SOP for Night Audit in Hotels: Free 2026 Guide

12 Nov 20268 min read

Quick summary: A complete SOP for night audit in hotels: purpose, scope, responsibilities, step-by-step procedure, timings, reports, dos, don’ts and a night audit checklist.

An SOP for night audit in hotels is a written procedure that tells the night auditor how to reconcile the day’s transactions, post room charges, check the cash and credit entries, fix errors, run reports, close the business day in the PMS and hand over clean numbers to the morning team. A good SOP makes the audit repeatable, accurate and auditable, and it protects the hotel from revenue leakage.

night audit guide – topics covered — Night Audit: what this guide covers

At a glance

Reconcile, post, verify
Investigate every difference
Back up, roll over, hand over

This guide gives a complete SOP with purpose, scope, responsibility, a step-by-step procedure, timing standards, dos and don’ts, a checklist, sample phrases and the reports to produce. Exact steps depend on your PMS, so use this as a framework and align each step with your system’s day-end process.

Purpose

To verify and close each business day accurately, so that room revenue, taxes, payments, no-shows and adjustments are correct, the books agree with the front office, and managers receive reliable reports in the morning.

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Scope

This SOP applies to night auditors, night duty managers, front desk staff on the night shift, the accounts team that reviews the audit, and the revenue manager who uses the reports. It covers all departments that post charges to guest folios, including rooms, food and beverage, laundry, spa and miscellaneous.

Responsibility

Role	Responsibility
Night auditor	Complete all audit steps, correct errors, run and file reports, close the day
Night duty manager	Approve adjustments and exceptions, supervise the audit
Front desk team	Post charges correctly during the shift and hand over clean records
Outlet cashiers	Submit bills and settlements before cut-off time
Accounts team	Review audit reports, reconcile cash and cards, investigate differences
Revenue manager	Use the daily numbers for pricing and forecasting

SOP for night audit: step-by-step procedure

A. Preparation

Take over the shift and read the handover log, noting pending issues, VIPs, late arrivals and special instructions.
Confirm that all outlets have sent their closing bills and settlements by the agreed time.
Check that the PMS, printers, card machines and backup system are working.
Complete any pending check-ins and check-outs, and record walk-ins or late arrivals before the cut-off.

B. Reconciling the front office

Review the in-house guest list against the room status report. Resolve any room that shows occupied in the system but vacant physically, or the reverse. Coordinate with housekeeping where needed.
Check for guests who have departed without checking out and for stay-overs flagged for departure.
Handle expected arrivals who have not arrived as no-shows, according to the hotel’s policy: confirm cut-off times, release or charge as per booking terms, and update inventory. See hotel overbooking strategy for how no-shows affect planning.
Verify rates on each in-house folio against the reservation and approved rate sheet, correcting mismatches with the manager’s approval.

C. Posting charges

Post room charges and applicable taxes to each in-house folio, using the automatic posting function if available, and verify the totals.
Post charges from outlets, such as restaurant, bar, laundry, spa and minibar, from the supporting bills. Check each posting to the right room and department.
Post any credits, adjustments or corrections only with written approval and a reason.
Check advance deposits, pre-authorisations and prepaid reservations are applied correctly.

D. Checking payments and cash

Reconcile cash received in the shift against the cash report and count the cash in the drawer with the supervisor.
Reconcile card slips and machine settlement totals against folio settlements.
Match UPI, wallet and bank transfer entries with the statements or screenshots recorded by staff.
Record any difference, identify the cause and report it to the manager before closing.
Complete the cashier closing and handover form.

E. Running reports

Run the trial balance and check that debits equal credits.
Run the daily revenue report by department, rate type and tax.
Run the occupancy, ADR and RevPAR report for the day and compare it with the forecast and the previous day.
Run the arrivals, departures, no-show, cancellation, room status and out-of-order reports.
Run the advance deposit, city ledger and credit limit reports.
Save a backup of the day’s data as per the system’s process.

F. Closing the day

Run the day-end process in the PMS and confirm the date has rolled over correctly.
Check that the new business day opened and that rates and availability are correct on the channel manager and booking engine.
Print or export reports, sign them and hand them to the morning team and accounts.
Write a clear handover note listing any open issues.

