AUTOMATED NIGHT AUDIT Close Day Process MSI CloudPM v5.4

Transcription

1 AUTOMATED NIGHT AUDIT Close Day Process MSI CloudPM v5.4 Abstract The hotel night audit is a daily review of guest account transactions recorded against Accounting Code (or Department Code) transactions. The routine helps guarantee the accuracy, reliability and thoroughness of front office accounting. The system process also closes one business day and starts another in the CloudPM software system. This new feature for CloudPM v5.4 is to automate this process based on local clock-time, where the Close Day processes in the CloudPM system run without intervention

2 Automated Close Day - Summary The hotel night audit is a daily review of guest account transactions recorded against Accounting Code (or Department Code) transactions. The routine helps guarantee the accuracy, reliability and thoroughness of front office accounting. The system process also closes one business day and starts another in the CloudPM software system. This new feature for CloudPM v5.4 is to automate this process based on local clock-time, where the Close Day processes in the CloudPM system run without intervention, unless errors occur. A) Function The automated process will include the following functions; each step may experience errors or failures some steps require a halt the Close Day process, where others will require notification (reporting) only : Database Backup backup of property database at the commencement of the Close Day start. This is started when the Close Day commend is selected during a manual Close Day/Audit. Check for In-House Guests that are DUE OUT - Scheduled departures will be automatically extended for one business day; if paying by credit card and authorization is required, those guest folios will autoauthorize for the extra date. Notes: o In-House guests due to check out will be auto-extended by 1 day only, using the rate used on the last night of the guest' stay Authorization for CC-paying guests auto-extended will be authorized for the 1 additional night Shift Close a. Close by Shift if a shift is open, system will auto-close the current shift b. Close by Cashier It is possible that multiple cashiers have open shifts; CloudPM will need to close all open cashier shifts Failure Mode: Intervention required (Critical); this is a failure that will stop the audit process, and will roll back to the pre-audit state. Post Room & Tax Auto post room, room tax, package items, special requests, and applicable sales taxes Authorization Increase Report Configurable; if enabled the report must identify guests requiring authorizations to cover the current business date. If enabled, the authorization process for each inhouse guest account paying by credit card will run automatically. Failure Mode: Notification; Log in Close Day Activity Report 2

3 Audit Phases 1. Phase 1 Room Status/Maintenance/Occupancy Tracking 2. Phase 2 - Flag No-Show Reservations 3. Phase 3 - Build Daily Statistics (Reports) 4. Phase 4 - Check in Group Masters + Auto-Release Group Blocks 5. Phase 5 - Purge Interface events; House Accounts, Cache, PMS Events Phase 6 Update Business Date Audit Reports Night Audit Reports are created based on Configured Night Audit Reports in GM Functions Send Credit Card Batch Settlement will generate Pre-Settlement Report based on batch totals, identify exceptions that could not be processed, and transmit/settle the batch. Note: The Batch Settlement Report will be added to the Night Audit Reports when auto-settled Generate (new) Close Day Activity Report : o At the conclusion of all automated Close Day events, a user prompt should indicate that the report is compete with options to view (in report viewer) or Print. o The Close Day Exception Report is available to be retrieved for past-dates. o Report Includes: a) List of Shifts Auto-Closed; or denotes that no shifts were open at the time Close Day starts b) Posted: Room, Room Tax, Special Request, and Package charges; or list exceptions of errors exist. >Include issues with Rates or Amenity Items c) Daily Backup Complete with technical warnings or notifications if there are errors d) Authorization Increase Report List of guests authorized during with indicator of success, decline, or failure to authorize e) Guests Due Out Listing of guest accounts/rooms auto-extended f) Close Day Process list only errors generated by the system during audit, if applicable g) Report Exceptions list any exceptions or errors related to report creating if validation can be performed on completed report set h) Credit Card Batch Denote status of batch(es) attempted to Settle 3

