Getting started with invoicing

To create an invoice:

1. Go to your FareHarbor Dashboard and click on the Reports tab.
2. Select Accounting from the menu on the left-hand side and click on Affiliate invoices under Billing. You will be taken to the View invoices page, these are the invoices that you have already created.
3. Click on the + Create invoice button in the upper part of the screen.
4. Select the desired date range you’d like to generate the invoice for and click Generate to see all companies in that time range with invoiceable bookings.
5. Click the desired affiliate name to begin creating the invoice. You can also create multiple invoices at once by selecting multiple affiliates via the box next to their name.

6. Click on Create invoice.

   Note: The Create invoice button will also reflect the number of affiliates selected. For example, if you select 4 affiliates, it will show up as Create 4 invoices.

1. “Billed to” refers to the company who owes money.
2. “Remit to” refers to the company who is owed money.
3. The system will generate a report of invoiceable reservations within the chosen time period and determine the invoice amount based on those bookings.
4. Invoice numbers are set automatically after you click Create invoice.
5. The due date is automatically set to 30 days after creation date but can be edited before creating the invoice.
6. The system calculates the total of all reservations booked during this time period. If any of the invoice amounts on the reservations look incorrect, please contact us at channelsupport@fareharbor.com.

Once an invoice has been created you have multiple options to print, delete, change payment status and more! Please refer to a list of the available options below.

Emailing invoices

Once an invoice has been created, you can email it to the payee with the click of a button.

To email an invoice:

1. Go to Dashboard > Reports > Accounting > Affiliate invoices > View invoices page.
2. Click on Email invoice for payment.
3. Verify that the email address is correct and add a personal message if needed.
4. Click Send email.

Printing an invoice

To print an invoice via your Dashboard:

1. Go to Reports > Accounting > Affiliate invoices > View invoices page.
2. Open the invoice you would like to print.
3. Click the Print button on the right-hand side, under Invoice actions.
4. Select a Destination – you can either set your connected printer as the destination or select Save as PDF to save a PDF version for forwarding.
5. Adjust the Pages and Layout settings if applicable.
6. Click Save to finalize.

Note: The steps for printing to PDF vary by operating system and browser. For example, in Google Chrome, go to File > Print, select Destination > Save as PDF, and click Save. Check your browser or operating system’s help center for specific instructions.

Deleting an invoice

To delete an invoice:

1. Go to Reports > Accounting > Affiliate invoices > View invoices page.
2. Open the invoice you would like to delete.
3. Click on Advanced.
4. Select Delete invoice.

Update invoice payment status

Even if you’re not processing invoice payments within FareHarbor, you can still mark an invoice as paid if it has been settled outside of the system.

To update an invoice’s payment status:

1. Go to Reports > Accounting > Affiliate invoices > View invoices page.
2. Open the invoice for which you would like to update the payment status.
3. Click on Advanced.
4. Select Mark as paid or Mark as unpaid.

Previously created invoices can be found in the Affiliate invoices report or within the details of an individual booking.

To find an invoice on your Dashboard using reporting:

1. Navigate to Reports.
2. Click on Accounting on the left-hand side.
3. Click on Affiliate invoices to access the View invoices page.
4. Adjust the date range and click on Generate to view all the existing invoices from the defined period.

Note: The selected date range will populate invoices that were created within it. The booking’s activity date is irrelevant here.

To find an invoice using an individual booking’s details:

1. Navigate to your Bookings calendar page.
2. Locate the booking and open its details.
3. Click on the invoice number on the summary to go directly to the relevant invoice.

To check if an invoice has been paid by an affiliate:

1. Go to your Dashboard > Bookings calendar.
2. Locate the relevant reservation by doing one of the following:
   • Find it via the Bookings calendar by clicking on the availability and selecting Actions & settings.
   • Enter the customer’s name via the Search bookings search bar.
3. Click on the booking to open its details.
4. Look for the affiliate invoice information and the payment status of the affiliate invoice.

To pay an invoice your affiliate needs to set up a bank account meeting these requirements:

• EIN (US Tax ID) registered in the US.
• Address in the US that matches the registration of the Tax ID.
• A bank account located in the US (Puerto Rico is considered the US).

Paying for an invoice – Bank transfer fee amount

Invoices are paid via the Pay invoice now option under Invoice actions. This option is visible only when an associated invoice has been generated.

