Description
Hotel Finance & Accounting | 26 Standard Operating Procedures | 14 Practical templates | Editable Format | 99 Pages | Intermediary level
A Strategic Architecture for Hotel Financial Governance
This comprehensive management manual delivers the precise operational infrastructure needed to run a tight, compliant, and fraud-resistant hotel finance department.
Rather than theoretical accounting, the document provides 28 actionable standard operating procedures balanced by 14 functional templates (including cash float records, aging reports, and bank reconciliation forms). The framework is divided into four critical operational pillars: core accounting cycles, purchasing and inventory cost control, fixed asset management, and financial reporting. Every SOP is engineered to ensure data integrity from the daily night audit up to the final month-end close.
Purpose-built for hospitality leadership teams, General Managers, Financial Controllers/Directors of Finance and Chief Accountants, this reference tool provides the exact governance required to audit existing workflows, restructure underperforming finance offices, or establish standard corporate practices across a hotel portfolio.
Looking for deeper insights?
For a comprehensive dive into financial governance, explore our Hotel Revenue Control & Income Audit – Reference Guide + Templates.
Preview: Cash Float Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
| Department/Division: Finance/Accounting | Code: FA-006 | Total Pages: 2 |
Objective
To ensure that all hotel cash floats are properly authorized, safely maintained, appropriately sized to operational needs, and subject to regular documented controls.
Policy
- All hotel floats must be authorized by management, and a House Bank Agreement (Template T-01) must be signed by every individual assigned responsibility for a float.
- Cash drawers must be locked whenever unattended. Each cashier is assigned their own individual cash drawer. No two individuals share access to the same cash drawer, as shared access compromises accountability for any shortage.
- The float amount is always maintained at the authorized level. Floats are sized to the minimum required for proper departmental functioning and may be adjusted seasonally or by responsibility level, but any change requires a new or updated House Bank Agreement.
- Unexpected spot counts on all hotel floats are conducted regularly by Finance staff.
Procedure
1. Float Types
Two types of float operate in the hotel:
- Rotating float: Not attributed to a single individual but transferred between cashiers at each shift change. This system is preferred where feasible, as it minimizes the total cash held on premises and requires cashiers to formally balance the float at every handover.
- Individual float: Attributed to a named individual who is solely responsible for it throughout their period of assignment.
2. Float Attribution
2.1 All float funds are issued through the General Cashier. Prior approval of the Financial Controller and General Manager is required before any float is established or its amount changed.
2.2 A House Bank Agreement (Template T-01) must be signed by every individual assigned a float. The agreement is updated each time the float amount changes. When a float holder changes assignment, the agreement is formally cancelled, the float is returned, and a new agreement is issued to the incoming holder if applicable.
2.3 The General Cashier is responsible for ensuring that all responsibility forms are current, that an up-to-date file is maintained, and that the sum of all outstanding float receipts equals the float balances recorded in the General Ledger.
3. Float Transfer Controls (Rotating Float)
3.1 All shift-to-shift float transfers are conducted formally. The incoming cashier counts the float in the presence of the outgoing cashier before accepting it. Both cashiers sign the Cash Float Transfer Record (Template T-03), which records:
- Total cash on hand being transferred, itemized by denomination
- Total discrepancies (authorized float amount minus actual cash on hand), itemized
3.2 Any discrepancy identified at transfer must be immediately reported by the outgoing cashier to the relevant Head of Department and the Financial Controller. The discrepancy is recorded in the transfer book and the cashier is responsible for providing a written explanation.
4. Individual Float Controls
4.1 When an individual float is taken out of service at the end of a shift or working day, the cashier performs a formal count of the float in the presence of a witness, records the result on the Cash Float Count Sheet (Template T-02), and places the float in the assigned safe deposit box. The cashier retains the key on their person at all times while on duty. No cashier may remove a float from the hotel premises under any circumstances.
4.2 Any discrepancy between the counted amount and the authorized float level is recorded on the count sheet and reported to the Head of Department and Financial Controller.
5. Surprise Float Counts
5.1 Surprise counts of all hotel house funds — including the General Cashier’s house bank — are conducted by Finance staff at least once per month. Counts are carried out at times and dates unknown in advance to the cashier, to reduce the opportunity to cover any deficiency.
5.2 Counts are performed in the presence of the cashier responsible for the float at the time of the count. The count sheet (Template T-02) records all items found at the cash point:
- Currency notes and coins by denomination
- Foreign currency notes
- Personal checks (if permitted)
- Traveler’s checks
- Petty cash vouchers (General Cashier’s house bank only — approved vouchers only)
- Paid-out vouchers (approved vouchers only)
5.3 Any overage or shortage is recorded and signed by both the cashier and the Finance staff member conducting the count. The Head of Department is responsible for following up on discrepancies. The completed count sheet is submitted to the Financial Controller for review and filed by the General Cashier once approved.
