Travel agencies
Accounting software for travel agencies and tour operators
See the advances you are holding, what you owe each hotel and transporter, and how much of this season's income is commission, without waiting for the accountant to post a month of entries.
In short
SimpleERP is accounting software for travel agencies in India. Invoices, purchase bills, advances and supplier payments post journals as you work, so the trial balance, profit and loss and GST registers are ready on any date.
Illustration: saving invoice INV-2026-27-0213 moves stock, posts the customer ledger, records CGST and SGST and updates the dashboard in one step.
An accounting day at Vaigai Holidays
At the end of October, Vaigai Holidays is holding ₹4,60,000 in customer advances for Deepavali and Sabarimala trips that have not left yet. It also owes a Kodaikanal hotel ₹1,85,000, a Munnar resort ₹96,000 and its cab transporter ₹72,000, and it is waiting on booking commission from two hotel chains.
The accountant used to rebuild all of this from a cash book and a WhatsApp group every quarter. In SimpleERP each receipt, purchase bill and payment has already posted its own journal, so on the first of the month the owner opens the trial balance instead of a shoebox of vouchers.
Ledger
Which ledger accounts does a travel agency use?
The chart of accounts is seeded when you sign up. A travel agency mostly works in a handful of them, and every one is filled by the documents you already post rather than by journal entries.
| Account | Filled by | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Accounts receivable | Package invoices, customer payments | Who still owes for a trip |
| Customer advances on account | Payments received before an invoice | Money held for trips not yet billed |
| Accounts payable | Hotel and transporter purchase bills | What you owe each supplier |
| Sales income | Invoice lines | Packages and commission, split by SAC code in the summary |
| Output and input GST | Invoices and purchase bills | Tax to pay after credit, where you take credit |
Illustration: saving invoice INV-2026-27-0213 moves stock, posts the customer ledger, records CGST and SGST and updates the dashboard in one step.
Commission
How do we record commission a hotel pays us?
When a hotel or airline owes you commission for bookings, raise an invoice to it for the commission with its SAC code. The receivable sits against that hotel like any customer, and the payment clears it when the money arrives.
- One party record for a hotel that is both a supplier you pay and a customer you bill for commission.
- Statements on each side to agree balances with the hotel before you settle up.
- SAC summary separates commission lines from package lines, because each carries its own code.
Month end
What should we check before closing the month?
Three checks catch most mistakes in a travel business: advances that should have been applied to posted invoices, supplier deposits that were never matched to a hotel's bill, and bank balances that do not match the statement.
- Receivables ageing with unapplied advances showing as credit balances.
- Payables ageing with deposits paid to hotels still on account.
- Lock date set once the month is checked, so nobody posts into it later.
- Profit and loss for the season, with tour escort salaries and driver claims included.
Illustration of a profit and loss statement for April to September 2026 with net profit of ₹4,12,800, a GST summary and the lock date.
One system
Where the books get their entries
Sales, purchases, payments, payroll and expense claims each post their own journal, so the ledger is a result, not a second job.
Travel agencies
Enquiries to quotations, SAC-coded package invoices, advances held on account and hotel payables in one ledger.
See howGST billing for travel agencies
Tour package and booking fee invoices with SAC codes, the 5% or 18% option, and advances applied to the bill.
See howPayroll for travel agencies
Monthly salaries for the counter team, pro-rated pay for seasonal tour escorts, salary advances and PF and PT deductions.
See howAccounting
A double-entry ledger with journals, bank registers, statements and a lock date.
See how
Honest limits
What accounting for travel agencies leaves out
- No bank feeds: bank entries are recorded and reconciled by hand
- No multi-currency; every document is in rupees
- GST return filing and e-invoicing are not done inside the product
- No forex purchase or sale, and no TCS ledger for overseas packages
- No profit per tour or per traveller; profit is reported for the business and by period
Getting started
Start with accounting
Sign up with your phone
Name, phone number and a password. No card for the seven-day trial, and email is optional.
Tell us about the business
Type your GSTIN and the state fills itself. Accounts, GST rates, units, roles and numbering are seeded for you.
Enter opening balances
Enter what customers owe, advances already received, what you owe hotels and transporters, and your bank and cash balances on the start date.
Run the trial balance
Every posted document is already in the ledger; the trial balance and P&L are ready on any date.
FAQ
Questions, answered
Can our CA work in SimpleERP directly?
Yes. Invite your CA by phone or email with the Accountant role. They work in the ledger, journals, reports and GST registers you already post to, so there is nothing to export and send.
We pay a resort a deposit before the season. Where does it go?
Record it as a payment to the resort. With no bill yet it stays on account, and when the resort's bill is entered you apply the deposit to it.
Can we delete a wrong receipt?
No. Posted documents are never deleted. Cancel the receipt and its journal reverses, then record it again correctly; both stay in the audit history.
Do we get profit and loss by month and for the season?
Yes. Profit and loss, balance sheet and trial balance run for any date range, so you can look at a month or the whole October to January season.
Related
Keep reading
Travel agencies
Enquiries to quotations, SAC-coded package invoices, advances held on account and hotel payables in one ledger.
Read moreGST billing for travel agencies
Tour package and booking fee invoices with SAC codes, the 5% or 18% option, and advances applied to the bill.
Read morePayroll for travel agencies
Monthly salaries for the counter team, pro-rated pay for seasonal tour escorts, salary advances and PF and PT deductions.
Read more
See how accounting works in SimpleERP for travel agencies
Seven days free. No card. Your first GST invoice in minutes.