Post-event reconciliation
Closing out an event: the post-event reconciliation timeline.
Post-event reconciliation is the whole financial close-out of a meeting, not just the hotel bill. It covers collecting final numbers, reviewing every invoice, resolving disputes, and reporting to your client or finance team.
The short answer
Post-event reconciliation usually runs in four phases. The first happens onsite on the last day: confirm final counts and review daily charges. Next, gather the final bill and documents (typically within 1–2 weeks). Then review and resolve differences (typically weeks 2–4). Finally, pay, report and close the file.
The hotel master bill audit is the biggest single step, but it depends on work you do before and during the event, especially keeping every revised BEO and noting onsite approvals.
The close-out timeline
Timing varies by hotel and contract. This is a typical sequence for a conference with a group master account.
| When | What happens | Who |
|---|---|---|
| During the event | Review daily charges ("daily pickups") with the hotel; note onsite changes and who approved them | Planner, event manager |
| Last day onsite | Post-con meeting; confirm final counts and flag anything already disputed | Planner, hotel event and sales team |
| Days 1–10 | Hotel sends final master bill; collect all vendor invoices | Hotel accounting, vendors |
| Days 5–20 | Audit the master bill and reconcile other invoices; list differences with evidence | Planner or finance |
| Days 10–30 | Send differences to the hotel; receive corrected invoice or credit memo | Planner, hotel |
| By the payment due date | Pay undisputed amounts; settle disputed ones | Finance |
| After settlement | Report final costs against budget; archive documents; record history for the next contract | Planner |
Check your contract's payment terms. Many are net 30 from the invoice date.
Post-event reconciliation checklist
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Signed contract and every addendum
The negotiated terms, including concessions and minimums.
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Final approved version of every BEO
Plus earlier versions, so the changes are traceable. See BEO reconciliation.
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Change orders and onsite approvals
Emails or signed forms for anything added during the event.
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Room pickup report
The basis for comp rooms and attrition.
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Final master bill (and CSV export if available)
The complete bill, not a summary.
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Deposit and payment receipts
To tie out the balance due.
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Outside vendor invoices
AV, transport, décor and others. See event invoice reconciliation.
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Budget and approvals
To explain variances to your client or finance.
What makes close-out take longer
Most delays come from the paperwork, not the math. BEO revisions spread across email threads, onsite approvals nobody wrote down, and a bill whose descriptions don't match the documents all turn a one-hour review into a multi-day project.
Two habits help. During the event, keep a simple log of every onsite change and who approved it. After the event, keep all documents for that event in one place before you start comparing.
Where FolioMatch fits in the close-out
FolioMatch covers the audit step: checking the hotel or venue final bill against the contract and supporting documents, then producing a reconciliation report for the findings you choose to raise. Everything else (onsite reviews, the post-con meeting, paying vendors, reporting to your client) stays with you and your existing tools.
For the audit itself, see hotel master bill audit. For the line-by-line method, see master bill reconciliation.
Close-out terms
- Post-con meeting
- The meeting with the hotel at the end of the event to review what happened and what's still open.
- Daily pickups
- A daily review of charges posted to the master account during the event.
- Credit memo
- A document from the hotel issuing a credit against the invoice.
- Event history
- Final pickup, F&B spend and issues, used when negotiating the next contract.
Closing out for your client or finance team
The last step of reconciliation is a report someone else can rely on. Finance needs to know the final number, why it differs from budget, and which differences were recovered. A client needs the same, plus confidence that the bill was actually checked rather than paid as received.
A good close-out report is short: the final cost, the variances with one-line explanations, the differences raised with the hotel and their outcomes, and the documents that support each. FolioMatch's reconciliation report covers the hotel-bill part of this, with each finding's evidence and calculation attached, and it comes as a PDF you send yourself.
Keep the event history when you're done. Final pickup, actual F&B spend, and what went wrong on the bill are the most useful inputs you have when negotiating the next contract with the same hotel or a similar one.
What to do while you're still onsite
The cheapest reconciliation happens before you leave the property. If the hotel offers a daily review of master account charges, take it: a misposted charge found on day two is fixed in minutes, and the same charge found three weeks later requires an email chain. Ask for the pickup report each morning and compare it with your own rooming list.
At the post-con meeting, confirm the final count for every function against the guarantee, walk through any charges already posted that look wrong, and agree on when the final bill will arrive. Write down anything disputed, with names. That note is evidence later.
Everything you capture onsite shortens the desk work afterward. The audit of the final bill goes fastest when the document set is complete and the onsite questions are already answered.
Questions
How long should post-event reconciliation take?
It varies with event size. Most planners aim to finish within the invoice's payment terms, often 30 days. Starting the audit as soon as the final bill arrives gives the most room to resolve differences.
Should I review charges during the event?
Yes, if the hotel offers daily reviews. Errors caught onsite are the easiest to fix.
Does FolioMatch replace event-management software?
No. It's used at close-out alongside whatever you use to plan and run events.
What should I do at the post-con meeting?
Confirm final counts for each function, review any charges already posted that look wrong, and agree on when the final master bill will arrive. Issues raised here are the cheapest to fix.
What if the final bill arrives late?
Note the invoice date, since payment terms usually run from it. A late bill compresses your review window, which is a reason to start the audit the day it arrives rather than the week before payment is due.
Who should do the reconciliation: the planner or finance?
The planner, or both together. Finance can tie out the payments, but only the planner knows which onsite changes were approved and which documents govern. The evidence work needs the person who ran the event.
Related
Hotel master bill audit
Check the final master bill against the contract, BEOs and concessions. This is the hub for everything below.
Master bill reconciliation
The accounting method: the master account's structure, matching lines, and tying out deposits, credits and routing.
Event invoice reconciliation
The wider close-out across hotel, AV, catering and outside vendors, and how the invoices overlap.
You negotiated the deal. Make sure you got it.
Upload your contract, BEOs and final hotel bill. FolioMatch shows what needs attention and the source evidence behind every finding.