Timing standards

Stage	Typical timing (adjust to your hotel)
Outlet closing bills received	By an agreed hour, such as 11:30 PM
Audit begins	After the last scheduled check-in window or an agreed time
Cash and card reconciliation complete	Before running the final trial balance
Day-end roll over	Only after all checks are complete
Reports to the management	Before morning shift start, such as 7:00 AM

Dos and don’ts

Do	Don’t
Follow the same sequence every night	Skip steps when the hotel is busy
Get written approval for adjustments	Make silent corrections
Investigate every difference	Carry unexplained variances forward
Back up data before day-end	Roll over without a backup
Hand over open issues in writing	Rely on verbal handover
Keep audit files secure	Leave reports open on the desk

Night audit checklist

Handover note read.
Outlet bills and settlements received.
In-house list matched with room status.
No-shows processed.
Rates verified on every folio.
Room and tax postings completed and checked.
Cash, card and digital payments reconciled.
Trial balance balanced.
Reports run, signed and filed.
Backup done and day rolled over.
Handover note written.

night audit – key takeaways — Night Audit: key takeaways

Sample phrases

To an outlet cashier: “Please send the restaurant closing bills and settlement summary by 11:30 PM so I can complete the audit.”

To the duty manager: “Room 214 shows a rate of ₹3,000, but the reservation says ₹3,500. May I have your approval to correct it?”

In the handover note: “Cash drawer differs by ₹200 short. Count checked twice. Under review by accounts.”

Common discrepancies and how to fix them

Discrepancy	Likely cause	Action
Room occupied in PMS but vacant in housekeeping report	Late check-out not processed, or guest left without settling	Verify with housekeeping, contact guest, process check-out
Rate on folio differs from reservation	Manual change, wrong rate plan, channel rate mismatch	Check booking source, correct with approval
Cash short or over	Counting error, wrong posting, missed receipt	Recount, trace transactions, report to accounts
Outlet charge missing	Bill not sent before cut-off	Collect bill, post to the correct room and day
Card total does not match	Unsettled batch, refund, wrong amount	Compare the machine report, correct and note it

Using audit data for revenue decisions

The audit’s reports are the base for revenue decisions. Occupancy, ADR and RevPAR for the day feed your forecast and pricing; read hotel KPIs and hotel demand forecasting. Flag patterns such as high no-show rates, repeated rate corrections or heavy last-minute discounts, and share them with the revenue manager.

Training new night auditors

Night audit is a solo role in many hotels, so training must be thorough before a new auditor works alone. Have the trainee shadow a full audit at least three nights, then run the audit themselves with the trainer watching, then work alone with a manager reviewing the reports the next morning. Provide a printed version of this SOP and a screenshot guide for your PMS day-end screens. Test understanding with scenarios, such as a missing outlet bill or a cash difference, and confirm the trainee knows when to escalate to the duty manager instead of fixing things quietly.

Common mistakes

Rolling the date before all outlet bills are in.
Posting taxes incorrectly or on the wrong rate.
Ignoring small cash differences that later grow.
Failing to verify rates against reservations.
Making manual adjustments without approval.
Skipping backups.
Poor handover between audit and morning accounts teams.

Key takeaways

Follow a fixed sequence: prepare, reconcile, post, check payments, run reports, close and hand over.
Verify rates, taxes and postings on every folio.
Investigate every difference and require written approval for adjustments.
Back up before rolling the day, and write a clear handover.
Share audit data with revenue and accounts teams each morning.

Accurate audit data helps revenue teams price with confidence. See how Revgrow360 hotel revenue management uses daily numbers, or request a free hotel audit.

expert tip on night audit — Expert tip on night audit

For more background, see this standard operating procedure on Wikipedia.

Frequently asked questions

What is a night audit in a hotel?

A night audit is the nightly process of reconciling the day's transactions, posting room charges and taxes, checking cash and card payments, running reports and closing the business day in the PMS. It ensures accurate revenue records and gives managers reliable morning reports.

What does a night auditor do?

A night auditor verifies in-house guests, handles no-shows, posts charges, checks rates, reconciles payments, resolves differences, runs trial balance and revenue reports, backs up data, rolls over the business day and writes a handover note for the morning team.

Why must a night audit be done every night?

Daily audit catches posting errors, rate mismatches, missing payments and cash differences while they are small and easy to trace. It keeps revenue and tax records accurate and provides the daily numbers that revenue and accounts teams rely on.

What reports come out of a night audit?

Common reports include trial balance, daily revenue by department, occupancy, ADR and RevPAR, arrivals and departures, no-shows, cancellations, room status, out-of-order rooms, advance deposits, city ledger and cashier summaries. Exact names depend on your PMS.