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Setting Contracts with Agencies

Setting Contracts with Agencies

 

For managing contracts with agencies there are two alternatives:

  • You can group several agencies and configure the same contract conditions for the whole group.

  • You can specify an individual contract for a particular agency.

In case you want to configure an individual contract that regulates the relationship between your company and an agency,

  1. On the Navigation menu, point to Clients, click Agencies/Distributors and then click the client company for which you need to configure the contract terms.

  2. Click the Contract tab, and then click Edit to switch to the editing mode.

  3. Configure the terms of contract as described below in further subsections.

  4. Click Save.

According to specific settings of your installation version, you can define the currency that is used for settlements with the client company: the supplier's currency or the contract one. Depending on this parameter chosen, the prices might be shown in the specified currency on the search and book forms, and on the Reservations page.

Assigning Managers

An employee of your company can be appointed as a Manager. The Manager supervises a client travel agency/distributor or direct sales and manages their reservations. Any user with the Director, or the Supervisor, or the Manager role can act as a manager.

Assigning a Manager is an obligatory condition for regular operations. You cannot create a reservation in the system if a manager for a particular travel agency/sales channel is not defined.

If you change a manager in the contract settings, all the previously created reservations are automatically assigned to a new manager.

When changing your managers in the contract settings, you should specify the reservations they will be accountable for: new and existing reservations or new reservations only. In the list of reservations this manager will be specified as a manager in charge of the selected orders.

The first step of setting a contract is defining travel products which are to be sold in compliance with the contract terms. On the Products tab, specify travel products and services that fall under the regulations of a contract.

  1. Click Edit to switch to the editing mode.

  2. Select the required check boxes.

  3. Click Save to save the changes.

In the Calculation subsection specify the mark up and commission calculation. The type of calculation depends on the type of the partner and the approved way of pricing.

There are two ways of pricing:

  • Markup: a standard form of payment for tour operators.
    If you select the Markup calculation, your partner company will be able to set sale prices independently by adding a markup to the rates displayed in its system (commission value is 0). The markup value is set in percent or in fixed amount in certain currency.
    For example, a double room offered by your company costs EUR 100. With a 20% markup you can sell it to your partner for EUR 120. In his turn, the partner can add its own markup to your sale price. In this case your profit will be EUR 20, while your partner’s profit will depend on the defined markup.

  • Commission: a standard form of payments for travel agencies. With the Commission payment your partner will sell products and services at fixed rates. These rates already include agency’s commission for each sale (markup and commission are defined).

Pricing methods
You can set markups and commissions in percent or in fixed amount with the Switch button .

There are several ways to calculate a sale price in percentage and fixed amount:

  • The calculation of a sale price in percent is based on the full cost of the service.
    For example the net price is EUR 100 and the markup is 20%, the total price is then calculated by the following formula: Total price = net price + markup = 100+20 = EUR 120.

  • The fixed commission is calculated based on the service rate per night.
    For example the room is booked for 5 nights with the net rate of EUR 100 per night and a markup of EUR 20. The total price is then calculated by the following formula: Total price = net price * number of nights + markup * number of nights = 100*5 + 20*5 = EUR 600

Configuring markup
On the Calculation tab, set the rules for price calculation, specifically:

  • Set the contract currency to perform sales

  • Specify the mark-ups

  • Specify the commission for services

  • Specify whether to use original currency from suppliers or the currency specified in the contract.

Please pay attention that for direct sales contract setting, setting commission is unavailable.

To set the rules for price calculation,

  1. On the Calculation tab, click Edit to switch to editing mode.

  2. From the Currency drop-down, select the currency of contract.

  3. Specify the mark-ups for services:

    1. Click . The Adding elements window appears:

    2. In the Adding elements window, set the first-level distinctive item, for example supplier. Select the check boxes compliant to those suppliers for whom you would like to set mark-ups.

    3. Click Apply.

    4. Specify the mark up and the commission in case the option is available:

    5. Locate mouse pointer into the box ant enter the value;

    6. Click either of the buttons to calculate the mark up and commission in per cents or in fixed amount currency units.

You can add another distinctive property inside the 1st-level classification by suppliers. For example, set separate mark up for accommodation services from a particular supplier. The second-level distinctive properties include product type (accommodation, flights. tours, etc.), group of tags (private, public, etc. See more at Tags), country.

