Software & services

Best business travel management companies for SMEs

Six business travel management companies and platforms that serve UK SMEs, from free self-booking tools to a named travel consultant.

Updated 27 October 2026 · Researched from official and published sources

A travel management company (TMC) books flights, rail and hotels for your team, applies your travel policy, and helps when plans go wrong. For a small business the choice is usually between an online platform you book yourself and a service with a named consultant who books for you.

We compared six providers that serve UK businesses, using their own websites and pricing pages, checked on 27 October 2026. We have not used them hands-on. Most consultant-led TMCs price on request, so ask for a quote that shows booking fees and any monthly charges.

At a glance

#	Pick	Price guide
1	Best self-booking platform with published UK prices Perk (formerly TravelPerk)	Starter: no platform fee, 5% per booking. Travel Premium £99 a month and Travel Pro £299 a month, plus 3% per booking (minimum £2, maximum £30). VAT treatment not stated. Checked 27 Oct 2026
2	Best for free travel booking for smaller companies Navan	Navan's pricing page says travel is free on Navan Business for companies with up to 300 employees, with expense free for the first 5 users then $15 per user a month (US dollar page; confirm UK terms). Checked 27 Oct 2026
3	Best for a named personal travel consultant Travel Counsellors for Business	Check live rates (price on request, checked 27 Oct 2026)
4	Best for SMEs that also run meetings and events Clarity	Check live rates (price on request, checked 27 Oct 2026)
5	Best for organisations already using Click Click Travel	Check live rates (checked 27 Oct 2026)
6	Best for complex or high-touch travel Reed & Mackay	Check live rates (price on request, checked 27 Oct 2026)

1 · Best self-booking platform with published UK prices

Perk (formerly TravelPerk)

Online travel and expense platform, UK pricing in GBP

Perk lets staff book flights, rail and hotels themselves within your policy, and adds expense tools on its Spend and bundled plans. Its UK pricing page publishes every tier, which makes it easy to cost. The company renamed itself from TravelPerk to Perk in late 2025.

Free-to-start Starter plan
Published UK pricing
Travel and expenses in one platform

Watch out: On the Starter plan the 5% booking fee adds up on expensive trips, so compare it with a paid plan once you travel regularly.

Starter: no platform fee, 5% per booking. Travel Premium £99 a month and Travel Pro £299 a month, plus 3% per booking (minimum £2, maximum £30). VAT treatment not stated. Checked 27 Oct 2026Visit official site

2 · Best for free travel booking for smaller companies

Navan

Online travel and expense platform, UK site

Navan combines self-service travel booking with expense management and has a dedicated UK site. It says its free travel tier is funded by commission from travel providers rather than by booking fees charged to you. Larger organisations move to the quoted Enterprise plan with a dedicated account team.

No travel platform fee on Navan Business
Travel and expenses together
Dedicated UK site

Watch out: The published pricing is in US dollars and does not confirm UK terms, so ask Navan for UK pricing in writing.

Navan's pricing page says travel is free on Navan Business for companies with up to 300 employees, with expense free for the first 5 users then $15 per user a month (US dollar page; confirm UK terms). Checked 27 Oct 2026Visit official site

3 · Best for a named personal travel consultant

Travel Counsellors for Business

Consultant-led TMC, UK network

Travel Counsellors for Business positions itself as a travel management company for SMEs. Each client gets a named Travel Counsellor as a single point of contact, from a network of more than 2,000 counsellors, backed by 24/7 support. It has worked with businesses since 1994 and was named TTG's Top Business Travel Agency in 2024.

One named contact who knows your travellers
24/7 support
Online tools for bookings, reporting and traveller location

Watch out: Fees and financial protection details are not on its main business page, so ask for both in writing before you book.

Check live rates (price on request, checked 27 Oct 2026)Visit official site

4 · Best for SMEs that also run meetings and events

Clarity

UK travel and meetings management company

Clarity Travel offers its ClarityGo booking platform, which searches air, rail and hotels in one query, alongside a 24-hour helpline and duty-of-care tools to locate and contact travellers. Its MeetingsPro platform handles venue booking. It lists SMEs among the sectors it serves, as well as public sector, academia and charities.

UK and international rail in one search
24-hour helpline
Meetings and venue booking alongside travel

Watch out: No pricing is published, so you will need a demo and quote to compare it.

Check live rates (price on request, checked 27 Oct 2026)Visit official site

5 · Best for organisations already using Click

Click Travel

UK online booking platform, now powered by Perk

Click Travel is a UK business travel booking platform that now operates as part of Perk, with existing customers still logging in to the ClickTravel platform. It suits UK organisations already using Click that want continuity while gaining access to the wider Perk product.

