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Home > Questions and Answers > Common Questions

Common Questions

1 How do I refund a deposit or charge a cancellation fee?
2 Why are deposits showing up on the "Deposits Remaining for Cancellations and No-Shows" Report?
3 How do I increase a credit card preauthorization?
4 Why did my Execu/Tech shortcut disappear?
5 What does it mean when a credit card "does not pass LUHN check?"
6 Why is the hotel or company name missing from the top of my screen?
7 Why can't I log into Execu/Tech?
8 Why do some transactions show the wrong date?
9 Why do I get a "class not registered" message?
10 Why does my availability appear to be off?
11 Why does night audit need to be done each night?
12 Why am I seeing a "guest record busy" or "reservation busy" message?
13 Why can I not reserve more than one room per reservation?
14 Why does my Room Types display show zero rooms when the Tape Chart shows available rooms?
15 Why do I need to keep my caps lock on?
16 What is a share-with?
17 What charge codes and payment codes are pre-defined, required, or restricted?
18 What is a "clearing" folio and why is it listed on the Final Recap?
19 What is a clearing code?
20 What is the difference between "market segment" and "source of business"?
21 How can I track commissions for reservationists?
22 What is the difference between blocking rooms and soft blocking rooms?
23 How do I post an adjustment to a folio?
24 What is a folio?

 


1.  How do I refund a deposit or charge a cancellation fee?
  • If the reservation is still active, post the transaction the same way as you posted the deposit.  On the deposit screen, enter the payment as a CREDIT by typing the minus sign before the amount (such as "-100.00").  If a credit card was used for the deposit, then you can use this same "card on file" for the refund.  For the cancellation or no-show fee, you will use a charge code such as CFEE.  If the no-show fee should be taxed, then your charge code  must begin with RC such as RCNS.  The charge code must have the room tax field populated with your first tax such as RT1 or RT.  You CANNOT void an advance deposit.  You do not need to enter a minus sign when entering a CHARGE code.
  •     
  • If the guest has already been checked in you can post directly to the guest's folio.  The refund will be a CREDIT to the appropriate payment type.  Remember to type a minus sign in the amount field. fee should be a charge code and you do not need to type a minus sign for the charge code.
  •     
  • If the reservation did not have a deposit and the reservation went into Guest History as a cancellation or no-show, then you can do one of two things:  Create a master folio for the guest and process the payment and fees; or make a reservation and post the deposit and fees, remembering to cancel the reservation.  However, this goes into the guest's history records as another cancellation.

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 2.  Why are deposits showing up on the "Deposits Remaining for Cancellations and No-Shows" Report?
  • There are three reasons names will print on this report:
    1. A reservation was cancelled without its deposit being cleared.
    2. A reservation was a no-show and there is a deposit that should be cleared.
    3. There was an error in the posting of the deposit or the automatic transfer into the guest folio.

  • If the reservation was cancelled or the guest was a no-show, bring up the reservation, save it, and then click "Deposit".  On the Enter Advance Deposit screen, you need to zero out the deposit.  This may be a refund, a charge such as a cancellation or no-show fee, or a combination.  Use the appropriate code(s) to post the payment refund or charge.  If you are posting a payment refund, enter a minus sign after the amount.   If you are posting a charge, do not enter a minus sign after the amount.  When the deposit sum is zero, the system will ask if you wish to cancel the reservation.  Answer Yes.

  • If the reservation has already gone into Reservation History or if the guest was checked in but the deposit did not process correctly, you cannot post an advance deposit offset or refund.  Instead, you will post directly to the Advance Deposit Master Folio.  Do not post  directly to the Advance Deposit Master folio for any other reason unless advised specifically by Execu/Tech.  Go to Post Folio and click "Enter Folio Number" or type F in the room number field and press Enter.  At the prompt, enter the Advance Deposits Master folio number.  In the Code field, use a valid payment code such as ADF (Advance Deposit Forfeit), ADA (Advance Deposit Adjustment) or other existing and valid charge code.  Looking at  your "Advance Deposits Remaining for Cancellations & No-Shows" report, enter the CONF-NUMBER into the "Reference" field.  You must enter it exactly as shown on the report including leading zeroes.  If the amount is a credit on the report, post the amount without a minus sign.  If the amount on the report is a debit (does not have a minus sign) post the amount with a minus sign.  If there are multiple entries for this guest on the report, you will need to handle each line separately on the Post Charges screen.

  • It may take a few nights for the name to stop printing on the report but if you posted the transaction correctly, it will stop.  If you still see the guest on the report, look at the existing entry or entries and look at the correcting posting you did.  The sum of them should be zero.