To add a second-level distinctive property,

  1. Click opposite the required supplier. The Adding Elements window appears:

  2. From the Category drop-down, select the distinctive property.

  3. In case of specifying mark up for accommodation, select by product type.

  4. Select the required check boxes.

  5. Click Apply.

  6. Specify the mark up as it was described above.

You can add more levels of distinction. For example, further specify the mark up for hotels located in a particular country/city or of a particular category. To add another level of distinction, follow the steps mentioned above.

The figure above illustrates an example of mark up calculation,

  • Separate mark ups are added for different suppliers;

  • Separate mark up is added for hotels from Amadeus supplier;

  • separate mark up is added for hotels located in France from Amadeus supplier.

The tree of mark ups may have a complicated structure. The rules of navigating the tree are as follows:

  • Click the arrow next to a folder to expand its constituents;

  • To add another level of mark up calculation, click the button opposite the required item.

  • To remove an item from the tree, click the button.

From the End-price VAT and Commission VAT drop-downs, specify the VAT rate.

End-price VAT: the VAT will be applied to the final price for a service;

Commission VAT: the VAT will be applied only to the commission rate.

The items available in the drop-downs, should be previously specified in the Payment settings sectoin.

To set the VAT plan,

  1. On the Navigation bar, point to Finance and click Payments settings.

  2. Click VAT to proceed to the VAT tab.

  3. On the VAT tab, click Create to add a new VAT plan.

  4. In the New VAT plan window, fill in the required information.

  5. Click Save. The new VAT plan is added to the list.

For further information, please see Payment Settings .

In the sales terms section, specify the minimal number of days from the date of booking to the date when the service is rendered. Assuming today is August 12, 2022 and the restriction period is 5 days, then a user will not be able to submit the reservation until August 17.

On the Sales terms tab,

  1. Click Edit to switch to editing mode.

  2. Configure the following:

    1. Availability of services

    2. Printing vouchers

    3. Sales mode

    4. Credit limit

    5. Payment plan

  3. Click Save.

Availability of services
Specify the date when a service becomes available for direct sales in respect of the service start date:

Select the required number of days from the drop-down opposite the service of your choice. Let us consider an example. You set the availability period for tour booking to 14 days. The tour start date id July, 18. It means that the tour becomes available for direct sales starting July, 4.

Printing vouchers:
Configure the printing of vouchers:

Click the button of your choice:

  • Always: the voucher is printed after the reservation confirmation.

  • After payment only: the voucher is printed only after a tourist pays for the booked service.

  • After disabling AUTOCANCELLATION only: Autocancellation presupposes canceling the service the number of days before the commission period starts. The option may be set selected by default. In this case the voucher will be printed only when a user deselects the Autocancellation option.

  • Never: The voucher printout is disabled.

Sales mode
With the Sales Mode Activation parameters you can set which sales channels will be available withing the current contract.

  • B2B: If a B2B channel is selected, you will be able to sell products to other companies as well as directly to tourists from an office.

  • B2C: With the B2C channel a company can provide tourists with tour products directly via a B2C website.

  • Both B2B and B2C: Activate both sales channels if you want to use all sales channels for distribution of tour products.

If you select the B2C sales channel, you still will be able to enter a B2B system and obtain information on the reservations made by tourists via web-site. However you will not be able to search and book services in the B2B system.

Credit limit
With the The Credit Limit parameter you can set the price range within which your clients can book or invoice services paying for them later:

  • First select the check boxes compliant to the types of services for which you wan to set a credit limit: booked services, invoices services or combined.

  • Specify the credit limit: locate mouse pointer into the box and type the credit limit value.

Payment plan
With the The Payment Plan parameter you can define basic set of methods of payment.

As clients of tour operator who bought your service for further sale (travel agents and tourists that bought services via B2C web-site) don’t have the possibility to manage contract settlements of this tour operator with its supplier, it’s necessary to specify payment plans or some mutually exclusive methods of payment (for example, when the first specified method is applied only before the penalty period, then the second is applied after it).

From the drop-down select the required payment plan.

On the Cross-rates tab you can set the increases to the exchange rates.

The rates for products and services can be displayed in different currencies. You convert rates into single currency – the one you use in your company as the accounting currency. For such conversions the system uses currency exchange rates established on the day of payment. According to the common practice a fixed percentage is added to these rates.

For example the exchange rate is EUR 1 = BGN 36,1715. With a 3% increment to the rate it will be BGN 37,2603. Locate mouse pointer into the respective boxes and specify the cross-rate for the currencies: