This guide aims to answer the below two questions:
What Reports Should I Pull When I am Transferring Ownership of my Account?
What Reports Should I Pull When I am Closing my Account?
When you will be losing access to your account, such as when you're closing your business or selling and transferring ownership of your ThinkReservations account, it can be challenging to figure out which reports you will need to take with you. The most straightforward answer to this question is to run and keep the reports you regularly use for your records and accounting.
It is always helpful to consult with your accountant or bookkeeper - they will have the most accurate picture of what specific data you need to keep for your records. If you don't have access to an accounting professional familiar with your business, we've compiled a list of reports that we recommend you export for your annual income tax returns, occupancy taxes, and monthly or quarterly sales.
Recommendations for businesses using the Accrual accounting method
Revenue by Account - Export for the entire year, up to two years at a time per export.
If you are not using the Chart of Accounts to organize your finances into assets, liabilities, and revenue, this report will not be helpful to you. Instead, we recommend exporting the following two reports:
Revenue by Room- Export each year.
Revenue by Item- Export each year.
Taxes Reports - Export each tax report going back at least to the last full calendar year.
Gift Certificate Liability - Export twice, once as of the date of transfer and again as of year-end.
Deposit Liability - Export twice, once as of the date of transfer and again as of year-end.
Guest Ledger - Export twice, once as of the date of transfer and again as of year-end. (You will need to pull this report only if you have Night Audit Reporting enabled.)
Payments by date - Export for one year to validate deposits in the unlikely event of an IRS Audit.
Recommendations for businesses using the Cash accounting method
Payments by Type - Export for each year.
Gift Certificate Liability reports - Export as of each year-end and again as of the transfer date.
Deposit Liability- Export as of each year-end and again as of the transfer dates.
Taxes Reports - If you use ThinkReservations tax reports to file your taxes, export each of these reports for each month. If you use another report, export those reports instead.
If you're not sure which accounting method you are currently using, we recommend consulting with the professional who manages your finances. Likely it's the Accrual accounting method as this is the recommended method for lodging according to experienced accounting professionals. Follow this link for more information on the difference between the Accrual and Cash accounting methods. Cash or Accrual Accounting - Considerations for the Lodging Industry
What Reports Should I Pull the Day I Lose Access to the Account?
If you are selling, we recommend pulling the following to quantify any open liability that you may need to factor into your agreement with the new owner. These reports, along with the Deposit Liability Report, should be exported on the date of account transfer:
Canceled Reservations
Canceled Point of Sales
Reservations by Payment Status
Point of Sales by Payment Status
Generating these reports for the previous 24 months may help you find missing outstanding deposits from the Deposit Liability Report. You may be able to resolve some of these balances by zeroing out the bill with some minor adjustments to your accounting records.
Here are some possible scenarios you may encounter:
There is an outstanding balance for a canceled reservation that is missing a cancellation fee. Resolve this by adding a cancellation fee line item.
There is an outstanding credit for a refund given to a customer that you did not record in the reservation. Resolve this by adding a refund line item.
There is an outstanding credit for a reservation where a refund is due to the customer. Resolve this by sending the customer a check and adding a refund line item.
There is an outstanding balance that you intend to write off. Resolve this by creating a "Write-Off" payment type and adding a Write-Off payment in the amount that was not charged to the guest.
Whether you are selling your business and transferring ownership or closing your ThinkReservations account, the recommended information above is just a guide to help assist you based on the most regularly used reports in ThinkReservations. With our guidance and the expertise of your bookkeeper or accounting professional, you will have the data you need for your records.
Disclaimer: ThinkReservations Support team members are not certified income tax or accounting professionals and cannot provide advice in these areas outside of supporting questions about ThinkReservations. If you need income tax advice, please contact an accountant in your area.