What s New in choiceadvantage

Transcription

1 Included Enhancements Debit Cards Account Locked Screen Estimated Costs Collect Payment During Walk-in Rollaway\Crib Requests on Arrivals\In-House Screens House Accounts Company Profile and Direct Bill Account Find Reservation Group Reporting by Reservation Status No Post Report Express Checkout Folio Print Default Order Enhancements for Australia, New Zealand and the UK too! Release Notes and User Guide June 2011 Choice Hotels International Property Systems Training

2 Welcome Based on feedback we received from you, we have made several enhancements to choiceadvantage. These enhancements will be delivered to you in the form of a system upgrade, which is scheduled for release on Monday, June 13, The transition will require no functional training; however, this user guide is designed to assist your staff members with the new features so they are better able to provide exceptional service to your guests. How to Use this Guide This guide has been specifically prepared to help hotel staff get the most out of the new features and functions of choiceadvantage. For more information on the new features and other changes to choiceadvantage, refer to your online help system once the upgrade has been implemented. Online help should be the first place you look for answers. Page 2 of 29

3 Table of Contents Debit Cards Page 4 Account Locked Screen Page 7 Estimated Costs Page 9 Collect Payment During Walk-in Page 10 Rollaway\Crib Requests on Arrivals\In-House Screens & Special Request Report Page 11 Enhanced House Account Features Page 12 Company Profile and Direct Bill Account Page 15 Find Reservation Page 16 Group Reporting by Reservation Status Page 17 No Post Report Page 18 Express Checkout Folio Print Default Order Page 19 VAT Recap Report (Outside North America) Page 21 EFT Statement on A/R Tax Invoices (Outside North America) Page 24 Credit Note (Outside North America) Page 25 Registration Card, Interim Bill, A/R Tax Invoice, and Tax Folio (NZ Only) Page 29 Registration Card, Information Folio, A/R Invoice, and Tax Folio (UK Only) Page 29 Page 3 of 29

4 Debit Cards (Shift4 Only) This enhancement allows choiceadvantage to distinguish debit cards from credit cards and prompts the user to collect payment at check-in. This will increase customer satisfaction because funds will not be tied up unnecessarily in the form of an authorization. By default the feature will be off. To turn it on, go to: Manage Hotel Configuration Credit Card Configuration Page 4 of 29

5 Set Identify Debit Cards according to your preference. Page 5 of 29

6 Debit Cards (Continued) When this feature is enabled and a guest presents a debit card at check-in, you will be prompted to collect payment immediately. The Payment Amount field will automatically be populated with the total for the guest s stay including taxes as well as any recurring charges. If you leave the Change Method of Payment to Cash box checked the debit card information will not be removed from the database. Changing the payment method to cash ensures that funds are not tied up on the guest s debit account unnecessarily due to the Auto Authorization process. If you select No the card will be treated like any other credit card in your system. Page 6 of 29

7 Account Locked Screen This enhancement clarifies the course of action to be taken when a user locks their account in choiceadvantage or ChoiceCentral. A 30 minute timer is started when the account is locked. A user can either wait for this time to expire, at which point they may try logging in again. Otherwise, they can contact the General Manager to have their password changed. Changing the password unlocks the account. Note: Property Support does not have the ability to unlock a user s account with the exception of the General Manager user (GM.XX123). To change a user s password, the General Manger should access: ChoiceCentral Quick Links User Admin Display the desired user s account Click Change Password. Page 7 of 29

8 Account Locked Screen Change (Continued) Set the desired temporary password and click Change Password. The user will be prompted to change his/her password when they log in next. Page 8 of 29

9 Estimated Costs This enhancement allows you to quote the estimated cost of the guest s stay at any point in the reservation/walk-in process. The Estimated Cost includes taxes as well as recurring charges. When a guest s stay changes the Estimated Cost is updated as appropriate. Page 9 of 29

10 Collect Payment during Walk-in This enhancement prompts you to post payment during the check-in process for walk-in or reserved accounts. This makes the check-in process more efficient. Page 10 of 29

11 Rollaway\Crib on Arrivals\In-House Screens and Special Request Report This enhancement allows requests for rollaways and\or cribs to be more effectively filled and tracked by placing them right on the Arrivals and In-House Screens. The Special Request Report has also been updated to display this information. Page 11 of 29

