Every park has a version of the same job. At the end of the day, the week or the quarter, someone sits down with the booking system on one screen and Xero on the other and types the takings across. Card payments, a couple of refunds, the long-stay tenant who paid in cash, each with the right GST. Then BAS time comes around and someone has to work out why the numbers are $40 apart.
Camper BMS now connects to Xero and does that job for you. Each morning, the previous day's payments and refunds land in Xero as a single manual journal, with the GST exactly as it was recorded when each payment was taken.
Checking each summary, reconciling your bank and everything on your BAS stay with you, your bookkeeper or your accountant. Camper BMS passes on what was recorded in Camper BMS.
One journal a day
After 2am, campground time, Camper BMS closes off the previous day. Waiting until 2am gives late notifications from your payment gateway time to arrive. Every payment and refund recorded for that day is added up and posted to Xero as one manual journal.
The journal has two sides. On one side are your sales, split by GST treatment: standard GST, GST-free, input taxed, and Division 87 long-stay sales at 5.5% if your park uses the concession. On the other side is a clearing account, "Camper BMS Clearing", which setup creates in Xero for you.
Each journal carries the day's totals and GST only. It also links back to that day's summary in Camper BMS, so from Xero you can open the list of payments and refunds behind any amount.
Reconciling against your bank
The money itself does not arrive in one tidy deposit. Card payments settle in batches from your gateway, direct debits arrive on their own schedule, and cash goes in when someone gets to the bank. That is what the clearing account is for.
Each journal puts the day's takings into the clearing account in up to three lines: card payments awaiting settlement, direct debits awaiting settlement, and payments marked as paid manually. When a deposit lands in your bank feed, you reconcile it against the clearing account. When everything has been matched, the account sits at zero. If a balance hangs around, the line descriptions tell you which kind of payment it belongs to, so you know whether to look at your gateway, your direct debits or the cash tin.
The payment that turns up late
Days do not always stay finished. A guest pays by bank transfer and you mark it paid on Thursday for Monday's booking, or a payment gets recorded against an earlier date.
Once a day has been posted, its journal stays as it is. A payment recorded for that day afterwards goes into a numbered adjustment summary, posted as its own journal. A refund posts as a negative line, and a day where refunds outweigh takings posts as a reversed journal. If a payment that already reached Xero is later marked unpaid, the reversal is posted too.
Camper BMS also checks the journals it has posted. If one is voided in Xero, or Xero works out the GST differently from the amount Camper BMS recorded, the day is flagged on your Daily Summaries page so you can check it with your accountant.
When a day cannot post
Sometimes Xero will refuse a journal, for example when a tax rate it uses has been archived. Camper BMS holds that day, keeps posting the days after it, and tries the held day again about an hour later. If it still has not posted after several tries, the account owner gets an email saying which day and why. If someone removes Camper BMS from Xero's connected apps, the account owner gets an email with a link to connect again.
Setting it up
Setup is in Integrations, under Accounting, and is done by someone with permission to manage integrations.
- Connect Xero. You sign in to Xero and allow Camper BMS to post manual journals and read and update accounting settings.
- Choose your organisation. Australian organisations using AUD can connect.
- Choose your accounts. Load your chart of accounts from Xero, choose a sales account, and create the "Camper BMS Clearing" account with one click.
- Match your tax rates. Standard GST, GST-free and input taxed rates are matched from Xero for you. If your park uses Division 87, choose your 5.5% rate. If Xero has no 5.5% rate, your accountant can add one.
- Accept and start. Read the terms and accept the fee. The first summary, for the day before, posts within about an hour.
The integration works with organisations that report GST on a cash basis, because each journal records payments on the day the money moved. If your organisation reports on an accruals basis, email support@camperbms.com.
Summaries start from the day before setup is finished, and anything you entered in Xero for earlier days stays as it is. You can disconnect at any time from the same page, and the journals already in Xero stay where they are.
Not on Xero?
The Daily Summary CSV prepares the same totals for each day, payments, refunds and GST, as a file you download and enter into whichever accounting system you use. The CSV is free.
Already using your payment provider's Xero integration?
Some payment providers offer their own connection to Xero, and you may already have it switched on. Depending on the provider, it can bring your sales, fees or payouts into Xero.
Check what yours posts before you connect Camper BMS. If it already records your sales, posting the same takings from Camper BMS would count them twice, so pick one source for sales and ask your bookkeeper which suits your park. The Camper BMS summary covers every payment recorded in Camper BMS, card, direct debit and manual alike, with GST split by treatment, including Division 87. Your provider's integration may still be the best place for its fees and payouts.
What it costs
The Xero integration is an optional add-on at $0.20 per daily summary posted to Xero, billed monthly in arrears with your platform fees. Each summary is charged once, however many attempts it takes to post. For a park taking payments every day, that comes to about $6 a month. The Daily Summary CSV is free.
Common questions
Which Xero organisations can connect?
Australian Xero organisations using AUD that report GST on a cash basis. If your organisation reports on an accruals basis, contact support@camperbms.com.
When does each day reach Xero?
After 2am, campground time, the previous day's payments and refunds are posted as one manual journal.
What is in each journal?
The day's sales split by GST treatment, with the GST exactly as Camper BMS recorded it, balanced against a clearing account split into card payments, direct debits and payments marked as paid manually. Each journal carries the day's totals and GST only.
What happens to a payment recorded after its day was posted?
It goes into a numbered adjustment summary for that day, posted as its own journal. The original journal stays as it was.
Does it handle Division 87 long-stay GST?
Yes. Division 87 sales post at a 5.5% tax rate that you choose in Xero during setup. If your Xero organisation has no 5.5% rate, your accountant can add one.
What does it cost?
$0.20 per daily summary posted to Xero, billed monthly in arrears with your platform fees. Each summary is charged once, however many attempts it takes to post.
My payment provider already connects to Xero. Do I need this?
Check what your provider's integration posts. If it already records your sales in Xero, posting them from Camper BMS as well would count them twice, so choose one source for sales with your bookkeeper. The Camper BMS summary covers every payment recorded in Camper BMS, card, direct debit and manual alike, with GST split by treatment.
We use different accounting software. Can we still use this?
The free Daily Summary CSV prepares the same daily payment, refund and GST totals as a file to download and enter into any accounting system.
Your takings in Xero every morning
Each day's payments, refunds and GST, posted to Xero as one journal and ready to reconcile against your bank.
