Years ago, the International Association of Hospitality Accountants (IAHA), now known as the Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP), had set a standard within the hospitality industry called the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry. The first edition was published in 1926 by the Hotel Association of New York City, the founding chapter of IAHA, well before the proliferation of computers.

CSS Hotel Systems introduced its Corporate Accounting System in 1979, Full Back Office in 1980, Front Office in 1985, and has conformed to the IAHA Uniform System of Accounts since its inception in the Hospitality industry in 1979. We simply entered the industry adhering to the Hospitality Accounting Standards that had been put in place 53 years earlier.

For those of you unfamiliar with the benefits of the Uniform System of Accounts, it establishes standardized formats and account classifications to guide individuals in the preparation and presentation of financial statements. The resulting standardization suggested by the Uniform System of Accounts permits internal and external users of financial statements to compare the financial position and operational performance of a particular property to similar types of properties in the lodging industry.

For new properties just opening, the Uniform System of Accounts serves as a turnkey accounting system that can be quickly adapted to the needs and requirements of the business.

Another benefit of this type of standardization is finding, training and moving personnel within your organization. If your hotel or hotel management firm advances people by moving them within their properties, standardization makes a lot of sense.

A book entitled Uniform Systems of Accounts for the Lodging Industry, in its ninth revised edition, is available through the AH&MA Educational Institute.

CSS Hotel Systems provides Hospitality Management Applications that conform to the Uniform System of Accounts plus enable hotel management to take it a step further. The Chart of Accounts suggested by the IAHA System uses a twelve digit numbering system, consisting of 4 clusters of three digits each. Each cluster is defined as follows: Property Number, Revenue Department/Cost Center, GL Account and Sub Ledger Account.

The CSS Accounting System offers 15 digits, or the option of 5 clusters, that can be set up in several formats, whichever best suits the needs of the user. The additional cluster is Division and normally follows Property Number/Company. The advantage is in the extensive consolidation capabilities available in the CSS Corporate Accounting System Daily Report and month end Financial Statements.