Is hotel bookkeeping a necessary evil?

If you’re in the hospitality business, you’ve probably experienced the frustration of having to handle tedious and complicated bookkeeping tasks on your own. These can range from auditing daily sales, updating your expenses, to tracking how much budget money is left over for petty cash. All these things require a certain amount of patience.

Outsourcing it to Nimble will not only ensure that you get more time back for more important tasks; it also allows you to relax and focus on the things that matter — like shoving those chocolate chip cookies down your guests’ throats!

A less stressful business means more profit and a better overall experience for everyone involved.

Bookkeeping is the most common task that many business owners outsource. To get started, you actually need to know how much it’s going to cost you in terms of money and time.

While there are many companies out there that offer bookkeeping and accounting services, you have to be wary of a few things before hiring anyone. First and foremost, make sure that they have a qualified accountant managing the whole process. In other words, they should either have one in-house or be able to hire one on demand.

The next thing you want to watch out for is hidden fees — basically everything under the sun that they can charge you for. For instance, they might outsource some part of the job to smaller companies with different prices. Or they have certain customizable packages that are more expensive than others.

Be sure to read through the fine print and not get caught in any hidden fees, especially if you’re running a tight budget. Also, determine exactly how much time this is going to save you on a monthly basis and make sure that it’s worth it.

In addition, make sure that these accountants will provide regular reports on your finances as well as maintain a relationship with your bank or credit card company to help you identify any potential issues before they become problems. If they can’t do these things, then it may be best to find someone else.

However, if you can find a company that offers these services at a decent price, are able to provide reports on your company’s finances regularly, and keep business costs low while keeping more time for yourself, then consider outsourcing your bookkeeping to someone else. After all — the chocolate chip cookies won’t sell themselves!

Therefore, many hotels are able to help you outsource the boring but sometimes crucial task of bookkeeping. Nimble is a technology-driven company that offers a wide range of hotel accounting software and bookkeeping services. We believe in providing our clients with unique solutions and excellent service so that they can run their business in an effective and efficient manner.

If you’re in the hospitality business and have been looking for an affordable way to deal with your bookkeeping tasks, don’t hesitate to contact us. Just check out more details on what we can do for your hotel or enterprise-level hotel group at https://nimblebookkeeping.com. You will find a wealth of resources dedicated to helping you keep track of all your finances.

So before you start worrying about how to get the next batch of chocolate chip cookies to sell at your hotel, don’t forget about outsourcing your bookkeeping! There are better things you can be doing with your time — such as eating those chocolate chip cookies!

How many times have you handled your bookkeeping tasks? Bookkeeping is a necessary evil for enterprises, whether for for-profit or non-profit status. Whether it’s a hotel, brewery or non-profit organization you’re running, having best bookkeeping software  procedures are a must. Plus throughout the year no one really wants to do it — unless they are in the hotel business! 

Here are some tips on how to make sure that your bookkeeping is up to par and alerting you if you need help.

1. Determine which expenses are fixed and variable.

Make sure to classify them correctly, so that you’re able to see what your variable costs are, such as rooms and food, but also what percentage of labour and utilities is variable as well.

2. Review your budget regularly.

Make sure that you are meeting your goals, whether it’s on a monthly basis or yearly basis in terms of the percentage of overall revenue that is allocated for food and beverage expenses versus room costs. This will help you make any necessary adjustments to the rates charged by your hotel so that you can meet those targets in the future.

3. Use parameters to help you track metrics.

Make sure that you’re able to track your room occupancy and room revenue so that you know how long it takes for you to break even on these costs. Also, determine how many rooms need to be sold per night. This will enable you to focus on marketing efforts and readjust your prices as needed.

4. Have a qualified accountant handle the bookkeeping process for you.

If you’re already keeping good records of your expenses and income, then ask for help to make sense of them. A qualified accountant will be able to tell you if your bookkeeping is up to par or alert you if it needs improvements.

5. Use technology to help keep track of your finances.

Technology, particularly cloud computing, has made it easier than ever before with software that can help track costs and objectives, manage employees, payroll reporting and overall financial performance. If you don’t have the expertise in-house, then find a qualified software developer who can design the perfect solution for your hotel’s needs.

6. Make sure you have adequate insurance coverage.

Insurance does not only cover personal items such as a car and home, but also the property of your hotel. Make sure it covers everything from fire, theft and liability to water, sewage and other basic necessities.

7. Avoid fraud through online payments.

Use an online payment service that enables you to track your expenses so that you can make sure they are legitimate and not fraudulent in any way. For example, offering incentives for sales is fine when the sales are legitimate. However, offering incentives for additional bookings on top of what has already been sold is not a good idea if it is fraudulent bookkeeping. 

8. Make sure proper approvals are in place.

Have checks and balances so that a project, such as a bathroom upgrade, is overseen by an executive team and then again by the finance team to make sure that costs are in line with the budget. Also, make sure you’re meeting all of the deadlines set forth by

other departments within your hotel, such as landscaping or renovation to make sure that everyone stays on track with their deadlines.

9. Conduct a comprehensive review of your financials on an annual basis.

Make sure that you’re able to see what the actual numbers are, so that there are no surprises at year-end.

10. Keep detailed books to track your expenses and income.

You can use templates for this or you can simply highlight key elements of the numbers in a spreadsheet to keep them straight in your memory. 

11. If you need help, find a qualified accountant.

Have them review your bookkeeping as well as make any necessary adjustments as needed within reason — but don’t let anyone do the bookkeeping for you! Your bookkeeper may have good intentions of printing off a bunch of different calculations and figures, but he or she may not be qualified and experience in what it takes to maintain accurate financial records. There are many ways that you can seek out the help that you need when it comes to bookkeeping — whether it’s a qualified accountant, software developer, or even an Excel spreadsheet.

12. Update your books on a regular basis.

Make sure you have all of the corrected financial figures printed off so that they match up with the ones you have on hand. We’re all busy at work and having to do this task can be tedious at times, but if it’s not done properly, then history may be repeating itself and your hotel may not make it through tough recession periods, especially in these times when everyone is trying to pay their bills on time. 

13. Ensure that your books have all of the correct entries made to them.

Make sure you have been given the correct information concerning all of your costs and income, so that you are not overcharged for any expenses or earning under-reported income.

You should also be able to see where the current value is at on any pricing sheets or other documents. Do not leave out any items here — such as receiving change from a credit card, if it was charged correctly and in the amounts that were specified for each transaction. Also make sure everything is entered correctly, whether it’s room revenue figures and expense figures, so that you can make adjustments if necessary.

14. Make sure you have financial records if there are any discrepancies.

Make it a point that you have all of the documents, such as receipts and copies of cancelled checks, in case there are any discrepancies. These discrepancies can occur when you have recognized expenses or income that is not being reported correctly by someone else within your hotel.

15. Understand your financial goals and how to achieve them.

The best thing to be able to do is set goals for your hotel that you can track and report to as well as make adjustments if necessary during the year as well as going over them with an accountant on a yearly basis.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Best Bookkeeping Software is the foundation of any successful business. Knowing what’s coming in and what’s going out can help you make sound decisions about future earnings. Unfortunately, many hotel owners are bogged down with bookkeeping tasks that take up their entire day and night. This could mean neglecting some other aspect of your business (for example, marketing), which can have a negative effect on profits. Solution? Outsource your accounting to a trusted hospitality accountant who has the time and expertise to manage your books for you.

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