Bills for lodges, guest houses, homestays and PGs
Lodges and guest houses sit between a hotel and a home. Guests stay for a night on the way to somewhere else, for a week during a family function, or for months as paying guests. The owner often runs the reception, the kitchen and the accounts single-handed, writing bills in a register or a bill book. Guests — especially those travelling for work — still need a proper bill with dates, nights, rates and the total.
This lodge bill generator gives lodges, guest houses, homestays, dharamshalas, hostels and PGs a neat, handwritten-style bill with check-in and check-out, nights, room rate, extra person or meal charges, advance and balance, and the amount in words. Download it as a PDF or image, or print it at the desk.
Lodge bill format
- Header: lodge or guest house name, address, phone, and GSTIN if registered.
- Bill details: bill number, date, guest name, phone and address, ID type checked, number of guests.
- Stay: room number and type, check-in and check-out date and time, number of nights.
- Charges: room rent (nights × rate), extra bed or extra person, meals, laundry, other services.
- Totals: subtotal, GST if applicable, total, advance and balance, and amount in words.
- Footer: check-out time, house rules and signatures.
How to make a lodge bill
- Choose the lodge template — shorter than a hotel bill and quick to fill.
- Enter your lodge's name and address once.
- Fill the guest and the stay: room, check-in, check-out and nights.
- Enter the room rate as nights × rate, and add meals or extras.
- Enter the advance in Bill settings; the bill shows the balance.
- Download or print and hand it over at check-out.
Guest house bill sample
| Description | Qty | Rate (₹) | Amount (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Double room, non-AC (14–17 Nov) | 3 nights | 1,200 | 3,600 |
| Extra mattress | 3 nights | 200 | 600 |
| Breakfast | 6 | 80 | 480 |
| Total | 4,680 | ||
| Advance at check-in | − 1,500 | ||
| Balance at check-out | 3,180 | ||
This guest house is not GST-registered, so no tax is shown. In words: Rupees Four Thousand Six Hundred Eighty Only.
GST on lodge and guest house bills
Lodges and guest houses provide accommodation, which follows the same GST rules as hotels: following the September 2025 rate changes, rooms priced up to ₹7,500 a night are taxed at 5% without input tax credit. Many small lodges and homestays are below the GST registration limit for services (₹20 lakh a year in most states) and cannot charge GST. Paying-guest accommodation and hostels have been the subject of several rulings, and their treatment can depend on how the arrangement is set up — ask your accountant. If you are registered, show your GSTIN and the tax separately.
Guest registers, ID and Form C
Most cities require lodges and guest houses to keep a guest register with each guest's name, address, ID and dates, and many local police stations ask for it. For foreign nationals, accommodation providers must submit Form C to the immigration authorities within 24 hours of arrival. The bill doesn't replace these records, but keeping the bill number in your register links the two, so any query is easy to answer.
PG rent receipt and monthly stays
Paying guests and long-stay guests are billed monthly. A PG rent receipt shows the resident's name, room or bed number, the month, the rent and what it includes — meals, electricity, Wi-Fi, housekeeping — and any extras such as additional electricity above a limit. Security deposits should be recorded separately as refundable, not as rent. Residents who claim HRA need receipts with the owner's name, address and signature, and the owner's PAN if the annual rent exceeds ₹1 lakh; for monthly residents, the rent receipt template may suit better.
Homestay bill for stays and experiences
A homestay bill should feel as personal as the stay, but it still needs the facts. Homestays often sell an experience: home-cooked meals, a guided walk, a bonfire. Bill each clearly — room per night, meals per person, activities per person — so guests see the value. Many homestays are registered with the state tourism department; write the registration number on the bill if you have one, since some guests and travel agents look for it.
Dharamshala receipt and trust guest houses
Dharamshalas and trust-run guest houses often charge a nominal room rent or accept donations. A dharamshala receipt for rent should still show the pilgrim's name, the room, the dates and the amount, with the trust's name and the signature of the person in charge. Keep the two separate: issue a receipt for room rent, and a separate donation receipt for any donation. Mixing them can create problems with the trust's accounts and tax registrations.
