Hotel Balance Sheet Reconciliation
Hotel balance sheet reconciliation software that ties every account — cash, AR, advance deposits, gift cards, accruals, inter-company — to its supporting schedule each month-end.
- less time on month-end balance sheet rec
- 65%less time on month-end balance sheet rec
- faster controller review
- 3xfaster controller review
- of accounts with current supporting schedules
- 100%of accounts with current supporting schedules
Workpapers ready at month-end, automatically.
Terrace ingests every supporting schedule a hotel balance sheet needs — bank statements, PMS sub-ledgers, gift card platforms, AR aging — and produces a current workpaper per account each month.
- PMS sub-ledger to GL tie-out
- Auto roll-forward schedules
- Inter-company balance matching
What is hotel balance sheet reconciliation?
Hotel balance sheet reconciliation is the month-end process of tying every balance sheet account on the general ledger to a supporting schedule — bank statement for cash, PMS sub-ledger for advance deposits and guest ledger, AR aging for city ledger, gift card platform report for gift card liability, accrual workpaper for estimated liabilities, and inter-company schedule for affiliated balances. Properly done, it confirms the GL accurately reports the hotel's financial position at period end.
The hospitality complication is that key balance sheet sub-ledgers live in the PMS, not in the GL, and must be exported and reconciled each month. Brand audits also require supporting schedules to be available on demand. Hotel balance sheet reconciliation software like Terrace AI automates the tie-out and produces a current workpaper per account each period.
- Cash tied to bank ending balance
- AR tied to city ledger aging
- Advance deposits tied to PMS sub-ledger
- Gift card liability tied to platform report
- Accruals supported by workpaper
- Inter-company balances matched
Why hotel balance sheet reconciliation is painful for accounting teams
Sub-ledgers live in the PMS, not the GL
Advance deposits, guest ledger, and gift card balances are sub-ledgers in the PMS that must be exported and tied to the GL each month.
Roll-forward schedules are recreated each month
Beginning balance plus additions minus reductions equals ending balance — and most properties rebuild this schedule from scratch every month.
Brand audit demands supporting schedules
Every brand-managed hotel needs supporting schedules ready for brand audit at any time, not just at month-end.
Inter-company and corporate allocations are opaque
Allocations from corporate to property and inter-property transfers are often booked without source documentation, leaving an unexplained balance.
Open AR items age without ownership
City ledger and group AR items linger past due without clear ownership, hiding write-off candidates inside the receivable balance.
Account reconciliations have inconsistent quality
Each accountant reconciles their assigned accounts differently — some attach a roll-forward, some only tie to a balance — making controller review slow.
What data is matched in hotel balance sheet reconciliation?
- Account
- Balance
- Period
- Folio
- Type
- Amount
- Account
- Ending balance
- Card ID
- Issued
- Redeemed
- Account
- Estimate basis
- Period
- From entity
- To entity
- Amount
Common hotel balance sheet reconciliation exceptions
The total outstanding advance deposits on the PMS sub-ledger differs from the advance deposit liability on the GL.
The gift card liability on the GL is higher (or lower) than the outstanding gift card platform balance.
The aging summary on the city ledger does not equal the AR balance on the GL.
An accrued expense from the prior month was not reversed in the current month, doubling the balance.
An inter-company receivable does not equal the corresponding inter-company payable on the counterparty entity.
An outstanding deposit or check on the bank reconciliation has not been resolved within the expected window.
How hotels manually reconcile balance sheet accounts
- 1
Pull the GL trial balance for the period being closed.
- 2
Export the bank ending balance and confirm the cash account ties.
- 3
Export PMS sub-ledgers (advance deposits, guest ledger, city ledger) and tie to the GL.
- 4
Pull the gift card outstanding report and tie to the gift card liability.
- 5
Build or refresh roll-forward schedules for each accrued or deferred account.
- 6
Reconcile inter-company balances with the counterparty entity.
- 7
Document and attach a workpaper for each balance sheet account.
- 8
Send the package to the controller for review and brand audit.
Automated hotel balance sheet reconciliation with Terrace AI
Terrace ties every balance sheet account to its source, generates roll-forward schedules automatically, and keeps a current workpaper attached to every account.
Sub-ledger tie
PMS sub-ledger to GL tie-out
Terrace ties PMS advance deposit, guest ledger, and city ledger sub-ledgers to the GL each period automatically.
Roll-forward
Auto roll-forward schedules
Roll-forward schedules — beginning, plus, minus, ending — are generated automatically from underlying activity instead of rebuilt each month.
Gift cards
Gift card liability reconciliation
Outstanding gift card liability is reconciled against the gift card platform's outstanding report each period.
Aging
AR aging to GL receivable tie
City ledger aging is tied to the AR balance on the GL with drill-down to per-account detail and open invoices.
Intercompany
Inter-company match
Inter-company receivables are matched to the counterparty payable so balances zero out at consolidation.
Audit ready
Audit-ready workpapers
Every balance sheet account has a current workpaper attached, ready for controller review and brand audit at any time.
Put hotel revenue on autopilot
From OTA statement to GL posting — faster cash, accurate books, and less manual reconciliation.
Frequently asked questions
Hotel balance sheet reconciliation is the month-end process of confirming that every balance sheet account on the GL ties to a supporting schedule — bank statement for cash, PMS sub-ledger for advance deposits and guest ledger, AR aging for receivables, gift card platform report for gift card liability, accrual workpapers for estimated liabilities, and so on.
Continue exploring AR reconciliation workflows
Browse every hotel reconciliation workflow Terrace AI automates.
Tie PMS revenue and taxes to the general ledger each period.
Reconcile group masters and direct bill accounts in AR.
Match in-house guest balances and routed charges to the GL.