Channel payments is an accounting report that allows hotels to reconcile channel payments, i.e. match final payments to/from channels against expected payments as calculated by HMS, to ensure that the two are balanced.
It is also a summary/list of all unreconciled and reconciled payments.
As a recap
- For a Postpay booking, hotel is due to pay commission to the channel (e.g. commission payable to Booking.com when guest pays directly to hotel)
- For a Prepay booking, the channel is due to pay to the hotel room charges after deducting for their commission (e.g. what guest has paid online less Agoda commission)
What does channel payment reconciliation mean?
When hotel makes final commission payment to a Postpay channel
- Actual amount paid is compared to what is expected to be paid (based on HMS booking details) to balance both amounts, by confirming that
- There is no difference
- Hotel underpaid channel, and difference is to be recorded as breakage
- Hotel overpaid channel, and difference is to be recorded as bad debt
When a Prepay channel makes final payment to hotel for room charges
- Actual amount received is compared to what is expected to be received (based on HMS booking details) to balance both amounts, by confirming that
- There is no difference
- Channel overpaid hotel, and difference is to be recorded as breakage
- Channel underpaid hotel, and difference is to be recorded as bad debt
Please note:
Posting a payment to channel or from channel in individual booking cards does not reconcile payments and are considered payment updates only. Users can post as many payments as they like in the folio.
Only reconciliations done through the Channel payments page will close the folio, after which payments can no longer be posted in individual booking cards since all payments are deemed final.
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Tags: Channel payments, payment reconciliation, accounting report, hotel payments, commission, postpay, prepay