How to Add a Guest Stay

A Guest Stay records a visit from a family to your house, family room, or other location. Guest Stays are also used to record requests, confirmations, wait lists, cancellations, no-shows, and those turned away for lack of space.

Each Guest Stay is associated with the household of the patient or patients. When you add a stay, you first search for or add the patient name or names. After identifying the patient, you then search for or add the guest names. The guests are typically in the same household as the patients, but they do not have to be. They may come from a different household, for example, if they are the grandparents.

You can add a Guest Stay from the Guest Manager, Guest List tab by clicking on the Add button and selecting Stay. You can also add a Guest Stay from the Guest tab of the Bio record of the patients' family, using the Add button.

The procedure below includes 8 steps, from entering the patient and guest names to creating charges and adding payments to invoices. Not all steps are available for all Stay types. For example, Steps 7 and 8, where you generate invoices, are available only if the guest actually stayed in the house. They are not available, for example, for guests on the request or waiting list, or guests who canceled or did not show up.

Adding a Guest Stay is accomplished by the following steps:

Step 1 - Patient

At this step you add the names and details about each patient associated with this stay. The list of patients appears at the top of the screen, and details about the selected patient appear below. You can add user defined fields if there are additional details you would like to collect about the patients, and you can reconfigure the patient details part of the screen using the Customize Page Layouts feature in Admin.

To add a patient to a guest stay, do the following:

In the Organization/Household search box, Type in part of the patient's name, typically the last name, and press enter to search for the patient's household.
If the patient's household appears in the list, select it by double clicking on it or clicking on it once and clicking on the Select button at the bottom of the window.
If the patient's household does not appear in the search results list, click on the plus sign at the top of the list to add a new household.
1. When you add a new household, add both the patient and the patient's parents to the household. You may wish to make the patient the primary name or you may wish the parent or parents to be primary. If you select the patient, then the display name for the household might be something like "The Family of Jacob Smith." If you choose the adults, the name might be "The Household of John and Mary Smith." This may impact the way the name appears in list of gifts, for example.
2. There may be Household tags (for example, Guest Family) or Name tags (for example, Patient) that you should add to the names as you add the Household.
After you return to Step 1 of the Add Guest Stay screen, the household name appears in the search box. Select the patient name from the drop down list of names.
1. If the patient name does not appear in the list, click on the plus sign to add the patient to the household.
2. If there is more than one patient associated with this stay, twins for example, complete this step for the first patient and then you can add a second (or any number of additional) patient.
The patient's gender and birth date are automatically entered from the same fields on their bio record. If those fields are not entered on the bio record, you can enter them here.
If this patient has not stayed in the house before, select the patient's Relationship to the guests and the patient's Ethnicity, primary Diagnosis and Medical Facility.
If this patient has been part of a Guest Stay record in the past, these fields in the screen are automatically filled in from the last stay. If any of these are not correct, make the necessary changes.
If the patient is expected to stay in the house as an outpatient, enter the number of nights they are expected.
Enter any notes about this patient.
Click on Save to save the patient information. The patient name appears in the list at the top.
If you want to add an additional patient, click on the Add Patient button to clear the fields so you can add and save an additional name. Repeat for as many patients as you need to add for this stay.
1. If you need to make changes to any of the patients' information, select the patient name from the list. The fields associated with that patient are displayed below the list. Make any changes you need and click on Save.
2. To remove a patient name from a stay, select the patient name from the list and click on the X at the top of the list.
3. Click on Next to move to Step 2.

