In Mews, each transaction, for example, staying a night or ordering a meal, creates two linked but distinct records:

• Order item.
• Accounting item.

 

These two records serve different teams and purposes.

• Operational view: Front office and revenue teams use order items to reflect when a customer consumes a service.
• Accounting view: Finance teams use accounting items to reflect when Mews records the service in the accounting system.

 

You use this dual structure to ensure operational accuracy while maintaining immutable financial records. You typically view and manage these records within Mews Operations when billing guests, fixing mistakes, reviewing revenue metrics, or preparing financial reports.

 

In this article you can learn about:

• The differences between order items and accounting items
• How to view and edit order items
• How accounting items support financial reporting
• How to manage differences between order items and accounting items

 

 

The differences between order items and accounting items

Every transaction in Mews has two views, one for operations and one for accounting:

• Order items represent what the customer consumed. These include room nights, restaurant charges, and other services. The system ties these to the consumed date, the exact date and time the service occurred, allowing for amendments within the Editable History Window.
• Accounting items represent the financial record of the transaction. The system ties these to the accounted date, which reflects the business day when Mews records the revenue in the accounting system. The data is completely immutable and if you make corrections this is handled through a counter posting on the day of correction.

This dual-date structure supports both operational accuracy and financial compliance.

 

For example, a guest checks in at 02:15 pm on May 5. The order item shows May 5, 02:15 pm, while the accounting item also shows May 5, based on your business day settings.

 

Note: Accounting items do not exist until the system posts them, so you can only use them to view past data, while Order items can include past and future consumption.

 

 

How to view and edit order items

You use order items to ensure the customer bill matches what they received. These items appear in bills and invoices, the customer Billing screen, and are also used in forecasting and revenue reporting.

• You can edit order items within a defined time window.
• For example, you can correct a stay price due to a last-minute discount or post a late check-in that happened after midnight.

 

When you edit an order item, the system applies the change to the original consumed date to preserve historical accuracy in revenue reporting.

 

Note: The editable history window controls how far back users can edit order items.

• A shorter window keeps order and accounting data more closely aligned
• A longer window offers more flexibility for corrections and adjustments, ensuring accurate revenue metrics.

In either case, your accounting reports remain unaffected, as the system bases them on immutable data and processes corrections within the current reporting period.

 

 

How accounting items support financial reporting

Accounting items form the core of your financial reporting in Mews. These records are:

• Immutable: Once posted, you cannot edit them.
• Auditable: All corrections require a counter-posting that reflects the change on the current business day.
• Compliant: They follow double-entry accounting standards.

 

Accounting items power the following reports:

 

• City ledger
• Deposit ledger
• Guest ledger
• Ledger activity report
• Trial balance

Note: These reports always reflect the actual sequence of accounting entries.

 

 

How to manage differences between order items and accounting items

Mews does not match or reconcile order items and accounting items exactly; this is expected behavior.

• Order items can update consumption records for past dates.
• Accounting items reflect changes only when they are posted, based on business day rules.

 

For example:

 

A guest stays Nov 1– 4 at 100 EUR per night and receives a 20 EUR per night discount at checkout.

 

Date	Order Item (Guest bill view & Revenue metrics)	Accounting Item (Ledger View)
Nov 1	80 EUR (updated on Nov 4)	100 EUR + -20 EUR (Accounted on Nov 4)
Nov 2	80 EUR (updated on Nov 4)	100 EUR + -20 EUR (Accounted on Nov 4)
Nov 3	80 EUR (updated on Nov 4)	100 EUR + -20 EUR (Accounted on Nov 4)
Nov 4	80 EUR (updated on Nov 4)	100 EUR + -20 EUR (Accounted on Nov 4)

 

 

In this example:

• Order items update to reflect the new price on each night of the stay. For example, the customer bill displays corrected revenue as if it were always 80 EUR.
• Accounting items retain the original amounts and reflect adjustments separately on the day the system processes them. For example, the ledger reports display the original charges, plus corrections, as of November 4.

Note:

• Corrections, repricing, and business day configuration can result in differences to the totals.
• Mews posts charges to accounting only when you check in the related reservation, even if the order item shows an earlier consumption date.
• You can align the two data sets more closely by shortening the editable history window, but even then, accounting items remain immutable and accurate.

 

You now understand the differences between order items and accounting items in Mews and can use them to support accurate billing and compliant financial reporting.