Travel Agencies accounting, handled.

TOMS is mandatory if you buy in travel services (flights, hotels, transfers) and resell them in your own name. You charge VAT only on your margin (selling price minus bought-in cost), not the full price, and you can't reclaim VAT on the bought-in services. Pure intermediary agents acting on a disclosed agency basis stay outside TOMS. We assess your business model and apply the right treatment per booking type.

Since Brexit, EU-destination supplies under TOMS are zero-rated for UK VAT (previously they were standard-rated on the margin). Only UK-destination travel sold by a UK operator falls into UK TOMS at 20% on the margin. This is a meaningful saving most agencies still haven't fully claimed. We review your last four years' returns and amend where the old rules were applied incorrectly.

We post each transaction at the exchange rate on the day (HMRC's monthly rates or daily spot) and revalue open balances at month-end, with realised and unrealised FX gains/losses going to the P&L correctly. We use the multi-currency features of Xero or QuickBooks so it's automated, not manual spreadsheet juggling — and FX exposure becomes visible rather than hidden in the noise.

Under standard accounting, commission is earned when your performance obligation is complete — usually at departure for tour bookings, or at booking for non-refundable supplier commitments. Recognising it at deposit overstates profit and creates a refund liability. We set the policy correctly in your accounting software so revenue lands in the right period and your management accounts mean something.

Yes — ATOL APC payments to the Air Travel Trust, ABTA bonding and membership, trade body fees, GIT insurance, and supplier failure cover are all deductible trading expenses. The APC, although collected per passenger, is treated as your cost in the period the flight departs. We map them correctly so the GP per booking reflects the true commercial margin after all protection costs.