TABLE OF CONTENTS
Cross-business unit reservation sales
Overview
Cross-selling allows one business unit to sell a product owned by another business unit and take direct payment for the booking. E.g.:
- Business Unit A is the selling business unit and receives the customer’s payment.
- Business Unit B owns the product and recognises the revenue.
- Internal debtor and creditor transactions record the amount owed between the two business units.
- Finance can then use a journal to transfer the cash between the business units.
The internal debtor is recorded as an asset, and the internal creditor is recorded as a liability.
Account setup
The required accounts must be configured before cross-business-unit transactions and refunds are processed.
1. Configure an internal account for each business unit
Every business unit must have an active account with an account type of Internal. E.g. Business Unit A should have an account named Business Unit A Internal, or similar, configured as follows:
- Account type: Internal
- Active for: Business Unit A
The internal account identifies the source or destination business unit for the internal debtor and creditor transactions.
Only the correct internal account should be active for each business unit. If more than one internal account is active, the system selects an account using its primary key order, which may cause the wrong account to be used.
2. Make the seller’s Direct account active for the product owner
The selling business unit’s Direct account should also be active for the business unit that owns the product. E.g. if Business Unit A sells a product owned by Business Unit B:
- The Business Unit A Direct account must be active for Business Unit B.
This allows the account to appear when the booking is opened from Business Unit B.
The cross-sale may still be completed without this configuration, but the seller’s account will not appear when the booking is viewed by the product owner. This can also cause an error if the product owner cancels the booking and attempts to process a refund through POS.
Processing a cross-business-unit sale
When Business Unit A sells a product owned by Business Unit B and takes direct payment:
- Business Unit A creates the booking and collects payment from the customer.
- Cash is recognised in Business Unit A.
- Revenue is recognised in Business Unit B.
- The system creates the corresponding internal debtor and internal creditor transactions.
- Finance can use these transactions to identify the amount that must be transferred between the business units.
Finance can review these transactions in the Trial Balance by filtering for the internal debtor and internal creditor accounts.
Cancellations and refunds
The effect on the internal debtor and creditor records depends on where the cancellation and refund are processed.
| Scenario | Internal debtor and creditor treatment |
|---|---|
| Full refund processed by Business Unit A, the original seller | The original internal debtor and creditor transactions are fully reversed. |
| Partial refund processed by Business Unit A, the original seller | The internal debtor and creditor transactions are adjusted to reflect the partial refund. |
| Partial refund processed by Business Unit B, the product owner | The internal debtor and creditor transactions are not adjusted. The customer’s payment was received by Business Unit A, so the refund and recovery of cash must be handled through Business Unit A. |
Where possible, refunds should be processed by the business unit that originally received the customer’s payment.
Troubleshooting
The seller’s account does not appear when the booking is opened
Check that Business Unit A’s Direct account is active for Business Unit B.
An error occurs when the product owner attempts a POS refund
This can occur when Business Unit A’s Direct account is not active for Business Unit B.
Confirm the account configuration and, where appropriate, process the refund from Business Unit A.
The wrong internal account has been used
Check the Business Unit Account setup for the affected business unit. There should be only one applicable active account with an account type of Internal. If several internal accounts are active, the system may select the wrong one.
Cross-business unit gift voucher redemption
Overview
Gift vouchers can be sold by one business unit and redeemed by another.
This is useful when an organisation sells vouchers through a central business unit but allows customers to redeem them at multiple businesses or operators.
How it works
When a gift voucher is redeemed in a different business unit from the one that sold it, the system creates the appropriate internal accounting entries between the business units.
This ensures that:
- The business unit that originally sold the voucher retains the gift voucher liability.
- The business unit that fulfils the redemption is financially balanced.
- Internal debtor and creditor entries are recorded for the cross-business-unit transaction.
Gift vouchers redeemed within the same business unit continue to follow the normal accounting process.
Example
A customer purchases a $100 gift voucher through Business Unit A.
They later use the voucher to purchase an activity operated by Business Unit B.
The system records:
- The original $100 gift voucher sale against Business Unit A.
- The redemption against Business Unit B.
- Internal transfer entries between the two business units.
- The corresponding debtor and creditor ledger lines required to balance the transaction.
Discounted gift vouchers
Discounted gift vouchers are supported, but the current accounting behaviour should be understood.
If a gift voucher is discounted:
- The business unit where the discount is applied records the discount in its profit and loss lines.
- The redeeming business unit recovers the full voucher amount from the business unit where the voucher was originally sold.