Airbnb deducts its channel commission before it sends your payout, so there's nothing extra to set up there. Vrbo and Booking.com work differently: they invoice you for their commission after the booking has already paid out. If recuperating that fee is part of your management agreement, you'll need some extra setup in Clearing to make sure you're collecting it.
This is different from your own management commission (the fee you charge homeowners). For that, see How to Automate Your Management Commission Calculations with Clearing. This article is about the commission the channel charges you.
Before You Start: Identify Three Things
How you set this up depends on three questions. Answer these first:
Your commission rate per channel. Vrbo is typically 5%, Booking.com is typically 15%, but confirm the exact rate in your channel agreement.
Which account you pay the channel invoice from. When you receive the invoice from Vrbo or Booking.com, are you paying it out of your trust account, or your operating (business) account?
Whether your PMS already sends the commission to Clearing. Some PMSs pass the channel commission over as its own line item on the booking automatically. Others don't, in which case Clearing needs to calculate it for you.
Together, these determine which of the four scenarios below applies to you.
Scenario 1: PMS Sends the Commission, Paid From Trust
If your PMS already sends the commission as a line item on the booking, and you pay the channel invoice out of your trust account, use the commission import.
When you receive the commission statement from Vrbo or Booking.com, pay it out of your trust account.
In Clearing, go to "Transactions," then "Import Transactions." You'll see two separate import options: one for Vrbo Commission, one for Booking.com Commission.
Upload the commission CSV after you've paid it. This matches the transaction to the booking.
Note: Until you upload the commission CSV, the booking will not show as fully reconciled, since your cash received won't yet match the (lower) net booking liability. Always verify a booking's reconciliation status before paying it out, and confirm any mismatch is only off by the commission amount before assuming something else is wrong.
Scenario 2: PMS Sends the Commission, Paid From Operating
If your PMS already sends the commission as a line item, but you pay the channel invoice out of your operating account instead of trust, there's no trust transaction for Clearing to match against. Since the booking still shows the commission as a deduction from the owner's payout, you (the management company) need to be reimbursed for the fee you paid out of pocket.
Set up a rule that creates an offsetting income entry to management:
Go to "Rules," then "On Booking Financials," then "Rules Sequence." Open the "Fee per Booking" tab and click the "+" button.
Set the type of fee to "Percent Based."
Set the category to whatever your PMS calls the incoming channel fee line (for example, "Channel Fee," "Host Fee," or "Vrbo Host Fee").
Under channel, choose Vrbo, Booking.com, or both, whichever channel(s) you pay this fee out of operating for.
Set the outgoing category (this can be the same category).
Set the booking line type to "Host Channel Fee."
Set the percentage applied on the incoming category's amount to -100%.
Set the trust accounting for this entry to "Management."
This takes the negative commission line already on the booking and creates a matching positive entry to management. That entry shows up as revenue on your management statement, which is how you reimburse yourself, since your management statement is the amount transferred from trust to operating. The booking reconciles automatically. No commission CSV upload is needed for this scenario.
Scenario 3: PMS Doesn't Send the Commission, Paid From Trust
If your PMS doesn't pass the channel commission over as a line item, Clearing needs to calculate it for you with a custom formula, then match it against the commission you pay out of trust.
Go to "Rules," then "On Booking Financials," then "Rules Sequence." Open the "Custom Formulas" tab and click the "+" button.
Name the rule (for example, "Vrbo Commission").
Set the criteria to the specific channel, for example Vrbo.
Build the formula by adding the negative commission percentage for each revenue category the channel charges commission on (for example, -5% on Accommodation Fare, -5% on Cleaning Fee, and so on for each applicable category).
Set the output type to "Host Channel Fee."
Set the outgoing category name (your choice, for example "Vrbo Host Fee").
Set accounting to "Owner," since this deducts from the owner's revenue.
Vrbo and Booking.com charge their commission on the full booking total, excluding taxes. Which categories you include is up to your management agreement, see the tip at the bottom of this article.
Since this fee is paid from trust, finish reconciling it the same way as Scenario 1:
When you receive the commission statement from Vrbo or Booking.com, pay it out of your trust account.
In Clearing, go to "Transactions," then "Import Transactions." You'll see two separate import options: one for Vrbo Commission, one for Booking.com Commission.
Upload the commission CSV after you've paid it. This matches the transaction to the booking and fully reconciles it.
Note: Until you upload the commission CSV, the booking will not show as fully reconciled, since your cash received won't yet match the (lower) net booking liability. Always verify a booking's reconciliation status before paying it out, and confirm any mismatch is only off by the commission amount before assuming something else is wrong.
Scenario 4: PMS Doesn't Send the Commission, Paid From Operating
If your PMS doesn't pass the channel commission over as a line item, and you pay the channel invoice out of your operating account, Clearing needs to calculate the fee for you and reimburse your operating account for it.
Go to "Rules," then "On Booking Financials," then "Rules Sequence." Open the "Custom Formulas" tab and click the "+" button.
Name the rule (for example, "Vrbo Commission").
Set the criteria to the specific channel, for example Vrbo.
Build the formula by adding the negative commission percentage for each revenue category the channel charges commission on (for example, -5% on Accommodation Fare, -5% on Cleaning Fee, and so on for each applicable category).
Set the output type to "Host Channel Fee."
Set the outgoing category name (your choice, for example "Vrbo Host Fee").
Set accounting to "Owner," since this deducts from the owner's revenue.
Scroll down in the same rule and click "Duplicate Output with Opposite Sign."
Choose an outgoing category for this second entry (it can be the same or different, this is what will show on your management statement).
Set the accounting for this opposite entry to "Management."
Vrbo and Booking.com charge their commission on the full booking total, excluding taxes. Which categories you include is up to your management agreement, see the tip at the bottom of this article.
This creates a positive entry to management that mirrors the deduction from the owner, reimbursing your operating account for the fee you paid. The booking reconciles automatically, no commission CSV upload is needed for this scenario.
Tip: Which categories to include in your commission formula (Scenarios 3 and 4) is entirely your discretion, based on your management agreement. Some property managers only charge commission on the owner's share of revenue (accommodation fare, pet fee, discount, etc). Others charge commission on the full booking total and offset it by marking up the nightly rate in their PMS. Either approach works in Clearing, choose the categories that match how you've structured things with your owners.
🙋 Need more help?
We hope you got the Clearing help you needed! If not, reach out to a human via that little chat box on the bottom right corner of your screen. We're always here for you and your Clearing needs.
Clearing is a Financial Technology Company, not a bank.