Overview
A sub agency owner can invite people to their own agency, such as an assistant, without you inviting them to your host agency. This article shows you how to find these members, verify them, and control their access.
Before We Jump In
Sub-agency: An agency set up under your host agency in Tern. A sub-agency can have one member or a team.
Verified member: A sub-agency member who is also a member of your host agency. A member is verified automatically if you invited them or if they are on a paid seat that you invited them to.
Sub-agency only member: A member that a sub-agency owner invited to their agency, but who is not a member of your host agency. This article also calls them unverified members.
What Sub-Agency Only Members Cannot Do
These rules apply to every sub-agency only member. Your settings do not change them.
If you are using our "per sub agent" smart fee calculation, they do not count toward the amount charged to the sub-agency.
They cannot own bookings under your accreditations. A sub-agency only member can never submit a booking in their own name.
They cannot use features that your host agency manages, such as agency managed service fees.
If a member needs to submit bookings in their own name, add them to your host agency. See Add a Member to Your Host Agency below.
Find Sub-Agency Only Members
Go to Team & billing in the back office.
Click the Agencies tab.
Click the sub-agency you want to review.
Click Add filter, then select Affiliation.
Select Sub-agency only.
The list now shows only the members who are not members of your host agency.
Add a Member to Your Host Agency
Use these steps if a sub-agency only member should be a member of your host agency.
Find the member with the steps above.
Click the menu at the end of the member’s row.
Select Add to your host agency.
The member becomes a verified member.
Note: This step only verifies the member. It does not put them on a paid seat. If you want them on a paid seat, assign the seat after you verify them.
You’ll know it worked when
The member no longer appears when you filter by Affiliation is Sub-agency only. The access settings below no longer apply to them.
Control What Sub-Agency Only Members Can Access
Go to Team & billing.
Click Actions, then select Manage profile settings.
Find the Members invited by sub-agencies section at the top.
Turn Let them use what’s shared with [your host agency] on or off.
If on, you can set each of the three permissions below.
If off, sub-agency only members cannot see any trips or contacts shared with your host agency, or submit bookings. This includes their own sub-agency’s trips and contacts. Sub-agency owners see which of their members this affects.
Turn each permission on or off:
See trips shared with [your host agency]
See contacts shared with [your host agency]
Mark shared trips as booked with your accreditations
Which setting is right for you?
If you are happy for assistants to help a sub-agency owner, leave the settings on. For example, an admin assistant can work on trips, make bookings outside of Tern, and mark them as booked so that everything is tracked. The sub-agency owner stays the booking owner.
If your host agency requires members to complete a verification process first, turn the setting off. When a person completes your process, add them to your host agency. Verified members are not affected by these settings.
What Sub-Agency Owners See
If a sub-agency owner has invited a member who is not a member of the host agency, a banner shows in their Team & billing page:
“1 member hasn’t been added to [host agency]. You invited them without [host agency], so they can’t own bookings under its accreditations and may not see what it shares. Contact [host agency] to add them.”
The sub-agency owner can click Show member to see who is affected. A sub-agency owner cannot add the member to the host agency themselves. They must contact the host agency.
Common Issues
A sub-agency member cannot submit a booking in their own name
If the member is sub-agency only, this is expected. A host agency admin must add them to the host agency. Then they can own bookings.
A sub-agency member cannot see trips or contacts shared with the host agency
If the member is sub-agency only, the host agency has turned off Let them use what’s shared with [your host agency], or has turned off the trips or contacts permission. A host agency admin can turn the setting on, or add the member to the host agency.
A member should be verified but shows as Sub-agency only
A host agency admin can fix this. Follow the steps in Add a Member to Your Host Agency.
A sub-agency owner sees the “hasn’t been added” banner
If the member should be part of the host agency, the sub-agency owner must contact the host agency to add them. If the member is an assistant who does not need to own bookings, no action is necessary.