A hotel has two truths on the same day, and both are correct.
Cash flow is what moved in the cash drawer and in the guest's account. A five-night stay paid in full at checkout puts all the money in the drawer on the departure day.
Accrual is what the hotel earned. That same stay earned one night each day: room revenue accrues night by night, even if the money arrives at the end.
That's why the day's revenue report and the day's collections don't match, and anyone who tries to force them to match will end up inventing a number. Containn issues them separately: the revenue report says in its name that it is on an accrual basis and, next to the figure, explains the difference against what was collected that day. The income statement uses accrual, which is the basis of the books.
Where the difference shows up in the books
Revenue is recognized when the night is charged to the guest's account; a payment only moves money from the guest's account to cash. A payment never creates revenue. This is how the daily póliza (the Mexican term for a journal entry) records it:
| Transaction | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Room night | Guest ledger (Clientes · huéspedes en casa) | The revenue account mapped to the concept, its taxes and the service charge |
| Payment from an in-house guest | Cash or bank | Guest ledger |
| Advance deposit for a future stay | Cash or bank | Advance deposits (Anticipos de reservas) |
A guest charge posted to the folio follows the same path as the night: a debit to the guest ledger and a credit to its revenue account. The third row is the one people confuse most: an advance deposit is neither revenue nor a payment on the folio; it's a liability until the guest arrives. See The deposit ledger.
Which report answers what
| Report | Basis | The question it answers |
|---|---|---|
| Night Audit Totals (Totales de Auditoría) | Cash flow | Does the day balance? |
| Daily Revenue, accrual (Ingresos del Día) | Accrual | How much did the hotel earn that day? |
| Operating income, in Finances | Accrual | When was each peso of the period earned? |
| Income statement, in Containn | Accrual | How is the period's result tracking? |
| Cash flow statement, in Containn | Cash | Where did cash come from and where did it go? |
It's not an error, and there's nothing to fix. To see why they differ, compare accrual with what was collected the same day: the revenue report gives you both figures and the difference.