Without accounting integration, every booking still means double the work

A trip is booked. The customer has paid. But for the finance team, the next task often begins: recording the sale, matching the payment, checking the account coding and making sure revenue is recognised in the right period.

With a direct integration between your booking platform and accounting system, the information flows through from the start. The booking becomes the basis for accounting, revenue recognition and reporting. That saves time on every sale and gives you better control over the finances behind every trip.

Travel accounting demands more

A trip is rarely a single product with a single VAT rate. One booking can include flights, accommodation, transfers and activities. The customer might pay a deposit several months before departure and the balance closer to the start of the trip. Along the way, the booking may change, extras may be added or part of the payment may be refunded.

At the same time, finance needs to distinguish between when the trip is sold, when the customer pays and when the revenue should be recognised. The money might arrive in October, while the trip takes place in February.

When systems are disconnected, someone has to hold that chain together manually. Information is copied, accounting records are completed and revenue recognition schedules are managed in separate spreadsheets. That works when bookings are few. As the business grows, it quickly becomes a recurring cost in both time and control.

Direct integration does more than transfer an invoice

The main advantage of direct integration is that booking information can be used throughout the accounting process. Trip details, amounts, payments and account coding are already in Vaylo. There is no need to recreate them in the accounting system.

When an invoice is issued, a customer payment is recorded or a sale is credited, the information can be transferred automatically. The booking reference connects these events, making it possible to follow the same transaction from booking to accounting.

Changes are easier to manage, too. If extras are added or part of the amount is refunded, the link to the original booking remains. Finance receives a connected set of records and spends less time piecing together separate entries afterwards.

Revenue recognition that follows the trip

Advance payments are a natural part of the travel industry. Revenue recognition should therefore be a natural part of the accounting workflow.

A trip paid for in autumn but departing in February needs to be tracked through to the correct accounting period. That also applies when the customer pays in instalments or the booking changes along the way. Related costs need to be allocated to the same period to give an accurate picture of the trip’s profitability.

Using the departure date and booking details as the basis, the integration supports the allocation of revenue and costs to the appropriate period. The information is already there, rather than finance having to review bookings and build a separate schedule at every period end.

This gives you a clearer view of advance payments, amounts relating to upcoming departures and revenue belonging to the current period. You get more useful financial results throughout the year and less to untangle at year-end.

Connect bookings to projects and cost centres

Accounting should also help you understand your business. Which trips deliver the strongest margins? How is a particular departure performing? Where do actual results differ from the original estimate?

In Vaylo, bookings can be linked to projects and cost centres in your accounting system. Sales can then be tracked within the structure you use for financial reporting.

A group trip or a specific departure can, for example, be linked to a project. Bringing revenue and related costs together under the same project makes it easier to monitor the trip’s profitability. Cost centres provide further detail based on how your business is organised.

Connecting bookings and accounting makes reporting more practical. You can trace a figure in your accounts back to the transaction behind it and use the results when planning and pricing future trips.

Configure account coding once and let it follow each sale

Your sales team should be able to focus on the customer and the trip. Accounting rules and account codes should already be configured in the system.

In Vaylo, accounts and posting rules are configured to suit your business processes and connected accounting system. Products and travel components are linked to VAT classes, allowing the appropriate account coding to follow each sale.

The customer can see one total price, while finance receives the breakdown it needs behind the scenes. Different components can use different accounts and VAT rates, and the VAT information shown on the invoice can be configured to suit the setup.

Once everything is configured, sales staff no longer need to make the same manual choices for every booking. This creates more consistent accounting records and reduces the risk of similar transactions being handled differently.

Two invoicing options, one platform

Not every travel business works the same way. Vaylo lets you choose the approach that suits yours.

If you collect payment at the time of booking, the booking confirmation can serve as the supporting document without a separate invoice being issued. The booking and payment then provide the basis for the accounting workflow.

If you prefer invoicing, an invoice can instead be generated automatically when the customer books online. This suits corporate customers who need an invoice for their own accounts, or businesses that want to offer invoice payment as an alternative to cards.

Whichever approach you choose, the customer, booking, payment and accounting records remain connected. You can adapt the buying experience to your customers while maintaining a consistent financial workflow.

Multiple currencies in one business

For travel businesses, working with multiple currencies is often part of everyday life. Sales and purchases may take place in different currencies, while the business needs to report in a common accounting currency.

In Vaylo, you can manage the currencies your business uses and administer exchange rates centrally. Bookings and invoices retain the original currency and the exchange rate used, making it easier to trace amounts through the process.

This provides better traceability when a booking needs to be checked later and reduces the need for separate currency calculations outside the system.

Three accounting systems, less duplicated work

Vaylo offers standard integrations with Fortnox, Visma Business NXT and PowerOffice. You can connect your booking workflow to your accounting system and configure account coding to suit your business.

The direct integrations with Fortnox and Visma Business NXT cover customer invoices, customer payments and credit notes, among other transactions. Payment information can also flow back into Vaylo, allowing the person managing the booking to see whether the customer has paid.

This is particularly useful when the next step in the booking process depends on payment. Sales staff gain a clearer view in the booking platform, while finance has the supporting records in its own system.

The result is fewer handovers and less time spent checking that the same information exists in multiple places.

Let the booking do more of the work

The cost of manual accounting goes beyond the time it takes to record an invoice. It also includes searching for supporting documents, completing account coding, allocating revenue to the right period and investigating why two systems show different figures.

When the booking carries the right information from the start, the entire process becomes simpler. Sales connect to accounting, revenue recognition follows the trip and project links provide a stronger basis for reporting.

With Vaylo’s accounting integration, you can spend less time moving figures between systems and more time understanding your results, developing your business and selling the next trip.

Learn more about Vaylo’s accounting integration

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