12 Enhanced House Account Features This enhancement allows you to associate a particular form of payment to a house account; including direct bill. To do so, access the desired house account and click the Payment Info tab. Select the desired form of payment from the drop-down and enter required information. Click Save. Page 12 of 29

13 House Account (Cont.) Another enhancement to house accounts allows particular folio views to be closed. This will help make managing House Folios more efficient. Folios cannot be closed until they are at a zero balance and have gone through one audit. Once closed, the folio can be retrieved and viewed via a pop-up window. To view House Account folios access the desired House Account and click View House Account Folio. In order to close a folio click Close Folio. Page 13 of 29

14 House Account (Cont.) If your property uses tax invoices, you will be prompted to print the tax folio, click Yes or No. If you click No, the tax invoice will not be printed and the folio will not be closed. To view closed folios, click View Closed Folios. Set the date range the desired folio was closed, and click Retrieve. Page 14 of 29

15 Company Profile and Direct Bill Account This enhancement allows you to have different Company and Direct Bill accounts associated with the same guest or group account. This will allow you to more accurately track which companies provide room nights to your hotel regardless if another company is paying for the stay. Page 15 of 29

16 Find Reservation This enhancement adds more options to the Find Reservation screen than were previously available. This allows you to select a date range or a specific date in which to search. Page 16 of 29

17 Group Reporting by Reservation Status This enhancement allows you to filter group reports by the status of the individual reservations associated with the group. This ability has been added to the following reports: Group Departures List Group Arrival List Group Label Report Page 17 of 29

18 No Post Report This report will display a list of guests marked as no-post. This will allow you to quickly determine which rooms should not have charges posted to their folios. To access the report, go to: Run Reports No Post Report Page 18 of 29

19 Express Checkout Folio Print Default Order This enhancement prints the Express Checkout Folios in room number order. This will improve efficiency when delivering folios to your guests. To access the Express Checkout Folios, go to: Run Reports Express Checkout Folio Page 19 of 29

20 Express Checkout Folio Print Default Order (Cont.) Set the desired options and click Submit. Room Number is now the default sort priority. Page 20 of 29

21 VAT Recap Report (Outside North America) This enhancement implements a VAT Recap report for all tax inclusive postings at your property for a given date range. To run the VAT Recap Report, go to: Run Reports VAT Recap Report Page 21 of 29

22 VAT Recap Report (Cont.) Enter the desired date range and click Submit. Page 22 of 29

23 Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Statement on A/R Tax Invoices This enhancement allows you to add your EFT statement to your Accounts Receivable Tax Invoices. To add your Electronic Funds Transfer Statement, go to: Run Hotel Configuration Property Configuration Page 23 of 29

24 EFT Statement on A/R Tax Invoices (Cont.) Add your EFT Statement under Extended Hotel Data. Click Save. Page 24 of 29

25 Credit Note (Outside North America) This enhancement implements a Credit Note that is issued when a credit is due on a previously issued tax invoice. To turn the Credit Note functionality on as required by local tax law, go to: Manage Hotel Configuration Property Configuration Page 25 of 29

26 Credit Note (Cont.) Scroll to the Accounting section and place a checkmark next to Credit Note Enabled. Click Save. Page 26 of 29

27 Credit Note (Cont.) If you need to issue a credit to a previously issued tax invoice, click Tax Invoice from the Actions menu. If you click Reissue the credit will be applied to the previously issued Tax Invoice. Page 27 of 29

28 Credit Note (Cont.) In order to issue a Credit Note, click Create. The Credit Note must be associated with a previously issued Tax Invoice. Select the desired Tax Invoice and click Create. Page 28 of 29

29 Registration Card, Interim Bill, A/R Tax Invoice, and Tax Folio This enhancement implements a new Registration Card, Interim Bill, A/R Tax Invoice, and Tax Invoice specifically designed for New Zealand. Registration Card, Information Folio, A/R Tax Invoice, and Tax Folio This enhancement implements a new Registration Card, Information Folio, A/R Tax Invoice, and Tax Folio specifically designed for the United Kingdom. Page 29 of 29