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Context
An important task for property managers is to ensure that the expected booking revenue matches the amount received in their bank account. Typically, the Property Management Software will provide a list of financial items for each reservation, e.g. Accommodation Fare, Cleaning Fee, etc. For each OTA (e.g., Airbnb, VRBO, etc.), the breakdown might be different as they have different ways to bundle transactions, different categories, and different methods for calculating their channel fee. This list of booking financials (also called booking lines) are passed from the PMS to Clearing and accessible by opening a booking (see the following article to understand what Clearing considers a booking in more detail: Link here).
Reconciling booking revenue helps you make sure that you have indeed received the expected revenue displayed by your PMS in your bank account. Depending on the OTA, Clearing has different methods to match booking data (from your PMS) with transactions (from your bank accounts). Each method is described below.
To compare the expected amount and the actual bank transactions, please go to "Reporting" → "Booking reconciliation". Here, you will find a list of bookings with two columns: Expected amount and Actual payout. You will also have a column that compares those 2 amounts:
Green "Full in Bank": the actual payout received matches the expected amount exactly.
Yellow "Partial in Bank": less than expected has been received so far, often because a payout is still pending or arriving in multiple deposits.
Yellow "Collected More": more than expected has been received. Worth checking for a duplicate or misapplied deposit.
Red "No Match Found": no bank deposit has been matched to this booking yet.
Note: The colour coded dots that indicate the OTA payout matches against the booking data can also be seen in the "Bookings" section in the "In Bank" Column. They are also viewable directly from an owner statement.
So to summarize, on a monthly basis you should ensure that your bank deposits from OTAs and payment processors are matched with booking data. The following sections explain how to do so depending on the channel.
Before diving into channel-specific steps, a quick way to confirm a deposit is broken down correctly: look for the "Open sub-transactions" button on the deposit. If it's there, the deposit has already been split out by individual reservation.
Tip: Use the "Saved Filters" feature in Transactions to quickly switch between viewing different accounts as you work through reconciliation.
Important: If a transaction is already associated with a booking, do not also fill in its Accounting field (Owner, Management, Tax, Exclude). The booking itself is what allocates that revenue; filling in the Accounting field on top of it will duplicate the amount on the resulting owner or management statement. Clearing will show a warning if you try. The Accounting field is meant for transactions that are not tied to a booking, such as expenses or internal transfers.
Reconciling Airbnb Bookings with Bank Deposits
Airbnb bookings are reconciled using the Clearing Chrome extension. We consider Airbnb's data as the source of truth when it comes to breaking down their payout information into individual line items for each reservation, under the same bank deposits.
From Airbnb, go to Hosting → Earnings → Show All Paid, then use the extension to push your payouts to Clearing. Don't worry about pushing an overlapping date range; duplicate payouts won't be reconciled twice.
The Chrome extension will send the required data and Clearing will find the corresponding bank transaction and break it down accordingly. When this is done, Clearing will recognize the booking in each payout and match them with the booking data from your PMS.
Tip: It is recommended that you open your Airbnb account once a week, or every 2 weeks, from the payout page. Open the Clearing chrome extension and click on "Push last 2 weeks" under the Airbnb integration.
Reconciling VRBO Bookings with Bank Deposits
If you receive payouts directly from VRBO (and not through a payment processor), please open Clearing and go to "Settings" → "Integrations" → "Manage VRBO integration." You should follow the steps outlined to provide your VRBO email address in Clearing.
Then, just like for Airbnb, we use the Chrome extension to push financials data from VRBO to Clearing. Please refer to this guide for more information about the Clearing Chrome extension.
If you are using a payment processor instead, please continue reading below.
Reconciling Hospitable Payouts with Bank Deposits
Hospitable payouts sync through the Clearing Chrome extension too, the same way Airbnb and VRBO do.
One-time setup: connect your Hospitable account using your Team ID. Open the Clearing Chrome extension and select Hospitable to find your Team ID, then in Clearing go to "Settings" → "Integrations" → "Payment Processor" → "Hospitable Payouts" → "Manage Hospitable Payouts," and save it there.
To sync, go to my.hospitable.com/direct/payout-history while logged in, then open the Chrome extension and select Hospitable. It pulls in your Settled deposits automatically; you don't need to page through your payout history manually.
Clearing matches each synced payout to a bank deposit when the transaction's asset field is empty and it isn't locked. Unlike Airbnb, where one deposit often bundles several bookings together, Hospitable deposits are 1:1 with a booking, so the entire deposit amount matches to a single reservation.
Tip: Set a Rule ("Rules" → "On Transactions" → "By Type Of Transactions") to auto-categorize every future Hospitable deposit, so you only need to review the match itself. The Hospitable option won't appear in Rules until after your first payout has synced.