Important note: There is a processing fee taken from the transferred funds. The fee is 1.9% + 30 cents.

To access Invoice actions:

1. Go to Reports > Accounting > Affiliate invoices > View invoices page.
2. Open the invoice you would like to action.

How do I know if the bank transfer payment was successful?

Once a bank transfer is initiated, the invoice will update to reflect a Created bank debit for the specified amount along with a generated reference number. If any issues arise with the transfer, the system will update accordingly.

Note: It may take 3-7 business days for the funds to transfer when paying an invoice via FareHarbor.

How to verify issued bank transfers

To view paid invoices in a payout report:

1. Navigate to the Reports page on your Dashboard.
2. Select Accounting from the left-hand side menu and open Payouts and refunds under Internal.
3. Click on the Bank Debits tab and adjust the timeframe for the transaction(s) you are looking for via the date options at the top of the page.
4. Click on the Debit ID number in blue, that will provide more information.

Can I edit an invoice once it’s been created?

No, invoices cannot be edited once they’ve been created. If an invoice needs to be changed, it should be deleted and re-created.

Can I edit an invoice before creating it?

Yes, you are able to make adjustments to an invoice before creating it.

To adjust an invoice before creating it:

1. Navigate to Reports > Accounting > Affiliate invoices > + Create invoice page.
2. Select the desired time frame and click on Generate.
3. Click on the name of the affiliate company to edit the invoice.
4. On the editing page, you will have the option to:
   • Select or unselect reservations.
   • Adjust the invoice number, due date, or invoice total.
5. Once finished with the changes, click on Create invoice.

How do I check if a reservation has been invoiced?

To determine whether a reservation has been invoiced, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the Reports section of your Dashboard.
2. Select Customers and marketing from the left-hand menu.
3. Click on Booking source under Marketing.
4. Click on Advanced.
5. Select your desired time frame.
6. In the second column, click on Add FIlter and look for Affiliate.
7. Click Save.
8. In the last column, click on All and tick Invoiced? from the Booking columns options.
9. Click on Generate to run your report.

What happens with an Online Travel Agent (OTA) cancellation or refund. Where does the money go?

Since these reservations are confirmed outside of FareHarbor, we do not handle cancellations or refunds for these bookings. Any adjustments must be handled directly through the OTA’s platform. Changes made within FareHarbor are for tracking purposes only.

Why do I have two invoices for the same booking?

This situation arises when an existing booking is rebooked to a different date or time. In such cases, the original booking is canceled, and a new booking with a new booking ID is created. Consequently, the new booking becomes eligible for invoicing.

Can affiliates generate invoices?

No, affiliates do not have the ability to generate invoices. Once the invoice is created from you, as an activity provider, on the Dashboard, affiliates can view it from their own affiliate Dashboard, but they cannot generate or modify it.

Can my affiliate pay invoices by credit card?

Affiliates are unable to pay invoices directly via credit card. However, if an affiliate needs to use a credit card, adjustments can be made to their setup. The due amount for each booking can be configured to reflect the amount owed by the affiliate, allowing them to enter their credit card details for payment of the net rates on individual bookings. Please contact us at channelsupport@fareharbor.com in case of any additional questions!

How can I keep track of which affiliates have paid me and which affiliates I have paid?

To track payments, navigate to the invoice details and select the Mark as paid option under the Advanced settings. This will update the status of the invoice, allowing you to monitor which invoices have been paid and which are still outstanding.

Why can’t I email invoices to my partners?

If you are unable to send invoices to your partners, please contact us at channelsupport@fareharbor.com.

How can I issue an invoice for the booking fees?

FareHarbor is not legally obligated to provide invoices to end consumers for the 6% booking fee. This is because FareHarbor is an entity established in the Netherlands and registered under the One Stop Shop (OSS) for VAT purposes, a special program that simplifies compliance when providing digital services to end consumers in other EU member states. Under this special program, FareHarbor is required only to provide receipts for services provided to end consumers, i.e. Business to Customer (B2C) transactions.

Can I update the billing information for invoicing on behalf of the affiliate?

Only affiliates have the option to make edits to their billing information by navigating to Settings > Info & Policies, and then clicking on Logo & Contact > Billing Information for Invoicing. However, if they are unable to make these changes, we are available to help. They can contact us at channelsupport@fareharbor.com.

Why am I unable to find an existing invoice?

