CS-03 · Revenue Accounting & BSP Settlement

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Process Flow Diagram (BPMN)

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L4 Process Steps

Step	Step Name	Role / Swim Lane	System	Input	Output	KPI	Dec?	Exc?
Phase 1 1.1	Ingest daily BSP/ARC ticket sales data feed	Revenue Accounting Analyst	Mercator REVERA Revenue Accounting	IATA BSP Interactive Sales Report (ISR) file; ARC TicketExpress settlement file	Raw ticket coupon dataset loaded to revenue accounting staging area	File ingestion success rate ≥99.5%; processing time <2 hours after BSP file drop	N	Y
1.2	Match ticket coupons against PSS booking records	Revenue Accounting Analyst	Amadeus Altéa PSS	Raw coupon dataset from step 1.1; Altéa booking and coupon status records	Matched/unmatched coupon reconciliation report	Automated coupon match rate ≥97%; unmatched coupons backlog <3% of daily volume	Y	Y
1.3	Apply ATPCO fare basis code validation	Revenue Accounting Analyst	ATPCO Passenger Revenue Accounting	Matched coupons with fare basis codes from step 1.2	Validated fare constructions; flagged error report for non-compliant coupons	Fare validation error rate <1% of total coupons processed; validation completed within 4 hours of ingestion	N	Y
1.4	Resolve coupon validation exceptions	Senior Revenue Accounting Analyst	Mercator REVERA Revenue Accounting	Flagged exceptions from steps 1.2 and 1.3; fare construction rules; Altéa reissue records	Resolved exception log; adjusted coupon records cleared for proration	Exception resolution within 5 business days; exception backlog <500 coupons at any time	Y	Y
Phase 2 2.1	Calculate interline revenue proration	Revenue Accounting Analyst	Mercator REVERA Revenue Accounting	Validated interline coupons; IATA Resolution 850e proration rules; bilateral proration agreements	Prorated revenue splits per operating carrier segment; interline billing receivables	Proration processing completed within T+3 calendar days; interline dispute rate <2% of prorated billings	N	Y
2.2	Apply ASC 606 revenue recognition rules	Revenue Accounting Manager	SAP S/4HANA Finance (FI/CO)	Prorated revenue data from step 2.1; flight departure confirmation records from Amadeus Altéa PSS	Revenue recognition schedule; deferred revenue journal entries for untravelled portions	Deferred revenue posting accuracy ≥99.9% of ticket value; period-end deferred revenue balance reconciled within T+5 business days	Y	N
2.3	Process EMD ancillary and ancillary revenue	Revenue Accounting Analyst	Amadeus Altéa PSS (EMD module)	Electronic Miscellaneous Document (EMD-A and EMD-S) records; ancillary sales data from direct channel	Ancillary revenue postings by product category; EMD redemption log	EMD-to-revenue match rate ≥98%; ancillary revenue posted within T+2 days of service delivery date	N	Y
Phase 3 3.1	Reconcile BSP billing memo vs internal records	BSP Settlement Analyst	IATA BSP Link	IATA BSP billing memo for the settlement period; internal validated coupon dataset from Phase 1	Reconciliation variance report; list of net billing differences by agency and fare code	Net billing variance <0.1% of total settlement amount; reconciliation completed within T+1 business day of BSP memo receipt	Y	Y
3.2	Raise Agency Debit Memos for billing discrepancies	BSP Settlement Analyst	IATA BSP Link	Reconciliation variances from step 3.1 exceeding tolerance; agency IATA codes and billing references	Agency Debit Memo (ADM) or Agency Credit Memo (ACM) records filed in IATA BSP Link	ADM filed within IATA 15-day filing deadline; ADM acceptance rate by agencies ≥85% within 30 days	N	Y
3.3	Approve and submit BSP settlement payment	Treasury Manager	SAP S/4HANA Finance (AP module)	Reconciled net BSP settlement amount; IATA bank account details; dual-approval workflow	Approved payment batch instruction; bank transfer confirmation to IATA clearing account	Payment submitted on BSP settlement value date with zero late-payment penalties; settlement accuracy 100% of approved net amount	Y	N
3.4	Confirm BSP settlement receipt and archive	BSP Settlement Analyst	IATA BSP Link	Bank MT940 payment confirmation; IATA settlement acknowledgement	Closed billing period record; settlement archive with audit trail	Settlement confirmation archived within 24 hours of IATA acknowledgement; audit trail completeness 100%	N	N
Phase 4 4.1	Post revenue journal entries to SAP General Ledger	Revenue Accounting Analyst	SAP S/4HANA Finance (FI/CO)	Recognised revenue data; proration outputs; ancillary postings; deferred revenue adjustments	Posted journal entries; GL revenue accounts updated with passenger and ancillary revenue	Automated posting rate ≥95% of journal lines; manual journals <5%; posting completed within T+2 business days of period end	N	Y
4.2	Perform revenue GL account reconciliation	Revenue Accounting Manager	BlackLine Account Reconciliation	Posted SAP GL balances; subledger data from Mercator REVERA Revenue Accounting	Signed-off account reconciliation with variance commentary; open items list	All revenue GL accounts reconciled within T+5 business days of month end; unexplained open items <$50,000 aggregate	Y	Y
4.3	Generate revenue reports and close accounting period	Finance Controller	SAP Analytics Cloud	Reconciled SAP GL balances; management reporting templates; prior-period comparatives	Revenue flash report delivered to CFO; accounting period locked in SAP S/4HANA	Revenue flash report delivered to CFO within T+3 business days of period end; period close completed by T+7 business days	N	N

