Switching hotel software: agreeing opening balances for the chief accountant

Part 1: Switching hotel software — opening balances land on the chief accountant's desk

A brief reminder of the principle of "close the old books, open new ones": historical partner receivables are carried over as a balance at the cut-off date, one line per partner, with a detailed statement and a signed record; the folios (guest room bills) of in-house guests and the deposits for future bookings must be carried over, each attached to the right booking; deposits parked on dummy rooms in the old system do not recreate dummy rooms but go into the opening balances of the accounting module.

A correct principle can still be executed badly. The risk is concentrated in the few hours around the cut-off night, so assign roles from the first week: the general manager approves the cut-off date and the difference threshold; the chief accountant finalises the list of balances and decides on items pending review; the front desk and cashiers print statements and count the float; the vendor runs the trial migration and prepares the reconciliation table.

Part 2: Choosing the cut-off date and agreeing the cut-off time

• Cut off right after the night audit on the old system. At that point the day's revenue is closed, the last night's room charge is on the folio, and the balances are a still snapshot.
• Freeze the old system. From the cut-off time, remove write access from every account, including reservations, sales and restaurant points of sale. The old system becomes read-only.
• Put the cut-off rule in writing. Transactions documented before the cut-off belong to the old books, those after it belong to the new books; money received before the cut-off that cannot yet be matched to a booking goes into the pending-review group.
• If possible, choose a date close to the monthly closing, so that the opening balances on the new system easily match the period-end figures that accounting has already closed. If month end falls in the busy season, give priority to the low season.
• Avoid a night with a large group arriving or departing, and announce the cut-off time to every department so that nobody takes new deposits in the old system.

Part 3: The list of opening balances to agree

This table covers the balances arising from hotel operations and nothing else. Other balances in the accounting books, such as bank deposits, inventory, fixed assets, taxes and equity, are carried over by accounting through the company's normal period-end closing process. Gift vouchers and deposits on dummy rooms are often forgotten because they do not appear on the room map; ask the front desk and the sales team directly about every amount guests have paid but not yet used.

Part 4: Three-source reconciliation for each balance group

Comparing the new system with the old one proves that the migration copied correctly, not that the figures on the old system are correct. Each group needs a third source, independent of both pieces of software.

The first two sources are produced as a reconciliation table by the data migration tool. The third source is professional accounting work, so start early: send balance confirmation letters to partners from the second week of the project.

Part 5: Handling differences — set the threshold beforehand, not while looking at a difference

The hotel should set its own threshold in writing before the first trial run, not while it is looking at a line that does not match. For the money groups, by default no unexplained difference is accepted, however small; for count-based groups such as guest profiles, differences are acceptable when there is a reason, for example duplicate profiles that have been merged.

• Timing differences: money received after the cut-off, or recorded on the old system but not yet credited by the bank. Handle them according to the cut-off rule.
• Differences from old data: errors accumulated over many years. The chief accountant decides whether to adjust them before the cut-off or put them in the pending-review group.
• Unexplained differences: do not record them in the new system. Put them in the "items pending review" group, one line per item with a reason; the hotel decides in writing before recording them.

Part 6: The balance sign-off record — content, statements, signatories

• The date and time of the cut-off, and the time the old system became read-only.
• Summary table: receivables, payables, in-house guest folios, deposits for future bookings, conversion deposits from dummy rooms, items pending review; each line shows the old-system balance, the new-system balance and the difference.
• Two attached statements: balance by partner; conversion deposits and items pending review. Statement totals match the record, and every page is initialled.
• Handling after the cut-off date: payments against old debts reduce the opening balance; differences found later are covered by a supplementary record.

Signatories: a representative of the hotel, the chief accountant and a representative of the software vendor, after the cut-off night and before the first shift opens on the new system. The cash float is agreed by a separate cash count record; prepaid vouchers and gift vouchers are agreed by a statement by voucher number, kept in the same file.

Part 7: Entering opening balances into DiACC

On DiHotel, the DiACC accounting module runs under Circular 99/2025/TT-BTC and posts automatically from the hotel management side: front desk, restaurant and service revenue flows straight into the books. When the books are opened: folios and deposits sit in the hotel management system, attached to each booking; partner receivables go into DiACC as opening balances, with the partner list migrated separately, without the old debts; deposits on dummy rooms go into DiACC on the credit side under a separate counterparty. If the old system had no accounting module, the hotel's accountants enter the balances according to the signed record.

