Every Monday, the balance report
On Monday morning your office manager runs the balances due report from the booking system, exports it to a spreadsheet, and works down it. For each passenger with a balance due in the next few weeks, she writes an email with the amount and bank details. Some passengers pay by card over the phone, some by bank transfer with a reference that might be their surname, their booking number, or "holiday".
By Thursday, payments have arrived and she matches them to bookings. Some couples paid in two transfers. One passenger paid another passenger's balance. A few have not paid and have not replied, and their departure is five weeks away.
Why balances slip
Deposits are taken at the moment of booking, when the customer is keen. Balances fall due months later, with nothing prompting the customer except your email, and nothing prompting your office except the Monday report.
- Reminders depend on one person running a report and writing emails.
- Balance due dates vary by tour and by when the booking was made.
- Bank transfer references are inconsistent, so matching is manual.
- Group bookings and shared bookings complicate who owes what.
- Nobody sees the overall picture of balances outstanding per departure.
What your terms say happens when a balance is late, and how you hold passenger money, are for your terms and your advisers. This is about the admin.
Late balances take time and create doubt
Each unpaid balance near departure is a small uncertainty: will this passenger travel? That feeds the minimum numbers decision and the rooming lists. Chasing by hand also takes a surprising amount of time in the busy months, and the awkward phone calls fall to whoever happens to be free.
Passengers do not enjoy it either. A clear reminder with a simple way to pay is easier for them than an email with bank details and a request to quote a reference they do not have to hand.
Reminders, payment links and automatic matching
We build a balance workflow around your booking system and payment provider.
- Balance due dates are read from each booking, including group and multi-passenger bookings, through the booking system's API or a daily export.
- Reminders go out on a schedule you set, for example a first reminder ahead of the due date, one on the day and one after, using wording you approve.
- Each reminder includes a secure payment link from your payment provider (such as Stripe) for the exact amount, alongside your bank details for those who prefer a transfer.
- Card payments are recorded on the booking automatically. Bank transfers are read from your bank feed or accounts system and matched to bookings by amount, name and reference, with uncertain matches sent to a person.
- A balances view shows each departure's amount outstanding and the passengers who still owe after the reminders, so the office knows exactly who to call.
- Passengers who reply to a reminder with a question are routed to the office inbox with the booking attached.
| Step | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Finding who owes | Weekly report exported by hand | Balances view, always current |
| Reminding | Emails typed individually | Scheduled reminders with payment link |
| Recording card payments | Entered by hand | Recorded automatically |
| Matching bank transfers | Read the statement and guess | Suggested matches, uncertain ones to a person |
| Chasing the stragglers | Everyone who owes | Only those left after reminders |
A balance week without the spreadsheet
Reminders go out on their own. Most passengers pay through the link, and the booking updates. On Thursday the office opens the balances view and sees four passengers across two departures who have not paid after reminders. Those four get a phone call. The rest of the week goes on other work.
The departure review benefits too, because balances outstanding are visible on the same screen as passenger numbers.
Is balance chasing a weekly chore?
- Someone runs a balances report and emails passengers by hand.
- Bank transfers are matched to bookings by reading the statement.
- Passengers ask how to pay or which reference to use.
- You find unpaid balances close to departure.
- Group and shared bookings make it unclear who owes what.