4 B) User Interface Changes - Configuration Configuration: GM Functions à Property Settings à Configure Night Audit (See Figure 1) NOTE: The former Audit Reports Setup page is replaced by a utility with expanded function, and is re-titled Configure Night Audit. The page/utility still still include the audit report selection and Day-Use calculation options, and will also include settings for configuring the automated Close Day function, as necessary. Top Section Toolbar o Commands Save Active when changes are made on the screen Cancel Active when changes are made Refresh Reloads page to show latest saved data Night Audit Settings section header Include Day-User Rooms in Occupancy Statistics Use Automatic Close Day Checkbox. o Set Close Day Start Time Start Time (local to property, adjusted for time zone recorded in GM Functions à Property Settings à Hotel Information) Format = HH : MM : AM/PM Field is required; CloudPM cannot save the Use Automatic Close Day settings without the start time data entered and valid. o Authorization Increase Report Selection: Use Authorization Increase to calculate additional authorization for in-house accounts and automatically obtain needed authorization (Default: Checked = True) Authorizations are calculated and automatically obtained without PMS user interaction, using calculated & requested authorizations UI display - None Do not automatically authorize credit cards during Close Day process. (Authorization Increase reporting/auth function is bypassed) o Due-Out Guests Per Figure 1, users are instructed that due-out guests in-house at the time of Close Day will be auto-extended by one business day. Guest will be extended (same room) using the rate last used (last night of scheduled stay) If a weekly/monthly rate, and the guest is extended by one day but does not qualify for the weekly/monthy rate, the rate configured for extra dates will be used If no extra day rates are configured for this scenario, the default RACK rate will be used for the auto-extended stay night If any other scenario arises that causes a situation where no logical rate can be applied to the auto-extended night, the PMS default RACK rate will be used 4

5 o Credit Card Batch Batch will be created and checked to match daily totals from the CPM Daily Activity Report for each card type. Payments must be checked to ensure that sufficient authorizations have been obtained. If this criteria is met, the batch will be autosettled with the merchant processor; See Figure 1 (Verbiage) o Notifications Link (icon) and explanation is provided for configuring notifications for audit alerts and/or failures in the CloudPM Message manager; See Figure 1 1. Close Day Failure Message: [PROP CODE]: CloudPM Night Audit could not be completed using the automated Close Day feature. Task(s) not completed: All that apply from the below list may be included Shift Close Database Backup Guests due-out are in-house Close Day Phase X not completed (X = any subset of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 that applies) 2. Non-Critical Error Notification: [PROP CODE]: CloudPM Night Audit reported the following error(s) during the automated Close Day process; Attention Required: All that apply from the below list may be included Post Room & Tax: One or More Accounts could not be posted Authorization Increase Report failed to complete Night Audit Reports failed to create during Close Day 3. Credit Card Batch Failure: Message All instances of Batch failure to send "The Credit Card Batch could not be transmitted during Close Day. Please use the CloudPay Settlement utility to fix any possible problems and transmit using the Settlement utility." 5

6 GM Functions à Property Settings à Configure Night Audit Command Buttons: Save, Cancel, Refresh (Top/Bottom Toolbars) Automatic Close Day (Night Audit) Feature Set NOTE: Save / Cancel buttons on page toolbars are enabled when any editor controls are changed in the section immediately below the toolbar Figure 1 6

7 Bottom Section Night Audit Reports Setup The existing grid from previous CloudPM versions for setting up the Night Audit Report Set will continue to be used for configuring Audit Report properties in CloudPM v5.4+ Future releases may allow for additional configuration of Night Audit reporting parameters and properties. Title = Night Audit Reports Setup Toolbar o Commands Save Active when changes are made on the screen Cancel Active when changes are made Refresh Reloads page to show latest saved data Grid o Columns Include in Audit Reports Checkbox column, used to select reports to be included in archived reports; default selection All Exception: Daily Activity Report and Managers Report are marked Included and will always be selected Report Name Column is read-only, showing all permanent Night Audit Reports: Figure 2 7

