A property manager receives three records: a weekly guard schedule, a sign-in sheet and an invoice. They may describe the same assignment, but they answer different questions. The schedule describes planned coverage. Attendance evidence describes recorded presence. The contract determines which service and terms the customer agreed to purchase.
This worksheet helps NYC hotel and property teams compare those sources without pretending one record proves everything. It supports the broader security-service invoice review process, not an employee payroll audit or a determination of contractual liability.
Start with a precise unit of review
Choose one property, one post, one service interval and one invoice line. “Lobby security last week” is too broad when there are separate day and night posts, temporary entrance coverage or a second officer for an event.
Build a review row containing:
- Property identifier and contracting entity.
- Post name used in the agreement and any operational alias.
- Service start date and time, end date and time, and time zone.
- Invoice number, line reference and stated quantity.
- Approved scope or schedule reference.
- Evidence source, record date and the person responsible for confirming it.
- Current review outcome and next action.
If the invoice combines several assignments, ask for an itemized supporting breakdown rather than attempting to reconstruct its meaning from the amount alone. Keep that breakdown linked to the original invoice, not saved as if it were another bill.
Record what each document can establish
A planned roster can show that coverage was expected. It cannot, by itself, confirm an officer arrived or remained throughout the interval. A visitor-system entry may establish access at a moment but not a complete assignment. A daily report can support activity at recorded times without showing every minute between them.
Use a short evidence note for each source: “approved assignment,” “recorded arrival,” “supervisor confirmed interval,” or “activity report for part of shift.” This is more useful than calling all of them proof of hours.
A practical comparison
In a hypothetical review, the schedule lists Post A from evening to morning. The available daily report covers only the first part of that interval. The appropriate result is “additional evidence requested,” not automatically “uncovered hours” or “full coverage verified.” Ask the vendor's responsible supervisor for the missing explanation and supporting record.
Where the documents disagree, record both accounts and their timestamps. Do not erase a sign-in entry because an invoice uses a different time. The discrepancy-request guide provides a way to ask the next question without prejudging the answer.
Match authorized changes separately
A staffing change may preserve the same service, while a scope change may alter what was purchased. A replacement officer on the existing post is not automatically an additional post. An extra lobby officer assigned for a separate function may be a distinct service if properly authorized.
Review the change against the additional-coverage approval record. Identify what changed, when it became effective and who approved the commercial treatment. Do not infer a price change from an operational email that only identifies a replacement person.
If the invoice uses an hourly quantity, compare the interval calculation to the billing rule in the agreement. Minimum charges, rounding, overlap or other provisions require contract-specific review. This article does not supply default rules for them.
Keep the packet useful without overcollecting
For a property-side review, an assignment reference or approved staff identifier may be sufficient to distinguish records. Avoid circulating home addresses, government identification, bank details, medical information or unrelated employee documents with the invoice packet.
The IRS description of supporting business records identifies transaction details such as payee, amount, date and service description as useful supporting information. It does not turn the property invoice packet into permission to collect an employee's entire personnel file.
Store the packet where the responsible operations and accounting reviewers can find it under the organization's access and retention rules. An email containing a correction should remain connected to the record it corrects. Use the overnight-hours guide when a date boundary complicates the comparison.
Finish with an explicit result
Before forwarding the invoice, mark each row as matched, awaiting evidence, awaiting interpretation or resolved by a specific revised document. Give an unresolved item a named owner and next review date. Avoid labels such as “probably okay” that disappear into a month-end folder.
A final check should confirm:
- The record describes the same property, post and period as the invoice line.
- Planned coverage is not presented as verified attendance.
- Additional services have their own approval references.
- Corrections preserve the original information and decision trail.
- Accounting receives the outcome rather than only the raw attachments.
For a new or unfamiliar invoice source, apply the organization's vendor checks; the FTC recommends clear invoice-approval procedures. A clean evidence packet improves reviewability, but it does not itself prove that an invoice is genuine or that payment has occurred.
Discuss property-specific coverage and reporting expectations through Guardian Consulting's security services.