A statement nobody can check
At the end of the month a broker sends a statement: bookings, amounts collected from customers, commission due, and a net payment. Your records say several of those bookings were no-shows, two were extended by days, and one was changed to a bigger car at the counter. The statement does not reflect any of that. Checking it line by line would take a day, so it is accepted as it is.
Across several brokers, each with different terms, that happens every month.
Why broker reconciliation is hard
Each broker works differently. Some take full payment from the customer and pay you net. Some take a deposit and you collect the rest. Some give you a voucher to redeem. Commission is on different bases, and changes at the counter are handled differently by each one.
- Broker booking references are not always carried onto the agreement.
- Counter upgrades, extensions and extras may or may not be commissionable, depending on the broker.
- No-shows and cancellations are treated differently by each broker's terms.
- Statements arrive as PDFs or spreadsheets in different formats.
- Nobody owns the job of checking them.
What unchecked statements cost
Commission paid on hires that did not happen, or at the wrong amount. Prepaid amounts that were never passed on. Extensions and extras charged to customers who had already paid the broker, causing complaints. And no clear picture of what each broker actually earns you after commission, which matters when deciding how much stock to give each channel.
The reconciliation we build
- Broker bookings are imported from each broker's feed or extranet export, with the reference, prepaid amount, what is included and the customer's details.
- The broker reference is required on the agreement at the counter, so every hire can be matched. Unmatched bookings are listed daily.
- Each broker's terms are set up as rules: what is prepaid, what is commissionable, and how no-shows, extensions and upgrades are treated.
- Monthly statements are read from their PDF or spreadsheet and each line is compared with the matched agreement under that broker's rules.
- Differences are listed by type: no-show charged, extension missing, wrong commission rate, booking not on statement, amount not received.
- A net income per broker report shows gross hire value, commission and net income after counter changes.
| Difference | Likely cause | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Commission on a no-show | Broker not told of the no-show | Query with the agreement record |
| Extension not on statement | Collected locally, correct | Confirm, no action needed |
| Prepaid amount not received | Payment delay or missing booking | Query with booking reference |
| Booking not matched | Reference missing on agreement | Staff to find and link the hire |
Telling the counter what the customer has paid
A lot of broker trouble starts at the counter, when staff do not know what the customer has already paid for and charge them again. The same import shows staff, on the agreement, exactly what the broker booking includes: insurance level, extras, mileage and fuel option. That reduces complaints and chargebacks, and keeps counter upsells to things the customer has not already bought.
Statements checked every month
In practice, month end changes from a vague sense that the statements are probably right to a list of perhaps a dozen lines per broker that need a look. Most are explained quickly: an extension collected locally, a booking made late in the month that falls into the next statement. The few that are genuine errors are queried with the agreement attached, which is a much easier conversation with a broker account manager than a general complaint.
Each statement becomes a short list of differences to query rather than a document accepted on trust. Counter staff know what broker customers have paid for. And you can compare what each broker really brings in, which is a more useful number than bookings alone.
Do broker statements go unchecked here?
- Broker statements are accepted without checking.
- Broker references are not always recorded on the agreement.
- Customers complain about being charged for things they prepaid.
- Each broker's terms are known by one person.
- You cannot say what each broker earns you after commission.