Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for travel agencies.
A checklist built from how travel agencies work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Enquiry desk
- Trip file
- Traveller profiles
- Corporate client billing
- Supplier dues and refunds
- Quotation and itinerary sender
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For owners
- For travel consultants
- For operations executives
- For accounts assistants
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Enquiries by source, and what came of each
- Files quoted, confirmed and lost, month by month
- Balances due before the departure date
- Supplier dues by hotel, cab operator and consolidator
- Refunds applied for and still not credited
- Corporate receivables with ageing
- Profit per file once the last supplier bill is in
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Accounting export
- SMS
- Card, wallet and bank payment gateways
- Website and portal enquiry forms
- Google Calendar
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Can we send a day-wise itinerary on WhatsApp?
- Will it link to supplier and airline portals?
- Can sub-agents be given a login?
- How are cancellations and refunds followed?
- Can it bill corporate clients monthly?
- Does the invoice show withholding tax?
- Can accounts be handed to our accounting package?
- Can two branches share one system?
- Can old files and balances be moved in?
- What does it cost?
- How soon could consultants move their files over?
- What should the agency have lined up?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- The client’s trip is spread across emails
- Refunds disappear
- Corporate billing is slow and disputed
- Passport and visa papers are everywhere
Prefer to talk it through? See the travel agencies page.