Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

FRONT OFFICE SEMANTICS
Write off:
Act of declaring a legitimate debt uncollectible. A write-off can also be the result of a decision
that the amount owed is too small to justify significant collection efforts. Used as in, “Tom, we have a $1
late charge from the gift shop that should have been posted to room 231. The couple in that room has
already checked out, so fill out a voucher and we’ll just 
write off the $1.
An allowance or adjustment voucher records the reversal of a guest’s
charges. This option might be used, for example, when a guest departs with
unposted movie charges or minor food and beverage purchases because the
POS used to record these charges is not interfaced with the PMS. When 
the cost of debt collection exceeds the cost of the allowance, many FOMs
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