Introduction
There are two methods of payment distribution available in RMS. Escrow payments (the default when shipped) or Disburse. The Escrow method posts reservation payments to the Advanced Reservation liability account upon receipt. This money is "earned" when the reservation is finalized as part of the owner statement process. The Disburse method posts reservation payments to the Owner Liability account and the Commission Income account when the payment is posted. Only money posted up to the owner gross income is "earned" immediately using this method. Other money, such as tax money, is disbursed like the Escrow method – when the reservation is finalized as part of the owner statement process.
A Reservation Cannot Have Mixed Methods
You cannot have a mix of payments distribution types on a reservation. Meaning, all payments applied to a reservation must have been applied with Disburse set to yes or set to no. You cannot have some payments that were applied under the Escrow method and then apply some payments under the Disburse method. If you have any reservations with Escrow payments and you want to use the Disburse method, you MUST debit off the payments (using the Payments Received menu option – a debit to a reservation reverses a payment).
Setting the Control File
To set RMS to allow the Disburse method you must change a setting in the control file. Go to the Files Menu, Control File, Reservation Accounting. Change the "Reservation Payment Disbursement Method" option to "Disburse on Receipt". This ONLY allows units to use the Disburse method. It does NOT set the units to disburse.
Setting the Unit File
To set a unit to the Disburse method you must change a setting in the unit file. Go to the File menu, Unit File, retrieve the unit desired, go to the Deposits and Nights Tab. Change the Reservation payments setting in the Disburse or Escrow portion of the screen to "Pay as Received". If you desire all units to use the Disburse method, you must set each unit. There currently is not a method to globally set all units to disburse – they must be done one at a time. You may have a mix of some units that use the Escrow method and some that use the Disburse method.
Cautions & Restrictions
The disburse feature of RMS is contrary to the principles of escrowing funds. Some states require reservation money to be escrowed.
This feature of RMS is not commonly used. Please use this method with caution and inform AMS of any problems you may find.
There is a known bug in the Disburse method that has been placed on the "to be fixed" list. During the reservation process, the deposit method option "Received" WILL NOT properly use the Disburse method. AMS recommends this option be turned off (you can simply post a payment after the reservation is completed using the Payment Received menu option instead). To turn off the Received deposit method go to the Files Menu, Control File, General Accounting, Screen 4 and set the "Allow Deposit Type Received" option to "No".