When having trouble locating an existing invoice, please verify that the correct date range has been selected under View Invoices. Please note that the system will automatically default to the previous month.

Why can’t my affiliate view an invoice?

If an affiliate is unable to view an existing invoice, please verify that they have Can see prices permission on their configuration.

To check this on your Dashboard:

1. Navigate to Settings.
2. Select Affiliates from the left-hand side menu, under the Network section.
3. Find the affiliate and click on Edit on the right-hand side.
4. Scroll down and check the Permissions drop-down menu.
   • If the menu is set to Affiliate – Can see prices, no action is required.
   • If the menu is set to a different option, select Affiliate – Can see prices and click on Save at the bottom of the page.

I am unable to invoice a reservation that should be possible to invoice. What should I do?

If a booking that should be invoiceable is not appearing on an invoice, you can verify that an invoice sheet is properly linked to the reservation by following these simple steps:

1. Locate and open the reservation in question.
2. Click on Advance settings on the right-hand side.
3. Select the Reprice booking option.

4. Here, you should see two fields: Total sheet and Invoice sheet. Ensure that an invoice sheet is selected in the Invoice sheet field.

   Additional notes:

   • If no invoice sheet is selected, or if the issue persists, please contact us at channelsupport@fareharbor.com so we can investigate further.
   • Please make sure the affiliate is actually tagged on the reservation.
   • For price discrepancies, we will need an example booking number and a rate sheet in order to investigate.

How do I invoice an affiliate who has a Billing Invoicing Relationship and is using referral links?

You can generate the invoice as usual! The system will automatically review the amounts and deduct what has already been collected by the affiliate on the dashboard, ensuring the correct payment to the tour operator via the booking links.

Note: The invoice total will reflect the sum of both amounts owed to and from.

If a client receives a Report failed (invalid affiliate filter) error, it is because they are trying to create an invoice for an affiliate that is no longer associated with their Dashboard.

There are two ways to resolve this issue:

1. Update bookings with new affiliate – preferred

   If there is an existing affiliate that is the same as the invalid affiliate (for example, if the affiliate was added twice by accident, or if an old affiliate was removed and a new one was added in its place), you can simply update the bookings with the current affiliate.

2. Temporarily add affiliate

   If needed, you can add the original affiliate back to the Dashboard, create the invoice, then remove the affiliate. This ensures that the company’s affiliate settings remain unchanged, while allowing them to generate the invoice they need.

Once an invoice has been created, you will not be able to edit the invoice details or individual bookings unless you delete the invoice and then regenerate it.

1. Take a screenshot of the invoice that you’re going to delete to edit. The screenshots will help you keep the information from the original invoice. When you regenerate an invoice, you can refer to the screenshot to know the invoice number, due date, date range, included bookings, etc.

2. Click “advanced” and “delete invoice”.

   

3. Go to “Create invoice”, select the same date range as the original one. You can refer to the screenshot you took.

   

4. Adjust the information that needs to be updated.

   • If you would like to reprice any bookings, go to each bookings’ “advanced” section and select “reprice booking”. If the bookings can stay on the same total sheet or the invoice sheet, you just click “reprice booking”. In that case, make sure you’ve already updated the pricing on these sheets. If the bookings need to use a different total sheet or invoice sheet, you select the applicable sheet and then click “reprice booking”.

     

   • If you would like to only amend the information that won’t affect the invoice total, such as the due date or the invoice name/number, make sure the total amount you’re going to generate is the same as the original invoice.

     

   • If you would like to exclude some bookings from the new invoice, you untick the bookings.

     

5. Refresh the invoice page before re-generating it. Ensure the information is all correct.
6. Once you have verified it is all correct, re-generate the invoice.

See a video of this process.

At this time, there isn’t a way to pay an invoice by credit card. If an affiliate needs to pay an invoice by credit card and the company doesn’t have another way to charge a credit card, we can set up a new invoicing Dashboard for the company and then create an item where the company can make a booking, set the booking total for their net rate (the rate the affiliate owes them) and charge the affiliate’s credit card.

Note: With this option, the company will have to set up their bank account on the new Dashboard we create.

How to set up:

Step 1: Create new charter Dashboard with Login

• Name the new charter Dashboard ‘Charters Name Invoicing’.

• For example, if Best Boat Tours is a charter company, name their new invoicing Dashboard ‘Best Boat Tours Invoicing’.

