Cardinal

How it's built

The same jobs, in fewer steps

Cardinal is property management software for hotels, campgrounds and B&Bs. The app loads once, and every screen after that opens instantly. Everyday jobs take one or two steps, and what follows from what you typed is filled in for you.

See a day runBook a demo
A guest checked in from the day's task list. Watch the screen: no page reloads between clicks.

Counted

Three everyday jobs, step by step

Each card is one job. The big number is Cardinal. Underneath is the same job in a leading PMS, step by step from its own help centre.

Bill a company for a stay

2steps in Cardinal
8steps in a leading PMS**
  1. 1Create the account and set its terms
  2. 2Attach the reservation to it

Each charge reaches the company's balance as it posts.

A leading PMS** · 8 steps

  1. 1.Create the group profile
  2. 2.Create the Event, and set its routing options
  3. 3.Save the Event and add an Allotment Block
  4. 4.Set the block's MinLos, MaxLos, cut-off, closed-to-arrival rules, rates per accommodation type and room count
See all 8 steps
  1. 5.Change the block status from Lead or Tentative to Definite, or no rooms are held from inventory
  2. 6.Add the reservation from the group profile's Reservations tab, selecting the Allotment Block
  3. 7.After check-out, create an Accounts Receivable ledger
  4. 8.Transfer the folio balance onto that ledger, which sets the folio to $0.00

Close the day

0steps in Cardinal
8steps in a leading PMS**

    The books are current all day, because every charge posts the moment it happens. You go home.

    A leading PMS** · 8 steps

    1. 1.Open Utilities, then New Day / Night Audit
    2. 2.Select the property and choose Confirm
    3. 3.Review and update any remaining departure reservations, then Continue
    4. 4.Review and update any remaining arrival reservations, then Continue
    See all 8 steps
    1. 5.Review any in-house reservations with no rate type
    2. 6.Select Update Nightly Rates, then Continue
    3. 7.Select New Day
    4. 8.Choose Yes to open the reports

    Sell breakfast, charged per night

    1step in Cardinal
    9steps in a leading PMS**
    1. 1Type Breakfast and its price in the Shop

    Billed per night, so a four-night stay bills four. Tax, category and icon are filled in, and each one stays editable.

    A leading PMS** · 9 steps

    1. 1.Create an item category: name, code and folio colour
    2. 2.Under Items and Services, click + New Item
    3. 3.Enter the name, item type, SKU and item code
    4. 4.Select the item category
    See all 9 steps
    1. 5.Enter the description and the price
    2. 6.Apply a tax or fee to the item
    3. 7.Save the item
    4. 8.Under Add-ons, create a New Add-On and select the item
    5. 9.Set the Charge Type to per night, then Post Add-On daily

    ** The other column quotes each vendor's own help centre. Bill a company for a stay: Cloudbeds (help centre) · Close the day: RMS (help centre) · Sell breakfast, charged per night: Cloudbeds (items and services, add-ons). Read 19 August 2026, and 13 October 2026 for breakfast.

    Side by side, with more jobs: the comparison pages →

    Setup

    Type a name and a price. Cardinal fills in the rest.

    The settings you'd go looking for are already set from what you told Cardinal, and each suggestion sits in a field you can change.

    The Shop, after typing names and prices

    The Cardinal shop: packages, activity add-ons, amenities and services, each item showing its own unit and tax status with a glyph in place of a photograph
    1. 1Typed: Parking. Filled in: billed per night.
    2. 2Tax applied by default, on every item.
    3. 3An icon picked from the name, so nothing needs a photo.
    You typeA product name: Parking
    Cardinal fills in: Billed per night, so a four-night stay bills four. A massage comes up per person, a shower per use.
    You typeYour postal code: J8E
    Cardinal fills in: Quebec: GST 5 %, QST 9.975 %, the 3.5 % lodging tax and your timezone. The province then locks, because changing it re-prices every future booking.
    You typeAmenities in your own words: Wood stove
    Cardinal fills in: Recognised as a fireplace, given a French label and an icon, shown on your booking page and ready for the booking sites' lists.
    You typeFireplace, typed for the whole property
    Cardinal fills in: Flagged as a room fact, with a one-click move onto the room types that actually have one.

    Guided, or explained

    Cardinal walks you through it, or explains it

    When an action has an obvious next step, Cardinal walks you through it. When it doesn't, the field explains itself. Training happens on the screen you are already using.

    1. 1The stay's steps, with where it stands right now.
    2. 2The next step and its button, chosen for you.
    3. 3Everything else waits one level down, under Optional actions.
    A Cardinal reservation: the stay's steps across the top with Check in current, the reservation details, and a side panel reading Check in guest with one button and optional actions below

    And an (i) beside the fields nobody knows by heart

    Three of them, in the product's own words.

    • Free cancellation

      How long before arrival a guest can cancel without a fee. Cancelling inside this window triggers the cancellation fee below.

      Property settings, policies

    • Lead rate

      The parent rate this one tracks. Instead of a fixed price, this rate is always the lead rate plus or minus your adjustment, so when you change the lead rate later, this one moves with it.

      Rate builder

    • Property facilities

      What applies to the whole property: parking, waterfront, a restaurant. A facility that belongs to one room type, a fireplace or a lake view, goes on that room type instead, so you only promise it to the guests who actually get it.

      Property settings, listing

    French and English

    Bilingual, down to the details

    Each employee works in their own language

    The choice is saved to the person, so a shared desk opens in each shift's language.

    Guests see French only when every word is ready

    The booking page switches once it is fully translated. Staff can switch now, screen by screen.

    Prices and dates are written the Quebec way

    In French an amount reads 1 234,56 $ and a date 14 juin 2026.

    The product's dictionary holds 1,808 phrases, each written in both languages, and a test stops any release that is missing its French.

    See it for yourself

    Watch a day run, in the order it happens.

    Six real screens from a working property. Open it now and go at your own pace.

    See a day runBook a demoFrom $189 a month. See what that includes →