House Accounts Overview
House accounts are an excellent tool for simplifying catering orders' payment/ordering process. They allow guests to have an account with a restaurant that functions like a credit card, with a limit and balance established. This lets restaurant partners extend credit to loyal customers in our dashboard.
House Accounts Introduction
House Accounts can simplify business finances on large orders. When a business orders food for many people with a higher price tag, it is easier financially to pay with a line of credit.
Admins can assign a guest's account as a House Account. When orders are placed under this guest, they will always see the option to use "House Account" as payment.
House Accounts Guest Experience
For a guest to access their House Account, they must first register in the system and then register as a House Account account in the "Customer" tab of the Admin Dashboard.
Once this is done, the guest can place an order as usual. When they go to check out, "House Account" will be an option listed under their payment types alongside "Cash" and "Credit,"
House Accounts Best Practices
Under the "Customers" section of the Admin Dashboard, admins can search a guest's information or select the specific House Account by name to see the information associated with that house account.
House Accounts Benefits
Businesses are incentivized to order more often because House Accounts simplify accounting management.
Restaurant locations can specify which payment types for House Accounts are available.
Check
Credit card
ACH (?)
Reports are easily exported for account statements
House Accounts can have specific discounts
Sending guests an invoice is quick and easy
Adjustments can be made to accounts
Tax-exempt certain accounts
House Accounts Limitations
Only employees registered in the Admin Dashboard as House Account Administrators and House Account Managers can access House Account features.
This includes:
Create new customer accounts
Modify a guest's spending limits
Accept payments
Obtain reports for customers
View all transactions
View open transactions
Filter transactions
Apply adjustments
Declare "bad debt" and write-offs
Associate House Accounts with specific restaurant locations
Feature Limitation: A guest must already be registered as a user to be associated with a house account.
House Accounts FAQs
1. How do House Accounts connect to the POS?
Accepting and recording a payment from a customer on a House Account is managed outside of the POS. Yet, the order is sent to the POS with whatever tender ID the chain/brand has set up in 2.0 for the 'House Account' payment type. Each payment type in NovaDine has to be assigned a POS tender ID (when POS is integrated). This applies to the 'House Account' payment type as well.
2. How do we mark an individual invoice as paid when a house account pays any amount based on the amount owed?
When applying for a payment, you select which invoice(s) the fee applies to, just like in Quickbooks or other accounting software.
3. How are House Accounts linked to the POS system?" How do you apply payments?
Go to the "Apply Payment" screen under the "Customers" tab
Choose which invoice(s) to apply a payment to by enabling the checkbox next to the appropriate order
Enter the amount of payment to be applied to said specific invoice
Click "Apply Payment"
If the payment exceeds the open balances, enter "reason for Overage."
Click "OK" on the confirmation box to proceed
The payment will be shown under "recent House Account Transactions."
4. How do I write off payment shortages?
You have the ability for underpayments to "Write Off" bad dept or any payment shortage with an adjustment or show an outstanding balance on the transaction screen:
Go to "Recent House Account Transactions."
Select "Write Off" next to the invoice you want to be removed
Enter the reason the transaction will be removed from the "Recent House Account Transactions" as an invoice
To view, select "All Transactions."
5. How do I view a House Account's History?
This can be done with both House Account Admin and Manager access
Search for guests in the "Customers" tab and click on their email
Click on "Recent House Transactions" for said customer's account and select "Account History."
The House Account's Transactions will all be displayed in a report.
6. Can we grant flexibility in how much of the bill/invoice needs to be paid off?
Yes