculation shown (fig.16.12) & (Fig.16.13) as for
the same room charge and discount given in e.g: 1
SUB TOTAL 3600 00
In the both occasions after deducting the discount final S/C 10% 360 00
amount to be settled will be the same.

TAX 10% 396 00

Fig-16:12 TOTAL 4356 00
ROOM CHARGES 4000 00
DISCOUNT
Fig.16.11
Fig-16:13
BALANCE DUE 4356 00
ROOM CHARGES 3000 00
REST 1000 00
SUB TOTAL 4000 00
BAR 2000 00
S/C 10% 400 00

SUB TOTAL 6000 00

TAX 10% 440 00
S/C 10% 600 00
TOTAL 4840 00
DISCOUNT 10% 484 00

TAX 10% 660 00

BALANCE DUE 4356 00
TOTAL 7260 00
DISCOUNT 10% 726 00

BALANCE DUE 6534 00

10
Net Rate

Net rate means that the rate consists of service charge and tax. It may be Room only or BB or HB or
FB or All-inclusive rate. If the FB rate given as a net rate and need to get the gross amount (without
service charge and tax) method of creating a formula is stated below. In order to derive a formula,
always unit price considered as Rs 100.00, and service charge and tax percentages could be taken
according to the given percentages. I f the service charge is 10% and tax is 10% following formula
could be worked out to get the gross rate from any given net rate.

Unit price 100.00

Add Service charge 10% 10.00
______
110.00
Add Tax 10% 11.00
______
Total = 121.00

= 121/100

= 1.21

Gross rate = Net Rate / 1.21

Any given net rate (according to the above given SC and Tax percentages) should be divided by
1.21 in order to get the gross rate (Net rate/1.21)
Subsequently this method could be adopted to get the gross rate for any given net rate even the
service charge and tax percentages are varying.

Receiving settlement of guests’ bills

When receiving settlement of guest bills the amount of cash required if paid in foreign
currency should be first changed to local currency. The normal procedure should be
adopted as same when handling foreign currency encashment. An official receipt with a
stamp signed on it is issued for the cash received (Fig.16.14).

Making cash payments as required

The only occasion when cash payments are made out to guests is when the guests request
disbursements (a temporary loan paid out). A disbursement voucher is duly signed by the guest
when ever such a payment is made. This amount is charged to the guest in the guest Folio. Another
occasion cash payments are made on vouchers these may be petty cash vouchers.

Checking Cash Records:

A cash record originates from a cash transaction. Bills, vouchers, receipts and disbursements
vouchers (Fig.16.15) could be identified as cash records. It is important to check each and every
11
entry made on cash record. The balance indicated on a cash record should represent the actual cash
in hand or the net collection of the day.
When checking the actual cash in hand is compared with the balance work-out by the cash record.
The person handling cash is responsible for any discrepancy detected.

XYZ HOTEL (PVT) LTD.  

P.O Box 120 NO: 32645
124,Srimath Kuda Rathwaththa Mawatha,
Kandy. Sri Lanka Date………………………
Telephone 081-65416548484

Received from……………………………………………………………………………………….

……….. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

the sum of Rupees:……………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Payments for…………………………………………………………………………………………………

.............................................
Cashier Signature.

Fig. 16.14

XYZ HOTEL (PVT) LTD.  

P.O Box 120
124,Srimath Kuda Rathwaththa Mawatha,
Kandy. Sri Lanka Date………………………
Telephone 081-65416548484 No:……………………….
PETTY CASH DISBURSEMENT

Pay to…………………………………………………………………………Rs.

Rupees:………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

EXPLANATION………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Charge to………………………………………………………………………………………………………

I have received the above amount ………………………………….

Guest Signature.
…………………………. ………………………
Authorized by. Approved by.

Fig. 16.15

12