Step 2 - Guest

If the guests are in the same household as the patient, select the guest name (person or couple) from the drop down list.
If the guests are in a different household, use the search box to look up or add a household.
Add any notes about this guest stay
Enter the expected arrival date.
Enter the expected departure date.
If the guest has already departed, or if the guest is a day visitor only, enter the actual departure date. Day visitors should have the same arrival and departure date.
Select the Guest Stay Type from the following choices:
1. Stay - the guest has actually stayed or is currently staying in the house.
2. Request - the guest or someone else is requesting a room for a specific date in the future. The guests are added to the Request List.
3. Confirmed - a room has been confirmed for this guest beginning on the expected arrival date.
4. Wait List - there is currently no room available for this guest. They are added to the Wait List for possible future room assignment.
5. No Room - there is no room in the house to accommodate this guest at this time and they are not added to the request or wait list.
6. No Show - the guest was expected but did not arrive.
7. Cancelled - the guest was expected but has cancelled.
Select a Location, Region and Priority for this guest stay.
The Private check box allows you to hide a guest's name from the short version of the Room Roster that is printed from the Room Manager tab of the Guest Manager.
The counts of patients, adults and children are automatically updated after you have completed Step 3 - Occupants.
In the Day 1 Guest Count box, enter the number of people you expect to stay in the room on the first night of this guest's stay. This is used in the Guest Arrival report to help you plan for the right configuration for each room.
Click on Save to save this guest stay.
If this stay record is of type Stay, Confirmed, Request or Wait List, you can click on Next to go to Step 3 - Room.
If this stay record is any other type, you have completed the necessary information and can Save and Close the screen.

Step 3 - Room

At this step you assign the guests to a room. You also use this step to move a guest family from one room to another during the course of their stay.

The upper list contains a row for each different room assignment (room and date range) for this guest family over the course of their stay. The list at the bottom shows the details of each day associated with the room and dates you select from the top list.

For each day and room, you assign one or two Charge Type and Paid By codes. These indicate what should be charged for that day and who should pay it. For example, you may charge the guest the regular room charge for the night, and in addition you may charge a third-party payor a different amount for the night. If you expect to create charges for the room, you must enter at least one Charge Type and Paid By set of codes.

To assign a guest family to a room, do the following:

Click on the Assign Room button.
A chart appears showing you the current status of the rooms.
If you do not wish to view the rooms in all locations, select a location from the Location drop down list at the top and click on Go.
The list in the left column shows all rooms at the location you selected. For each room, the location, room number, extension, room capacity and room details are displayed. If the room details are too long to see, you can use the scroll bar at the bottom to slide to the left. You can also move the vertical bar between the list of room and the calendar to expand the width of the room list. This should assist you in identifying an appropriate room for this family.
To select a room, click on the row for the room and the column for the arrival date. The first date column should be the expected arrival date.
Verify that the information about the guest stay is correct and fill in at least one Charge Type and Paid By pair. Click on Save.
The guest family appears in the calendar from the expected arrival through the expected departure date.
Close the window to return to Step 3. The room assignment appears in the top list, Below this is a list showing one row for each night in the room. Each row includes the room number, stay date, and the Charge Type and Paid By codes.
If you need to make changes to the Charge Type or Paid By codes, select the rows to change by clicking in the check boxes in the first column. Click on the Update Selected button, make your changes, and click on Save.
If you want to move the Guests from this room to different room, click on Move Guest. Select a new location and room, and enter the dates that the guest will stay in this room. Click on Save.
If the guest family is spending part of its time in different rooms, the list at the top of Step 3 will have one row for each room and date range combination. Click on the row to display the detailed list of nights below.
When you are finished assigning this family to a room, click on Next to go to Step 4.

Step 4 - Occupants

At this step you build the list of all of the people who might occupy a room with this family during their stay. The occupant list also always includes the patient, even if the patient is in the hospital. This enables you to keep an accurate count of how many adults and children are in the house each night and how many patients are in the hospital.

The are several additional pieces of information you can add and view about each occupant, including their gender and age, mobile phone number, and details about a vehicle they may have brought. In addition, you can indicate if someone has special needs. These special needs become alert icons that appear on various reports and room rosters to help you prepare for a guest visit. If there are additional details you would like to collect about each occupant, you can add user defined fields. As with most screens, you can also remove fields and change the order of how things appear by using the Customize Page Layouts feature in Admin.

The patients you selected in Step 1 and the guest names you selected in Step 2 are automatically added to the list of occupants. You may wish to add additional details about them at this step.

You also use this step to add additional names to the occupant list. A name can be added from the same household, perhaps a sibling. You can add a name or names from a different household, perhaps an aunt, cousin or family friend. You can also add names that are not in ExceedFurther at all. Perhaps, for example, a friend of the patient is staying, and you do not want to add their full name and address to ExceedFurther. You can simply add their name to the occupant list and nowhere else.