• A new login will need to be created so that the charter can set up their bank account. After their bank account is set up, they can continue using their original login information to their primary Dashboard.

Step 2: Create new invoicing CT & Item – add CT to item

• On the new charters invoicing Dashboard, create a new invoicing customer type and then create a new invoicing item. Add the customer type to the item.

Step 3: Create availabilities on new invoicing item

• Best to create an availability every day in case there is a specific day that they need payment collected on.

Step 4: Set up Dashboards as outside users

• Turn on “Outside User” under Dashboard settings on both the charter Dashboard and the invoicing charter Dashboard.

Step 5: Billing Affiliate makes booking(s)

• Watch video here

Step 6: Charter generates and creates invoice for the affiliate on their regular Dashboard

• Charter generates an invoice.
• Charter creates an invoice for the affiliate, making note of the invoice # and amount.
• Watch video here.

Step 7: Charter makes a new booking in their invoicing Dashboard with the invoice total

• Charter creates a booking on the availability in the month they want the payment processed.
• Name the booking “AFFILIATES NAME – INVOICE”.
• The charter can enter the affiliates email if they need a copy of the transaction amount.
• Set the booking total to the affiliates invoice total.
• Charge affiliate’s credit card.
• Watch video here.

Step 8: Charter marks Invoice as ‘paid’ on their regular Dashboard

Watch video here.

Will invoices be automatically sent to my affiliate or do I have to manually send them?

Charters will have to manually generate and create invoices on the timeframe they choose (typically, we see Charters generate invoices monthly for bookings that took place in the previous month). There is not an option to have invoices automatically generated and sent because we want the Charter to review all bookings on an invoice to make sure each booking is calculating correctly.

What amount should our European partners invoice?

Our partners should only invoice the amount they are “responsible for” aka the price without the booking fee. For instance, a ticket that cost € 100 with a € 6 booking fee, they should invoice € 100. They do not collect the booking fee and as such should not invoice for it.

What if an end consumer requests an invoice for the 6%?

FareHarbor is not legally obligated to provide invoices to end consumers for the 6% Booking Fee. Why is this? It is because FareHarbor is an entity established in the Netherlands and registered under the One Stop Shop (OSS) for VAT purposes, a special program that simplifies compliance when providing digital services to end consumers in other EU Member States. Under this special program, FareHarbor is required only to provide receipts for services provided to end consumers, i.e., Business to Customer (B2C) transactions.

• Only companies with invoicing enabled can be paid. To enable invoicing, go to the company’s advanced settings (Shift + ,), then go to the Payments section and check the box for “Receive affiliate invoice payments.” If needed, adjust the invoice fee percentage rate and invoice fee flat portion (if you’re unsure, leave these fields as is).
• There is a processing fee taken from the funds transferred. The fee is 1.9% + 30 cents, taken out of the amount transferred to the receivable party. Please make sure to mention this to the client before activating so they are aware of the applicable fee.
• Countries used to be able to use a US Dashboard if they have a USD bank account.
• Recently, Stripe increased their Know Your Customer (KYC) qualifications, which has increased the required information to process USD.
• These requirements now include: EIN (US Tax ID) registered in the US, address in the US that matches the registration of the Tax ID, and a bank account located in the US (Puerto Rico is considered the US).
• If the above information can be provided, anyone can process payments on a US Dashboard.
• All “old” clients (people before the requirements) are verified and will not be asked for this additional information. Anyone new and onboarding will need to provide this additional information.

Clients can use FareHarbor to create, manage, and pay for invoices in-system. A booking is invoice-able when one company owes the other money. Affiliates and charters can use invoices to manage payments.

Invoice Fields

In an invoice, there are two fields at the top that indicate the parties involved in the payment process. One of these fields is specifically allocated for the affiliate, either “Billed to” or “Remit to” depending on the payment relationship type.

Setup

Within the affiliate dashboard, additional information can be included for display on the invoice. Affiliates have the ability to make edits to this information by navigating to Settings > Info & Policies, and then clicking on Logo & Contact > Billing Information for Invoicing.

This is how the Charter and Affiliate Billing information will be displayed on the invoice:

If an affiliate or a charter requests to add this information in an affiliate dashboard, you may inform them of the steps according to this help page, or reach out to channelsupport@fareharbor.com for assistance.