This article explains how billing automation works in Mews Operations, including how you configure it, when it triggers, and how it manages items across reservations.

Billing automation in Mews Operations automatically assigns billable items and services to the specific bill owners, reducing manual billing tasks and keeping charges organized across individual and group reservations. Property managers and administrators use it to control how Mews assigns and routes charges. Billing automation runs from the moment you create a reservation and triggers again each time you update it. To create or modify billing automations, you need the Create and manage billing automation permission in addition to permission to edit your property.

By default, Mews applies billing automation to every reservation. You do not need to configure any rules. If you create a custom billing automation, it overrides the default logic when its conditions apply.

 

 

In this article, you can find answers to: 

• How does the default billing automation work?
• How do I create and configure a billing automation? 
• What permissions do I need to create and modify billing automations? 
• When does a billing automation trigger? 
• Does creating a new billing automation affect my older reservations? 
• What happens when I create a new reservation? 
• What do I see in the reservation billing screen? 
• What happens to items that billing automation does not cover? 
• What happens if I change a reservation so the automation no longer applies? 
• What happens to my existing billing automations? 
• What items does billing automation apply to? 
• What triggers billing automation to run again? 
• What happens when billing automation no longer applies? 
• What happens when a different billing automation applies? 
• Can billing automation move items from my manually created bills? 

 

How does the default billing automation work?

The default billing automation helps you organize bills without manual effort. It automatically routes all items to a single bill as soon as you or the guest add them to a reservation. You do not need to create any rules for it to work.

This automation runs continuously and applies to all bookable services and additional services. It organizes bills by reservation group, which reduces errors and saves time during check-out.

How it works

1. You or the guest create a reservation.
2. The billing automation creates a separate bill for each reservation group.
3. It routes all charges to the guest bill. If the reservation has a linked company, Mews also associates the company with the bill.
4. It names each bill after the reservation group. For example, a bill might have the name Smith-4-11-33C9.
5. It marks the bill with an automation icon and adds “Created by system” to the action log.
6. Billing automation adds any additional reservation items to the group bill.
7. Billing automation adds any linked reservation products to the group bill. If no reservation group bill exists for the owner of the product charges, Mews creates a new bill in that guest profile.

How it interacts with other billing automations

When you create your own billing automation, your rule always overrides the default billing automation when the condition applies. The default billing automation only applies if there is no custom automation for the reservation or items.

How do I create and configure a billing automation? 

You can create and configure billing automation directly from the Billing automation settings page, or from a reservation or from an availability block. 

For example, if John Smith makes a reservation with billing automation that routes charges to the company ZadehCo, John Smith remains the reservation owner, but ZadehCo owns the bill. You define this in the automation configuration.

 

What permissions do I need to create and modify billing automations? 

To create and modify billing automations, you need: 

• Permission to edit your property 
• The Create and manage billing automation permission 

 

When does a billing automation trigger? 

When billing automations trigger depends on the automation timing you configure:

• Continuous automation triggers every time you or the guest create or edit a reservation. For example, when you extend a stay or add a new service, Mews applies the automation.
• Monthly automation triggers once per month at the day and time you configure. It includes billable items from a specific period, based on your setup.

Note: The default billing automation triggers whenever you add a reservation, reservation item, or product linked to a reservation in Mews, unless a specific condition stops it.

 

Does creating a new billing automation affect my older reservations? 

No, billing automation does not retroactively apply to existing reservations, even if they meet the conditions. 

However, if you or the guest modify an existing reservation that matches the automation’s conditions, Mews triggers the automation again and applies it to the updated reservation. 

 

What happens when I create a new reservation? 

If a billing automation applies to a new reservation:

• Mews shows a “Billing automation applied” notification in the reservation summary.
• The billing automation automatically routes any items or services you or the guest add to the reservation to the specific bill if it meets the automation’s conditions.

You can view the automation details by:

• Expanding the reservation details.
• Clicking Billing automation applied in the summary panel.

 

What do I see in the reservation billing screen? 

If a billing automation applies to a reservation, the Billing screen displays:

• An icon on automated bills.
• A Show automation option in the menu that opens a summary of the automation.

 

What happens to items that billing automation does not cover? 

The default billing automation applies to all reservations, reservation items, and products linked to a reservation and creates a bill for them.

However, if you add a product with no reservation link, Mews routes it to Unpaid items.

 

What happens if I change a reservation so the automation no longer applies? 

If your modification removes the conditions that triggered the automation: 

1. Mews shows a warning message.
2. You can decide what to do with the affected items: 
   1. Click Move items to return them to Unpaid items, or
   2. Click Go back to cancel the change.

Note: If you create the billing automation and set the timing to Continuous, you can edit a reservation without Mews removing the billing automation from that reservation. 

 

What happens to my existing billing automations? 

Your previous billing automations, such as those you created before the updated automation logic, still work as expected:

• Mews marks these with “Old version” in the Billing automations overview.
• They only trigger once, when you or the guest create the reservation.

Note: You can still edit or delete old billing automations, but you cannot create new ones using the old logic.

 

What items does billing automation apply to?

Billing automation updates only apply to items in bills that billing automation creates. You can identify these bills by the  icon in the Billing screen.

Note: A manually created bill is any bill that does not have the automation icon. Billing automation does not change items in manually created bills.

Which items it affects

• Items in automated bills or Unpaid items re-route when billing automation triggers again.
• Billing automation does not move items you place in a manually created bill.
• If you manually move items into an automated bill, billing automation still applies to those items the next time it triggers.

Important behavior

• If an item is in an automated bill or Unpaid items, it re-routes when:
  • A billing automation triggers again
  • You change the reservation owner
• If an item is in a manually created bill, it stays in place.

 

What triggers billing automation to run again?

Billing automation runs when specific changes occur in a reservation or in the system.

Billing automation triggers when:

• You create a reservation
• You update a reservation
• You add products or services to a reservation
• You add a point-of-sale (POS) item linked to a reservation
• You change reservation details that affect billing conditions, such as:
  • Company
  • Travel agency
  • Guest profiles including owner, booker, or companion
  • Rate
  • Reservation group
• You merge reservation groups
• A monthly billing automation reaches its scheduled date and time
• You update a billing automation that includes specific reservations or reservation groups and click Move items

Additional behavior

• If a reservation starts matching a billing automation, items route to the specific bill.
• If a different billing automation becomes applicable, items re-route to the new bill.
• If no custom billing automation applies, the default billing automation handles the reservation.

Note: Billing automation evaluates conditions each time it triggers and routes items based on the current reservation setup.

 

What happens when billing automation no longer applies?

If a reservation no longer meets the conditions of a billing automation, item routing updates automatically.

What happens to affected items

• Mews removes billing automation from the reservation.
• Affected items route to the default billing automation.
• If another billing automation applies, items route to the new bill.

For example, if you remove a company from a reservation and the billing automation depends on that company, Mews stops applying the automation and updates the item routing.

 

What happens when a different billing automation applies?

If a reservation update causes a different billing automation to apply, items re-route automatically.

Re-routing sequence

1. Billing automation removes items from the previous automated bill.
2. Items move to Unpaid items.
3. The new billing automation applies.
4. Items route to the new bill.

You see this as a single movement between bills in the Billing screen.

 

Can billing automation move items from my manually created bills?

Billing automation does not move items from manually created bills.

Item routing behavior

• Billing automation manages items only in automated bills.
• Items in manually created bills remain unchanged.

Note: A manually created bill is any bill that does not have the automation icon. For more details, see the What items does billing automation apply to? section in this article.