The back office is where bookings become accounting records. It typically covers client and supplier invoices, receipts and supplier payments, reconciliation (including BSP reconciliation for IATA-accredited agents), commission and mark-up accounting, ledgers and management reports. That matters for controlling customer money, meeting supplier payment deadlines, ATOL reporting and working out VAT (including under the Tour Operators’ Margin Scheme). In UK leisure travel, back-office systems often also produce ATOL Certificates and ATOL returns.

How it fits with the mid office

The mid office manages the booking and the back office handles the money behind it, but suppliers draw the line differently. Some back-office products include booking management, and some mid-office products include invoicing.

Watch out for

• “Back office” can also mean the accounts or operations team rather than software.

• A general accounting package is not a travel back office, although the two are often connected.

At Travelgenix

Travelify is our mid office for managing bookings. Back-office features such as invoicing, payments and ATOL returns are available through the eTrip add-on.