Overview

This article answers the most commonly asked questions about RMS Pay, including payment tokens, refunds, payout timelines, settlement reporting, reconciliation, and transaction fees. Use the Table of Contents in this article on the right of this window to jump to a specific topic. 

Payment Tokens & Gateway Transitions

Do payment tokens transfer when transitioning from one payment gateway to another?

No. Payment tokens cannot be transferred between payment gateways, as gateways do not share or expose their token credentials. Existing tokens cannot be converted when transitioning to a new gateway.

If your system contains tokens from a previous payment gateway, they will remain in the database. However, once the transition occurs, those tokens will be hidden from view because the system filters tokens to display only those created through RMS Pay.

For upcoming reservations, ask guests to re-enter their payment details using one of the following methods:

• Guest Portal: Send the guest to the Guest Portal so they can securely add their credit card details. If no card is on file, the portal will display a warning prompting the guest to add a payment method.
• Pay by Link: Send a Pay by Link directly from the reservation. When the guest completes the payment, the card details will be securely stored as a new token.

Refunds & Reverse Receipts

Does RMS Pay support blind refunds?

No. If an advanced deposit was processed through a legacy gateway, any required refunds must be handled outside of RMS Pay. The property can issue a direct deposit or cheque refund to the guest, but this must be managed independently of RMS Pay.

When performing a refund in POS Lite using RMS Pay, blind refunds are also not supported. If a refund is needed in POS Lite, the property must process the refund using an alternative method outside of RMS Pay.

Can I use the Reverse Receipt function with RMS Pay?

Reverse Receipts are not recommended with RMS Pay because they can disrupt accurate accounting and reporting.

When a refund is issued, the refund is recorded in the RMS Pay Settlement Report on the actual accounting date it was processed. However, when a receipt is reversed:

• The reversal does not retain the original accounting date.
• The reversal will appear in the system whenever it happens to clear, creating potential variances and discrepancies in reports.

Example: A guest was meant to be charged $100, but the property accidentally charged $110. The property reverses the $110 receipt and then charges the correct $100. While this may look correct in RMS, the guest's banking app will show multiple transactions, some of which may still be pending. This can be confusing and may increase the likelihood of a chargeback.

Best Practice: If a transaction error occurs, follow these steps:

1. Issue a refund for the incorrect amount.
2. Charge the correct amount as a separate transaction.

This approach ensures accurate accounting, preserves the integrity of settlement reports, and reduces the risk of confusion or chargebacks from guests.

Payouts & Settlement Timing

When should I expect funds to appear in my bank account?

RMS Pay operates on a T + 2 payout schedule in both the United States and Canada. This means that any transaction processed today will be paid out two business days later. For example, if a transaction occurs on Monday, the payout will be issued on Wednesday.

Public Holidays: Public holidays will delay payouts. If a transaction takes place on Monday and there is a bank holiday on Monday, the payout will still typically occur on Wednesday. However, if the public holiday falls on the settlement day, the payout will be delayed.

Bank Settlement Times: While RMS triggers payouts on a T + 2 schedule, this does not guarantee that funds will appear in the property's bank account exactly two business days later. Bank settlement times vary by financial institution, and the timing of when funds are credited depends on the bank's processing schedule. RMS fulfils its obligation by issuing the payout according to the T + 2 schedule, but the actual arrival in the property's account is outside of RMS's control.

How does the transaction time impact payout timing?

RMS Pay defines a sales day from midnight to midnight. However, properties that transact past midnight, for example, a bar that closes at 1:00 AM, will have their sales recorded in RMS according to the property's accounting date, which may extend beyond midnight.

Time Zones and Regional Considerations: In regions with multiple time zones, a designated time zone is used to determine payout timing:

• United States: Eastern Time (New York)
• Australia: Sydney Time

Example: A property in Los Angeles is three hours behind New York. Any transaction processed after 9:00 PM local time will be included in the next accounting day's payout batch.

Reporting Impact: If you run the RMS Pay Settlement Report for a single day and notice two batches, this is due to the midnight cutoff. The second batch reflects transactions that occurred after midnight, which are included in the following day's accounting batch.

RMS Pay Settlement Report

It has been two days. Why is the transaction not appearing on the RMS Pay Settlement Report?

Transactions may take up to three business days to clear, and only fully processed transactions will appear in the report. Since transactions are batched from midnight to midnight, any transactions tied to an accounting date outside this timeframe may not yet be included.

RMS receives the settlement file on the payout day, so reports will not immediately reflect transactions from the same day. Once the file is received, the settlement report is generated, and the full transaction details become available.

When should I schedule the RMS Pay Settlement Report?

Since reporting operates on a two-business-day delay, it is recommended that customers schedule reports for the last 7 days or the last 30 days. This helps ensure that all transactions and settlements are fully processed and accurately captured in the report.

What is the difference between Settlement Date and Accounting Date on the report?

The Accounting Date represents the day that transactions were actually recorded in RMS. The Settlement Date reflects the midnight-to-midnight batch period that RMS uses to process and pay out funds to the property.

When the report is run by Accounting Date, the receipt amounts should align with the Cash Transaction Report for that day.

How can I identify which transactions are included in a batch?

The batch numbers are interactive on the RMS Pay Settlement Report. Click on a batch number to view a detailed breakdown of each individual transaction included in that batch.

Why might the platform fees in a batch differ from the sum of fees on individual transactions?

The totals in the Summary View of the RMS Pay Settlement Report will always match the sum of the individual transactions shown in the Detailed View.

However, platform fees are not calculated from the summary total. Instead, RMS calculates the platform fee for each individual transaction. The fee is applied and rounded at the transaction level, and the total platform fee shown in the summary is the sum of those individual calculations.

