Quick description of a folio and why it's important in a Property Management System.
What is a Folio
Folio is an industry codeword for the collection of charges.
A folio is created for the guest account. You can post charges and payments for a specific guest to a folio that can be assigned to the guest or to the company.
Think of it like a folder of all the bills a customer may have at the hotel such as:
2 Night Stay
Bar Bill
Restaurant Meal
You can have multiple folios in a booking and can split or pass charges between them.
Folio's are usually found in the booking and generally they would be for the customer. But there are some cases where you would want the folios to be assigned to another person or a company.
Company Example
Company has booked a room for the customer and they are paying for the accommodation only.
All other charges would be payable by the guest
In this example the main folio would be under the company name and address and another folio is made to contain the guests incidentals like food & drink or extra nights.
Travel Agency Example
Guest has booked online with Expedia and paid Expedia directly
Any other charges the guest needs to pay for
This is very similar to the company example but the guest has paid both, the folio with the room charges is made to TA and is not to be shown to the guest. If the guest has other charges we have a separate folio for those charges.
Invoices & Receipts
Folios can be turned into Invoices and sent to the guest/company. And invoices can be made into receipts if full payment has been made. Receipt status is a final status and no amendments are allowed after the receipt has been issued. You would need to credit the receipt and amend the new folio.