Folios

A folio is the financial record of a guest's stay. Every charge and payment flows through it, creating a complete audit trail from check-in to final settlement. If you think of a reservation as the "who, when, and where" of a stay, the folio is the "how much."

Understanding folios is essential for every team member who touches billing, because errors in a folio cascade into incorrect invoices, disputed charges, and reconciliation problems that take far longer to fix after the fact.

Key concepts

Before working with folios, make sure you understand these terms as Veridien uses them:

Folio — The container that holds all financial transactions for a guest stay. Every reservation gets at least one folio, created automatically when the reservation is confirmed. A single stay can have multiple folios (for example, one for the guest and one for their company).

Posting — An individual line item on a folio. Room charges, restaurant bills, minibar items, spa services, and taxes are all postings. Each posting records the amount, the date, the charge category, and who or what created it.

Balance — The net amount remaining on a folio after all postings and payments are accounted for. A folio must reach a zero balance before it can be closed at checkout.

Viewing a folio

To view a guest's folio, navigate to Front Desk > Guests, select the guest, and open the Folio tab. You will see:

• A header showing the guest name, room number, folio number, and current balance.
• A chronological list of all postings, grouped by date.
• A summary bar at the bottom showing total charges, total payments, and the outstanding balance.
• Filter controls to show only specific charge categories (accommodation, food and beverage, taxes, payments).

Each posting row displays the date, description, charge category, amount, and the source (automatic or manual). Clicking a posting reveals its full details.

Automatic vs. manual posting

Most folio postings in Veridien are automatic. The system posts room charges according to the reservation's rate plan, restaurant charges when a table bill is routed to a room, and taxes according to the rules configured in Finance > Taxes & Fees.

Manual postings are used for charges that fall outside automated workflows. Common examples include:

• A minibar charge reported by housekeeping.
• A laundry or dry cleaning service.
• A parking fee.
• A damage charge assessed after inspection.

To add a manual posting, open the folio and use one of the available actions:

• Add Service — Select a predefined service from your property's service catalog and post it to the folio.
• Add Custom Charge — Enter a custom description and amount for charges that do not fit an existing service category.

The charge appears immediately on the folio.

Recording a payment

To record a payment against a folio, click Record Payment in the folio detail view. The payment dialog includes:

• Amount — The payment amount. Defaults to the full outstanding balance, but you can enter a partial amount.
• Method — The payment method (e.g., credit card, cash, bank transfer).
• Reference — An optional reference number for tracking purposes (e.g., card transaction ID, check number).

Once submitted, the payment is recorded and the folio balance updates immediately.

Generating an invoice

When a folio is ready to be formalized — typically at checkout — click Generate Invoice to create an official invoice from the folio's charges and payments. The invoice becomes a permanent financial record. See the Invoicing guide for full details on the invoice workflow.

Scenario: standard guest checkout

James Park is checking out after a three-night stay. Over the course of his stay, room charges, taxes, and a restaurant charge were posted to his folio automatically. The front desk agent also used Add Service to post a parking fee and Add Custom Charge for a late checkout surcharge.

At checkout, the agent opens James's folio from Front Desk > Guests, reviews all charges with him, and clicks Record Payment. James pays the outstanding balance with his credit card. The agent enters the amount, selects the card payment method, and adds the transaction reference. The folio reaches zero.

The agent then clicks Generate Invoice to produce a final invoice for James's records. The entire financial history of the stay is preserved in the folio for future reference.