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Run the night audit and close the day

The night audit checks the day, posts tonight's room charges, prints the pack and moves the business date to the next day.

  • Hospitality Night audit
  • 6 min read
  • Updated October 20, 2026

For Night auditor Manager Cashier Front desk

On this page

What the night audit does

Once a day, usually after midnight when the desk is quiet, the night auditor closes the business date. Closing it:

  1. posts tonight's room night for every guest in house, with service charge and VAT;
  2. creates the next day's cleaning tasks;
  3. saves the night-audit pack for the day;
  4. moves the business date to the next day.

After that, nothing more can be posted on the closed day. See The business date and the night audit.

Close the day

  1. Open Night audit
    Who
    Night auditor
    Where
    Night audit (tab Night audit)
    What changes
    The screen shows the business date and the Pre-audit checklist: Pending arrivals, Due-outs in house, Open shifts, Room charges to post, Open balances, HK discrepancies, and the other close blockers.
  2. Resolve the pending arrivals
    Where
    Pending arrivals
    What changes
    For each arrival not checked in: check them in, Mark no-show, move the arrival to the next day, or No-show, waive the fee (approval). See Cancellations and no-shows.
  3. Close every cashier shift
    What changes
    Every cashier counts and closes their shift. An open shift stops the close and cannot be waived. Count and close in Open shifts closes a shift left open.
  4. Clear what stops the close
    What changes
    Each blocker says what is wrong and links to where it is fixed.
  5. Close the business date
    Where
    Close the business date > Close (date)
    What changes
    Room charges are posted, cleaning tasks created, the pack saved, and the business date moves on.
  6. Print the pack
    Where
    Night-audit pack
    What changes
    Revenue, room charges, payments by tender, no-shows, cancellations, room status, guest and city ledger balances, high-balance guests.

Blockers and waivers

BlockerCan it be waived?Fix
Open cashier shiftsNoThe cashier (or a supervisor) closes the shift
A product with no sales ledger, the room service with no product, a missing tax policyNoFix the setup: the message names the product or the setting
Pending arrivals not resolvedYesCheck in, no-show or move each arrival
Settled folios not invoiced, late charges not invoicedYesInvoice them from the folio's Accounting tab
An in-house room with no open folio for tonight's chargeYesOpen or reopen the folio so the night is posted
Room status discrepancies (sleep, skip)YesHousekeeping and the front desk check the room
Open stock issues, unreconciled paymentsYesFinish the issue; reconcile the payment

A vacant dirty room is shown as a warning but does not stop the close.

When only waivable items are left, Close with a waiver closes the day anyway: give Why the day closes anyway, and a manager approves the waiver. Each waived item and its reason stay with that night's run.

Past runs

The Past runs tab lists the closed days with their status, who closed them, and their pack. The last closed day can be reopened from there: see Reopen a closed business date.

Common questions

What time should we run it?

Once a day, when the desk is quiet, usually after midnight. The business date does not change until the day is closed, so late payments and charges still belong to the right day.

We forgot to run it last night.

Run it now. The business date is still the day that was not closed. Each close moves the date on by one day, so if more than one night was missed, close each day in turn.

A cashier went home without closing their shift.

A cashier supervisor can count and close it: on Night audit, under Open shifts, choose Count and close. The day cannot close while any shift of the business date is open.

Can we close the day with a problem still open?

Only items that can wait: Close with a waiver, give the reason, and a manager approves. Open shifts and missing setup cannot be waived.

We found a mistake in a day that is already closed.

Correct it today, with a reversal or a credit note. Reopen the day only when the correction must carry that date: see Reopen a closed business date.

The night audit closed, but I see nothing in Accounting.

That is correct. The close writes nothing to Accounting. The nights it posts are folio lines; they reach the books on each folio's invoice at check-out.

"Close every cashier shift of the business date before night audit."

Each cashier counts and closes their shift, or a cashier supervisor uses Count and close under Open shifts. This cannot be waived.

"The night audit is closing the business date. Try again in a moment."

Another close of the same day is still running. Wait a moment and look at Past runs before pressing again.

Where do I see the days already closed?

On the Past runs tab: each closed day, who closed it, its waivers with their reasons, and its pack.

Related guides

The business date and the night audit The hotel keeps its own calendar day. It moves forward only when the night audit closes it, and everything is dated on it. Reopen a closed business date A manager can reopen the last closed day to correct it, then the night audit closes it again. Most corrections do not need it. Cancellations and no-shows Cancelling a booking or marking a no-show charges the fee the booking's policy sets. The deposit pays the fee; the rest becomes a… Open and close a cashier shift Every cashier takes money inside their own open shift. At the end they count the drawer without seeing what is expected; the… A night as night auditor Check the day, resolve arrivals and blockers, close the business date and print the pack. Reports, ADR and RevPAR Every department's reports in one place. Occupancy, ADR and RevPAR use posted room revenue net of allowances for closed days.