Clock PMS+ Update (4 Sep 2014)

Modified on: Thu, 15 Sep, 2022 at 2:00 PM

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PMS

  • Export of all reports to MS Excel, OpenOffice, GoogleDrive, etc.
    All reports can now be exported spreadsheet applications like Microsoft Excel, OpenOffice Calc, Google Drive spreadsheet, etc..
    • run the desired report.
    • click 'Copy' in the upper right corner
    • open the desired application, e.g. Excel and paste (Ctrl+V / Command+V).
  • Pre-arrival and post-departure e-mails
    The function allows manual or automated sending of two types of standard e-mails, before they arrive and after they leave the hotel. The pre-arrival e-mail can be used to reduce the number of no-show bookings by reminding guests of their booking and and the functions of the Self service portal they can use (cancellation, period change). Post-departure e-mails can encourage guests to use the Self service portal to leave feedback or share their experience in social networks.
    To send an e-mail manually:
    • open the desired booking
    • in Functions select 'Pre-arrival e-mail' or 'Post-departure e-mail'. If the e-mails have already been sent, the system shows their text with the date and time of sending.
  • To set automatic e-mails:
    • go to Other – Settings – Auto e-mail sending
    • Indicate the how long before arrival the e-mail should be sent in 'Days before arrival'. Remember that e-mails are only sent to 'Expected' bookings.
    • Indicate the how long after departure the e-mail should be sent in 'Days after departure'. Remember that e-mails are only sent to 'Checked-Out' bookings.
    • ! Before activating the auto sending send both e-mails manually to verify their content and format.
  • Initial automated sending:
    • Arrivals: When the function is first activated, all bookings expected within the indicated number of days are sent pre-arrival e-mails. For example, if you have filled in 'Days before arrival'=5, all bookings arriving in the next 5 days will receive messages.
    • Departures: When the function is first activated, all bookings checked out within the indicated number of days, but not later than 10 days after that, are sent post-departure e-mails. For example, if you have filled in 'Days after departure'=2, all bookings that have left the hotel 2 to 12 days ago will receive post-departure e-mails.
  • To customize the subject and body of the e-mails:
    • go to Other – Settings – Languages and Texts
    • for each language you use select 'Auto e-mail sending/Translation'
    • Fill in Subject and Body of the two e-mails. The address 'Dear Mr./Ms. Smith,' and the link to the Self service portal at the end of the messages will be preserved. Your text will be inserted between them.
  • Commission processing
    The new add-on for processing commissions helps calculating commissions, checking the calculated amounts and tracking paid and payable commissions to your partners. The add-on is integrated in the bookings and has access to all the data it needs to calculate the commissions. No export to external systems or double entries are needed.
    To indicate that a company has a commission contract, specify the standard commission rate it uses. Enter the rate percentage in the company editing screen. If a company uses different commission rates for different cases, enter the one that applies most often.
    To open the commission processing module:
    • in the main navigation strip click Company – Commissions. Make sure you have access right 'Commission processing: Edit".
    • Use the filters to find the bookings you will be processing or need information about.
    • The list includes all bookings with defined commissions, as well as those for which it has to be calculated based on the % commission defined in their company profile.
  • To calculate the commission of bookings:
    • Click Select Multiple
    • Select the desired bookings
    • Click 'Calculate Commission'
  • To change the commission rate of a booking or remove it altogether:
    • Select 'Edit Commission' for the desired booking or fill in the commission amount.
    • ! Please note that you fill in the amount of the commission, not percentage rate
    • ! The same operation can be performed in the booking editing screen.
  • Use the note to as a reminder for possible exceptions (different commission rates, no commission, etc.).
    Use function 'Mark 'Checked' / 'Mark 'Not checked' to mark commissions that are already checked and ready to be paid out.
    Fill in the payment dates of paid out commissions so that they are easily set apart from those payable.
  • Import of bookings from a file (csv).
    The new function allows lists of bookings following a certain format in a .csv file to be quickly imported into Clock PMS.
    To open the screen, go to 'Other' - 'Settings' - 'Import bookings from CSV file'. There you can also download a sample .csv file (opened by MS Excel, OpenOffice, etc.).
    To import bookings successfully, their details must correspond exactly to nomenclature in the system.
    The nomenclature concerned here is: Room type, Room, Meal, Rate, Company. The details in these fields must be identical to those in the system. For example, if a room type in the system is set 'DBL', the corresponding room type in the import file must be 'DBL', too. The nomenclature is case sensitive.
    Allowed values for field 'Status': 'expected', 'checked_in', 'checked_out', 'canceled', 'no_show'.
    Field 'Country' uses the two-letter encoding of ISO 3166-1 alpha-2.
    ! Before importing the file run function 'Test' to verify all data is correctly entered.

Self Service portal

  • PDF Download of invoices
    Guests can now download their invoices in PDF. Reminding them of this option in a post-departure e-mail can save a lot of manual sending of invoices over fax or e-mail.
  • Notifications for new feedback
    Each new feedback left in the Self service portal sends an e-mail to the hotel and creates a ToDo task on the desktop. This allows the hotel to act swiftly in case of negative feedback and solve any serious problems as quickly as posible.

Other optimizations and modifications

  • The mass update of rates has been optimized.
    It now allows updating more than one period at a time, as well as specifying more than one price. For easier successive updates, the screen does not close after each operation. To access the function, open a rate plan and click 'Set multiple days'.
  • E-signature for registration cards
    The function is now also accessible from PMS, not only the Self service portal.
    • Open a booking.
    • Click 'Print Preview' opposite the registration card
    • Click 'Signature'
    • Hand the tablet or the touchpad to the client to sign.
  • City Tax included in the price as a separate charge
    A new setting allows posting city tax as a separate charge. The night price should be reduced so that the tax is actually included in the end night price. To set this:
    • open a rate plan
    • click on the name of the desired rate
    • for 'City Tax' select 'Included, Separate charge'.
  • Charges Summary Report – chart and various level of details
    The report offers three different levels of detail: Revenue Group; Revenue Group/Revenue Category; Revenue Group/Revenue Category/Charge Text.
    There is also a chart showing the amounts per revenue group.
  • Occupancy Forecast – graphic presentation.
    Click button 'Chart' to see a chart of occupied rooms as a whole and by room types.
  • iCalendar
    The iCalendar feed is now included as a separate add-on. To use the feed, the add-on must be activated.
  • Invoice numbers can now be set to have a fixed length (e.g. '0000010523).
    To set the length:
    • go to 'Other' - 'Settings' - 'Tax Settings'
    • Set the desired number of symbols in field 'Invoice number length' (e.g. 10).
    • The invoice numbers will start with as many zeros as needed to observe the requirement.
  • WRS – removed captcha.
    Since the previous update of the system bookings are only created after successful payment. In this respect the captcha is not necessary.

Fixed bugs

  • Cancelled bookings are no longer included in the hotel registry
  • The sorting in Payment Report has been fixed
  • ParityRate – the last upload error message disappears if there are no more errors after it.
  • WRS – Credit Card and Bank guarantee: since these guarantee methods do not generate actual payments, no successful payment e-mails are sent for them.
  • WRS – if the custom text entered for 'Total' was longer, it was displayed only partially.

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