The list at the top of this screen displays all the occupant names. This should include everyone who might stay in the room at some point during this stay. You use the Occupant tab of the Guest Manager to pick and choose from this list to record who actually stayed on any given night.

To add names and additional details to the Occupant list, do the following:

To update the details about an occupant, select the occupant from the list. This displays that person's details below, where you can make any changes and click on Save.
If you add or change a mobile phone number, birth date or gender from this screen, the changes are also added to the Bio record for that occupant, if they have one.
To add a new occupant click on Add Occupant. This clears the fields to allow you select a new name. You can select from the following options:
1. Guest Household - the guest family household appears in the Household/Org field and the names of all the people in the household are in the list of Person names. Select the name from the list. Details about that person from the Bio record are automatically filled in. If the name of the person is not in the Person list, use the plus button to add a new name to the household.
2. A different household - type the last name of the household into the Household/Org field and press Enter to search for the household. Select the household from the list and double click or click on Select to return to the occupant step. The Person list is filled with all of the people from the selected household. Select the person you wish to add as an occupant.
3. An external name, that is, a name that is not in ExceedFurther and one that you do not wish to add to ExceedFurther. Click on External and type in the occupant's first, middle and last names of the external occupant.
If the occupant is a name in ExceedFurther, The birth date, gender and mobile phone may be filled in from the Bio record. You can add this data if it is missing or makes changes if it is incorrect. These additions and changes are transferred to the person's Bio record.
Select the Occupant Type. Whether someone is considered a guest or an additional adult is used in various reports and statistical counts.
Enter information about any vehicle this occupant may have brought. This appears in the room roster to help you match vehicles to guests.
Check any boxes that indicate special needs this occupant may have.
Click on Save to save the occupant information.
If you need to remove an occupant from the list, click on the occupant name in the list at the top and click on the X at the top right of the list.
You should not remove an occupant name if they are expected to stay in the room at any time during the visit.
When you have finished adding all of the occupant information, click on Next to go to Step 5, Items.

Step 5 - Items

At this step you check out any items that the guest or other occupants are using during their stay. Item Types and Items are defined on the Codes tab of the Admin tab.

The Items that have been checked out appear in the list at the top. When you select an item from the list, a daily listing appears below. This listing is used to create charges at Step 7.

If you do not wish to use Exceed Further to keep track of the items that your guests use, you can hide this step by going to Guest section in the Client Defaults tab in the Administration tab.

To check out an item and to check it back in, do the following:

To check out an item, click on the Check Out Item button.
Select the item type from the list.
Enter the check out date.
Enter an expected return date.
Click on Go. This checks the current status of all items of this type and displays a list of what items are available.
Select a Paid By code if there is a charge associated with this item.
Add any comments.
Select the item from the list of items at the bottom. You can type in a different daily rate if you wish.
Click on Save. You are returned to Step 5 where the item appears in the list at the top, and a list of days that the item is checked out appears below.
To check in an item, select the item from the list and click on the Check In Item button.
Fill in the Check In date. You can change the daily rate or Paid By code and you can add notes if you wish.
Click on Save to complete the check in.
If you need to delete an item check-out, you can select it from the list at the top and click on the X at the top left of the list.
Click on Next to go to Step 6 - Services

Step 6 - Services

During a guest family stay, one or two daily charges are automatically created for each night, depending on whether you added one or two Charge Type codes at Step 3 - Room. There may also be charges associated with Items that have been checked out at Step 5 - Items. Anything else provided to a guest family during their stay that you wish to charge for or otherwise track is considered a Service. Service codes are created on the Codes tab of the Admin tab.

On this screen, the list at the top shows each service that has been added to this guest stay. A service can be provided over a range of dates. The list below shows one row for each day that a service is provided.

If you do not wish to use Exceed Further to keep track of the services that your guests use, you can hide this step by going to Guest section in the Client Defaults tab in the Administration tab.

To add a service to a guest stay, do the following:

Click on the Add Service button.
Select a Service from the list of Service codes.
The rate is automatically filled in. You can change it if you wish to charge a different rate to this guest.
Enter the start and end dates for this service.
Select a Paid By code if this service will be charged.
Add any comments.
Click on Save.
The Service code and dates appear in the top list, and each day that the service was provided appears below.
If you need to make any changes to a service, select the service from the list and click on the Edit Service button.
Make any changes and click on Save.
Click on Next to go to Step 7 - Charges.

