For TPI advisors during Early Access, before TPI's winter transition. Until then, TPISuitcase is still your back office.
What should I use Tern for right now?
Use Tern for net-new trips: new bookings you're making with your clients from here on.
Booked under the Travel Planners International accreditation: these sync to TPISuitcase automatically through the one-way sync. You don't need to enter them in TPISuitcase again.
Booked under an independent accreditation: these don't sync to TPISuitcase, and TPI won't see them. Only use an independent accreditation for bookings that genuinely aren't booked under TPI.
The accreditation defaults to TPI. You can change it before marking a booking as Booked.
Always choose the Travel Planners International accreditation for TPI bookings. Don't create your own accreditation record using TPI's IATA number.
For how the sync works, what fields it sends, and troubleshooting, see FAQ: Tern to TPISuitcase Integration and Booking submission one-way sync.
Already had bookings in Tern before joining TPI? See What Happens to Bookings You Already Have in Tern for what to do with each one, including how to move independent bookings that belong to TPI.
I used my own accreditation with TPI's IATA number. What should I do?
If you logged bookings in Tern on an accreditation you created yourself with TPI's IATA number, and also entered those bookings in TPISuitcase, don't move or re-enter them. Tern moves them to the Travel Planners International accreditation for you, without syncing them to TPISuitcase, so they can be deduplicated after TPI's data migration. If you'd like them moved sooner, contact Tern support.
In the meantime, don't use that accreditation for new bookings. Once your bookings have moved, you can remove it under Back Office → Agency Details → Edit Details.
Moved bookings are labeled as migrated. See Understanding Migrated Bookings After Moving Under a Host Agency.
I still submit sales in TPISuitcase. Is that OK?
Yes, until the winter transition. Just don't also submit the same sale in Tern, or it will be counted twice.
How do I stop a booking from syncing to TPISuitcase?
If a booking is already recorded in TPISuitcase, you can stop Tern from sending it again. This only affects that one booking and doesn't change the booking in Tern.
Open the booking and confirm the accreditation is Travel Planners International. The option only appears on TPI bookings.
In the Commission section, open the ⋯ menu.
Not marked Booked yet: choose Don't sync to TPISuitcase when I mark as booked, then mark it Booked.
Already Booked or Canceled (so it has already synced): choose Delete from TPISuitcase and stop syncing, then select Delete and stop syncing to confirm. Tern asks TPISuitcase to delete its copy, which TPI marks as cancelled, and stops syncing. Your Tern booking stays as it is.
Once it's done, the booking shows a banner: "This booking won't sync to TPISuitcase."
Turning syncing back on: choose Resume syncing to TPISuitcase from the same menu. On a Booked booking, this re-sends the booking to TPISuitcase right away as active, so only do this if the booking really should be in TPISuitcase.
How should I handle GDS bookings?
GDS bookings are already reported to TPI without you logging them, so you don't need to record them in Tern at all.
If you'd like them in Tern anyway, keep them on the Travel Planners International accreditation and stop the sync before marking them Booked, using the steps above. Otherwise the one-way sync would create a duplicate in TPISuitcase.
What about bookings I already entered in TPISuitcase?
Don't recreate them in Tern, and don't change them to an independent accreditation. If one is already in Tern too, keep it on the Travel Planners International accreditation and stop the sync using the steps above.
When TPI migrates its data, Tern plans to match TPISuitcase records against bookings you already have in Tern, merging clear duplicates and showing you anything uncertain to review. For the full picture, see What Happens to Bookings You Already Have in Tern.
My team built upcoming trips in another system. Should we move them into Tern?
Recommended: use Tern only for net-new trips booked under your TPI accreditation, and don't recreate upcoming trips that already exist in TPISuitcase.
Possible, but not recommended: importing upcoming trips with the Chrome extension. Imported bookings come in as "planned." Leave them as planned and don't mark them as Booked, since they're already logged in TPISuitcase. Planned bookings don't sync to TPISuitcase or appear in sales reporting or commissions.
Should I import my historical bookings?
Generally, no. When TPI migrates its data this winter, your booking and commission history from December 2021 onward comes into Tern. Importing it yourself now creates duplicates you'd have to clean up later.
Should I reconcile past commission statements in Tern now?
No need. TPI's migration plan brings your commission and payout history into Tern, so reconciling past TPISuitcase statements now would duplicate that work. Keep using TPISuitcase for statements until the winter transition.
Should I import my contacts now?
It depends on whether you want TPI to bring in your TPISuitcase contacts during the winter transition:
You want your TPISuitcase contacts brought over: don't import contacts yourself now.
You don't need them brought over: go ahead and import now and manage contacts in Tern. See Moving to Tern From Another Platform.
You already imported and also want your TPISuitcase contacts: email [email protected], and Tern will import your TPISuitcase contacts at migration.
How Tern handles duplicate contacts
Tern plays it safe so you don't lose contact information, which means some duplicates will need your review.
Merged automatically: contacts with an exact match on first (or preferred) name, last name, and email. Matching phone numbers and addresses are kept once; different ones are added rather than overwritten.
Same contact, different owners in your agency: Tern merges them and keeps one owner. The other owners become collaborators on the contact. The owner can be changed afterward.
Shown to you for review: matching name plus the same phone or date of birth (medium confidence), or matching name plus ZIP code (low confidence).
Is there a Quick Submit in Tern?
Not yet. It's expected before the winter transition. TPI will share updates by email.
Setting up commission splits
Commission splits work differently in Tern. See Commission Split Set Up for TPI Advisors.
Who to contact
Invites, account access, and general TPI questions: [email protected]
TPI billing, membership, and license fees: [email protected]
Booking and TPISuitcase sync questions, including a booking that didn't sync: [email protected]
Commission inquiries and statement discrepancies: [email protected]
How to do something in Tern: ask Fin or contact Tern support
Prefer to talk it through? TPI's support team offers 15-minute 1:1 calls. Email [email protected] to request one.