From Christmas drinks to corporate outings: How to automate invoicing for business bowlers

From that moment on, the headache — for you or your accounts team — often begins before the party is even over. Because corporate clients don't simply pay with a quick bank transfer or card payment. They want a proper invoice. In the name of the Holding Company. With the correct cost centre number. And, oh yes, please send it by email to the accounts payable department, not to the person who booked the lane.

Corporate bookings are worth their weight in gold, but administratively they're often a hassle — especially when you have to manually retype everything from your reservation system into Word or your accounting package. One typo in the IBAN or the amount, and you're back to chasing payment over the phone.

There's a smarter way. A much smarter way. With the Invoice module in i-Reserve, you automate all the paperwork surrounding your corporate bowlers. That way, you can focus on your guests while the reservation system takes care of the finances.

1. No more loose notes: Companies in your system

The foundation of smooth administration is knowing who you're doing business with. Often it's 'John from HR' who books the outing, but the invoice needs to go to 'Big Business Ltd'. In a standard diary, that's difficult to keep separate.

In i-Reserve, you handle this in a structured way. You can create Companies as an 'umbrella' above your contacts.

• You enter the company's master data just once: company registration number, VAT number, and the specific invoicing address.
• You then link the contact person (John) to this company.

The great advantage? The next time John calls to book a summer drinks event, the system immediately knows the invoice should go to the company. You can even configure the routing: the booking confirmation goes to John, while the invoice is sent fully automatically to invoices@bigbusiness.co.uk. No confusion, no duplicate data entry.

2. From reservation to invoice in a single click

You're a business owner, not a typist. Why would you retype data that's already in your reservation — date, number of lanes, packages, snack platters — into an invoicing programme all over again?

In i-Reserve, the reservation is the source. With a single click, the system generates an invoice based on the booked items.

• Draft stage: The system first creates a draft invoice. You can take a relaxed look at it before proceeding. Want to add an extra round of drinks? No problem.
• Final: Everything correct? Then you finalise the invoice. The system automatically assigns it a unique invoice number (essential for the tax authorities) and sends it as a PDF directly to the client.

You can even automate this process using triggers. For example: as soon as a reservation receives the status 'Completed', the invoice is automatically created and sent. You don't need to give it another thought.

3. In advance, afterwards, or in instalments: You decide

Corporate groups can sometimes be unpredictable. "Could we pay for the lane hire upfront, and settle the drinks afterwards on actual usage?" Or: "We'd like to pay a 50% deposit."

Doing this manually is an arithmetical puzzle. In i-Reserve, it's standard functionality.

• Partial invoices: You can easily split an invoice. Send an invoice for the deposit now. The system keeps an exact record of what remains outstanding and prepares it for the final invoice after the outing.
• Consolidated invoices: Do you have a corporate bowling league where the same company comes to bowl every Tuesday evening? Don't send them a separate invoice for every visit (it'll drive them mad) — instead, merge the draft invoices. At the end of the month, you send one clear consolidated invoice listing all the playing dates. It saves them time on processing and saves you transaction costs.

Tip: Start at the beginning (The Quote)
For large corporate outings — think 8 lanes plus an extensive buffet — a quote often comes first. Did you know you can create these in i-Reserve too? With the Order module, you send a polished quote to begin with. Does the client agree? Then you convert the order into a reservation with a single click, and subsequently into an invoice. Your data travels with you throughout the entire process. That way, you come across as professional from the very first enquiry through to the final payment.

4. Your accountant will be happy too (Export)

Sending an invoice is step one. But that invoice also needs to end up in your accounts. If at the end of the month you still have to manually re-enter all the PDFs into Exact or Twinfield, you're still losing time.

i-Reserve communicates seamlessly with most major accounting packages. Think Exact (Globe & Online), Twinfield, Snelstart, AFAS, Visma, and Moneybird. Via the export module, you push the financial data directly to your general ledger accounts.

• The revenue from the bowling lanes is neatly allocated to the 'Lane Revenue' account.
• The snacks go to 'Catering Revenue'.
• VAT is correctly itemised.

The result? Your administration is always up to date, your books balance, and your accountant has fewer corrections to make. That saves you money on accountancy fees.

You handle the hospitality, we handle the logic

Hosting corporate groups is a profession in its own right. You need to create atmosphere, deliver service, and maintain quality. That's what you're good at. Leave the administrative burden to software that's built for exactly that purpose.

By automating your invoicing, you project professionalism. Your clients receive accurate invoices at the right moment, and you get paid faster. That way, the busy month of December becomes not only great for turnover, but also for your peace of mind.

Done with typing invoices by hand?

Want to experience for yourself how much time you save when the system works for you? Try i-Reserve free for 30 days. Link your first company, create a test invoice, and discover the ease of it. No obligations, just immediate insight.