Understanding Report Categories and Use Cases in rezStream Cloud

Overview

One of the most common reporting questions we receive is:

"I ran multiple reports for the same date range. Why don't the totals match?"

In most cases, the reports are working correctly.

The key is knowing what each report is designed to measure. Some reports focus on when a reservation was created, while others focus on when revenue was earned, when payments were collected, when a guest departed, or what balances existed at a specific point in time.

Because each report is designed to answer a different business question, it is normal for totals to vary between reports.

How a Reservation Appears Across Reports

Every reservation moves through several events and stages that can affect reporting.

📅 Booking → 💳 Deposit → 🏨 Stay → 💰 Revenue → 🚪 Departure → 📊 Accounting

Different report categories focus on different parts of the reservation process. As a result, the same reservation can appear differently across reports.

Event or Stage	What Happens	Common Report Category
📅 Booking	Reservation Created	Sales Reports
💳 Deposit	Payment Collected	Payment Reports
🏨 Stay	Guest Checks In	Reservation Reports
💰 Revenue	Revenue Earned	Revenue Reports
🚪 Departure	Guest Checks Out	Revenue on Departure Reports
📊 Accounting	Financial Activity	Accounting Reports

Example: How One Reservation Appears in Different Reports

A guest books a reservation in May for an August stay and pays a deposit at the time of booking.

During the stay, the guest purchases items from the gift shop and pays the remaining balance at checkout.

Depending on the report being used:

Sales reports show reservation charges based on when the reservation was booked in May.
Payment reports show the deposit collected in May and the remaining payments collected in August.
Ledger reports show deposits being held before the guest arrives.
Revenue reports show revenue earned during the August stay dates.
Revenue on Departure reports show reservation revenue grouped by the guest's departure date.
Accounting reports show the financial activity associated with the reservation.

Because each report measures a different part of the reservation process, multiple reports can be correct even when the totals are different.

Navigating Key Report Categories in rezStream Cloud

rezStream Cloud contains many report categories, each designed to answer different operational, financial, and accounting questions.

The categories below represent some of the most commonly used reporting areas and provide a starting point for understanding what information each type of report is designed to measure.

Performance Analysis Reports

📈 Best for identifying trends and forecasting future performance

Performance Analysis reports help managers and owners evaluate occupancy, revenue trends, booking pace, guest value, and future business performance.

Common Question	Example Report
Are bookings ahead of or behind last year?	Booking Pace
Which units perform best?	Metrics - Performance by Unit
How is occupancy trending over time?	Occupancy Performance
What revenue can I expect to collect from future reservations?	Pending Cash Flow
How does this year compare to previous years?	Revenue by Month - Year over Year

💡 Tip: Performance Analysis reports are designed to identify trends and measure success over time rather than reconcile financial totals.

Reservation Reports

🏨 Best for managing guest activity and occupancy

Reservation reports focus on guest stays and reservation activity.

Common Question	Example Report
Who is arriving?	Arrivals with Details
What reservations were booked during a period?	Reservations by Date Made
Who is currently staying at the property?	Reservations by In-House Date
Who departed during a period?	Departures

💡 Tip: Reservation reports often contain financial information, but they are primarily used to track guest activity and occupancy.

Ledger Reports

📸 Best for viewing balances as of a specific date

Ledger reports focus on balances rather than activity.

Common Question	Example Report
How much money am I holding in deposits?	Advance Deposits
What balances exist today?	General Ledger
What guest balances are outstanding?	Guest Ledger

💡 Tip: Ledger reports show balances at a point in time and often differ from reports that measure activity during a date range.

Pending Deposits Reports

⏰ Best for identifying deposits that still need to be collected

Pending Deposit reports help properties manage outstanding deposit requirements.

Common Question	Example Report
Which deposits remain unpaid?	Pending Deposits - All
Which deposits are due today?	Pending Deposits - Current
Which deposits are overdue?	Pending Deposits - Past Due

💡 Tip: Pending Deposit reports show money still owed, while Advance Deposits show money already collected and being held.

Payments Reports

💳 Best for reviewing money collected

Payment reports focus on payments received and credit card activity.

Common Question	Example Report
How much money was collected?	Payments by Type
Which credit card transactions were processed?	Credit Card Transactions

💡 Tip: Payments can be collected before, during, or after a stay. Payment totals often differ from revenue totals.

Revenue Reports

💰 Best for reviewing revenue earned

Revenue reports focus on revenue earned during a stay or service period.

Common Question	Example Report
How much revenue was earned by revenue account?	All Revenue by Type
Which reservations and transactions generated revenue?	All Revenue Details
How much Point of Sale revenue was earned?	POS Revenue
Which units generated the most revenue?	Unit Revenue by Unit

💡 Tip: Revenue is reported during the stay dates when it is earned rather than when a reservation was booked or paid.

Revenue on Departure Reports

🚪 Best for analyzing completed stays

Revenue on Departure reports organize reservation revenue using the guest's departure date.

Common Question	Example Report
How did departed reservations perform by channel, source, or rate plan?	Reservation Revenue by Group on Departure
How much revenue was associated with completed stays?	Reservation Revenue Details on Departure

💡 Tip: These reports are commonly used when reviewing completed stays and historical reservation performance.

Sales Reports

📅 Best for reviewing booking activity

Sales reports focus on when charges were created or sold.

Common Question	Example Report
Which channels generated bookings?	All Sales By Group
What was sold during this timeframe?	All Sales by Type
What individual charges were created?	All Sales Details

💡 Tip: Sales reports focus on when charges were created or sold, not when revenue was earned.

Taxes Reports

🧾 Best for reviewing tax liability

Tax reports focus on taxes associated with earned revenue.

Common Question	Example Report
How much tax was generated?	Taxes by Individual Tax
Which transactions included taxes or tax exemptions?	All Taxes and Exemptions

💡 Tip: Tax reports typically align more closely with Revenue reports than Payment reports because taxes follow earned revenue.

Accounting Reports

📚 Best for bookkeeping and reconciliation

In addition to the Reports section, rezStream Cloud includes an Accounting section that provides accounting-focused financial reporting.

Common Accounting reports include:

Financial Audit
Journal Entry
Ledger

These reports are commonly used for bookkeeping, reconciliation, and transferring financial information into external accounting systems such as QuickBooks.

For more information, see: rezStream Cloud Accounting

Common Reporting Questions

Why doesn't Sales match Revenue?
- Sales reports track when charges were sold or created.
- Revenue reports track when revenue was earned.
Why don't Payments match Revenue?
- Payments track money collected.
- Revenue tracks revenue earned.
Why don't Advance Deposits match Pending Deposits?
- Advance Deposits shows deposits already collected and being held.
- Pending Deposits shows deposits that are still owed.
Why doesn't Revenue on Departure match Revenue?
- Revenue on Departure focuses on reservation revenue tied to completed stays.
- Standard Revenue reports focus on earned revenue activity during the selected date range.
Can I schedule reports to be emailed automatically?
- Yes. With Report Subscriptions, you can automatically generate and email your favorite reports on a schedule you choose.
- Reports can be sent daily, weekly, monthly, and other recurring schedules to one or more recipients.
- See Scheduled Reports – Subscribing to Reports via Email for setup instructions.