This article covers the Accounting section within a Marina reservation. These settings control how billing is generated for marina slip rentals and vessel berths. They apply to Seasonal and Long Term reservations — the full accounting panel shown here is not present for transient or daily reservations. Settings default from the product configuration but can be adjusted per reservation at creation. For campground reservation accounting, see Campground - Accounting Reservation Settings.
Accounting
To begin navigate to the Accounting section in the reservation form.
Select the Down Arrows to display the Accounting setting.
Invoice Settings
This section outlines the invoice settings that this reservation will adhere to. These settings are defaulted from the product but can be overridden during the reservation creation.
Field | Function |
Invoice Generation | Automatic - The system will automatically generate the invoice when either the user initiates the generate invoice job or a batch job. Manual - The system will not generate any invoices automatically. The user will need to manually create the invoice(s). |
Invoice Frequency | Frequency invoices are generated at different intervals:
|
Payment Term | Payment term when product is used. If blank it will default to global setting. More info here: Payment Terms |
Auto Pay | Enable if the customer has enrolled in autopay. |
First Invoice | Determines how the initial invoice will be generated. In most cases, properties opt to prorate the first invoice when a customer arrives after the beginning of the billing cycle. Fixed - First invoice will be set to a fixed amount. No charge - There is no charge on the first invoice. |
Next Invoice | The options here change based on the First Invoice selection. If pro-rating the invoice, this option will get the next invoice back on track for regular billing cycle. If Fixed is selected the next invoice will be set to Next Month. No Charge and Pro Rated first invoice selections will give the following as options: Next Day, Next Month, First of the Month, 5th of the Month, 15th of the Month, End of the Month, Co-Term, Next Quarter, Next 6 Months, Next Year. |
Prorated Frequency | Only available when First Invoice is set to Pro Rated. Sets the frequency used to calculate the prorated amount. Can be set to Daily for monthly or quarterly invoices, or Monthly for annual invoices. |
Co-Term Date | When prorating, if Next Invoice is set to Co-Term, manually set the co-term date to align billing to a shared renewal date across customers. |
Prev Invoice Date | System driven date of when the system last ran invoices for the selected reservation. |
Next Invoice Date | System driven date of when the system will run invoices for the selected reservation. |
Enable Deferred Income toggle | If the invoice frequency is Monthly, there is no reason to defer. Enables the deferred income scheduling when invoice is generated. Please contact your system Admin before enabling deferred income. |
Deferred Frequency | If the invoice frequency is Monthly, there is no reason to defer. Annual and upfront invoice frequency should have a Monthly deferred frequency. |
Sales Income Account | If deferred is turned on this will be your income account. This SHOULD NOT be the same as the account found in the General Information section. |
How a Prorated First Invoice Is Calculated (Marina)
This section explains how Sharper calculates a prorated first invoice for a marina reservation. Proration applies only to the first invoice. Every renewal invoice after it bills a full period.
There is no single proration formula. The amount depends on two things: the price frequency on the rate plan (monthly or annual), and whether the product uses Advanced Pricing/ Constraints. Those two settings together decide what Sharper divides the price by.
Configuration | The price is divided by |
Long-term booking, monthly price, Advanced Pricing/ Constraints enabled — first invoice | The actual number of days in that calendar month (28 to 31). |
Long-term booking, annual price, Advanced Pricing/ Constraints enabled — first invoice | The actual number of days in the 12-month term — 365, or 366 if the term spans a leap day. |
Long-term booking without Advanced Pricing/ Constraints, or a fixed price — first invoice | A standard 30-day month, regardless of the real calendar month. |
All renewal invoices, and all seasonal bookings | A standard 30-day month. |
Proration Counts Nights, Not Days (Marina)
Sharper prorates by nights occupied, not by calendar days. The departure date is not billed, in the same way a hotel does not charge for the day you check out.
A marina reservation starting January 15 with billing moving to the first of the month on February 1 bills 17 nights, and the invoice line prints as 01/15 – 01/31. Counting calendar dates inclusively gives 18, which is why a hand-checked figure is often one night higher than the invoice.
Worked Examples (Marina)
All three examples use the same reservation: a slip starting January 15, billing moving to the first of the month on February 1, so 17 nights are prorated. Only the configuration differs.
Configuration | Calculation | First invoice |
Advanced Pricing/ Constraints enabled, monthly price of $450.00 | January has 31 days. $450.00 ÷ 31 = $14.5161 per night. $14.5161 × 17 nights. | $246.77 |
Advanced Pricing/ Constraints enabled, annual price of $5,400.00 | The 12-month term contains 365 days. $5,400.00 ÷ 365 = $14.7945 per night. $14.7945 × 17 nights. | $251.51 |
No Advanced Pricing/ Constraints, monthly price of $450.00 | A standard 30-day month is used. $450.00 ÷ 30 = $15.0000 per night. $15.0000 × 17 nights. | $255.00 |
The same slip, the same dates, and the same monthly price produce three different first invoices. If a prorated amount is not what you expected, check the product's Advanced Pricing/ Constraints setting and the rate plan's price frequency before assuming the figure is wrong.
What Prorated Frequency Does and Does Not Change (Marina)
Prorated Frequency changes only how the prorated amount is displayed on the invoice — for example as a nightly line or as a monthly line. It does not change the total charged. Choosing a different Prorated Frequency will not make a prorated invoice larger or smaller.
Note: Report totals are calculated separately from invoice totals. On a partial billing period the two can differ by a small amount. Treat the invoice as the authoritative figure for what the customer owes, and expect minor variances when comparing a report against invoices for a prorated month.
Deferred Income
This section outlines the deferred income settings that this reservation will adhere to.
Field | Function |
Enable Deferred Income toggle | If the invoice frequency is Monthly, there is no reason to defer. Enables the deferred income scheduling when invoice is generated. Please contact your system Admin before enabling deferred income. |
Deferred Frequency | If the invoice frequency is Monthly, there is no reason to defer. Annual and upfront invoice frequency should have a Monthly deferred frequency. |
Sales Income Account | If deferred is turned on this will be your income account. This SHOULD NOT be the same as the account found in the General Information section. |
If all the necessary setup is in order, proceed to Save the reservation.
See Also: Campground - Accounting Reservation Settings