8 C) User Interface Changes: Close Day is In-Progress & Post-Audit Notifications CloudPM does not prevent a user from logging in when Close Day is in-progress, however a new shift may not be opened until Close Day is complete, which prevents any posting activity during the Close Day function (as all Shifts must be closed prior to starting the Close Day function). Notification: User attempts to Open Shift when Close Day is in-progress Open/Close Shift by Shift Number The Open Shift command button is disabled when the Audit Status is Ready to Start or when it is processing. Once Close Day is complete, the Open Shift command is enabled. Figure 3 shows that the Open Shift command is disabled from the point in which the Audit Status is moved to Ready to Start through the completion of the Close Day process. Figure 3 8

9 Open/Close Shift by Cashier In addition to maintaining the business rules around not opening a shift during audit as noted in the previous section, at Login a user is prompted (if flagged to do so in Shift Close Settings) to open a shift if the user does not have a Cashier Shift open. If a user attempts to open a Cashier shift during the Close Day process, CloudPM will respond with a notification that a shift could not be opened (Figure 4). Figure 4 9

10 Notification: Close Day Activity Log (Post-Audit) and Success Notification When the Close Day process is complete a success notification must display if: Any Workstations are active with the CloudPM UI running For the first login to CloudPM at the conclusion of the night audit/close Day process The notification will show that the business date as successfully rolled over and will provide an option show show the detail of processes completed. An option will exist to display the Close Day Activity Log. Success Notification: Automated Close Day: => Use as Notification, not system prompt. Link to Report from the notification without using a pop-up Figure 5 10

11 Notification: Close Day Activity Log (Post-Audit) and Failure Notification When the Close Day process is complete, CloudPM will produce a report called the Close Day Audit Log. This will detail activity completed and exceptions. Exceptions could be minor that do not require user intervention, but will also include critical failures such as Close Day not being to be completed, or a Credit Card batch that failed to transmit to a processor. CloudPM will need to also provide a clear UI Alert (outside of PMS notifications and the /text notifications explained in section C) (Configuration) when Close Day fails to complete, and the CloudPM system has been unable to change to the next business day, as this impacts hotel operations (Housekeeping, check out, check in, etc.). Close Day Failure CloudPM Alert Login Post-Close Day with failure to complete Close Day o When a login attempt is made after a Close Day process has failed (failing to advance the business date), the user will be shown a pop-up message upon login indicating that user and/or intervention is required and that the business date has failed to advance. Any Workstations are active with the CloudPM UI running The pop-up will indicate the failure and provide a command button that will open the Cloud Day Activity Log. Text: [See Figure 6] The Close Business Day process (Night Audit) did not complete for the previous date. The current Business Date in the CloudPM system is [MM/DD/YYYY]. Housekeeping Room Status and Room/Tax posting may not be updated. Open the Close Day Activity Log for troubleshooting. The CloudPM screen (all views) will have a band across the top of the page, moving the CloudPM UI down by the height of the band, which will serve as a notice that the current day is still on the previous date, which is important to property staff to be aware that room statues (Housekeeping) may be outdated, and that in-house guests checking out may need to have room charges checked to ensure that balances are correct, among other considerations. Once Close Day has been successful for the current business date, the UI alerts will no longer display; the CloudPM UI components will then maintain a normal appearance. [See Figure 5] 11

12 General: Close Day Failure Mode [See Figure 6 CloudPM Auto - Close Day Failure Mode] Failure Notification: Automated Close Day: Figure 6 - CloudPM Auto-Close Day Failure Mode 12

