Originally published on Traveltrade.com

In this interview with Travel Trade senior editor George Dooley, Carl Roberts, president of Atlanta-based CTSSYSTEMS, offers his views on the agency industry’s future and how he sees CTSSYSTEMS’ evolution as a Web-based commission tracking service provider.)

Travel Trade: What effect does zero commission have on your ability to market CTSSYSTEMS to agents?

Roberts: Zero commissions will place a premium on agents’ ability to apply new technology that improves operations and profitability. We offer state-of-the-art, affordable Internet commission tracking and reconciliation services.

Our goal is to provide travel agents with the software and services to cut costs, enhance efficiency and improve profitability.

Travel agents are remarkably tough and resilient. They have shown since the first commission cap in 1995 that they are able to adapt to new realities while keeping their eye on delivering quality client service and sustaining client loyalty. Any company, including CTSSYSTEMS, that adds value to the agency or agent will prosper.

TT: Are you tied to CRS/GDS systems?

Roberts: No. The CTS commission tracking and reconciliation system is a single, easy-to-use online/Internet-based solution. Everything can be done on our Web site, www.ctssystems.com.

Our In-House Solution is just that — an in-house solution that allows the travel agency to take care of all aspects of reconciliation — data entry, dunning and complete online reporting — for all hotel and car commissions.

Agents have to be paid for the sales they make. Slow- or non-paying hotels or car rental firms have been a perennial problem for agents, and we believe that CTSSYSTEMS will help agents resolve this concern.

With CTSSYSTEMS, agents can sell with the confidence that they will be paid. It’s an easy-to-use technology that delivers value to agents and agency managers.

It reduces the reconciliation, report and tracking process to a few clicks of a computer mouse. The average travel agent can enter 200 or more payment items in an hour with our seamless system.

TT: Are you targeting small independent agents and their host agencies, as well as small- and medium-sized agencies?

Roberts: Though we do have an existing service that has been used by the nation’s largest travel management companies for over 15 years, CTSSYSTEMS.COM was developed exclusively with the smaller to midsize travel agency in mind — travel agencies with an annual sales volume generally under $20 million.

We eliminate time-consuming manual posting and manual commission due dunning, while providing comprehensive reporting, accessibility from any location and TRAMS compatibility.

We save agent’s time and money, freeing agents for their primary sales and client service functions.

TT: How can this improve agent’s revenue and profitability?

Roberts: Most travel agents do not track their commissions, thus leaving monies uncollected. This hurts their cash flow and profitability. Even among those who do use existing tracking systems — modules in back office accounting systems — the result is a cumbersome process that includes manually posting each commission payment.

Commission inquiries entail stuffing envelopes, stamping and verifying proper addresses. Altogether, it is not an efficient process, and one that is time-consuming and wasteful.

By using our Web-based commission tracking, agents realize major savings. They can focus on their areas of professional expertise and client service — not bill collecting.

TT: Some commission payment systems have come under fire for being expensive and not agency friendly. How will you avoid this?

Roberts: First by being up-front on costs — the system is $76 per month with an initial $76 signup fee to cover start up costs. We do not make our money on a percent of commissions collected. There are no hidden costs, long-term contracts or special deals that have gotten other firms in trouble. This works out to about $2.26 a day.

Second, like TRAMS — we are a member of its Platinum Partner’s Program — we see our future as being in a long-term partnership with travel agents. We want to be agent-friendly and offer value-laden services.

We want to be known as a fair-minded company that values its relations with agents and agencies. We are in this for the long haul.

CTSSYSTEMS gives the travel agency the ability to discontinue the use of electronic payment services and save the sizable fees they charge, without an increase in workload. It also allows the agency to track commissions in-house.

We believe that we can substantially contribute to improving the travel agent’s ability to achieve gains in cash flow and help agents manage resources — all critically important goals for agents and the agency distribution system.