Travel & tour operators · books, not bookings

Accounting software for the GST and payables side of running a travel agency.

Correct GST treatment for tour packages vs. commission, TCS on overseas packages, supplier payables for airlines and hotels, and receivable ageing for corporate clients on credit.

Reviewed July 2026
6 min read
CA Anil Agarwal & the TatvaBooks team

What a travel agency's books actually need

A travel agency's accounting problem isn't the booking — it's what happens after: GST on a package versus a commission, TCS on an overseas sale, and keeping straight what you owe suppliers against what corporate clients owe you. Here's what that needs, and how TatvaBooks handles each part.

What travel agency accounting needs	How TatvaBooks does it
GST on tour packages vs. commission	Tour operators can bill under the composite tour-package scheme or as pure commission on airline/hotel bookings — TatvaBooks lets you pick the right service accounting treatment per invoice instead of forcing one model on every booking.
TCS on overseas tour packages / LRS awareness	Overseas tour package sales carry TCS obligations under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme rules — invoices for outbound packages flag the applicable TCS so it isn't missed at billing time.
Supplier (airline/hotel) payables	Airline, hotel and ground-handler bills are tracked as running payables per vendor, so you always know what's owed to which supplier before the next booking goes out.
Receivables from corporate clients	Corporate travel accounts often run on credit with monthly settlement — client-wise receivable ageing keeps that visible instead of buried in a shared ledger.
Multi-currency supplier costs	Foreign-currency supplier costs (overseas hotels, DMCs) are recorded against the invoice so your package cost and margin stay accurate even when the rupee cost varies by booking.

Honest caveat: TatvaBooks doesn't integrate with any GDS or booking engine. It's built for the books-and-GST side of the business, once the booking itself has been made elsewhere.

For small & mid-size travel agencies

Most Indian travel agencies and tour operators aren't running a GDS integration budget — they're running a small team juggling supplier bills, corporate client credit and GST rules that differ by booking type. TatvaBooks is sized for that: package-level GST treatment, vendor payables and client receivables without needing a dedicated travel-tech stack.

Packages, commission and TCS — decided at the invoice

Whether a booking is billed under the tour-package composite scheme or as commission on an airline/hotel booking changes the GST treatment — and for outbound packages, TCS obligations apply too. TatvaBooks lets you pick the right treatment per invoice so the numbers are correct from the start, rather than reworked at return time. Always confirm the applicable rate and scheme with your CA, since these provisions have shifted across recent budgets.

Frequently asked questions

Does TatvaBooks integrate with GDS or a booking engine?

No — and we'd rather say that plainly than let you find out later. TatvaBooks doesn't connect to Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre or any booking engine; it's the accounting and GST layer that sits underneath your booking process. You (or your booking tool) handle the reservation; TatvaBooks handles the invoice, the supplier payable, the receivable and the GST treatment once the booking is made.

How does GST work for a travel agency — on the full package or just the margin?

It depends on how you're billing. Under the tour operator composite scheme, GST applies on the package value at a concessional rate with restricted ITC; if you're billing as an agent on commission (say, for pure airline/hotel booking), GST typically applies only on your commission or service fee. TatvaBooks supports both service-accounting treatments so you can bill correctly depending on the nature of the transaction — talk to your CA on which applies per package.

What is TCS on overseas tour packages, and does the software track it?

Sale of an overseas tour package attracts TCS under income tax rules (rates vary by package value and have changed in recent budgets), separate from LRS-related TCS on outward remittances. TatvaBooks flags TCS on outbound package invoices so it's applied at billing rather than reconciled after the fact — always confirm current rates with your CA since these have shifted in past budgets.

Can I track what I owe airlines and hotels separately from what corporate clients owe me?

Yes. Supplier payables (airlines, hotels, DMCs, ground handlers) and client receivables are tracked as separate ledgers with running balances and ageing, so you can see exactly what's due to a supplier before the next payment cycle and what a corporate client owes you on credit terms.

What does accounting software for a travel agency cost?

Multi-vendor payables, client receivable ageing and GST treatment options are on the Business plan at ₹599/month. If you run a larger team or need payroll for agency staff, Growth at ₹1,099/month adds that. Both plans are billed monthly.

Keep going.

GST for travel & services

Related industries

Who it's for

For small & medium business

Supplier payables · client receivables · GST built in

Get your agency's books and GST off spreadsheets.

Track airline and hotel payables, corporate client receivables, and get the GST treatment right on every package — sign up and see it against your own bookings.

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