  • Click HERE for more information on cancellations and no-shows.

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3.  How do I increase a credit card preauthorization?
  • Do Not simply change the guest's credit limit if there is a credit card preauthorization.  Doing so will not increase the authorized fund amount.

  • Bring up the guest's folio.  Click "Authorize Card".  A prompt will ask for an additional amount to authorize.  NOTE that the amount should be the ADDITIONAL amount, NOT the total amount. 

  • You cannot preauthorize a second card without first voiding the preauthorization on the existing credit card.  You will see a "void preauth" button at the bottom of your screen. 

  • You can, if necessary, preauthorize a second card if you split the folio.  Answer "Y" in the "split folio" field.  A popup will allow you to process a preauthorization and set a credit limit for a second card.  This guest will now have two folios, a primary folio and a secondary folio.  Room and tax charges post automatically to the primary and incidental charges post automatically to the secondary folio. 

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4.  Why did my Execu/Tech shortcut disappear?                                
  • You might have lost your network connection and accidentally deleted your shortcut while it was trying to connect.
  •     
  • You might be under a different Windows login.

  • Click HERE  for more information.

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5.  What does it mean when a credit card "does not pass LUHN check?"         
  • Something is wrong with the credit card number as it was entered.  A "Luhn test" is used by some credit card companies to distinguish valid card numbers from possible randomly entered numbers.  Typically when you receive this message, the number of digits is incorrect or there is an invalid character.  The solution is to enter the card number again, and if possible to ask the cardholder again for the number.

  • This message is returned to us by the credit card processing gateway and Execu/Tech can do nothing about an invalid card number.

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6.  Why is the hotel or company name missing from the top of my screen?      
  • You might be in the wrong company.  If so, go to System Maintenance < Select Another Company.  At the prompt, enter the two-digit company code, such as 01.  If you do not see System Maintenance, ask someone with full Execu/Tech permissions to log onto Execu/Suite and do this.
  •     
  • Your company file might be corrupted.  To fix or re-create it, go to System Maintenance > Select Another Company.  Click "Company Set-up".  At the prompt, enter the two-digit company code.  Most likely this is 01 (zero one) but ask management if you are not sure.  Make sure you enter both digits such as 01.  There is no Company 1 for example,  If you do not see System Maintenance on your menu, ask someone with full Execu/Tech permissions to log onto Execu/Suite and change the company.
  •     
  • Click HERE  for more information.

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7.  Why can't I log into Execu/Tech?     

 

After you type your User ID and press Enter, if the cursor does not move to the Password field, then the ID is not accepted.  (If the cursor moves to the Password field then the ID is OK.) 

 

Reasons this may happen:               

  • You might be in the wrong company. (The top of the login window will show you what company it is in.)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

This can happen if someone selected a different company, and you do not have a user/password for it, or an Enter Company Code prompt popped up and someone entered an invalid company code. You will need a user ID with permissions to all companies as well as permissions to Select Another Company. Once you log on with those credentials, go to System Maintenance > Select Another Company. At the prompt enter the two-digit company number. If you do not know, ask management. For most properties the default hotel company is 01 but it may be anything between 01 and 99. Make sure that you enter both integers; i.e., 01 and not 1. 

  • Your caps lock might not be on.
  • Your number lock might not be on.
  • Your workstation might be disconnected from the network. Contact your IT manager.

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8.  Why do some transactions show the wrong date?
  • Execu/Tech reads your Windows computer date.  If a transaction shows an incorrect date, check the date of the computer on which the transaction was posted.

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9.  Why do I get a "class not registered" message?                         
  • Something changed on your computer and Windows registry entries were not created. 
  •             
  • You are using a new workstation and Windows registry entries were not created.
  •             
  • You received Execu/Tech updates and afterward Windows registry were not created.

  • Click HERE  for more information about the error.

  • Click HERE  for more information on fixing the problem.                    

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10.  Why does my availability appear to be off?
  • You are looking at the Tape Chart and there are room types blocked that are not picked up.

  • A group was cancelled but the blocked rooms were not released.

  • The number of rooms designated in the room types setup does not match the actual number of rooms of a type.

  • A reservation was made for more than one room (by default this is not allowed by the system).

  • There are share-withs.

  • There are connecting rooms.

  • Your network is slow and the screens have not updated yet.

  • The Tape Chart or Room Types display has been open a long time and has not been refreshed.


