When boutique hotels are just starting out, they often rely on Excel and basic accounting solutions to manage their finances and inventory. But as operations become more complex, their teams may face challenges in generating accurate reports and analyses.
Maybe you're contemplating whether to upgrade to a more advanced accounting system. There are solutions developed by specialised vendors who tailor their software specifically for your industry. These accounting systems offer features like calculating room rates, budgeting and forecasting, and metrics such as cost per occupied room (CPOR), among others.
If stability and assurance are your top priorities, you can also explore standardised accounting systems developed by global vendors with extensive research and development resources and support.
We've compiled a short comparison list of some popular accounting software for hotels, as rated on sites like Capterra and G2. These include both industry-specific accounting software and standardised accounting solutions.
Alternatively, if rapid regional growth's on your strategic horizon, you could take a step further and consider a scalable Cloud ERP system (we'll talk a bit on that later, using a real boutique hotel case study!).
- Popular Accounting Software For Hotels (Industry)
- Popular Accounting Software For Hotels (Standardised)
- Is An Accounting Software Enough For A Hotel's Business Needs?
The Most Popular Accounting Software For Hotels Today (Industry)
Let’s take a look at some accounting software designed specially for those in the hotel industry, and some of the reasons why users on sites like Capterra and G2 believe they're so in demand.
1. M3 Accounting
What Is It?
M3 Accounting is a robust accounting and analytics platform designed for the hospitality industry. It provides robust accounting and financial analysis with a core accounting module, an insights module which centralises data in customisable dashboards, and a time management module for attendance tracking.
What Is It Best Known For?
M3 accounting distinguishes itself by its ability to create up to 3 budgets, and track project costs. This makes it especially useful for hotels undertaking construction projects.
The insights module of M3 Accounting also allows it to pull data from PMS systems, labor management software, and any other available data integrations, allowing you to collect all of your hotel’s data in a single location.
How Does It Review?
M3 Accounting is one of the most popular accounting software for hotels in the market today. It scores the following:
- 4.3 out of 5 stars from 251 reviews on HotelTechReport
- 4.7 out of 5 stars from 10 reviews on Capterra
- 4.7 out of 5 stars from 10 reviews on SoftwareAdvice
What Type Of Business Is It Best Suited For?
As it is designed specifically for businesses in the hospitality industry, M3 Accounting is suitable for hotels of all sizes, from boutique hotels like yours to large hotel chains.
2. Inn-Flow
What Is It?
One of the fastest-growing solutions in the hotel industry, Inn-flow is another accounting software built from the ground up by hoteliers who understand what it takes to run and manage hotels. It not only offers accounting functionalities, but also a range of features and functionalities to help you manage every aspect of your boutique hotel’s back-end operations.
What Is It Best Known For?
Inn-Flow provides
- Accounting
- Labour Management
- Payroll
- Sales
- Procurement
- Facility Management
It can also integrate with your PMS solution, making it possible to share data and avoid double-entry errors.
How Does It Review?
Inn-flow scores 4.9 out of 5 stars from 68 reviews on HotelTechReport.
What Type Of Business Is It Best Suited For?
Just like M3 Accounting, Inn-flow is designed specifically for hospitality businesses, and is suitable for all sizes of establishments from boutique hotels like yours to large hotel chains.
3. PVNG by ApTech Computer Systems
What Is It?
Based of the legacy application ProfitVue, PVNG is a next-generation cloud-based accounting software for the hospitality industry by ApTech Computer Systems. It's designed for a variety of cloud deployment options, and can easily handle single and multi-property accounting.
What Is It Best Known For?
PVNG is known for its simple menu structure and easy-to-navigate architecture, as well as for having straightforward, easy-to-learn features and benefits, making it a very user-friendly accounting software for hoteliers.
it's also able to support an entire hotel company's portfolio via the Internet for individual and consolidated back office operations and financial reporting.
How Does It Review?
Inn-flow scores 4.7 out of 5 stars from 112 reviews on HotelTechReport.
What Type Of Business Is It Best Suited For?
Another accounting software specifically designed for the hospitality industry, PVNG is most popular with larger hotels.
The Most Popular Accounting Software For Hotels Today (Standardised)
1. QuickBooks Online Advanced
What Is It?
Known for its ease of use and accessibility, QuickBooks Online is also one of the best accounting software for reporting on the market today. The Advanced version is designed for businesses with more complex finance and accounting needs, such as boutique hotels like yours with unique industry requirements.
What Is It Best Known For?
If you’re subscribed to the Advanced version, QuickBooks Online can generate more than 100 types of reports.
QuickBooks also offers cash-flow forecasting tools which are especially useful for helping your boutique hotel manage its liquidity.
It also has a powerful mobile app which is available in both iOS and Android, and includes almost all of the functions that can be found in the desktop interface. On top of it, the app also comes with mileage tracking and receipt capture features.
How Does It Review?
QuickBooks Online Advanced scores 4.5 out of 5 stars from 286 reviews on g2.
What Type Of Business Is It Best Suited For?
QuickBooks Online Advanced is suitable for larger businesses, and boutique hotels which have achieved a certain level of growth.
2. Xero
What Is It?