Lodge bill format in Word, Excel or PDF
Owners often look for a lodge bill format in Word, a lodge bill format PDF, a guest house bill format in Word or a lodge bill format in Excel to print bills. A spreadsheet is fine for your register; for bills, the generator is faster — nights × rate, extras, advance and balance are worked out, and the guest house bill format PDF is ready to print or send. Many guests now prefer the bill on WhatsApp so it reaches their travel desk the same day.
Need the bill in Word? Click Word under the bill to download it as a .docx file, at the same A4, A5 or 80 mm thermal size as the PDF. It opens in Microsoft Word and Google Docs. The bill is placed in the file as a picture, so make any changes here and download it again.
Rates by season and room type
Lodge and guest house rates change with the season, the day of the week and the room type: AC or non-AC, single or double occupancy, attached or common bathroom. Write the room type and the rate applied on every bill — "Double, AC, attached bath — ₹1,800 (festival rate)" — so a guest comparing with a friend's bill, or an employer checking a claim, understands the difference. Keep a dated rate card at the reception that matches your bills. If you give a discount for a long stay or a repeat guest, show it as a separate line rather than lowering the room rate silently.
Cancellations and no-shows
Guests who book by phone or WhatsApp and pay an advance sometimes cancel or don't arrive. Decide your policy — for example, full refund up to 48 hours before, one night's charge after that — and tell guests when they book. If you keep an advance, give a receipt that shows it as a cancellation charge, so your accounts and the guest's records agree.
Guest house bill book format
The printed guest house bill book format with carbon copies is still common at small lodges. You can keep the same look — choose the bill book style with your name in the header — and gain correct totals and searchable copies. Number bills in one series and match them to your guest register.
Group bookings and family functions
For weddings and family functions, guest houses often rent several rooms to one host. Make one bill to the host listing each room with its nights and rate, extra beds and meals, and the advance received at booking. If guests pay for their own extras, give them separate small bills so the host's bill stays clean.
Lodge bills for business travellers
Many lodge guests are on work trips — sales staff, engineers, drivers, government employees on duty — and their employers reimburse lodging against bills. These guests need the bill to show the lodge's full name and address, a bill number, their own name, the exact dates, the room rate and nights, and the total; some employers also ask for the lodge's GSTIN if registered. If a company books for its staff, add "Bill to" with the company's name. A lodge that gives clean, complete bills becomes the regular choice of companies sending staff to that town.
Hostels and dormitories
Backpacker hostels and dormitories bill per bed rather than per room: "Dorm bed (6-bed mixed) × 2 nights @ ₹600". Add lockers, linen or towels as small extra lines if you charge for them, and write the bed number for your own records. Long-stay hostel residents can receive a monthly receipt instead.
Using a lodge bill maker on the phone
The main reason small lodges don't give proper bills is time — the owner is busy at check-out. A lodge bill maker on the phone fixes that: the guest's details were entered at check-in, so at check-out you only confirm the nights and extras and send the bill. Guests leave with a bill on their phone, and you keep an exact copy.
Check-out policies on the bill
The most common disagreement at a lodge is about check-out time and extra charges for late departure. Print your policy in the footer — "Check-out 11 am; late check-out up to 2 pm at half-day rate, subject to availability" — and apply it consistently. Guests rarely argue with a rule that was on their bill from the start.
Lodge bill checklist
- Guest name, ID checked and number of guests.
- Room, check-in and check-out dates and times.
- Nights × rate, with extras on separate lines.
- Advance and balance.
- GST only if registered.
- Bill number matching the guest register.
Related bill types
Larger properties can use the hotel bill; monthly tenants need the rent receipt; and travel agents bundling stays can use the travel agency bill. See every type on the handwritten bill generator page.
Fair use
Issue lodge bills only for real stays at your property. Making a lodge or guest house bill for a stay that didn't happen — often for travel claims — is fraud, and employers verify bills with properties.