Host Fee (Off the Top)

If your agency keeps a service charge on every booking before paying out your advisors, the host fee does exactly that. It deducts a flat dollar amount or a percentage from the gross commission before the advisor split is applied — so the advisor is paid on what's left, and you keep the rest.

This is separate from the advisor split percentage. The split decides how the remaining commission is shared; the host fee comes off the top first.

Perfect for: host agencies that "pay out after vendor fees," agencies that charge a flat processing or wire fee per payout, or anyone who keeps a fixed service charge regardless of the advisor's split.

How the math works

The host fee is taken off the gross, then the split is applied to what remains:

Advisor receives = (Gross commission − Host fee) × Advisor split %

Example. A supplier pays a $50.69 commission. Your agency keeps a 3% host fee, and the advisor is on a 100% split:

Gross commission	$50.69
Host fee (3%)	−$1.52
Net commission	$49.17
Advisor split	100%
Advisor receives	$49.17

The host keeps the $1.52 fee. With a split below 100%, the fee still comes off first and the agency also keeps its normal share of the remainder.

Important: the host fee only affects the payout to the advisor. The supplier deposit still reconciles against the full commission ($50.69 matches $50.69). You no longer need to record the fee as a deposit "adjustment" — doing that over-counted the deposit and left it stuck as unmatched. Use the host fee instead.

Turning it on

The host fee is off by default. An agency that never turns it on sees no change anywhere.

1. Go to Settings → Commissions.
2. Under Host fee (off the top), switch on Take a host fee off the top.
3. Choose Percent or Flat $ and enter the amount. The worked example below the field shows what you'd keep on a $100 commission.

Only owners and admins can change this. A percentage is the usual choice for a default, since it scales with each commission's size.

What your advisors see

When the host fee is on, the advisor's submission form shows the full breakdown as they enter the gross — gross, host fee, net commission, their split, and what they'll receive — so there are no surprises. They can see the fee but can't change it.

Reviewing and adjusting a submission

When an advisor sends a commission for review, the Agency View (Commissions → the pending submissions queue) shows the gross, the host fee, and the advisor's net side by side.

If a particular booking needs a different fee — a one-off flat wire fee, or no fee at all — open the submission and use Adjust host fee for this submission:

• Waive fee — the advisor is paid the full split of the gross for this booking.
• Percent / Flat $ — enter a different fee just for this submission.

The advisor's amount recalculates when you approve. Leave it untouched to keep whatever the advisor submitted.

Personal and FAM trips

If a booking is in a category that's excluded from the split (for example a Personal Trip or FAM Trip where the advisor keeps 100%), the host fee is skipped too — the agency takes nothing on the advisor's own travel.

Notes

• Existing commissions are not changed when you turn the host fee on — it applies to new submissions and entries going forward.
• The host fee is an agency-wide default. There's no per-advisor default; use the per-submission adjustment for exceptions.