Software Helps Agencies Process Service Fees

<B> Software Helps Agencies Process Service Fees</B>

By Mary Ann McNulty

<I>New York</I> - Independent software firm Automated Travel Systems this month will debut a way for agencies to automatically process service fees through their financial institutions by using simple scripts in a global distribution system.

Using ATS' EasyFEE service, an agency can add its fee to the passenger name record and forward the record to ATS for processing. ATS will forward the credit card charges to each agencies' financial institution for processing. Agencies also can reflect the service fee on each itinerary. ATS will provide reports to each of its customers detailing the charges it processes and any rejections by a financial institution, said Paul Hoffman, vice president of the New York-based developer. The reports will be available in a password protected area on ATS' Internet Website to allow subscribers to electronically retrieve and merge them into other accounting records at any time.

Since agencies have been forced to charge fees to make up for lost airline commissions, they've been striving to find an easy, automated way to track those fees. Sabre last week introduced a new feature that further automates the process of charging fees using a "miscellaneous charge order," or MCO, through the GDS and Airlines Reporting Corp. Other GDSs are expected to offer the same option soon. ARC also allows agencies to merge in service charge data through its interactive agent reporting software, and to actually list the fee on the customer's itinerary. However, ARC charges agencies a 3.5 percent fee and pays every 10 days, while Hoffman said his system allows agencies to receive payment within 48 hours. MCOs also must be printed on ticket stock coupons, further driving up costs.

Some agencies have opted to process the charges manually or even invoice customers for the fees, but both options are extremely time consuming, Hoffman said. With most transaction fees ranging from $10 to $25, Hoffman added, manually processing often costs more than the fees. ATS charges a minimum monthly fee of $250 for 500 transactions, with additional transactions ranging from 25 cents to 50 cents each depending on volume.

Heeding customer demands for a simpler, less costly way to add fees, ATS last year began developing software that could be used with the agencies' global distribution systems. The solution has required ATS for the first time to be a subscriber to each of the four global distribution systems: Apollo/Galileo, Sabre, System One/Amadeus and Worldspan. ATS acts as a branch of an agency to receive all records and process the service fees.

Although the fee schedule and service is targeted to help agencies handling $3 million to $5 million in annual air sales, Hoffman said, even some larger agencies have reviewed the new automated option. They might have a system in place to process fees, but they're looking for an easier way to process, he added.