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Monthly Bad Debts Report

Updated

On this page
  1. Purpose
  2. Who uses it
  3. About this report on screen
  4. Before you start
  5. Step by step
  6. Filters
  7. Columns
  8. Totals and grouping
  9. How to read an example
  10. Common questions it answers
  11. Troubleshooting
  12. Messages you may see
  13. Export, print and e-mail
  14. Related reports
  15. Screenshots

The Monthly Bad Debts Report lists payments whose payment type belongs to the Bad Debts category: bills that the hotel gave up collecting. Lines are grouped as Reservation, Checkin(s), Sales & Channel, Group and Miscellaneous Income and end with a Grand Total.

Monthly Bad Debts Report on the demo hotel (SunTatva Demo Hotel)

Purpose

Show what was written off in the period, on which folio, with what charges and who posted it, so that the loss can be approved and booked.

Who uses it

Accountants, the general manager and owners (approval of write-offs), auditors.

About this report on screen

Every report page has an About this report bar under its header (button Explain / Hide). It explains the report in plain words:

  • Summary: Amounts written off as bad debt in a period.
  • What this report shows: Each folio posted to bad debt with rent, other charges, payments and the total, the posting date and the desk user.
  • How to read it:
  • Bad debt is money the hotel no longer expects to collect.
  • Good to know:
  • From Date starts on the 1st of the current business month; change it for any other period.

Columns explained (the same text shows on the help icon next to a column title):

Column Meaning
Folio # The stay's folio number.
Rent Room rent (without other charges).
Other Charges Charges other than room rent (food, laundry, extra bed...).
Total Other Charges All charges other than room rent.
Total Charges Everything charged to the folio.
Payments Payments received.

Before you start

  • A write-off is recorded by posting a payment with a payment type whose category is Bad Debts (Property Setup > Payment Type, category Bad Debts). The demo hotel has such a type, which is why Monthly Collection has a Bad Debts column.
  • The date used is the posting date of the payment; a deleted payment is shown on the date it was deleted.
  • You need the privilege Monthly_Report_MonthlyBadDebtsReport (Property Setup > User & Access > Assign Report Privileges). Without it the card is not shown on the Reports screen and a direct address signs you out.

Step by step

  1. Click Reports in the left menu (or press Ctrl+K and type the report name). The report library opens at #/reports.
  2. Choose the category Monthly Reports (or type in the search box) and click the card Monthly Bad Debts ("Uncollectible accounts summary"). You can also open #/report/monthly-bad-debts directly.
  3. The report opens and runs once with its default criteria, so you already see data. Under Report criteria set From Date, To Date as you need (in a date calendar, Working Date jumps to the current business date).
  4. Click Show to run it again with the new criteria. The line under Results tells how many rows are shown.
  5. Read the result as a Table or as Cards (switch at the top right). Columns shows or hides columns and lets you drag them into another order; click a column title to sort. Hide criteria / Show criteria folds the criteria away; on a tablet or phone it folds by itself after Show and leaves a one-line summary.
  6. Click Export and choose PDF, Excel or Email (PDF). The button is always in the header but stays disabled until the report has rows.

Filters

Filter What it does Default
From Date First day of the period. The calendar greys out days before the property start date (16-Oct-2026 on the demo hotel); the Working Date button sets the PMS date. First day of the PMS month
To Date Last day of the period; it cannot be before From Date. A date after the PMS date is accepted (stays booked for those days then show their rent, nothing is paid yet). PMS date

The Columns button in the header opens a panel: untick a column to hide it, drag the grip icon to reorder. Hidden columns are also left out of PDF and Excel. If you hide every column, Export is disabled.

Columns

All columns of the Monthly Bad Debts Report (wide screen)

Column Meaning and how it is calculated
(group heading) Source of the payment: Reservation, Checkin(s), Sales & Channel, Group or Miscellaneous Income (hidden column used for grouping).
Desk User User who posted the payment. The line "Total" of a group has no user.
Posting Date Payment date (deletion date for a deleted payment).
Guest Name Primary guest of the folio, or the Sales & Channel, group or payer name. A leading * means the payment was deleted.
Folio # Folio number.
Rent Rent total of the folio.
Occupancy Tax Tax on the rent (title from property settings).
Total Rental Rent + Occupancy Tax.
Other Charges Other charges of the folio.
Other Charges Tax Tax on the other charges.
Total Other Charges Other Charges + Other Charges Tax.
Total Charges Total Rental + Total Other Charges.
Payments Amount of the bad debt payment posted on that date.

Totals and grouping

Each group may end with a Total line; the screen ends with Grand Total, which adds every column. When no bad debt exists only the Grand Total line (all zero) is shown.

How to read an example

On the demo hotel, run for 16-Oct-2026 to 17-Oct-2026: the screen shows only the Grand Total line, with 0 in Payments and 0.00 in every other column (2 rows). Nobody wrote off a bill in this period.

Illustration with made-up numbers: group Checkin(s), row Desk user | 17-Oct-2026 | Guest A | 171020105012389 | Rent 4,000.00 | Tax 480.00 | Total Rental 4,480.00 |... | Total Charges 4,480.00 | Payments 4,480.00, then the Grand Total.

Common questions it answers

  • How much did we write off this month?
  • Which guests did not pay and who posted the write-off?
  • Were any bad debts reversed (deleted)?

Troubleshooting

Problem Cause and what to do
The report is empty although I wrote off a bill Check that the payment type used has the category Bad Debts, and the payment date is within the range.
A line starts with * The payment was deleted. It is still shown, on its deletion date, so you can see the reversal.
Total Charges is larger than Payments The bad debt payment covers only part of the folio; the rest was paid in another way.

Messages you may see

Message Why it appears What to do
No record found! The service returned no rows for the filters. Change the dates or filters and click Show.
Email sent successfully. You chose Email (PDF). Check the property mailbox. The message appears even if the mail server refuses the mail.

Export, print and e-mail

  • PDF is built in the browser and opens in a new tab (allow pop-ups). If the property has no uploaded logo the PDF is simply drawn without it.
  • Excel downloads Monthly Bad Debts Report.xlsx: property name, print date, report name and date range, then the visible columns and the same rows.
  • Email (PDF) has the server mail the PDF to the property e-mail address and shows "Email sent successfully." at once, even if delivery fails.
  • The Export button is always in the report header; it is disabled (grey) until the result has at least one row.

Screenshots

Monthly bad debts filters
Monthly bad debts filters