8 Essential Reports for Managing Your Outdoor Business

In today's hospitality landscape, data is the key to unlocking success. But without the right tools, it's like trying to decipher a secret code without the key.  

With RMS’s comprehensive reports, you’ll have all the tools to gather important data, exceed marketing goals, and refine your operations. Today, we'll reveal the top eight RMS reports, giving you the data you need to maximize occupancy, optimize efficiency, and supercharge your revenue.  

Distinguishing Between Financial and Operational Revenue 

RMS offers a robust selection of reports, choosing the right one depends on whether you're looking for financial or operational insights. Understanding this key difference is crucial for making informed decisions about your property's performance. 

• Financial Revenue: This reflects transactions based on the date they're applied to the account. It's ideal for reporting business revenue and taxes that can be seamlessly integrated with accounting software. Think of it as the bottom line for tax purposes. 
• Operational Revenue: This focuses on the accommodation value of a reservation, distributed across the reservation dates. It's a valuable tool for analyzing performance based on factors like rates, booking sources, companies, and travel agents. This helps you understand how different segments contribute to your overall income. 

The Top 8 Reports in Your RMS Database 

Now that we've defined financial and operational revenue, let's explore the eight most valuable reports available to you in RMS, categorized by their purpose: 

Financial Reporting: Monitoring & Optimizing Your Property’s Revenue

1. Debtors Ledger Report (Accrual Accounting Only):
This comprehensive report provides a bird's-eye view of all outstanding accounts, allowing you to identify debtors with credit or debit balances. It's like a detailed financial snapshot that helps you manage outstanding payments effectively.

2. Night Audit Report:
This in-depth report offers a thorough analysis of debtors' positions at the beginning and end of a specific date. It breaks down movements across each ledger type (Advances, Guest, City/Accounts Receivable), providing a clear picture of financial activity. Optional sections delve deeper into charges, receipts, and even some operational revenue data, giving you a holistic financial overview.

3. EOD Report: 
Think of this as a condensed version of the Night Audit Report, perfect for a quick financial summary. It highlights debtor positions at the beginning and end of a date, with breakdowns by transactions grouped by GL account code and receipts by type. This allows you to grasp the day's financial activity at a glance.

4. Exclusive Tax Audit (Accrual Accounting Only): 
Need to pinpoint the origin of taxes? This report is your answer. It displays a summary view by revenue G/L account code, identifying the specific charge that generated the tax, along with its code, amount, taxable and exempt revenue. For a more granular view, a detailed section provides reservation numbers, room numbers, posting dates, transaction descriptions, and account details.  

Operational Reporting: Analyzing Performance Based on Guest Behavior

5. Occupancy Report: This report is a goldmine for understanding category performance over a chosen date range. It presents key metrics like average length of stay, gross revenue, total current occupancy, RevPAR (revenue per available room), and Rev POR (revenue per occupied room). By analyzing this data, you can track occupancy trends, average rates, and operational revenue, allowing you to make data-driven decisions about pricing strategies and room allocation.
6. Occupancy and Revenue Comparison Report: This report takes your analysis a step further by comparing category performance, including occupancy and operational revenue, against a different date range. It provides a breakdown by category, including average lead time and performance variances. This comparative analysis is particularly useful for year-over-year comparisons, helping you identify areas for improvement and capitalize on successful strategies.

Guest Management: Ensuring a Smooth Guest Experience

7. Overdue Arrival and Overdue Departure Reports: 

• Overdue Arrival: This report acts as an early warning system, listing reservations with a past arrival date that haven't been checked in. It helps you identify discrepancies and promptly update reservations to reflect the actual arrival status. This ensures guest information is accurate and avoids any potential confusion. 
• Overdue Departure: Like the Overdue Arrival report, this one focuses on reservations with a past departure date that haven't been checked out. It allows you to update reservations to reflect the actual departure date or extend stays for guests who haven't left yet. This proactive approach ensures smooth check-out processes and avoids any billing errors. 

Transform Your Business with RMS 

By understanding the financial vs. operational revenue distinction and utilizing these top eight reports effectively, you can unlock valuable insights from RMS. This empowers you to make informed decisions that not only keep your finances in order but also optimize your property's performance to deliver exceptional guest experiences and attain operational excellence.  

Explore how the best campground reservation software can improve your reporting processes and day-to-day operations by downloading our Operational Excellence in Hospitality ebook today.