Getting started
What does it take for the daily entry to be generated?
The night audit turned on, the chart of accounts loaded, every hotel transaction code mapped to an account, and the operating day signed. If the chart, an account role or a code mapping is missing, Containn says so at the top of the screen. See First-day setup.
How do I load the balances my hotel starts with?
With an opening entry: a póliza (journal entry) keyed in from Pólizas → Capturar póliza with balances as of your start date. The opening balance that Bancos asks for when you set up a bank account is used for that screen's reconciliation, not for the books. See If you're coming from another system.
Does it work if my accountant uses another system?
Yes. They can work on Containn's books or take the chart of accounts and trial balance in Anexo 24 XML, the SAT's electronic accounting format (the SAT is Mexico's tax authority). Today there's no entries file to import into another accounting system. See Export formats.
Entries and books
Can I edit or delete an entry?
No. An entry that can be edited isn't an entry. A mistake is fixed with another entry that reverses it, and the daily entry is never touched: the correction shows up on the day it's made. See Why an entry is never edited.
What happens if I correct a charge from three days ago?
The correction shows up on the day it was made. The signed day keeps saying what was signed, and the effect appears in the account detail with its real date. See Why a signed day is never recalculated.
Can I post manual entries?
Yes, for accruals, reclassifications and adjustments, under the same rules as the daily entry: it balances to the cent or it isn't saved, it gets a monthly sequence number, and it can't land in a closed month. See Manual entries.
Can I see the detail behind an entry?
Yes. The revenue and payment lines of the daily entry carry the code and name of the hotel transaction code they came from, and the Movement journal for that date, under Finances, shows every transaction with its time, room and who posted it.
Why doesn't the day's revenue match what was collected?
Because they're two different questions. Room revenue is earned night by night even if the guest pays at checkout, and a payment only moves money from the guest's account to the cash drawer: it never creates revenue. See Accrual versus cash.
Which account does the lodging tax go to?
The one you assign under Impuestos y sus cuentas (Taxes and their accounts). Until you do, ISH (the state lodging tax) lands in the general output-tax account together with IVA (value-added tax). See The tax landed in the general account.
Which financial statements does Containn produce?
The income statement, for the month or year to date, and the balance sheet at month-end, plus the trial balance with each account's detail. The cash flow statement doesn't appear on screen yet. See Financial reports catalog.
SAT and files
Does Containn file my taxes or submit the electronic accounting?
No. It generates the chart of accounts and trial balance in XML, and the entries when the SAT asks for them. The files come out unsigned: your accountant signs them with the hotel's e.firma (the SAT-issued electronic signature) and submits them through the Buzón Tributario (the SAT's taxpayer mailbox). See What Containn doesn't do.
Can I download entries or statements in Excel or PDF?
Not today. What comes out of Containn are the Anexo 24 files; entries, account detail and statements are viewed on screen. Several Finances and Spider Data reports do download in Excel and PDF. See Export formats.
What Containn doesn't do
Does Containn calculate payroll?
No: it records it. You enter the period total your payroll provider gave you, and Containn builds the entry for the expense, the net payable and the withholdings, and the payment entry. It doesn't calculate income tax withholding or IMSS (social security) contributions, and it doesn't issue payroll CFDI (electronic payroll receipts). See Payroll.
Does it connect to my bank or read my suppliers' XML?
Not yet. The bank statement is pasted into Bancos (date, description and amount), and the supplier invoice is entered in Cuentas por pagar (Accounts payable) with its folio fiscal (UUID). See Banks and reconciliation.
Can I see several hotels consolidated?
Not today. Each hotel keeps its own books with the same base chart and the same balancing rules, so they're comparable; group consolidation, with intercompany eliminations, doesn't exist yet.
Controls and closing
Who can view, post and close?
There are five permissions: view the accounting; set up the chart and the mapping; enter invoices, payments and banking; close the month; and reopen a closed month. The last one is special: nobody has it until it's granted. See The five permissions.
Can I close the month so nobody changes it?
Yes. A closed month takes no new entries. It's reopened with the special permission, with a written reason, from the newest month back to the oldest, and it's logged by name. See Month-end close.
How do I close the fiscal year?
From Cierre de mes (Month-end close), with the year's months closed and an equity account set to receive the profit; the base chart has no equity accounts, so you create it. Containn posts the closing entry as of December 31. See Year-end close.