Example: If the platform fee is 3%, calculating 3% of the total transaction amount in the summary may produce a slightly different figure than summing the individually rounded fees for each transaction. This is expected behaviour caused by transaction-level rounding.

Why are the Scheme Fee and Interchange Fee columns not populated?

The Scheme Fee and Interchange Fee columns will only be populated if these fees apply to your RMS Pay account. For full details on the fee schedule associated with your RMS Pay account, refer to the sales contract.

Why does the report sometimes show a missing or blank reservation number?

There are several scenarios where an Account Number will be displayed, but the Reservation Number will be blank, even when the transaction is valid:

• Guest Account Payments: If a payment is made directly to a Guest Account (for example, gift cards or passes), the payment is not associated with a specific reservation. The Reservation Number field will remain blank.
• Travel Agent or Company Accounts: Payments made to a Travel Agent or Company account are not linked to individual reservations. An Account Number may be shown while the Reservation Number field remains blank.
• API Partner Bookings: When bookings are created through API partners, the RMS Reservation or Account Number may not yet exist at the time the transaction is processed. The Settlement Report may display a blank or "0" in the Reservation Number field.

Reconciliation

How do I use the RMS Pay Settlement Report to reconcile transactions?

A property may sometimes experience reconciliation issues if transactions occur after midnight. To minimise discrepancies, the best practice is to operate within the settlement timeframes, from midnight to midnight, so that settlement and accounting reports align exactly.

If operating strictly within these timeframes is not possible, review the report by individual accounting days.

Example: If a transaction occurred on the 17th, the receipt amount in RMS Pay should always match the Cash Transaction Report for that day. Any variance at the end of the day is not usually due to an error in the settlement report. Instead, a variance often highlights issues within RMS, such as a booking made in the RMS Booking Engine that was paid for but never properly delivered into the system.

How to Reconcile:

1. Use the receipt amount on the Accounting Date as the source of truth; it should always match the Cash Transaction Report.
2. Compare this with the Settlement Date, which batches transactions based on the midnight-to-midnight payout schedule. There may be differences between individual transactions and the batch total due to the batching process.
3. Review the Accounting Date to see the individual transactions that make up the batch total. This will help identify how the batch amount was calculated and flag any discrepancies.

Which report should I use to reconcile RMS Pay payouts with my bank deposits?

The RMS Pay Settlement Report should be used when reconciling payouts with bank deposits. This report provides a clear view of the net payout amount after RMS Pay fees, giving the most accurate picture of what should be deposited into the bank account.

If you use financial software such as QuickBooks, the settlement report can also be used to create journal entries in the accounting system. This helps reconcile the gross transaction amounts, fees, and net deposit, ensuring accounting records align with the bank deposit.

Negative Payouts

Why is my payout showing a negative amount?

A negative payout typically occurs when fees, refunds, or chargebacks exceed the payments collected for a given period. As long as more payments are processed than refunds or pre-authorisations, the payout will remain positive. However, if refunds, chargebacks, or other adjustments push the net amount below zero, the payout for that period can appear negative.

How It Works: If a negative payout or variance occurs, RMS cannot issue a negative payment. Instead, the negative amount is deducted from the next available payout.

Example: You expect $647.33 in your bank account but only receive $647.11. Running the weekly RMS Pay Settlement Report may reveal a small negative variance of $0.22. Both the report and the payout are correct; RMS has simply deducted the negative variance from the payout.

Common Causes of Negative Payouts:

• Excessive credit card tokens without corresponding completed payments can generate fees that exceed collected payments.
• Large refunds are processed in a given day, which pushes the net amount negative.
• Chargebacks that are greater than the payout amount.

Comparing RMS Pay Reports

How does the RMS Pay Settlement Report differ from the RMS Pay Transaction & Payout Overview Report?

These two reports serve different purposes and are used at different stages of the payment lifecycle

• RMS Pay Settlement Report

The Settlement Report provides a detailed view of transactions, fees, and payout amounts. This report organises information by Accounting Date, Settlement Date, and Batch ID. Transactions may take up to three business days to clear, and only fully processed transactions will appear.

Because RMS receives the settlement file on the payout day, the report reflects transactions after the T + 2 processing period rather than in real time.

Best used for: final reconciliation, reviewing processed transactions and payouts, and matching payouts with bank deposits.

• RMS Pay Transaction & Payout Overview Report

The Transaction & Payout Overview Report provides real-time visibility into RMS Pay card transactions. It shows the full payment lifecycle, including authorisation, capture, refunds, chargebacks, and final payout.

Because this report works in real time, it is particularly useful when troubleshooting payments or investigating guest queries. For example, if a guest claims they made a payment but it does not appear on the Cash Transaction Report, this report can confirm whether the transaction was authorised, is pending, was captured, or was refused.

Common Uses:

• Reconcile payouts: Match transactions to bank deposits using Payout Amount, Payout Date, Payout Reference, and Batch ID.
• Identify unpaid or pending transactions: Filter for transactions that have an amount but no payout date or payout amount.
• Audit payments: Track the full process from authorisation through capture, refund, chargeback, and payout.
• Financial reporting: Use the Accounting Date to align reporting with financial periods.

In summary:

Transaction Fees

Which RMS reports include RMS Pay transaction fee details?

Transaction fee details are available on the following reports:

• RMS Pay Settlement Report
• RMS Pay Transaction & Payout Overview Report

Can RMS Pay transaction fees be passed along to the guest?

No. RMS Pay transaction fees cannot be passed on to the guest. However, if it is legally permitted in your region, you may choose to apply a credit card transaction fee to guests using the standard credit card fee functionality in RMS.