I have received an email from HospitalityNZ who asked if MYOB would consider looking into a formula/coding that can help accommocation operators using MYOB software pay the correct GST in Online Travel Agent bookings. Article here http://www.accommodationnz.org.nz/news/issues.html?cid=12853 provides details on the issue:
"We receive numerous queries about how to account for GST in Online Travel Agent (OTA) bookings with non-resident service providers. In particular, the Expedia Hotel Collect model causes some confusion with regard to accounting for GST (Hotel Collect bookings include the credit card data in the booking, you charge the customer directly and you pay Expedia their commission).
In consultation with business partners, Crowe Horwath we have developed the following resource to demystify how GST should be accounted for in bookings such as the Hotel Collect model. Consider the following:
Room Price (excluding GST) = $100.00
GST (15%) = $15.00
Room Price including GST = $115.00
Expedia fee (15% of $115 ) = $17.25
Hotel receives (after GST and Expedia fee) = $82.75
If the customer pays you $115, then your accounting system needs to be able to report all elements of the above transaction correctly. Even then your processing staff and accountant need to first know there is no GST input tax claim available in respect of the Expedia fee (this should be evident from the fact that Expedia does not provide a GST invoice).
However, if the customer pays Expedia $115 and Expedia passes on only the net after its fee of $97.75, ($115-$17.25) then does your accounting system still report a $15 GST Output tax liability (Room price of $115)?
If the answer is no, then you may be accounting for too little GST and/or incorrectly assuming there is an offsetting GST claim on the Expedia fee. Example of how to show the income in your accounting programme (XERO, MYOB for example) as:
Deposit to bank account: $97.75
Code against Accommodation $115.00 Show GST as $15
Code against Expedia fee ($17.25) GST nil
$97.75
This means the transaction balances – and GST is captured on the full $115."
"Coding to help with GST in Online Travel Agent bookings"
