Booking payouts and commission invoice: when it pays you, how to read the invoice and how to reconcile a booking

Short answer: there are two ways to get paid. With Payments by Booking.com, the guest pays Booking and Booking pays you after check-out, by bank transfer (daily, weekly or monthly) or with a virtual card that you charge on your card terminal; if it handles all your payments, it deducts the commission and the payment charge from each payout. If you charge guests yourself, every month you receive an invoice with the previous month's check-outs and you pay it within 14 days. According to its terms, the other party to the contract is Booking.com B.V. (Amsterdam), and the invoice carries Spanish 21 % VAT, as we explain in VAT on commissions.

The commission and payment charge percentages are in what commission each platform charges; they are not repeated here.

What changes between "Payments by Booking.com" and charging guests yourself?

Booking says that signing up to the service costs nothing. If it pays you by bank transfer, it charges a payment service charge (a percentage of each completed stay, which depends on the country). If it pays you by virtual card, the cost is the fee your bank charges you for the card terminal. It is activated in Finance → Payments by Booking.com, if your property meets the requirements.

When does the money arrive?

By bank transfer, Booking charges the guest before arrival and pays you after check-out, according to the schedule you choose in Finance → Finance settings → Payout timing:

• Daily: one day after check-out (not processed at weekends or on public holidays).
• Weekly: every Thursday, for the payouts from the previous Thursday to Wednesday.
• Monthly: on the 1st, for those of the previous month.

The bank can take up to 10 days to credit it. If you change the bank account, payouts stop for five working days while it is verified. Each property is paid into a single account.

By virtual card (a digital Mastercard per booking): on non-refundable rates you can charge it from the day of booking; on the others, when the booking is at least 90 % non-refundable. If you are new or do not meet Booking's requirements (invoices paid on time for 12 months, among others), you will be able to charge it one day after arrival. You have 12 months from check-out to charge it; after that it expires and the money goes back to Booking. You need a card terminal that accepts virtual cards. If you are asked to return money, you have 45 days from the first reminder. You can switch from virtual card to bank transfer, but not the other way round.

What does the commission invoice contain and where is it downloaded?

It arrives in the first week of each month at your main email address and in the extranet inbox, with all the bookings whose check-out was in the previous month. Booking's example: if someone arrives on 31 January and leaves on 1 February, that commission goes on the March invoice.

It is in Finance → Invoices (or Documents and invoices, if you use Payments by Booking.com), and in Pulse in More → Finance → Invoices. You can see up to five years back. The invoice includes the property number, your VAT number if you have provided it, the invoice number and period, the total amount of the bookings, the commission, the due date and the payment details.

You may also receive credit notes (they reduce a previous invoice), debit notes (they increase it), invoices for guest complaints (for example, a relocation) and the incorrect information one (you marked a no-show and the guest did stay). An incorrect invoice is not reissued: it is corrected with one of those notes.

What is "Commission and charges"?

It is the column in the Reservations tab with what Booking takes from each booking: the commission and, if it collects the payment, the payment service charge. The breakdown is in Reservation details. The commission is calculated on the price of the stay plus the extras the guest pays when booking, such as cleaning, and not on local taxes such as the municipal tax. If the percentage comes out higher than the one in the contract, Booking explains that it is usually because you are in a paid programme such as the Preferred Partner Programme or Visibility Booster (Genius and deals).

Who invoices and with what VAT?

The invoice comes from the company you signed the agreement with, which in Booking's general terms is Booking.com B.V., based in Amsterdam (the contract is governed by Dutch law). Since 1 January 2023, the VAT Act excludes intermediation in property rentals from the "reverse charge" (art. 84.Uno.2.º.a, letter e'), so the commission reaches you with Spanish 21 % VAT and you do not have to file anything for that VAT. What you can do with it in your income tax return is in VAT on commissions.

How do I pay the invoice if I charge guests myself?

You have 14 days from the invoice date. Depending on the country, you can pay by:

1. Bank transfer: the details are in Finance → Finance overview. Put the property ID and the invoice number as the reference.
2. SEPA direct debit: it is activated in Finance → Bank details. Booking collects it 14 days after issuing the invoice.
3. Online or card payment, in the countries where it is available.

If you do not pay, Booking can close your property until you settle it, and a payment takes about seven working days to show. Between the 1st and the 7th of each month the billing details cannot be changed.

How do I reconcile a booking?

1. Open the booking in Reservations → Reservation details and look at Commission and charges.
2. Go to Finance → Reservation statements, choose the invoice month and download the XLS or CSV: it shows the commission for each booking.
3. If you are paid by bank transfer, compare with Payout details (the breakdown of each payout); with a virtual card, with Virtual card management.
4. Look for the normal differences: the invoice only includes what pays commission, whereas the payout notice includes everything Booking collected; charges "not included" (such as the per-person tax) are paid at the property; there is currency exchange; a later refund is deducted from a future payout or with a debit note.
5. If something is wrong, claim it from Reservation statements, with the option to dispute the booking: only for bookings invoiced in the last three months, and Booking takes up to 14 working days to reply.

To cross-check it with a manager's statement, follow Why do the figures not match?. For your tax return, in Payout details you can download the whole year as a PDF or CSV, and in Invoices, filtering by year, the commission invoices that support the expense.

What does a manager do with this?

They check every month that the payouts and the invoice match booking by booking, claim errors in time and keep the invoices for the tax return. At TGV we prefer the platforms to handle payments, so that no-shows are charged without arguments. Our commission is 15 % + VAT on what the owner is paid by the platforms, not counting cleaning, which the guest pays separately.