Start Up Admin

Before you can start talking to clients and booking travel, there are several important administrative steps that you need to take in order to get your business up and running.

REGISTERING YOUR BUSINESS

As an IC, you own your own small business and your work should be treated the same as any other entrepreneur. Therefore you may want to consider registering your company as a separate business entity. There are several business structure options to consider - which you choose depends on your personal situation and where you are based (the regulations vary substantially by country and even state/province). We really recommend seeking the advice of a tax attorney or advisor when deciding how to set up your business, filing your taxes and what works best for your situation.

Below are a few resources that may help kickstart the process:

USA:

• http://hostagencyreviews.com/travel-agency-business-structures/

• https://www.thebalancesmb.com/why-should-i-create-an-independent-contracting-business-397571

UK:

• https://www.mygov.scot/start-business-uk/overview/

• https://www.gov.uk/employment-status/selfemployed-contractor

• https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2013/sep/12/sole-trader-limited-company-freelances

SOUTH AFRICA:

• https://www.entrepreneurmag.co.za/ask-entrepreneur/doing-business-in-sa-ask-entrepreneur/what-you-need-to-know-about-sole-proprietor-vs-independent-contractor/

• https://bizconnect.standardbank.co.za/start/registrations-legalities/reference-documents/overview-of-small-business-tax.aspx

BUSINESS INSURANCE

Insurance cover will vary based on which country you are in as well as the type of entity you have. If you register your own company you will need to take out your own business insurance. You may be covered by Cartology Travel's professional indemnity insurance but this will be confirmed on a case by case basis, which will be discussed prior to your joining Cartology Travel

Travel professionals are faced with varying amounts of risk on a daily basis as we are susceptible to unforeseen events, unfortunate injuries and unexpected delays. Fortunately, risk can be mitigated with various types of insurance. Not every company will need each type of insurance available, but it's wise to be aware of all common types in order to identify the coverage to suit your particular needs. The following are some of the most common types of insurance:

• Professional Liability (also known as Errors & Omission)

  • Protects the insured tour operator from claims that may result due to mistakes or failure to meet the demands of a signed contract. Designing travel experiences is a demanding business, and advisors deal with a multitude of clients. Occasionally you may make a mistake like omitting a reservation or creating a scheduling conflict. These internal mistakes can severely damage a company's reputation and result in legal action by clients. E&O Insurance helps mitigate these financial pitfalls due to errors and omissions as well as covering any settlement costs that may arise.

• Supplier Failure Insurance

  • Provides protection to your agency for any financial loss following the failure of any supplier.

• Financial Failure Insurance

  • Insurance that protects your consumers’ payments in the event your insolvency.

• General Liability

  • Protects the company against damage to third-party property and bodily injury. This includes damage or injury sustained by a client or the general public due to the supplier. GPL Insurance further covers legal costs that arise from defending your company against any of these third-party claims. When applicable, this type of insurance then covers the third party's damages, injuries or settlements.

BANK DETAILS

We highly recommend having a separate account for your business in order to easily manage your income, expenses and taxes. How you proceed is completely up to you, your business structure and your financial institution but please do give us your bank details as soon as possible in order for us to pay your commission.

Below is a link to a useful article about setting up the financials of your business.

http://hostagencyreviews.com/setting-up-travel-agencys-financials/

SET UP CARTOLOGY TRAVEL EMAIL ADDRESS & SIGNATURE

You will soon receive notification of your email credentials as well as an email with a guide to setting up your email signature which should look like the example below:

CARTOLOGY GOOGLE DRIVE

You will also receive access to both the Cartology team shared drive as well as your own personal drive on Google. We’d advise that anything useful to the team (images, property descriptions, activities, feedback etc...) should be saved in the shared drive and then your client info and invoice tracking etc... can be saved in your personal drive.

IMPORTANT: Check out our guide here: G-Drive Introduction

CREATE YOUR CARTOLOGY PROFILE

We’re keen to introduce you on social media and add you to the team page on the website as soon as possible, so please send us a clear picture of yourself, a little description of your background and an answer to the following questions:

• Travel Passions

• Favourite Destinations

• Home When not Travelling

• Superpowers

See some of our examples below….

TRAVEL EDGE REGISTRATION

We will work with our team at Travel Edge to set up your travel advisor registration. Once registered you will receive the following:

• Access to the Travel Edge Intranet

• ADX login details (more details below)

Once you are registered you will also start receiving emails from our colleagues at Travel Edge. These usually include supplier updates, new promos and offers as well as training, webinar and meeting schedules. IMPORTANT: Please ensure that you set your Travel Edge emails to be forwarded to your Cartology email address to ensure you don't miss these updates.

PLEASE NOTE: When registering for meetings and webinars, we are affiliated with Travel Edge's NEW YORK branch!

Travel Edge Key Contacts:

1. Mary Kleen - Advisor Relationship Director (New York Branch)

2. Anna Kulej - Advisor Engagement Specialist (Toronto Head Office)

TRAVEL EDGE INTRANET

Once you receive your login details, you will have access to the Travel Edge Intranet which a resource for all things Travel Edge. It includes details about the latest supplier contracts and agreements, offers and promotions, industry news and updates, agent statements and commission reports as well as support contacts if you run into any issues.

ADX LOG IN AND SET UP

The Global Distribution System (GDS) is a primary reservation tool for travel agents. The GDS is a network/platform that enables travel agencies to access travel data, shop for and compare reservations options and book travel. The GDS allows agents to access scheduling and inventory of hotels, airlines, car rentals in real time. We have access to several GDS platforms or booking systems through Travel Edge including Sabre and Apollo however at Cartology we use Travel Edge's proprietary in-house system ADX.

ADX is an essential tool you will use for every booking. Bookings can be made directly through ADX or alternatively will be added to ADX if you choose to book directly with suppliers. Ensuring that all your bookings are loaded onto ADX will ensure that we can track your bookings and commissions earned and help chase any outstanding commission. ADX also offers great support if you have any questions or run into any issues.

Once you have logged in to ADX, you will need to set up your advisor profile. This will be information your client sees when you send itineries, quotes and booking confirmations from directly from ADX. Under 'My Profile' select 'Communication Profile' and complete all the relevant fields. Please include your personal; contact details, address (city name will be sufficient if you don't want to include your full address) and your photo. Please see the example below:

Next you will need to complete all of the ADX training modules. Please find the details in the next section INTRODUCTORY TRAINING