Travel agency software in India (2026): what to check before you pay for anything

Most software sold to travel agencies was built for someone else — a hotel chain, an airline, a US tour company — and then given an "India" price. It shows up in small ways: no IGST, no ₹, WhatsApp as an afterthought, DMC rates that have to be typed in by hand.

Here are nine things to check before you pay for anything, and the straight answer for NAMA on each. Where NAMA does not do something, it says so.

1. Can you quote from your own supplier rates?

This is the whole game. If the software has a "packages" catalogue but your negotiated hotel and transfer rates cannot live in it, you will still be quoting from PDFs.

NAMA: yes. Hotels, transfers and activities go into Masters with your cost and your markup; quotes are built from them and the price updates as you edit.

2. Is the margin visible before you send?

A tool that shows you profit at month end is an accounting tool. You want to know the margin on this quote, now.

NAMA: markup sits on each line, so the sell price already contains your margin, and each quotation carries its own margin % field — you see it while quoting, not in a month-end report.

3. Does it issue GST invoices correctly?

CGST/SGST for intra-state, IGST for inter-state, chosen by place of supply. Credit notes and debit notes that reference the original. Sequential numbering that an auditor accepts.

NAMA: yes to all of the above, multi-currency included. TCS on overseas packages still follows the older rate table in the quote engine — confirm the current rate with your CA before relying on it.

4. What happens to WhatsApp?

Your customers will not stop using WhatsApp. The question is whether the software treats it as a first-class channel or a copy-paste destination.

NAMA: sending quotes and messages over the WhatsApp Business API is supported at Meta's pass-through rate. Automatic capture of incoming WhatsApp messages into leads is in progress; today, web-form, storefront and email enquiries land in the inbox automatically.

5. Is AI drafting for you, or sending for you?

An AI that sends messages to your customers without you seeing them is a liability, not a feature. Ask where the human sits.

NAMA: EKLA drafts replies, quotes and follow-ups; a person sends. It cannot delete records or cancel anything. AI runs on a free allowance and then on your own key, never marked up.

6. Can you get DMC rates without re-typing them?

If you sell destinations you don't operate, someone is re-typing a DMC's rate sheet into your system every season.

NAMA: DMCs join the network free by application and publish rates; approved agents quote from them directly. The network is young — ask who is on it for your destinations before you count on it.

7. Per seat or per booking?

Per-booking fees scale with your success. Per-seat pricing is predictable.

NAMA: Compass is free for 2 users. Voyage is ₹499 per seat per month (₹399 annual). No per-booking fee, no setup fee. Meridian is the white-label plan, from ₹44,990 per month.

8. Can you leave with your data?

If the answer is a PDF export, the answer is no.

NAMA: full export any time, including a GDPR/DPDP-style export; nothing is deleted on downgrade, and the free plan keeps your data live.

9. Can you try it on a real enquiry before anyone calls you?

A demo shows you what the vendor wants you to see. One real enquiry shows you the product.

NAMA: four free tools with no account — reply generator, itinerary generator, margin calculator, visa expiry checker — and a free plan with no card.

The short version

Bring one real enquiry and one real supplier rate sheet to any trial. If the software can turn them into a correct, priced, branded quote in minutes, keep going. If it can't, the rest of the feature list does not matter.