Step 7 - Charges

At this step you create charges for the room nights, items and services that you have added in the previous steps. The detailed charges appear in a list that you can then group into invoices for the various payors, as indicated by the Paid By codes that you added in the previous steps.

To create charges and invoices, do the following:

Click on the Update Charges button and enter an As of date.
1. Charges are created for all room nights, items and services that have occurred up to and including that date. If a room night includes two Charge Type and Paid By codes, two separate charges are created, one for each. All of these charges appear in a list.
If you wish to see the charges rolled up by date range, click on the Rolled Up Charges radio button above the list. Click on All Charges to see the detailed list.
If you wish to make changes to an individual charge, select the charge and click on the Edit button.
1. You can change the invoice number, Charge Type code, rate, and Paid By code. If you change the invoice number, the Paid By code must match the Paid By for the new invoice.
If you want to delete a charge or charges, select the charges and click on the Delete button. You can only delete charges when viewing All Charges. You cannot delete a rolled up charge.
To create invoices from the charges, select the charges to include and click on the Generate Invoices button. You can create new invoices or add the charges to an existing invoice.
1. All of the charges on each invoice must have the same Paid By code. If you select charges that have several different Paid By codes, several invoices are created, one for each Paid By code in the selected charges.
2. Note that you can only add charges to an existing invoice if the Paid By codes match the Paid By for the invoice.
After you have updated all your charges and created invoices, click on Next to go to Step 8 - Invoices and Payments.

Step 8 - Invoices & Payments

The list of invoices you created in Step 7 appears at the top. At this step you can make changes or deletions to invoices if you need to, print an invoice, and add payments. The payments you add for each invoice appear in a second list below.

To make changes to an invoice, do the following:

Select the invoice from the list.
Click on the Edit Invoice button. This returns you to Step 7 - Charges, displaying only the charges that are part of this invoice.
Follow the steps in Step 7, above, to make any adjustments or deletions to the charges on the invoice.
Click on the Update Charges to create charges for any nights, items or services that have not yet been charged. Once they have been added to the list of charges, you can add them to this invoice using the Generate Invoice button, selecting the Add to an Existing Invoice choice.
If you need to add a new charge, you can return to the prior steps:
1. To add an additional nightly room charge, you need to adjust the arrival or departure date at Step 2 to reflect the additional night or nights.
2. Go to Step 5 or 6 to add an additional item or service.
3. Be sure to click on Update Charges on at Step 7 to create the charges from the additional room nights, items and/or services.

To print an invoice, do the following:

Select the invoice or invoices you wish to print from the list.
Click on the Print Invoice button.
Select Summary to Detailed. Detailed invoices list each charge, including the room charge for each night, on a separate line.
1. Note: Invoice vs. Donation. If you wish invoices for guests to be labeled as "donations" rather than "invoices", you have that choice in the Client Defaults tab in Admin. If you select "Use Donation Invoice for Guest" in the Charge/Payment section of Client Defaults, then each invoice that has a Paid By code of Guest will use the term "Donation." Invoices with any other Paid By code will use the word "Invoice."

To add a payment to an invoice, do the following:

Select the invoice from the list.
Click on the Add Payment button.
1. Note that if this guest has a credit balance, the credit balance amount is displayed. You may use part or all of that amount for this payment.
Select a Paid By code. The code is already filled in with the Paid By associated with the selected invoice. However, you can select a different Paid By - to have a different payor pay the invoice.
Enter the payment date and amount.
1. You are allowed to overpay an invoice, if, for example, the guest is prepaying their stay. You can convert an overpayment into a credit or gift.
Select the payment method. These Method codes are the same as the ones for gifts. Some of the choices, like Check or Credit Card, open an additional set of fields where you can enter the details.
1. If you have set up a credit card processor through ExceedFurther, you can add and process credit cards directly through this screen.
Select the Fund code for this payment and add any notes.
Click on Save to save the payment.
If you need to edit the payment or delete it, select the payment from the list and click on Edit Payment or Delete Payment.