Industries
Hospitality
Finbryn keeps books for UK hotels, short-term lets and hospitality operators, breaking out booking platform payouts into nightly rate, fees and commission, tracking profitability by property, and keeping VAT on accommodation handled correctly. We work inside Xero alongside a channel manager and close by business day five.
Management report
Illustrative client · August 2026
GBP
| Line | Aug | Jul | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 142,380 | 131,904 | +10,476 |
| Cost of sales | (51,260) | (48,115) | (3,145) |
| Gross profit | 91,120 | 83,789 | +7,331 |
| Payroll | (46,300) | (45,900) | (400) |
| SoftwareNoted | (6,480) | (5,490) | (990) |
| Rent | (8,000) | (8,000) | 0 |
| Other operating | (9,215) | (9,870) | +655 |
| Net income | 21,125 | 14,529 | +6,596 |
Reviewer's note
Software is up on last month after two seats were added mid-month. Revenue includes one milestone invoice that will not repeat next month.
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
Exceptions report
Where the books usually hurt
Booking platform payouts arrive net of commission and fees, hiding the actual nightly rate and occupancy
Multiple properties or units get tracked in one file with no way to see which one is actually profitable
Cleaning, maintenance and management fees get coded inconsistently across units
Occupancy tax collected from guests gets mixed into general revenue instead of held and reported separately
A booking platform payout is not the room rate
A payout from a booking platform arrives net of commission, payment processing fees and sometimes a currency conversion, all wired to the bank as one figure. An operator who books that deposit as revenue loses sight of the actual nightly rate and occupancy the business is achieving, which makes it impossible to price rooms correctly against a competitor or a slow season.
Finbryn connects a channel manager to Xero so booking payouts arrive already split into gross booking value, commission, fees and any adjustment, before they reach the ledger. Multiple properties or units in one portfolio are tracked separately, so it is clear which property is actually carrying its costs and which one is being propped up by the rest of the portfolio.
VAT on accommodation and the flat rate scheme
Accommodation is standard-rated for VAT once a business is registered, and operators running close to or above the VAT registration threshold need that turnover tracked precisely, because crossing it triggers registration and changes pricing overnight if VAT was not already built into room rates. We monitor turnover against the threshold and flag when registration is approaching, registration itself, and the return once you are registered, are submitted by you or by the UK agent you appoint.
Occupancy or tourist-related charges collected from guests, where applicable to a property, are tracked separately from room revenue rather than blended into general income, so the operator can see exactly what has been collected on a guest's behalf versus what belongs to the business.
Working with Finbryn
You keep the Xero file. A named pod manages your account, with a recorded handover memo if that pod changes, and books are reconciled weekly with the close by business day five. Cleaning, maintenance and management fees across multiple units get coded consistently, so a cost comparison between properties is actually comparing the same thing. Operators bringing books current after a gap typically start with a catch-up project, priced separately from ongoing monthly bookkeeping. Pricing is published on our pricing page, with terms set out in your engagement letter, and every file is reviewed by a senior principal before delivery.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Hospitality
Do you track occupancy or tourist-related charges separately from room revenue?
Yes. Where a property collects these on a guest's behalf, they are tracked apart from room revenue so it is clear what belongs to the business.
Can cleaning and maintenance costs be compared consistently across properties?
Yes. These are coded the same way across every unit, so a cost comparison between properties is genuinely comparing like with like.
Will you flag us when we are approaching the VAT registration threshold?
Yes. We monitor rolling 12-month turnover against the threshold and flag when registration is approaching. Registration and the return itself are submitted by you or by the UK agent you appoint.
Do you handle multiple booking platforms feeding one set of books?
Yes. Payouts from several platforms can be consolidated into one Xero file through a channel manager, with each platform's fee structure tracked separately.
Can you separate food and drink sales from room or event revenue for VAT purposes?
Yes, different revenue streams can carry different VAT treatment, so we split them at the point of sale data import rather than lumping all revenue into one line and sorting the VAT split out later, which reduces the chance of a rate being applied to the wrong category.
Can you break out booking platform payouts by rate, fees and commission?
Yes, payout detail from the booking platform is used to split gross revenue from fees before it reaches the ledger.
Do you track profitability by property or unit?
Yes, each property or unit can be tracked separately for income and direct costs.
What are the common bookkeeping challenges for a hospitality business?
Beyond the basics, cleaning, maintenance and management fees get coded inconsistently across units and occupancy tax collected from guests gets mixed into general revenue instead of held and reported separately come up often in this industry. We build the chart of accounts and reconciliation process around those specific patterns rather than a generic template that ignores how the business actually operates.
What software do you support for hospitality?
We work inside QuickBooks Online and Xero, along with the other tools listed on this page that are common in the hospitality industry. If you have no file yet, we set one up in your name so you own it from day one.
Related services
- BookkeepingMonthly bookkeepingOngoing monthly bookkeeping: transactions sorted into categories, accounts reconciled and month-end reports delivered in the software you already use.
- BookkeepingCatch-up and cleanup bookkeepingMonths or years of books brought up to date and reconciled, with a written record of every adjustment, so monthly bookkeeping can start from a clean base.
Next step
Talk to the team that would run your books
A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.