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 not a client payment request or a planning fee. It deducts from the commission already being split; it does not charge the client.

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 deduct a flat processing fee per commission, 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 $1,000 commission. Your agency keeps a 3% host fee, and the advisor is on a 70% split:

The agency keeps the $30.00 host fee plus its $291.00 share of the remainder, for $321.00 total. The math follows the agreement in the right order instead of treating the fee as another split.

Important: the host fee only affects the payout to the advisor. The supplier deposit still reconciles against the full $1,000 commission. Do not record the fee as a deposit adjustment; that would make the money received look larger than the supplier actually paid.

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 example below the field shows the host fee, amount left to split, advisor amount, and agency total on a $100 gross commission. It assumes no other fees or split exceptions. Changes save automatically; wait for Saved before leaving.

The $100 example remains visible with the fee off, so you can compare the ordinary split with the fee-adjusted result. Percentages must be between 0 and 100; a flat fee must be zero or more. Correct any highlighted value before leaving.

Only owners and admins can change this. A percentage scales with each commission’s size; use the fee type in your agency’s agreement.

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.