This section will tackle the managing of invoices within a reservation. If you’d like more information on how to manage invoices that have been specifically been assigned to a client without there being a reservation, please refer to the clients section.
Creating an Invoice
When a reservation gets created on Benson, an invoice will automatically be created as well with your accommodation charges and any automatic charges that need to be created as well. If a “Responsible Client” was selected when creating the reservation, then they will automatically be the responsible client for this invoice as well.
However, you’ll also be able to create as many invoices as you like after the reservation has been created. Benson does not place any restrictions on the number of invoices you can have in a reservation and you will be free to move and create charges and payments around these invoices as you please.
To create a new invoice, select the “CREATE AN INVOICE” button to open up your new invoice. The only field you are required to capture is a “Name” for the Invoice. This is important because it helps Benson to distinguish between different invoices. Once you’ve given your invoice a name click “SAVE” to create it. You’ll then be able to start adding and moving charges and payments to this invoice. An invoice will always be “OPEN” as soon as it’s created and will always be printed as a “Proforma” invoice until it is closed-off.
Printing and emailing an invoice
You can email or download (as a .pdf) an invoice (or pro-forma) using the icons in the top right. These are visible once you have opened a particular invoice.
You have the option to print a detailed Invoice, summarized Invoice or an Invoice that has both a summary and detail. A summarized Invoice will group each Charge into its Charge Type and sum the amount. For example, Accommodation will appear as a single line item and will not be broken-down per day.
Managing an Invoice
Once an invoice has been created, you’ll be able to do a number of things. Apart from adding charges and payments directly onto the invoice, you’ll also be able to add discounts and refunds directly onto the invoice as well. You’ll be able to move charges and payments around as well – this is explained more further down.
By giving your invoice a name you’ll be able to differentiate the invoice from any others that may be in the reservation. This name can be whatever you want it to be but it will appear as the name of the invoice on the PDF’d invoice document. You won’t be able to give your invoice the same name as any other invoices on the reservation however.
Lastly, and quite importantly, you’ll also be able to assign a client from Benson to the invoice. To assign a client from Benson onto an invoice, click the “SELECT ACCOUNT” button and search for the client you’d like to have as the responsible client for that specific invoice.
Once a client has been assigned to an invoice, Benson will use all the information and data that has been captured for that client and display it on the PDF’d version of the invoice. This is particularly important if your client would like to see things such as their billing address, tax number and so forth on the invoice.
If your client has an open account on Benson, then this invoice will appear in the accounts section of their client profile. You’ll be able to manage the invoice from there as well if you wish to. Having a client with an open account on an invoice also allows a few rules to be bypassed when it comes to canceling a reservation or checking-out with unsettled bills. You can find out more about this in our section about checking-out.
To sum things up, you can have as many invoices as you’d like to have on your reservation. Each invoice can have its own charges, payments and clients assigned to it. An invoice doesn’t even need to have a client assigned to it and will only require a name. This allows for invoicing to be as flexible as customizable as you’d like it to be.
Deleting an Invoice
It is only possible to delete an invoice if there are absolutely no charges and payments on the invoice. If the invoice has at least one charge or payment on it, or if it has been closed or is part of a reservation that has been checked-out, then it will not be possible to delete it.
If you would like to delete an invoice that has charges and payment already on it, then you will need to manage these charges and payments first. You can move the charges and payments over to another invoice or cancel/reverse any charges to move those off the invoice.
Moving Charges & Payments to Different Invoices
Provided that you have more than one OPEN invoice on a reservation, you’ll be able to move your various charges and payments around to different invoices.
To move a charge or payment off one invoice and onto another, open the invoice holding the particular items that you want to move over. You’ll notice a checkbox to the left of each charge or payment that is allowed to be moved. As soon as you select one or more item on the invoice, a new button called “MOVE” will appear. By clicking “MOVE”, a new window will open displaying all possible invoices on the reservation that these charges and payments can be moved to. All you need to do is hover over the invoice you want to move these items to and click the “MOVE HERE” button. This will move all your selected items over to the new invoice.
Closing (and Reopening) Invoices
Provided that all Charges on an Invoice are Accrued, you’ll have the option to Close an Invoice. Closing an Invoice prevents any Charges or Discounts from being added to it. It also moves the Invoice from being a proforma Invoice to being a tax Invoice. The Invoice is given a date and will have implications across your Reports.
If you ever need to Reopen an Invoice, you can do so as long as you have the correct security permission to do so and that the Invoice is being Reopened on the same day that it was Closed. This means that you won’t be able to Reopen an Invoice on any other day in the future – only on the day it was Closed.