by CompTech International
Guide
Best Travel Agency Accounting Software in Nepal: A Buyer's Guide
No one program is best for every travel agency. Check these 14 points in a demo, with a test for each.
Bring your own work to the demo
The seller's sample data always looks good. Bring these from last month:
- One air ticket bill, with the fare, fuel surcharge and taxes.
- One group booking, with the passenger names in Excel.
- One refund where the airline kept a penalty.
- One BSP billing statement, if your agency is in BSP.
Enter them yourself, or watch the seller do it. Note the time and every step done by hand. Ask which plan each feature is on, and get the answer in writing.
The checklist
1. Ticket lines that keep the fare apart from the taxes
The fare and the taxes are usually not treated the same for VAT. In one amount, someone must split them again for the VAT register.
Test: Bill a Kathmandu to Doha ticket: fare NPR 38,000, fuel surcharge and taxes NPR 9,200. Check that the VAT sales register shows only the taxable part as taxable.
2. Group billing
Test: Paste eight names from Excel. Type the first ticket number and see if the next ones follow. Make one invoice for the group, then one for each passenger, and time it.
3. Refunds against the original invoice
Test: Refund a ticket for less than its fare. Check that the credit note names the original invoice. Then record the refund from the airline.
4. A ledger for each airline
Test: Ask for one month's sales and purchases for one airline. Find one ticket by its number and see its sale, cost and margin.
5. A check of the BSP statement
The check finds missing tickets, wrong amounts and airline memos before you pay BSP. See our guide to BSP reconciliation.
Test: Bring a statement file from BSPlink. Ask the seller to read it in and show which lines match your purchases.
6. GDS ticket import
Test: Ask which GDS the software reads, by name. Bring a ticket file from your own GDS and watch it come in.
7. Tours and cost centres
A cost centre for each tour keeps its sales and costs together, so you see its profit.
Test: Make a tour, post one sale and two costs to it, and read its profit. Close the tour and try to post another cost.
8. Many currencies, with Nepal Rastra Bank rates
Each document needs its own currency and the exchange rate of its date.
Test: Make a US dollar invoice dated last month. Check which rate it used and where that rate came from.
9. Bikram Sambat dates
Test: Enter 15 Kartik 2083 as a date. Print a bill and a report and check the dates. Run a profit and loss report for the whole fiscal year.
10. IRD rules
IRD has rules for how bills are printed, numbered, cancelled and reported. Ask your auditor if you must also send bills to IRD's CBMS.
Test: Print a bill twice and read what the second print says. Cancel a bill and check that it stays in the register, marked cancelled. Show the VAT registers to your auditor.
11. Users and price
Count your users and the bills you make in a month.
Test: Ask for the price in writing, with VAT. Ask what happens at a limit: does your work stop? Ask whether changing plan keeps your books.
12. Support
Test: During your trial, call support at a busy hour. Note how long a useful answer takes.
13. Data export
Test: Export the trial balance and one customer ledger, and open them. Ask how you would take all your data out.
14. Moving from your old system
Customers, suppliers, opening balances and unpaid bills must come across. Moving at the start of a fiscal year or a month is simpler.
Test: Ask which records can be moved, who does the work and how long it takes. Ask to test the move with one month first.
How CAS360 meets each point
| Point | In CAS360 |
|---|---|
| 1. Fare and taxes apart | Air fare taxable; fuel surcharge (FSC) and taxes non-taxable, in separate columns. |
| 2. Group billing | Paste names from Excel into the passengers panel. Ticket numbers follow on, with the airline's check digit checked as you type. One invoice for the group, or one for each passenger. We recorded 8 passengers billed in 14.7 seconds. |
| 3. Refunds | A credit note against the original invoice, for less than the fare when a penalty is kept. A refund from the airline is a purchase return. |
| 4. Airline ledgers | A product can post each airline to its own sales and purchase ledger. Ticket Search shows a ticket's sale, cost and margin. |
| 5. BSP check | Reads the BSPlink billing statement (Excel or CSV) and checks each line against your ticket purchases. Any plan; switched on for each company. |
| 6. GDS import | Galileo (MIR) and Sabre (IUR) files become purchases you approve. Amadeus is not supported. Enterprise only; switched on for each company. |
| 7. Tours | A cost centre for each tour. The Cost Center Statement shows its revenue, costs and profit. Tour package lines: switched on for each company. Tour quote and tour budget screens: Enterprise only. |
| 8. Currencies | Any currency on a document. Nepal Rastra Bank rates are brought in every morning and kept by date. |
| 9. Bikram Sambat | Bikram Sambat dates, with AD. |
| 10. IRD | VAT registers in IRD's format, and Anusuchi 5 and 6. The first print says "Tax Invoice", later prints "Copy of Original". A cancelled bill is marked and kept. Sending bills to CBMS: Enterprise only. |
| 11. Users and price | Free: NPR 0, 1 user. Personal: NPR 1,000 a month, 1 user. Business: NPR 25,000 the first year (renewal: 15,000 a year), 3 users. Enterprise: price agreed with us. VAT is added. Changing plan keeps your books. |
| 12. Support | Call or WhatsApp +977 9860274090, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. |
| 13. Data export | Any report can be saved to Excel or PDF. Ask us how to take all your data out. |
| 14. Moving | We plan the move with you, set up your company with its ledgers and opening balances, and train your staff. |
Read more about CAS360 for travel agencies, the Free plan and all plans and prices.
Questions
Questions about choosing travel agency software
Which point on the checklist matters most?
Test the work you do every day first: for most agencies, tickets and refunds. A BSP agency needs the BSP check, and a tour operator needs cost centres.
Is this guide neutral?
No: CompTech International makes CAS360 and publishes this guide, so we do not rank products. The checklist and the tests work for any software.
Do I need GDS import?
If you issue many GDS tickets each day, import saves typing; for a few, typing may be enough. In CAS360, GDS import is on the Enterprise plan and reads Galileo and Sabre files, not Amadeus.
Can I try CAS360 before I pay?
Yes: the Free plan is NPR 0 with no end date, for 1 user and 1,000 documents (receipts and payments are not counted). Bills printed on the Free plan carry our watermark until you move to a paid plan.