Designed for small business owners and accountants, Xero is one of the most popular accounting software on the market. It is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution which can be accessed from any computer or mobile device.
What Is It Best Known For?
Xero is one of the only platforms to include a tool that records fixed assets, which is perfect for tracking hotel room furnishings.
It also includes great hotel-specific integrations with leading hospitality POS brands, such as Square, EPOS Now, Nobly, and Revel.
Xero also offers a simple, easy-to-use budgeting tool that’s available across all plans, which other solutions either don’t support or saved for pricier plans.
How Does It Review?
Xero scores:
What Type Of Business Is It Best Suited For?
Xero is best suited to boutique hotels that are growing and scaling rapidly, especially in the early days of their growth stage.
3. Zoho Books
What Is It?
A web-based accounting software that can be accessed from any web browser, Zoho Books offers a low-cost option that nevertheless allows businesses of all sizes to manage finances across their entire organisation.
What Is It Best Known For?
Zoho Books allows users to send up to 5,000 invoices to an unlimited number of clients across all of its plans, and is able to integrate with many top payment processing services.
It also offers project accounting features at a lower cost than most competing products, and comes with great accounts receivable (AR) tools, including invoicing and managing outstanding payments.
How Does It Review?
Zoho Books scores:
- 4.4 out of 5 stars from 581 reviews on Software Advice
- 4.4 out of 5 stars from 581 reviews on Capterr
What Type Of Business Is It Best Suited For?
Zoho Books is most suitable for smaller businesses, such as boutique hotels.
When Accounting Software Just Isn't Enough (And Where Cloud ERP Comes In)
But what if your boutique hotel has plans for rapid expansion for growth, both within your country and around the region?
While the accounting systems listed above are capable of supporting boutique hotels in their earlier growth stages, they become insufficient once your operations scale up.
Our hotel customers typically look for a Cloud ERP software to replace their accounting system setup once they're ready for the next level of growth.
Issues they typically face include:
- Tedious Consolidation, Currency, and Reporting
Accounting solutions usually cannot provide real-time currency conversion and financial consolidation for your global operations. You'd want a system that can manage your business units with ease, and be able to restate currencies and consolidate financial reporting across business units all in one place - Lack of Scalability and Ability to Process Large Volume Transactions Accurately
Accounting software, including hotel-specific solutions with built-in hotel management features, often lack the scalability required to handle the increasing volume of financial data, transactions, and complexities that arise with a growing hotel business. - Need for a proper, reputable ERP solution to complement their PMS software
Rather than have an hotel-specific accounting solution that handles a bit of everything, hotels need a comprehensive ERP solution capable of tracking their inventory, accounting, event costs etc. in one single source of truth. Data in this system can then flow properly with a dedicated PMS solution to ensure reporting and analytics across revenue streams, guest experiences and more are accurate and suitable for decision making
Let's look at our case study of Naumi Hotels. Started in Singapore, the homegrown boutique hotel brand has since expanded overseas into New Zealand and Australia.
As our Oracle - NetSuite ERP customer, they chose to replace their accounting solution for the number one Cloud ERP software in Singapore, that could help them improve their
- Automatic PO generation
- Financial consolidation
- Financial reports
- Management reports
WIth the improved visibility and accessibility that NetSuite can offer, we can do financial forecasting, we can also do financial budgeting and also capture some financial risks which help our shareholders and stakeholders make informed decision making and also shape the operational strategy at Naumi Hotels.
Angelica Diloy, group financial controller, Naumi Hotels
Not only did Oracle NetSuite ERP effortlessly handle the complicated tax codes of various jurisdictions and automatically handle intercompany transactions, but it proved to be the perfect solution for supporting Naumi Hotels' expansion into new regions.
And because it can integrate with and draw data from other software systems in your hotel, NetSuite can unify all data generated by your hotel’s operational processes to give you a single source of truth. It also leaves you free to rely on specialised solutions for various hotel management functions – such as CRM, guest reservations etc. – without fear of creating data silos within your hotel business.
Naumi Hotels greatly reduces the time needed to close financial reports with Oracle NetSuite. Source: AFON
Your Hotel Will Outgrow Its Accounting Software In Time; ERP Software Is The Ideal Upgrade
Selecting an accounting software is a critical decision for boutique hoteliers like yourself in Singapore, especially for the early days. By choosing a solution that can optimise your financial management, and even comes with features for addressing specific industry needs such as door lock management and reservations management, you can give your hotel a head start and position it for quick growth.
However, at some point, your hotel will grow beyond the capacity of your accounting software to scale alongside its growth. At that point, it will be an inadequate solution for your hotel’s growing business needs, and you’ll need to upgrade to a solution that can scale in line with the continued growth of your hotel.
A true cloud ERP software like Oracle NetSuite is the ideal choice for such an upgrade. The cloud-based nature of NetSuite means it can easily be scaled to provide as much capacity as your growing hotel needs at any point in time. It can even support the expansion of your business from a single hotel to multiple establishments, even across different countries.
Interested in learning how else a true cloud ERP software can support your hotel operations better than a mere accounting software? Click on the image below to download our resource, and find out why businesses are moving away from basic accounting software like QuickBooks to cloud ERP software like Oracle NetSuite.
