If your agency operates under a host agency that doesn't use Tern, you'll need to decide how to handle commission tracking to ensure accurate agent payouts and proper reporting.

Understanding the Commission Flow

When working under a host agency, commission typically flows like this:

Supplier pays commission to Host Agency (e.g., $1,000)
Host Agency pays your agency a percentage (e.g., 90% = $900)
Your Agency pays your agent their split (e.g., 90% of $900 = $810)

How to Enter Commission in Tern

Expected Commission Amount

When entering expected commission for bookings, your agents should enter the full amount the supplier will pay the host agency, not the reduced amount you'll receive. This will allow you to accurately report expected commission to your host.

Expected Commission Split

When entering expected commission, your agents should set their expected split percentage or commission type to the split they will expect from what your agency received when you reconcile commission.

While this will result in an overestimation of their expected commission, it will make it easier for you to accurately reconcile received commission later on.

Example:

If the supplier will pay $1,000 to the host, your agents should enter $1,000 as the expected commission.
If your agents is expecting an 80% split from you to them, they should enter 80% as their expected split, even though their total split from the host to you to them will be lower.

Note: You and your agents' expected commission amounts will not take into account your host's split, and will over-estimate your expected commission. While this is not ideal, it does make reconciliation easier later to ensure your agents get paid the correct split.

Received Commission

First, how does your agency record commission?
There are two setups, and they enter received commission in different places:

If your agency reconciles commission (most agencies): you don't add received commission on the booking. On the booking you'll see "Payments received by [your agency] will automatically be added." Instead, log it once in Back Office → Commission by creating a supplier statement and matching it to the booking — the booking's Received Commission section then fills in automatically. See Log supplier commission statements and Match supplier commission payments to bookings.
If you track commission individually (no agency reconciliation): enter the amount directly in the booking's Received Commission section, as described below.

Either way, the amounts you enter are the same — enter the full expected commission on the booking, and the actual amount you received from your host when you log the payment.

Recording Commissions as Paid

You can record commissions in two ways:

From Back Office:
- Navigate to Commission in the left sidebar → Statements tab → Add Statement.
- Enter the statement details and log payments against each booking.
- Once the full statement amount is accounted for, select Approve for payout.
From a Single Booking:
- Open the booking → Booking and Pricing tab → Add the payment in the Received Commission section.
- Edits to existing payments reflect immediately in reporting, while new payments appear after the next data refresh.

When you actually receive payment from your host agency, enter only the amount you received in the "Received Commission Amount" field.

The agent split set here should reflect their split between them and your agency, and will be applied to the actual amount received.

Example: If the host pays you $900 out of the $1,000 they received, enter $900 as the received commission. If your agent has a 90% split set up with you, their split should be 90% here.

This ensures:

Your agents get paid correctly based on what you actually received
Actual payouts are calculated on real money, not inflated amounts

How Agent Payouts Work

Using the example above:

Expected Commission: $1,000 (what you entered)
Received Commission: $900 (what you actually got from host)
Agent Split: 90%
Agent Payout: $900 × 90% = $810

Your agent receives 90% of what your agency actually received, which equals 81% of the original supplier commission (90% × 90% = 81%).

Important Considerations

Moving Bookings Between Agency Tabs To move a booking’s commission from the host agency tab to your agency tab:

If the booking is in the planning stage, change the credential to your agency (e.g., “Travel Planners International (via [Your Agency])”).
If the booking is already marked as booked, reconcile or remove the recorded commission payment first, then update the credential.

Commission invoicing on host-accredited bookings. Commission invoicing follows the booking's accreditation. If your bookings use your host's credential, your host must turn on commission invoicing and add their payment instructions. See Invoicing Suppliers for Commission.

Selecting the Correct Credential

When working under a host agency, always select the credential labeled with your host “via” your agency (e.g., “Travel Planners International (via Driftwing Travels)”) to ensure commissions are filed under your agency.

Troubleshooting Accredited Booking Errors If a sub-agent encounters an error when submitting commissions on a Host-accredited booking, it may be due to the Commission Type being set to “Custom,” which some hosts do not allow. To resolve this:

Change the Commission Type to one of your agency’s standard commission types.
If the vendor isn’t listed, add a standard commission type in Back Office → Settings → Commission Rules → Commission Types, then select it on the booking.

Expected Commission Reports Will Be Higher

Your expected commission reports will show higher numbers than what you'll actually receive because they don't account for your host's cut.

Don't Adjust Agent Splits for Host Cuts

We don't recommend lowering individual agent splits to account for the host's cut. This can lead to underpaying agents because:

The reduced split gets applied to the already-reduced amount you received
This creates a "double reduction" that shortchanges your agents
Manual adjustments become complex and error-prone

Reconciliation Best Practices

Track both numbers: Keep records of both expected (supplier to host) and received (host to you) amounts
Communicate clearly: Make sure your team understands why expected and received amounts differ
Regular reviews: Periodically review host payments against expected amounts to catch any discrepancies

Reconcile sub-agency commissions: Host agencies can manage and reconcile commissions for sub-agency agents through Agency Settings. Tools like sub-agency payouts allow tracking amounts owed and marking commissions as paid.

When You Change Your Commission Split

Updating your commission split only applies to bookings going forward. Existing bookings keep the split that was in effect when they were originally created.

To update the split your agency receives from your host, go to Back office → Settings → Team & billing. Find your host under the agency relationship and open Host commission split ("What your agency receives from your host"). Set the new rate and effective date, then Save changes. The new split applies to bookings on or after that effective date.

Adjusting Commission Splits

If you notice discrepancies, such as a 10% deduction from received commissions, it may be due to your commission split settings. To fix this:

Go to Back Office → Settings → Commission Rules → Default Commission Split and set the advisor split to 100%.
Enter the host-paid amount as the Received Commission (this already reflects the host’s cut).
Set sub-agent splits as a percentage of what you received (e.g., 75%).
Update splits on existing bookings individually if needed.

Note: If you've updated your split and older bookings still show the wrong Agency Income in your reports, you'll need to update those bookings manually.

Here's how:

Open the trip and go to the Booking & Pricing tab for the activity you want to update.
Find the commission split field on the received payment. It will show either "Standard" (using your default rate) or "Custom."
Switch to "Custom" and enter the correct split percentage.
Save the booking. The updated split appears in your reports within seconds.

Note: Not all bookings have a commission split dropdown, as this field only appears on bookings that have a received payment logged. If you don't see it, confirm a received commission amount has been entered on the Booking & Pricing tab first.

Summary

Expected Commission: Enter the full amount the supplier pays the host
Received Commission: Enter only what your agency actually receives
Agent Payouts: Will be calculated correctly based on received amounts
Reports: Expected commission reports will be higher than actual receipts, which is normal

This approach ensures accurate agent compensation while maintaining clear reporting and reconciliation processes with both your host agency and suppliers.

Still have questions? Reach out and we're happy to walk through specific examples with you.

Managing Commission When Your Agency Works Under a Host Agency