When you book through a Tern integration, the booking is created and paid with the supplier right away. It is submitted to your agency only after every agency requirement is met.
Before we jump in
Two things happen when a booking is made through an integration, and they happen at different times.
Created with the supplier. Tern sends the booking to the supplier, the supplier confirms it, and the payment is processed. This happens as soon as the client authorizes the booking. Agency requirements do not block this step.
Submitted to your agency. The booking is shared with your agency and marked as booked, so it appears in your agency's commission reconciliation. This happens only when all agency requirements are satisfied.
Agency requirement. A field or condition your agency requires before it will accept a booking. Requirements are set by your agency, not by Tern or the supplier.
Note: A booking that is confirmed with the supplier but not yet submitted to your agency is still a real, paid booking. The client is booked. Only the agency-side record is waiting.
What Counts as an Agency Requirement
Agency requirements come from three different settings, and all three feed the same Agency Requirements list on the booking.
1. Booking requirements in Agency controls
Set in Back Office > Settings > Agency controls. Your agency can require any of these on a booking:
Agency supplier
Expected commission amount
Confirmation number
Traveler
Expected commission date
Total booking price
Unique confirmation number
2. Documentation on a commission type
Set in Back Office > Commission rules > Commission types. If a commission type has Require documentation turned on, the booking cannot be submitted until a file is attached.
3. Custom commission amounts
Set in Back Office > Commission rules. If your agency has Allow agents to request a custom commission amount turned off and you do not have a standard split on your account, the booking cannot be submitted to the agency. There is no commission split for Tern to apply and no way for you to enter one.
Which Requirements the Integration Fills In
The integration sends booking data back to Tern when the supplier returns it. Confirmation number, traveler, total booking price, and expected commission date are often returned by the supplier and populate on the booking.
Two requirements are the ones most likely to block an integration booking:
Agency supplier. The supplier must exist in your agency's supplier library, and that agency supplier must be connected to the matching Tern global supplier. An agency supplier that is not connected to the global supplier will not satisfy this requirement.
Expected commission amount. If the supplier does not return a commission amount, you enter it yourself.
Some integrations return the commission amount and some do not. If the integration returns it, the booking may meet all requirements on its own and can be submitted to your agency and marked as booked with no action from you.
How to Resolve Requirements on an Integration Booking
Use this when a booking shows a supplier confirmation but has not been submitted to your agency. You will be alerted to this via email.
Before you start
The booking is already confirmed with the supplier and the payment is processed. Resolving requirements does not change the client's booking.
Some fixes require an agency admin. If you are not an agency admin, you can complete the fields on the booking but you cannot add an agency supplier.
Steps
Open the booking from the trip. The booking shows the supplier it was booked with, the booking date, and the confirmation number.
Read the Agency Requirements list. This panel lists every unresolved requirement. Two common entries are "Add an expected commission amount" and "Ask your agency admin to add [supplier] to the supplier list for this agency."
Fill in any fields you can complete yourself. Enter the expected commission amount, expected commission date, or total booking price directly on the booking. Each item drops off the Agency Requirements list as you resolve it.
Attach documentation if your commission type requires it. Upload the file the commission type asks for.
Add the agency supplier if it is missing. If you are an agency admin, go to your agency suppliers, add a new supplier, and select it from the full Tern supplier list so the agency supplier is connected to the global supplier. If you are not an agency admin, ask your agency admin to add it.
Return to the booking and confirm all issues are resolved. Reopen the booking. The Agency Requirements panel shows that all issues are resolved.
Submit the booking and mark it as booked. The booking is shared with your agency and appears in your agency's commission reconciliation.
You'll know it worked when
The Agency Requirements panel shows no outstanding issues, the booking is marked as booked, and it is shared with your agency.
If This Booking Should Not Go to That Agency
If the booking was accredited to the wrong agency, change the accreditation on the booking before you submit it.
Change the accreditation to independent. Use this if you are not submitting the booking to an agency. You can then mark it as booked for yourself, and agency requirements do not apply.
Change the accreditation to a different agency. The requirements that apply are the requirements of the agency you select. If that agency has no booking requirements, the booking can be submitted immediately.
Host Agencies
If the booking is accredited to a host agency, the host agency's booking requirements are the ones enforced.
Common Issues
The booking is confirmed with the supplier but the errors are still showing. The errors stay on the booking until every requirement is resolved. They do not affect the client's booking or the payment. Work through the Agency Requirements list, then submit the booking.
The supplier is in my agency supplier library but the requirement still fails. The agency supplier must be connected to the matching Tern global supplier. Edit the agency supplier and select it from the full Tern supplier list.
I am not an agency admin and I cannot add the supplier. Ask your agency admin to add the supplier to the agency supplier list. You can complete the other requirements while you wait.
I have no standard split and I cannot enter a commission amount. Your agency has custom commission requests turned off and you do not have a standard split on your account. Ask your agency admin to set a standard split for you or to allow custom commission requests. Until one of those changes, the booking cannot be submitted to that agency.
One integration booking went through automatically and another did not. Integrations that return a commission amount satisfy the expected commission requirement on their own. Integrations that do not return a commission amount require you to add it.
If a requirement stays on the booking after you have resolved it, contact Tern support.