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11. Why does night audit need to be done each night?                                                   
  • Statistics files are created nightly during Reorganize Files.  If this step is skipped, your occupancy and financial statistics will not be accurate.
  •                 
  • Post Room and Tax is designed to be run once per day, after the night audit cut-off time for the day and prior to the night-audit cut-off time for the following day.  If you skip this step, you will have to post room and tax charges manually for each room for the day that was skipped.
  •                 
  • Checked out guests move to guest history during Reorganize Files.
                   
  • Cancelled and no-show reservations move to reservation history during Reorganize Files.
                                    
  • Clearing folios clear during night audit Reorganize Files.  It is crucial that these files clear nightly, to avoid data corruption.
  •                 
  • Advance deposits for checked-in guests are cleaned up and organized at "Update Advance Deposit Master Folio".           

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12. Why am I seeing a "guest record busy" or "reservation busy" message?                                                              
  • Someone is in the same guest record such as a folio.  When the person exits the record you should be able to access it.
  •                     
  • You have already opened the record.  It may be minimized or behind the screen you are looking at.  When you close it, you should be able to access it again.
  •                     
  • An error kicked you out of the system while a record was open - for example, you lost your internet while a credit card transaction was posting. 
  •                     
  • If you are sure no one is in the record, type X on your keyboard and press Enter to bypass the message.  If this does not work, then look at the "message busy" password in the Parameter Record in the Manager/Setup > Hotel Control Files setup menu.           

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13. Why can I not reserve more than one room per reservation?                               
  • This feature is turned off for most hotels so that is easier to verify availability versus the number of reservations. 
  •                         
  • Creating duplicate reservations by using "make another reservation like this" is cleaner in most instances.
  •                         
  • This feature is turned off for most hotels because of user error - entering 10 instead of 1, for example.
  •                         
  • Each room must be checked in separately even when there is only one reservation.

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14. Why does my Room Types display show zero rooms when the Tape Chart shows available rooms?                               
  • You have reservations with room type assignments but not room number assignments.
  •                             
  • You have blocked more rooms by type for a group than you have picked up with reservations.
  •                             
  • The "number of rooms" field in the room type setup does not match the actual number of rooms of that type.

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15. Why do I need to keep my caps lock on?                                                                                     
  • In text fields you do not have to keep your caps lock on, but it is easier to keep caps lock on all the time rather than switching back and forth.
  •                                     
  • Caps lock matters on pre-coded fields requiring Y or N answers, etc.
  •                                     
  • Case matters in code fields.  This allows you to have twice as many characters.  Since pre-coded fields are upper case, it is easier to keep caps lock on by default.      

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16. What is a share-with?                                    
  • A share-with is used when two or more reservations and folios are needed for a single room.  This is often used in groups so that each guest will have his or her own folio for posting purposes without having to transfer charges or split payments. 
  •                                         
  • To create a share-with, enter the first reservation.  Then when the first reservation has been completed, click the Share-with button at the bottom of the screen and enter the information for the second person's reservation.  Continue with additional guests occupying the room.
  •                                         
  • The system will not calculate the room rate for each person in the share, as the possible combinations are infinite.  You should enter the correct room rate for each reservation in the share.           

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 17. What charge codes and payment codes are pre-defined, required, or restricted?

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 18. What is a "clearing" folio and why is it listed on the Final Recap?    
  • Specific master folios are created to handle POS sales and receipts so that the Food & Beverage or Retail sales and other data can be included on your audit and statistics reports.  Once night audit Reorganize Files has completed, there is no longer a need to keep these records in the folio.  Therefore, the folio clears automatically when the
    balance is zero.  The balance should always be zero.   
  • If the balance is not zero, the folio will not clear.

  • If the folio does not clear it can become corrupted due to the high number of records accumulated.

  • On the Final Recap we list clearing folios that do not have a zero balance so that the auditor or management can zero out the folio so that it will clear the following night.
    • To know how to zero the folio, look at each POS check's transactions.  The POS check or ticket number will be in the REF column.  Each transaction for the check will be in sequence.  The folio's balance must be zero after each check has been closed. Look for the first check whose transactions do not equal zero.  You can click on the ticket number to bring up the POS check.  Look to see what was on the check but did not post to the folio.  For example, if there was a tip on the closed check but the tip did not post to the folio, the folio will be off by that amount. 
    • From the folio display click Post to go to the Post screen.  Use your tip charge code (such as FTIP) to post that transaction.  The folio balance should be zero afterward.  If it is not, then look for additional tickets that did not post properly.

