Commissions

Owned by Hammudie Arnous
Last updated: Jun 21, 2023 by Dmitry Finkel
7 min read

What are Commissions

Commissions are a fee paid by the client for using a 3rd parties services (i.e. Booking.com). This fee will then be paid to the third party. Using the Commissions configuration in Maxxton Software (MXTS), client's commissions (to be paid to an agent) can be included in a reservation based on different criteria. Within Maxxton Software (MXTS) commissions are configured as addons and hence made applicable for distribution channels via billing. 

Configuring Commissions

Getting started

  1. Open the Channel Manager
  2. Unfold the Configuration menu
  3. Click on Commission
  4. Click on Create new Commission/VAT


Initial setup

It is important to note that in MXTS, Commissions are considered as add-ons, even if they are not configured in the Content Manager.

  • Choose the location on which you wish to create this Commission. (Maxxton suggests choosing the highest possible level of the location structure to make the Commission available to all locations).

  • Choose whether you wish to just create a Commission or if you wish to create VAT over Commission (more on the difference just below).

  • You can optionally also choose a parent add-on under which you would like to create this Commission.

  • Enter the name, the code & optionally a description for your Commission.

  • Click on "Create" at the bottom right of the pop-up once you have entered all of the relevant information.


Difference between "Commission" & "VAT over Commission"

Commissions are used for agents or 3rd party services. These agents have a separate bill. Within this bill, you can have different levels of granularity concerning the VAT of your Commission(s). You can choose to show on the agent bill a new, separate line, specifically for the VAT of your Commission. This is where the difference between Commission & VAT over Commission comes into play : 

  • Commission : When choosing this option, you are configuring an add-on of type "Commission"  which is already having the VAT rate included within the rate of the commission itself (so no separate line on the bill). This is shown by the tag "VAT included" next to the name of the Commission as shown below.



  • VAT over Commission : When choosing this option, you are creating an add-on of type "VAT Commission"  that can be used to configure the VAT rate specifically for your commission(s) and show this VAT rate on a separate line of the agent bill. Note that the add-ons created with this option do not have the "VAT included" tag next to their name.

Please note that this is optional configuration which might not be required for all business practices.


         


Once setup, "VAT over commission" type add-ons can be linked to "Commission" type add-ons (you can make the difference between the 2 with the "VAT included" tag) via the "Linked VAT" card.


   


When linking, the add-ons that appear on the list are all of the "VAT over commission" type add-ons that you have already created.  



Please note : If you are using the separate VAT setup for your commissions via the "VAT over commission" type add-ons, make sure to only include the Commission(s) for which you want this VAT to be calculated over. Furthermore, your "VAT over commission" type add-ons should not be linked to any accommodation types as the link should be created exclusively via the "Commission" type add-on itself.   

Finalizing the setup 

You should now see your Commission page as shown below:


In order for your Commission to be bookable, you still need to configure the following elements

  1. Linked Distribution Channels
  2. Rentability rules
  3. Rates

N.B : The "Linked accommodation types" card should not be used to add mandatory accommodation types to the commission. The choice of applicable accommodation types for the commission is managed within the "Rates" card of the Commission page (more on this below).

  • Linked Distribution Channels:

This card allows you to determine for which DC's the created commission is applicable. Start by selecting the Distribution Channels. Click on "Next step" once you have made your selection.

You should see the following screen :

Here you can select the different locations for which you want this Commission to be applicable. You can either choose "All locations" or select specific locations when clicking on the "Specific locations button. For the accommodation types & accommodation kinds, Maxxton suggests to not touch this setting within this card as this can also be managed when configuring the rates (see below). 

Once you have chosen your locations, click on "Next Step". You should see the following screen.

Here you can select the date validity of your Commission on the chosen Distribution Channel(s). You can also leave these fields empty if no specific date restrictions need to be applied.

Once all of the relevant information entered, click on "Link" to finish setting up Distribution Channels for your commission.

  • Rentability rules:

In the Rentability rules card, you can configure the rentability that you wish to have for your commission.

In the pop-up you can choose from which date and for which days of the week you would like to establish the rentability. Once all of the relevant information selected / filled in, click on "Create" at the bottom right to setup the rentability for your Commission. 

  • Rates:

In the rates card, you can configure the different rates for your commission as well as the different acco types / Add-ons / Offers on which it is applicable. To configure rates for your commission, navigate to the Rates card and click on "Create rate". 

You should see the following pop-up appear:

Start by configuring the type of rate, the price & the dates of the commission rate. For the type of rate, you can choose between:

  • a relative rate (percentage of the cost of the booking, i.e. 10%)
  • A flat rate (i.e. 50€) 

Next, enter  the price of the commission. Please note that you should enter a negative number (i.e. 10% or -€10).

Lastly choose the dates for which you want this price to be applied.

Once all of the relevant information filled in, click on "Next Step" at the bottom right of the pop-up. You should see the following screen:

At this step, you can choose for which rate types do you want the commission to be applied. You can either choose "All rate types" or select individual rate types. Once you have made your choice, click on "Next step". You should see the following screen:

Here, you can choose the accommodation types / add-ons / offers on which this commission will be applied. You can chose "specific accommodation types" or "all accommodation types" using the buttons at the top. If all accommodation types need to be linked to the commission, you can just chose the "all accommodation types" button and move onto the next step. No selection is required. For the accommodation type selection, Maxxton suggests to use the tree structure view (highlighted in the screenshot above) to select the applicable parent accommodation types.as this will pick up any new new child accommodation types that you might create in the future, which will automatically be added. Repeat the process for the add-ons & offers (if needed / applicable).

Once all of the relevant configuration completed, click on "Next step" at the bottom right. You should see the following pop-up:

Here you can configure the translations and the bill settings for your commission. Once all the relevant information filled in, you can go ahead and click on "Add rates" to create the rate for your commission.

You can create multiple rates for your commission if needed.

You're all set ! Your commission is now activated and ready to be used.

Updating & editing your commission

  • Representations:

The representations are created automatically when creating the Commission. However, you can click on the relevant line(s) to modify the representation(s) if necessary.

  • Rentability: 

You can create multiple rentabilities if needed. You can also Inherit or Override rentability rules.

  • Rates:

You can update existing rates or add new ones if needed.(i.e. different commission percentage for different periods).

  • Translations:

You can add / update the translations for the commission in the "Translations" card.

  • Linked VAT:

This section can be used to update the "VAT over Commission" type add-ons that you have setup and linked to your "Commission" type add-ons.

Conclusion

Commissions can be setup in the Channel Manager under the configuration menu, in the Commissions tab. Commissions are considered as add-ons in MXTS. You can create Commission add-ons that already have VAT included in them or create separate add-ons for your Commission to separate the VAT of the Commission and show it on the agent bill. You can configure the rate(s) for your Commission to either be a flat rate or a percentage and can link the Commission to any Accommodation type(s) / Add-on(s) / Offer(s) that are applicable. If you use the separate VAT setup make sure to link the "VAT over Commission" type add-on to your "Commission" type add-on. The "VAT over Commission" type add-on should not be linked to any ressources apart from the Commission itself.