It allows agencies which are not connected to one of the major GDS (Global Distribution System) networks to issue and print railway tickets from a standard personal computer, and submit revenue and accounting data securely to Rail Settlement Plan Ltd for allocation to the appropriate train operating companies.

In contrast to ELGAR, which is fully integrated with all four major GDS systems and provides a complete ticket-issuing, reservation, printing and accounting system and interface, AJENTS is a standalone issuing mechanism, powered by a single software application, that requires only a PC with a dot-matrix printer and special thin card ticket stock.

Having been introduced in the mid-1990s, the PC system requirements for AJENTS are relatively low:[1] The software works by placing an image of the ticket on the computer's monitor, so that each text field can be filled in via the keyboard before it is printed.

[3] There is no direct link into the Central Reservation System (CRS) for seat reservation bookings, or to the Rail Journey Information Service (RJIS), which was developed for the rail industry in 1998 as the centralised, standard data "hub" for all information relating to journey planning and booking: timetables, fare tables, valid routes, card authorisation and similar.

There is a system in place for sales and revenue data to be sent automatically to Rail Settlement Plan Ltd, via a secure e-mail address.