For more information on the Hospitable Chrome Extension, see Sync Hospitable Payouts to Clearing Using the Chrome Extension
Reconciling Bookings Paid Through a Payment Processor
For bookings paid through a connected payment processor, Clearing's direct integration automatically breaks down each payout according to the reservations paid to you in that bank deposit and matches them with your booking data. No manual syncing is required.
Currently supported payment processors: Stripe, Authorize.Net, LynnBrook, Vacation Rent Payments, and Guesty Pay.
To confirm yours is connected, go to "Settings" → "Integrations" → "Payment Processor."
Reconciling Booking.com Bookings with Bank Deposits
If you receive payouts directly from Booking.com (and not through a payment processor), please open Clearing and go to "Settings" → "Integrations" → "Manage Booking.com integration." You should follow the steps outlined below to provide your Clearing email address in your Booking.com settings.
You also have the option to upload your Booking.com statements (CSV format) by following those steps:
Please watch this video to learn how to reconcile bank deposits from Booking.com.
Here's a step by step guide on how to upload the Booking.com csv:
Identify the bank deposit from Booking.com in the transaction section.
Access Import Transactions: click the three dots at the top of the Transactions section and select "Import Transactions."
Choose the "Booking.com" section within the import transactions options.
Export the payout CSV deposit from Booking.com, which includes details of multiple reservations and amounts, and upload it to Clearing.
Review and confirm matching: Clearing will automatically match fields such as check-in date, pay date, and total amount. Review the matched details and ensure all fields are aligned correctly.
Click "Upload" to complete the deposit reconciliation.
Verify reconciliation: the deposit should now be marked as reconciled, with an option to click "Open sub-transactions" to view the breakdown of the CSV deposit, showing the reservations and amounts associated.
If you have any questions or need support, feel free to reach out.
Don't forget the commission statement: Booking.com charges its commission as a separate expense, and that charge is not included in the automatic payout email described above. Each month, download the commission statement from Booking.com and upload it separately in Clearing under "Transactions" → "Import Transactions" → "Booking.com" → "Commission."
If you are using a payment processor, please check out the payment processor section above.
Reconciling Marriott Bookings with Bank Deposits
If you receive a Marriott payout as a bank deposit, download the payout report directly from Marriott.
Then upload it in Clearing under "Transactions" → "Import Transactions" → "Marriott," and Clearing will match the payout to the corresponding bookings.
Manually Matching Any Other Bank Deposit to Booking Data
Not every channel reconciles automatically. For any deposit, there are three ways to manually match it to a booking, depending on what you need. Each is reached from the three-dot menu on the transaction.
Single reservation, quick link: select "View Transaction Details," scroll to the "Match with bookings" section, and paste the booking ID under "link this entire transaction with a single booking."
Multiple bookings on one deposit, or a partial payment: select "Match with Booking Data." This opens a dedicated view where you enter one or more booking IDs against the transaction total.
Splitting a deposit across different destinations (different owners, assets, or categories, not just different bookings): select "Split Transaction." Each split row has its own optional Booking ID field, along with asset, category, owner, and accounting.
Using "Match with Booking Data" for multiple bookings or a partial payment:
Identify the bank deposit in the transaction section. You can use the filter options to filter on "matched transactions."
Click the three dots on the transaction and select "Match with Booking Data."
Enter one or multiple booking IDs this deposit relates to. Once a booking is selected, Clearing will display all the financials related to it.
Check each financial item individually until the total amount matches the total transaction's deposit.
If the totals don't match: unselect financial items until the amounts match, confirm you've added all the relevant booking IDs if the deposit covers multiple bookings, or, if the deposit was a partial payment, use the "apply ratio" function to prorate each financial item to match the transaction's amount.
Once the amounts match, click "Match." This button appears when the match is available, and it will break down the total deposit into sub-transactions matching each financial item selected.
You can always edit each sub-transaction, or delete them altogether and start again, if you discover an error.
A Few Practical Tips
Tip: When a channel deposit is fully reconciled, its sub-transactions will net to zero. That's your visual confirmation that everything in that deposit is matched to a booking and accounted for.
Tip: Once you're confident a transaction is reconciled correctly, lock it. Switching to the "Unlocked" filter view as you work through a batch keeps your list short and lets you focus only on what's left to review.
Closing Remarks
This is all you need to do to automate matching booking details with payout transactions. While it may seem cumbersome the first time around, after going through it once, you will realize the efficiencies it brings to your booking management. You will understand and appreciate the control you have over the process and the financials.
Need more help?
We hope you got the Clearing help you needed! If not, reach out to a human via that little chat box on the bottom right corner of your screen. We're always here for you and your Clearing needs.