How a folio works
A folio is an account, not a piece of paper. Charges are posted to it as they happen: the room night during the night audit, a dinner from the restaurant, a laundry bag. Payments are posted against it: a deposit at check-in, a part payment mid-stay, the settlement at check-out. The balance is the difference.
A stay can have more than one folio. A company might pay for the room while the guest pays for everything else, so the room goes on one folio billed to the company's city ledger account and the extras on a second one the guest settles. A group can have a master folio that collects the rooms of every member.
Two rules keep folios honest. A charge is voided with a reason, never deleted, so the history survives. And a balance can go either way: a debt means the guest owes the property, while a credit means the property owes the guest — neither is "settled".
The folio is the running account; the GST tax invoice is the document issued from it at the end.
Example
Two nights at ₹2,800 (₹5,600), dinner charged to the room (₹720) and laundry (₹180); a ₹3,000 deposit taken at check-in. At check-out the folio reads ₹5,600 + ₹720 + ₹180 − ₹3,000 = ₹3,500 due. Taxes are left out here to keep the sums simple.
How Nivasik handles it
- A folio opens at check-in, not at booking — a bill for a stay that may still be cancelled is clutter.
- Payment can be taken on arrival and is recorded as a deposit against the bill.
- Check-out settles: the room nights post themselves when the check-out screen opens, a discount needs a reason, and a balance can stay open instead of being hidden.
- A credit (the property owing the guest) keeps the folio open just as a debt does.
- The final bill reads the whole reservation, so a stay with two folios is still one bill.
- Complimentary items are recorded at their real value with a reason, and a restaurant order can be posted to the room.