UK booking platform
Backed by Perk
Continuity for existing Click customers

Watch out: Click is now part of Perk, so ask which platform a new customer would be set up on before you sign.

Check live rates (checked 27 Oct 2026)Visit official site

6 · Best for complex or high-touch travel

Reed & Mackay

Corporate travel and events, London office

Reed & Mackay offers dedicated consultants, 24/7 service, a global booking platform and a mobile app, plus full event management. It works with sectors such as law, finance, insurance and energy, and includes carbon reporting at the point of booking.

Dedicated consultants for complex itineraries
Events and travel under one roof
CO2 data at booking

Watch out: Its site focuses on larger corporate clients and does not mention SMEs, so it may be more than a small business needs.

Check live rates (price on request, checked 27 Oct 2026)Visit official site

Self-booking platform or consultant-led TMC?

Self-booking (Perk, Navan, Click Travel): cheaper to run, quick for simple UK trips, and good if travellers book for themselves.
Consultant-led (Travel Counsellors, Clarity, Reed & Mackay): a person who handles complex itineraries, changes and disruption, usually for a fee per booking or a management fee.
Questions to ask: booking fee per trip, any monthly fee, out-of-hours support, rail coverage, how they protect your money if a supplier fails, and integration with your expense tool.

Keep travel in line with HMRC rules

Business travel and overnight stays are usually allowable, but ordinary commuting is not. If staff claim meals while away, HMRC's UK benchmark rates are £5 for 5 hours, £10 for 10 hours and £25 for 15 hours, plus a £10 supplement after 8pm. Build these into your travel policy so your TMC or platform can enforce them.

Duty of care: what to ask a TMC

Most TMC round-ups list traveller tracking as a feature without saying what you should expect from it. A useful benchmark is ISO 31030:2021, the international guidance on managing travel risk. It is guidance rather than a certifiable standard, applies to organisations of any size, and covers building a travel risk policy, assessing risks and reviewing the programme.

Two practical points sit alongside it. GOV.UK warns that travelling where the FCDO advises against all but essential travel, or all travel, may invalidate your insurance, so ask whether the TMC flags those destinations at booking. And where a TMC processes your travellers' personal data on your behalf, the ICO says there must be a written contract between you.

Does the TMC check bookings against FCDO travel advice and alert you?
How does it locate travellers in an incident, and what data does it collect?
Who does a traveller call at 3am, and is that a person or a recorded line?
Can it produce a list of who is where, on demand?
Is there a written data processing agreement?

Contract and switching checklist

Sales pages rarely mention leaving. Ask these before you sign.

Every fee in writing: per booking, monthly, changes, out-of-hours calls
Minimum term and notice period
How bookings already made are handled if you leave
Whether you can export traveller profiles and booking history
Whether your negotiated hotel or airline rates belong to you or to the TMC

Questions people ask

Do small businesses need a travel management company?

Not always. If your team makes a few simple UK trips a month, a self-booking platform such as Perk or Navan may be enough. A consultant-led TMC earns its fee when trips are frequent, international or prone to change.

How do travel management companies charge?

Models vary: a percentage or fixed fee per booking, a monthly platform fee, or a management fee agreed in a contract. Some platforms, such as Navan, say they are funded by supplier commission instead.

Is TravelPerk now called Perk?

Yes. TravelPerk renamed itself Perk in late 2025, and its UK site and pricing now sit at perk.com. Click Travel's platform is also now powered by Perk.

What should I ask a TMC before signing?

Ask for every fee in writing, what out-of-hours support covers, how bookings are financially protected, and whether reporting and invoices will feed into your accounting or expense software.

What is ISO 31030?

ISO 31030:2021 is international guidance on managing the risks to an organisation and its travellers from business travel. It was published in September 2021, applies to organisations of any size, and is guidance rather than a set of certifiable requirements.

Does using a TMC cover our duty of care?

It helps, but it does not hand over the responsibility. A TMC can track bookings, flag risky destinations and give travellers 24/7 support, while the employer still sets the travel policy and decides who travels where.

HMRC day-rate (per diem) checkerThe tax-free meal and room allowance for UK and overseas trips, converted to pounds.Mileage claim calculator 2026/2755p then 25p a mile, plus passengers. Works out the tax-free amount.

At a glance

Perk (formerly TravelPerk)

Navan

Travel Counsellors for Business

Clarity

Click Travel

Reed & Mackay

Self-booking platform or consultant-led TMC?

Keep travel in line with HMRC rules

Duty of care: what to ask a TMC

Contract and switching checklist

Questions people ask

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