Billing automation in Mews Operations automatically assigns billable items and services to the correct bill owners. It reduces manual billing tasks and helps you keep charges organized across individual and group reservations.

By default, Mews applies billing automation to every reservation. You do not need to configure any rules to benefit from this. Mews creates a bill for each reservation and routes all items to the correct place, so you do not need to move them manually. 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 older reservations? 
• What happens when I create a new reservation? 
• What happens in the reservation billing screen? 
• What happens to items the automation does not cover? 
• What happens if I change a reservation so the automation no longer applies? 
• What happens to my existing billing automations? 

 

How does the default billing automation work?

The default billing automation helps you organize bills without manual effort. It automatically moves all items to a single bill as soon as they are added 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 prevents the system from routing items to unpaid items and deposits, 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 moves all charges to the guest bill. If a company is linked to the reservation, the company appears on the bill as well.
4. It names each bill using the group name, for example, Smith-4-11-33C9.
5. It marks the bill with an automation icon and adds “Created by system” to the action log.
6. The system adds any additional reservation items to the reservation bill.
7. The system adds any linked reservation products to the reservation bill. If no bill exists for the owner of the product charges, the system 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 specified condition is met. 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, from a reservation or from an availability block. 

 

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 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 correct 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 happens in the reservation billing screen? 

If a billing automation is active on a reservation, the Billing screen displays:

• A label marking bills created by automation.
• A Show automation option in the menu that opens a summary of the automation.

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

 

What happens to items the 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 that is not linked to any reservations, the system routes it to Unpaid items / Deposits.

 

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 and deposits, or
   2. Click Go back to cancel the change.

Note: If you create the Billing automation and set the timing to continuously, you can edit a reservation without the system 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:

• These are marked 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.