In ROLLER, guest purchases are recorded against bookings, each having its own booking date, which could be in the future or on the current day. All payments are linked to a booking which ensures accurate reporting for revenue recognition and financial reporting. This can also provide you with key information and insights about how guests interact with your venue and how well the venue is performing.
Key terms
Let's delve into some key terms used in ROLLER reports:
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Booking | A record of a guest's purchase of items such as products, admission tickets, memberships, concessions and food and beverage from your venue. |
| Booking Date | The date when a guest's booking, product, or ticket becomes valid. This can be the same day as the purchase date or a future scheduled date. |
| Transaction | A financial action related to a booking, like a payment or refund. |
| Product | Any item available for purchase at your venue, including product tickets, memberships, merchandise, and food and beverage. |
| Redemption | Redemption occurs when you verify guest tickets at POS to gain entry to your venue. |
| Product Validity and Expiry | Product validity and expiry simply indicate how long a purchased product remains valid. |
| Revenue Recognition | An accounting principle defining when a business officially counts its earnings. |
Reporting method
When getting started with ROLLER reporting, you'll need to choose between cash or accrual accounting for revenue recognition purposes. The main difference between cash and accrual accounting lies in the timing of when revenue is recognized.
| Accounting method | Description |
|---|---|
| Accrual | Recognizes revenue when it is earned, linked to the booking date or item expiry date in ROLLER. This recognition takes place when a ticket is redeemed at POS or when the product or ticket expires, regardless of when funds are received. |
| Cash | Recognizes revenue upon receiving funds, regardless of booking date. |
Key financial terms
Understand these terms for accurate reporting, no matter the accounting method you're using:
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Gross Sales | Total value of booking item sales before discounts and including tax (Qty sold x total value of booking). |
| Funds Received | When a booking payment is received, it generates funds received. This is the total value of processed payments (Gross Sales less any Discounts, including any Fees and Taxes)*. |
| Fee Revenue | Total value of fees collected (on funds received). |
| Tax Collected | Total value of tax collected (on funds received). |
| Discounts | Total value of discounts redeemed (on funds received). |
* Gratuity (tips) is not included in funds received values for booking items (ie products). But, they are included in funds received values for overall funds figures. For further details, refer to the FAQ below.
Terms specifically for accrual accounting:
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Deferred Revenue | Funds received for bookings which have not yet been redeemed at POS or expired (ie not yet recognized based on accrual accounting). |
| Gift Card Deferred Revenue | The revenue generated from the sale of gift cards. It is then adjusted once the gift cards are redeemed for products at your venue. |
| Accounts Receivable | Funds from bookings that have an outstanding balance on them. |
| Gross Revenue | Total recognized revenue inclusive of tax. |
| Recognized Discounts | Total value of discounts redeemed (on gross revenue) for the selected time period. |
| Tax Payable | Total value of tax payable (on gross revenue). |
| Net Revenue | Gross revenue less tax payable. |
Revenue journey
Cash accounting
- Bookings with dates
- Guest payment → Funds Received (revenue is recognized)
Accrual accounting
- Bookings with dates
- Guest payment → Funds Received → Deferred Revenue
- Redeemed/expired booking → Gross/Net Revenue (revenue is recognized)
- Outstanding amounts → Accounts Receivable
Three entry types for revenue recognition
ROLLER categorizes entries into three types for revenue recognition.
| Entry type | Definition |
|---|---|
| Transaction | Payment or refund related to a booking |
| Recognition | Redemption or expiry of tickets based on product validity for accrual accounting. Funds received for cash accounting. |
| Adjustment | Shifting funds between revenue accounts due to booking changes. All adjustments occur on the date the booking changes are made. |
Product expiry for accrual accounting
When a guest purchases tickets in a booking, they have a set time to use them. The guest must use or redeem the item within this period. When the booking is redeemed at POS or expires, the money shifts from deferred revenue to recognized revenue following accrual accounting rules.
| Product type | Expiry |
|---|---|
| Session pass | 20 mins after session start time. For example, if a session starts at 10 AM, the expiry will be 10:20 AM. |
| Party packages | 20 mins after session start time. |
| Standard pass | Based on the "what days can this pass be used" or if there is a "days valid from purchase" configured in the standard pass product settings. For example, until December 2025 or for 30 days from purchase date. |
| Membership | Automatic recognition of revenue at time of purchase. In the case of recurring memberships, this is every time a scheduled payment is made. |
| Stock/Add-on | 23:59 on the day of the booking unless purchased with a session, then it is 20 mins after session start time. |
| Gift Cards | Based on expiry set within product setup (eg no expiry in US or 3 years in Australia).* |
*Gift card deferred revenue does not move to recognized revenue when a gift card expires.
FAQs
Why might a venue opt for accrual or cash accounting?
Accrual accounting provides the most accurate revenue reporting, especially for businesses with inventory. Some governments restrict larger businesses from using cash accounting.
What changes in ROLLER reports when switching between accrual and cash?
Certain reports will be removed when using cash accounting (eg Deferred Revenue by Bookings report). It also adjusts the data displayed in reports, removing accrual data such as deferred revenue and removing the revenue metric from the Venue Manager dashboard.
Does the booking date refer to the day a guest buys a ticket or the day they book a spot at my venue?
The booking date is when a product or ticket starts being valid for the guest to attend your venue, and it's not necessarily the same as the date when the guest purchased it. The booking date and product validity is essential for recognizing revenue based on accrual accounting practices.
How are funds allocated to a booking?
If a booking is partially paid, the amount is divided proportionally among all items in the booking. You can't assign a $100 deposit to a specific item.
What payment types are included in funds received?
It covers all transaction types on the selected date, except for gift card redemptions. It does, however, include payments processed for gift card sales.
Why doesn't gross sales match funds received?
Gross sales is the total value of the booking multiplied by the number of items. Funds received represents the actual money collected by the venue. Differences can stem from discounts, partial payments (like party deposits), and pending bookings.
Do gratuity figures appear as funds received in reports?
In Detailed Product Sales and Revenue Recognition reports (product sales reports), gratuity does not show as funds received. However, in Detailed Transactions, Daily Summary, and Trial Balance reports (overall funds figures), gratuities are included, as these reports are unrelated to specific products. Learn more about these reports