Overview
Commission invoicing lets your agents send branded commission invoices to suppliers, with your agency's payment instructions included automatically.
What it does
Some suppliers, such as hotels, require an invoice before they remit commission. Commission invoicing gives your agents a templated invoice they can send from any booking. It also lets agents chase overdue commission themselves, so the work does not all fall on the agency.
Agents never see your agency's bank details. Payment instructions are shown only to the supplier who receives the invoice.
Who can use it
Agency owners and admins can turn on commission invoicing and edit payment instructions.
Once it's on, an agent can invoice a supplier from a booking when all of these are true:
- The booking is marked Booked.
- The agent can edit the trip.
- The agent is a member of the agency whose accreditation the booking was made under, or of one of its sub-agencies.
- That agency has commission invoicing turned on.
Which agency's settings apply
Commission invoicing follows the accreditation (IATA, CLIA, or other) the booking was made under, not the agent's own agency. That agency's settings and payment instructions are the ones used.
If the booking is under your agency's own accreditation, your agency's settings apply.
If the booking is under your host agency's accreditation, your host's settings apply. Your host's owner or admin must turn on commission invoicing and add the host's payment instructions. Your own agency's commission invoicing settings and payment instructions are not used for these bookings.
If the booking has no accreditation selected, the invoice option does not appear.
Note: If your bookings use your host's credential, turning on commission invoicing in your own back office will not make the option appear. Once your host turns it on, the option appears on booked bookings for every agency under the host's accreditation.
Before you start
Set up your agency branding so the invoice looks polished. Go to Back Office > Agency Details, click Edit Details, and add:
Agency logo
Business address
Email address
Setting Up Commission Invoicing (Owners and Admins)
Go to Back Office > Commission Invoices.
Turn on Enable Commission Invoicing.
Add a remittance memo (optional).
This text appears on every invoice. Use it for instructions like "Send any questions to [email protected]."Add your payment instructions.
Open Manage payment instructions. To receive payment by bank transfer, turn on Bank transfer and select a bank account (or click Manage bank accounts to add one). To add wire instructions, SWIFT/BIC, or any other details, turn on Other ("For methods not listed above"). A Payment instructions box opens for that text. You can keep Bank transfer and Other on together, and the supplier sees both. Payment instructions are required to turn on commission invoicing.Note: Commission invoices and outbound invoices (Back Office > Invoices) keep separate payment instructions. If you use both, set them up in each.
Click Save.
Note: Payment instructions are only shown to the supplier who is invoiced. Agents cannot see them.
Once saved, the Commission Invoices page becomes a log of every invoice your agents send.
Sending a Commission Invoice (Agents)
You can invoice a supplier from the Booking and Pricing tab of a booking, or from the Bookings tab on the trip.
Open the booking and select Invoice Supplier.
Open the invoice form.On the Bookings tab, open the booking's 3-dot menu and select Send commission invoice. On the Booking and Pricing tab, open the Commission section's menu and select Invoice supplier. The option appears only on bookings marked Booked.
Enter the supplier's email address.
The supplier name fills in from the booking. You are responsible for entering the supplier contact's email.Set the commission due date.
The confirmation number, client, booking date, and total cost pull in from the booking automatically.Review the preview.
You will see your agency's logo, address, email, and the accreditation number (IATA, CLIA, or other) the booking was made under. The invoice shows that it was issued by you on behalf of your agency. Agents cannot open View Payment Details. That link works only for the supplier.Click Issue and Send.
What the Supplier Sees
The supplier receives the invoice by email. No Tern login is required. When the supplier clicks View Payment Details, they see your routing number, account number, additional instructions, and remittance memo (if added).
The supplier pays outside Tern, following your payment instructions. They may remit for several bookings at once, not just the invoiced booking. The invoice flags that commission is due. It is not a payment request tied to one transaction.
After the Supplier Pays
Log the received commission on the booking as you normally would. The booking status updates to Received, and the Commission Invoices page in the back office shows the updated status next to the invoice. Commission invoicing does not change your reconciliation process.
Common Issues
I sent an invoice with a mistake.
Void the invoice from the booking, then issue a new one.
The supplier says they did not receive the invoice.
Check the supplier email address, since it is entered manually. Then resend the invoice from the booking.
I cannot turn on commission invoicing.
Payment instructions are required. Add your agency bank account and payment instructions when prompted, then enable the feature.
An agent cannot see Invoice Supplier on a booking.
Check each of these:
- The booking is marked Booked.
- The agent can edit the trip.
- The booking has an accreditation selected.
- Commission invoicing is on for the agency whose accreditation the booking uses. If the booking uses your host agency's credential, your host must turn it on. Turning it on in your own back office doesn't apply to those bookings.
If all four are true and the option still doesn't appear, contact Tern support.
I can't find where to add wire instructions.
Go to Manage payment instructions and turn on Other. The Payment instructions box appears only when Other is on. Selecting a bank account does not open it.
Coming Soon
Structured supplier contacts. Agency owners will be able to configure supplier contacts in the back office so agents can select them instead of typing an email address.
W-9 attachments. Agencies will be able to attach a W-9 to invoices. Like payment instructions, the W-9 will be visible only to the supplier.