  • Why does this happen?  The most common reason is a network communication failure during the posting process.   In POS the check might have closed properly but did not post correctly to the folio.
  • The night auditor should look for this each night.  This is rare but should be attended to promptly.  Otherwise, your POS master folio might contain hundreds or thousands of records that you will have to dig through.

  • If the night auditor is unwilling or unable to do this, management should assign the appropriate person.

  • You should never post to a POS master folio under any other circumstance.

See also Master Folios

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 19. What is a clearing code?
  • A clearing charge is used by the system when a POS check or ticket is closed to a guest room or master folio.  The system posts a credit to the POS master folio (which zeroes out the check and closes it) and a debit to the guest or master folio, which is a charge.  The guest or master folio now includes this charge, as it was not paid in the POS outlet, and the guest will owe it at check-out if the advance deposit was not sufficient to cover it.  On the charge journal the sum will be zero because both a credit and debit posted.  If the sum is not zero you should determine why (for example, did someone post something manually using that code?).  Clearing codes should
    never be posted manually unless advised by Execu/Tech.  These do not represent revenue codes.  See Charge Code Setup .

  • A clearing payment code is used by the system when a reservation with an advance deposit is checked in.  The system posts a debit to the advance deposit master folio and a credit to the guest folio.  This clearing code is DEPU and you should never use it.  You also should never post manually to the advance deposit master folio.  See Payment Code Setup .

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20. What is the difference between "market segment" and "source of business"?    

You may use these fields however you wish but the following is typical for most hotels. 

  • A market segment is a demographic, or represents the type of guest (such as Corporate) or reason the guest is staying at your facility (such as Wedding) or reason the guest is staying in your city (such as Sports).  See Market Segment Codes Setup .

  • A source of business defines how the guest heard about your hotel, or the reservation referring channel.  Examples include Website, Friend, Travel Agency, and Expedia.  See Source of Business Codes Setup .

  • You may optionally assign specific market segments to sources of business.  For example, if you have a market segment Spring Break, you might have the sources of business College Newspaper and School Blog.  Those two sources of business can be applied only when the Spring Break market segment is selected.

  • Market segments and sources of business can be included (some or all) in WebRes for your guests to select.  The prompts would be something like, "Reason for visit" and "How did you hear about us?"

  • Market Segments and Business Sources are part of your statistics data and print on your AM Report.  This lets you see, for example, that 22% of your room nights on a particular date (or MTD or YTD) were corporate guests.

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21. How can I track commissions for reservationists?         

The easiest way is to set them up as Travel Agencies .  This will automatically calculate number of nights, total revenue, and commission based on the commission rate set up for the employee.  By default this tracks room charges (RC) only, but the system can be configured to track additional charge codes.  

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22. What is the difference between blocking rooms and soft blocking rooms for groups?    
  • Blocking rooms is when you enter the number of each room type you wish to set aside for each night.  For example, you need 10 QQ rooms and 8 K rooms.  These are entered in the grid which you access by clicking "Block Rooms" on the group setup screen.

  • Soft blocking is when you set aside specific rooms, such as 101 and 103, for the group.  You will NOT enter these into the Block Rooms grid.  On the Block Rooms screen you will click the "Soft block rooms" which will bring up the tape chart where you will click each room for each date.

  • Neither blocking nor soft blocking creates a reservation.  It simply sets aside the quantity of rooms per type or specific rooms, pending input of reservations. 

  • Rooms blocked but not picked up by the group's cut-off date will return to inventory on that date and will no longer be part of the block.

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23. How do I post an adjustment to a folio?
  • Use these steps to post a REDUCTION a posted amount, not to add an additional amount.

  • Go to the Post Folio (Post Charges/ Payments) screen for the folio.  Click the Adjustment button.

  • To adjust a charge, enter a valid charge code and enter a minus sign after the amount. 

  • To adjust a payment, enter a valid payment code and DO NOT enter a minus sign after the amount.

  • After you press Enter at the OK? prompt, your cursor will return to the Code field.  You have completed the adjustment.

  •  You may check the balance at the right side of our screen or click Display to view the adjustment.

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24. What is a folio?

A folio is a record of charges and payments to be paid by an individual, company, or entity.  Each checked in guest will have a folio to which charges and payments will post.   Split folios allow each guest to have both a primary and secondary folio.  Room and tax charges post to the primary folio and incidental charges (such as restaurant charges or phone calls) post to the secondary folio. 

For a group there may be both a group master folio and individual guest folios.

There are various types of master folios.  These serve to post and track charges and payments that are not posted to guest room folios.  See Master Folios.

Guest Ledger is the sum of all folios.
             
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See Also: 

 

Common Mistakes






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Last Modified
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