What charter quoting software does — and how to choose it

Most charter brokers start with an inbox, a spreadsheet and a folder of Word templates. It works — until it doesn't. Charter quoting software pulls the whole deal into one place so an enquiry becomes a quote, a contract and a flight brief without re-typing anything. Here's what it actually does, and what to look for.

The job it replaces

Walk through a typical booking without software: an enquiry lands in your inbox; you check availability and build a price in a spreadsheet; you paste it into an email; the client says yes; you open a contract template and re-type the client name, route and price; then a pro-forma invoice, re-typing it again; then a flight brief for the crew, re-typing the trip a fourth time. Every hand-off is a chance to copy a wrong date or an old figure. Charter software's core value is simple: enter the deal once, and every document generates from the same data.

What good charter software covers

Quoting with multiple aircraft options

You should be able to put two or three aircraft on a single quote, each with its own cost, margin and currency, and see the client price and your margin update as you type. A warning before a quote drops below your margin floor is the feature brokers miss most once they've had it.

A pipeline you can see

Every deal on one board — from request received through quote sent, contract, payment and closed — so nothing goes cold in your inbox. Automatic follow-ups on unanswered quotes recover bookings you'd otherwise forget.

A client booking page

Instead of a PDF the client can't act on, a branded page where they review the options, pick one, and the deal moves forward on its own. Crucially, your cost and margin never appear on anything the client sees.

Documents from deal data

Charter agreement with e-signing, pro-forma invoice and flight brief — all generated from the deal, carrying your logo, bank details and terms. No more maintaining four templates by hand.

The reference data already loaded

Airports, aircraft performance for flight-time estimates, and handling contacts should come pre-loaded so you're not building a database before your first quote.

How to choose one

• Does cost and margin stay internal? The client should never see your numbers. Confirm the client-facing pages and PDFs are stripped of cost and margin.
• Is it built for charter, or a generic CRM? Positioning legs, block times, aircraft categories and charter contracts are specific. A generic sales CRM won't know any of it.
• How fast to your first quote? If you have to import airports and aircraft data before you can quote, that's days you won't spend. Pre-loaded reference data matters.
• Where does your data live? For EU brokers, hosting and data residency in the EU — and encryption of sensitive fields like passport numbers — is worth checking before you commit.
• What does it cost to try? A free tier that covers real quoting lets you prove it on live deals before paying for anything.

The bottom line

Charter quoting software earns its place the first time a client selects an option and the contract, invoice and flight brief come out of the same deal without you re-typing a thing. Look for something built specifically for charter, that keeps your margin private, and that you can start using the same morning you sign up.