13 D) Close Day Activity Report The Close Day Activity Report will be generated each time the Audit is run for systems flagged to use the Auto- Close Day features, including any instance when Close Day is run manually. The selection in Property Settings to activate the auto-close day features will also activate this report. Report will be included in the Night Audit Report Set automatically when a system is utilizing Auto- Close Day features. Report contents Header: To Include date/timestamp, Property name, Property Code, Close Day method (Auto/Manual) Activity Log: Reports success/failure of Audit functions, listing any exceptions that occur during the Close Day process, and critical failures that would halt the Close Day process: Process: Check Current Business Date Verfity Audit not in-progress All Shifts Closed No Due Out Guests Exist Verfiy Previous Audit Reports are not running Post Room & Tax Post Special Requests No Reports from Previous Audit in-progress 13

14 Database Backup Phase 1 Verify Room Statuses are correct Set Dirty Rooms Return Maintenance Rooms to Inventory Set Maintenance Rooms out of Inventory Phase 2 Flag No Show Reservations Process/Post Package Charges Phase 3 Update Daily Accounting Activity Tables Update Daily Statistics Tables Phase 4 Check-In Groups arriving next business day Release Group Blocks as needed Phase 5 Purge Accounting Codes set for deletion (not in-use) Purge Accounting Groups set for deletion Purge Old Stay Change Log; Changes older than 90 days are deleted if reservation is checked-out, cancelled, or no-show Phase 6 Rebuild Availability Tables Purge City Ledger Accounts (based on settings) Delete Interface processed events 14

15 Delete PMS events Delete CRS cache records Purge House Accounts Delete BW Lookup Tables Delete VP Lookup Tables Delete old Tass, Notificaitons, and General Messages Create new Notifications Purge BW CRS Overbooking Tables Purge CRS Message Log Update Business Date Generate Selected Night Audit Reports Reports set for Auto- Balance Credit Card Batch Failure resulting in notification Transmit Credit Card Batch- Failure resulting in notification Generate CloudPay Settlment Report - [See Figures 7-8 Sample Close Day Activity Log] 15

16 Sample Report: Close Day Activity Log Figure 7 Page 1 of 2 16

17 Sample Report: Close Day Activity Log (Continued) Figure 8 Page 2 of 2 Icons: Success: Warning: Failure: 17

18 E) Running Night Audit Manually Override Automated Close Day Should the need arise to run the Close Business Day/Night Audit function manually prior to the scheduled (automated) time, this is permitted. There are no restriction on closing shifts with or without the Auto Close Day feature enabled, permitting this necessary step to be completed prior to Close Day, if being run manually Post Room and Tax is not restricted from being run prior to the Close Business Day process; if this is run multiple times, postings are only made to accounts that have not been auto-posted for the current business date If a user manually selects Close Business Day, the Dialog shown in Figure 9 would display. This informs the user that audit will be run manually if they proceed ( Yes ), cancelling the auto-scheduled night audit for that (current) business date. Figure 9 18

19 Security & Permissions: Override Running a Close Business Day process manually will require user rights when Automatic Close Day is configured. A user that is not assigned rights to manually close a business date will require a security override. If a security override is required (see section below, Running Close Day manually when CloudPM is configured for automated Night Audit), the CloudPM user will be prompted to enter a valid user/password of a user that is granted the permission to Close Business Day manually. Figure 10 - Close Business Day manually - CloudPM Override prompt Running Close Day manually when CloudPM is configured for automated Night Audit A new permission has been added to CloudPM [GM Functions à Security & Permissions à Security Roles à Permissions] called Close Day Manual, which is checked, permits the user or Role to run a Close Business Day (night audit) in CloudPM manually, which will remove the scheduled automated Close Business Day process for the business date closed by a Manual audit. (Figure 11) 19

20 Figure 11 This permission is unchecked for all users initially As will all permissions, the permission may be assigned to a Security Role (group) or user. The permission will appear as enabled only when the Use Automatic Close Day flag is set in the Night Audit Configuration in GM Functions à Property Settings à Configure Night Audit. If the Automatic Close Day flag is not set, the permission may be hidden to users when viewing Permissions. 20