CajaHost
PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR SMALL HOSTS

How to reconcile a vacation-rental payout

For an owner with one to three USD properties, reconciliation answers one question: did the amount deposited match the booking amount after the platform deductions you can verify?

Formula: expected payout = gross amount − platform fee − refund. Difference to review = expected payout − amount actually received.

Five steps

  1. Open the platform payout statement and the matching bank deposit.
  2. Record only the portion paid in that deposit. Do not duplicate the full booking across split payouts.
  3. Separate the gross booking amount, platform fee and refund.
  4. Calculate the expected payout and compare it with the received amount.
  5. If there is a difference, review the original statement before editing your record. A mismatch does not by itself establish who owes money.

Example

Gross booking amount$600
Platform fee−$90
Refund$0
Expected payout$510
Received in bank$500
Difference to review$10

Spreadsheet, broad accounting app or CajaHost?

A spreadsheet can be free and flexible, but you maintain its formulas and structure. A broad rental-accounting platform may add bank feeds and tax features, but requires an account and can be more than a small host needs. CajaHost is a $29 one-time, manual-entry desktop download designed around payout reconciliation, cash after operating payments and a break-even nightly-rate scenario. It does not sync banks or booking platforms and does not calculate accounting profit.

Try the fictional payout example

The example is educational and not tax, accounting or investment advice. Values entered in the public demo stay in your browser; the site records an anonymous session event and campaign tags as described in the main-page privacy FAQ.