After entry, print the receivables ledger and the trial balance as at the opening date, and compare the partner receivable lines and conversion deposits with the signed record; for folios and deposits attached to bookings, compare the hotel management system with the statements printed at the cut-off. This article describes items by their operational names; chief accountants should check the accounting regime their company applies in order to choose the right accounts. How to organise the chart of accounts for a chain is covered in the article on hotel chain accounting under Circular 99; the module is introduced on the DiACC hotel accounting software page.

Part 8: Multi-property chains — agree each property, then consolidate

Each property has its own cut-off date, reconciliation table and signed record; cut over one at a time, starting with a property whose data is tidy. Shared partners, such as a tour operator sending guests to the whole chain, have their balances agreed property by property; transactions between properties, if any, are noted in the records of both sides so that they are not counted twice on consolidation.

Consolidation of accounting reports, such as the trial balance, works in DiACC today when the properties share one DiACC, with each property set up as a sub-unit and several units or "All" selected when printing. If each property uses its own separate DiACC, there is no automatic consolidation, so the sub-unit structure must be decided before the cut-off date of the first property. On the owner's side, DiOwner shows figures for the whole portfolio on one read-only multi-property hotel management software, matching the operating system.

Part 9: Keeping the file for auditors and inspectors

Auditors or an inspection team may ask why the opening balance is the figure it is. The answer lies in one file: the written cut-off rule; the signed record with its initialled statements; the reconciliation table from each run; balance confirmation letters, cash count records and bank statements at the cut-off date; the decision on each item pending review; and the reports printed from the old system at the cut-off time.

Keep the old system read-only for 3–6 months. Before switching it off, store the final backup somewhere separate from the old server and keep the file for the retention period required for accounting records. If the old server is nearing end of support, set the switch-off date alongside the timeline in the article on server end of support.

Part 10: The data migration tool and the Zero-Cost Switch package

The hotel software data migration tool for moving from older on-premise systems to DiHotel is already in real use: it reads a copy of the database, runs a trial without writing to the live system, reconciles each group (receivable balances, in-house guest folios, deposits for future bookings, guest profiles, master data), backs up automatically before writing, has a rollback point, can be rerun without duplicating anything, and comes with a template balance sign-off record. One run at one property processed more than 60,000 guest profiles and more than 5,000 bookings in under 15 minutes of machine time, with a 100% match and the option to roll back; that is the result of a single run, not a commitment, and the whole project usually takes 2–3 weeks depending on size. On whether to run on premise or in the cloud, see the article offline or cloud hotel management software.

Hotels with 50 rooms or more, or chains with 2 or more properties, running an older on-premise system and signing a contract up to 30 June 2027 qualify for the Zero-Cost Switch package. For the chief accountant, the five commitments mean: data migration at no charge, with a reconciliation table to read in advance; the old system kept open read-only for 3–6 months; the remaining term of the old contract, up to 6 months, added to the DiHotel term, so there are no fees to two vendors at once; a balance sign-off record signed by both parties before go-live; and training for each department, with documentation and video recordings. The subscription is no higher than the old system's maintenance fee; DiHotel does not discount it but puts that amount into removing the risks of migration.

Which items make up the opening balances when a hotel switches software?

The balances arising from hotel operations usually include receivables from companies, tour operators and online sales channels; payables to suppliers; deposits for future bookings; the folios (guest room bills) of in-house guests; the front desk cash float; prepaid vouchers and unused gift vouchers; and deposits parked on dummy rooms in the old system. Other balances such as bank deposits, inventory, fixed assets, taxes and equity are carried over through the company's normal period-end closing process.

Do we need to carry years of receivables detail over into the new software?

No. Each partner is carried over as a single balance line at the cut-off date, with a detailed statement and a record signed by both parties. Details from previous years are looked up on the old system in read-only mode.

How large a difference is acceptable?

The hotel sets its own threshold in writing before the first trial run. For the money groups, by default no unexplained difference is accepted; any unclear item goes into a pending-review group for the chief accountant to decide on in writing.

Who signs the balance sign-off record, and when?

A representative of the hotel, the chief accountant and a representative of the software vendor sign it, and every page of the attached statements is initialled. The record is signed after the cut-off night and before the first shift opens on the new system.

Will a multi-property chain have consolidated accounting reports after the switch?

Yes, DiACC consolidates accounting reports, such as the trial balance, when the properties share one DiACC, with each property set up as a sub-unit. If each property uses its own separate DiACC, there is no automatic consolidation.

How long should the old system be kept after the switch?

Keep the old system in read-only mode for 3–6 months for look-ups. Before switching it off, store the final backup, the reports as at the cut-off date and the full balance sign-off file for the retention period required for accounting records.