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Process Attributes

Identification

Process IDCS-03

L1 DomainCorporate Support Functions

L2 ProcessFinance & Accounting

L3 NameRevenue Accounting & BSP Settlement

L4 Steps14 across 4 phases

Decision Gates6 (all with iteration loops)

Exceptions10 documented

Swim Lanes (Roles)

Revenue Accounting Analyst

Senior Revenue Accounting Analyst

Revenue Accounting Manager

BSP Settlement Analyst

Treasury Manager

Finance Controller

Systems & Tools

Mercator REVERA Revenue AccountingAmadeus Altéa PSSATPCO Passenger Revenue AccountingSAP S/4HANA Finance (FI/CO)Amadeus Altéa PSS (EMD module)IATA BSP LinkSAP S/4HANA Finance (AP module)BlackLine Account ReconciliationSAP Analytics Cloud

Key Performance Indicators

Ingest daily BSP/ARC ticket sales data feedFile ingestion success rate ≥99.5%; processing time <2 hours after BSP file drop

Match ticket coupons against PSS booking recordsAutomated coupon match rate ≥97%; unmatched coupons backlog <3% of daily volume

Apply ATPCO fare basis code validationFare validation error rate <1% of total coupons processed; validation completed within 4 hours of ingestion

Resolve coupon validation exceptionsException resolution within 5 business days; exception backlog <500 coupons at any time

Calculate interline revenue prorationProration processing completed within T+3 calendar days; interline dispute rate <2% of prorated billings

Apply ASC 606 revenue recognition rulesDeferred revenue posting accuracy ≥99.9% of ticket value; period-end deferred revenue balance reconciled within T+5 business days

Process EMD ancillary and ancillary revenueEMD-to-revenue match rate ≥98%; ancillary revenue posted within T+2 days of service delivery date

Reconcile BSP billing memo vs internal recordsNet billing variance <0.1% of total settlement amount; reconciliation completed within T+1 business day of BSP memo receipt

Airline-Specific Risks & Pain Points

BSP file format differences across IATA billing regions (e.g. BSP-Americas vs BSP-Europe) cause parsing errors for non-standard fare constructions; legacy ASCII flat-file format has no structured error reporting

PNR purge cycle (typically 90 days post-departure) removes booking records before interline billing arrives, causing match failures for delayed interline invoices; no automated re-match queue

ATPCO fare filing publication lag (up to 48 hours after filing) means recently-sold fares may not yet appear in validation tables, generating false-positive errors on new fare products launched during peak sale windows

Manual exception handling volume spikes after IROP events when re-issued tickets carry non-standard fare constructions and waiver codes not recognised by the revenue accounting system; resolution requires coordination with airport and contact centre teams

IATA Resolution 850e proration formula conflicts with bilaterally-negotiated prorate agreements for specific carrier pairs; manual overrides are required and not fully auditable within REVERA, creating reconciliation risk

Ancillary revenue bundling (e.g. seat upgrade + checked bag + base fare sold as one fare family) requires performance obligation disaggregation under ASC 606 Topic 606; the revenue accounting subledger does not support multi-element arrangement splitting natively, requiring manual journal overrides

Inputs / Outputs

Primary InputIATA BSP Interactive Sales Report (ISR) file; ARC TicketExpress settlement file

Primary OutputRevenue flash report delivered to CFO; accounting period locked in SAP S/4HANA

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