If you're like most hotels, you handle most of your money up front. When you check guests in at the front desk, you take their payment information, charge them for the room, and keep the card on file for incidentals. When their stay is up, you make the final charge and slip the receipt under their door. Finished.
But for special circumstances, you need billing software. Perhaps you rented out a ballroom for a wedding, a guest caused some damage in the bathroom, or a nearby restaurant hosted a large event and paid to use your parking lot.
In all these situations (and many others), you need to whip up an invoice and your hotel management software might not offer exactly with what you need.
It's time to look into billing software that works for hotels. Below, we break down four low-cost and free billing software options (presented in alphabetical order) that can be easily adapted for hotel use.
This article looks at four low-cost and free hotel billing software options. See the full list of free billing and invoicing solutions here.
1. Billbooks
Billbooks' dashboard
Billbooks lets you send invoices quickly and track payments. It automatically sends "payment due" reminders, and you can reuse the same invoice over and over. Clients can pay you online, and the software tracks invoice history to maintain consistent records.
Why it's good for hotels: It lets you quickly create an invoice from scratch and send it to your client immediately.
Price: There's a free version of the software, but you're limited to three invoices. From there, you can pay $10 for 20 invoices, $20 for 50 invoices, $35 for 100, or $60 for 200.
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2. Invoicera
Invoicera's dashboard
Invoicera lets you create and schedule invoices to ensure they're sent out on time. Your invoices can include terms and conditions, and clearly stipulate due dates and late fees. You can track the status of an invoice at any time, facilitating client follow up to ensure timely payment. Clients can pay online using more than 25 payment gateway options.
Why it's good for hotels: Invoicera specifically offers invoices designed for hotels as well as restaurants. The option to use multiple payment gateways may be more attractive to your client base.
Price: There's a free version that allows three active clients. If you need to juggle more than that, you can pay $15 for the pro edition, which includes 100 active clients. After that, it's an additional $10 per month every time you need to add 100 more clients.
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3. ReliaBills
Sample invoices by ReliaBills
ReliaBills claims to make invoicing easy, letting you create customized invoices by adding your hotel's logo, colors, and specific headers and footers. You can import or sync invoices without entering the same information each time, and you can send invoices with one click. All customer information—including balance and payment history—is available at a glance.
Why it's good for hotels: ReliaBills lets you create custom fields, generating an invoice that is perfectly designed for your hotel.
Price: The free version of ReliaBills lets you create unlimited invoices for unlimited users and customers. If you want to process and accept payments online, you'll have to pay $24.95 per month.
Have you used ReliaBills? Leave a review!
4.Zoho Invoice
Creating a new invoice in Zoho
Zoho is known for its customer relationship management software (the second most popular option in Capterra's CRM software directory). The company also offers invoicing software, which is web-based and automatically sends payment reminders to your clients. You can choose a template from the gallery, and add your own customization to fit your brand. The software's dashboard has a simple design that allows you to monitor your invoice status at any time.
Why it's good for hotels: It's web-based and straightforward, making it a great option for hotel managers who don't want to spend a lot of time learning new software.
Price: Zoho Invoice has a free version that lets you invoice up to five customers. The basic version costs $7 per month and lets you invoice 50 customers. It's $15 per month for the standard version (up to 500 customers, as well as three users), and $30 for the professional level (unlimited customers and 10 users).
Have you used Zoho Invoice? Leave a review!
What billing software have you used at your hotel?
While these four options will definitely get you started, we know there are other great options out there.
What billing software have you used at your hotel? If you don't use a dedicated billing system, how do you invoice clients? What billing software features does your hotel value? Let us know in the comments below.