Sooner or later a guest asks for an invoice. Sometimes it is a business traveller who needs it for expenses. Sometimes it is a company that is paying for a team. If you run a small property without proper software, that request means opening a document, copying the dates across, doing the sums and hoping you did not forget the tax number.
What a guest invoice needs
A good invoice answers every question the person reading it might have, without a phone call.
- Who issued it. Your business name, address, phone, email and logo. Add your tax number if you have one.
- A unique invoice number. Numbers should run in order and never repeat. An accountant will look for this first.
- Who is being billed. The guest, or the company paying. If it is a company, name the company and put the guest as the contact.
- What was bought. The room, the dates and the number of nights.
- The money. Each night, any extras, tax shown separately, the total, what has been paid and what is still due.
- The date it was issued.
Itemise by night
One line that says "3 nights, $420" is harder to check than three lines with a date each. Guests and accountants both prefer to see every night. It also makes it obvious when something is missing.
Keep extras separate
A late checkout, an airport transfer or a meal ordered in are easy to forget and awkward to add afterwards. Add them as their own lines on the invoice, so the room charge stays clean.
Number invoices properly
Never reuse a number and never leave gaps. Number them in order, and keep the same number if you print the same invoice again. If you run more than one property, keep a separate series for each.
Doing it without the typing
Hostberg builds the invoice from the booking. Your logo, address, contact details and tax number are set once in Settings and appear on every invoice. Each night is listed on its own line, tax is shown separately, and you can add a one off extra charge or put a company name on the invoice. It is numbered in order for the property when you print it, and you can save it as a PDF. See how invoices work.
Whatever you use, the aim is the same: a guest should be able to read the invoice once and have no questions.