What Auto Repair Management Software are you Using?

Hello everyone,

Our shop currently uses Identifix. I dentifix allows your to type down the symptoms the car is having and automatically shows you what other mechanics did to fix the problem. Kinda of sounds like cheating but if you want to turn vehicles around quick, its great for business. If you have a check engine light on, you can always enter the codes and Identifix will tell you what part was replaced to fix that issue. Now alot of Auto Repair in Tracy like to guess which part might need replacement but Identifix actually allows you to start somewhere.

Best Regards,

Erik Gonzalez

Owner of EEE Auto Service & Towing in Tracy

Check out Maxxtraxx by Scott Systems. Free trial, full featured, excellent customer service. We have used it for six years now and are still pleased with them.

We use TireShop by Freedomsoft. Small company out of north carolina.  Awesome program, easy to use.  Great for service, quick lube, AND Tires!  Just integrated

with autotext.me digital inspections and texting.  Great price too!  About $300 per month.  They have about 300 users in U.S.

Seems high to me but we don't do tires. Maybe that makes the software higher priced?

Mitchell and RO writer are the market leaders. Integrate with many digital inspections, marketing companies, etc.  Probably can't go wrong with either one.

We use TireShop by freedomSoft, integrated with autotext.me for digital inspections. We handle 1,000 car per month flawlessly.  We have a quicklube, service, and tires all in one.

starting protractor for the new general repair shop we are opening. Being a total "C" on the DISC profile at times I research the crap out of stuff including SMS. I have yet to really put the software in action however I have gone through hours of training and self study and wow what a great program. The drawbacks are there is a steep learning curve and the interface isn't that "pretty" but then again most every SMS is pretty ugly. Also it really requires you to use the software exactly how it was intended since there is integrated accounting within the system as well. It has A LOT of features which I was missing out on mitchell. Linear matrix, robust and custom reports, integrated accounting, etc etc.

Has anybody tried Shop Boss?

In my comparison TABS &  Winworks were the best value for my shop. My shop is small- 5 lifts, 4 empty bays, and a small yard (about 30-35 cars). TABS was easier to use but couldn't fix my duplicate ordering problem. Winworks is always pleasant and quick to take care of us.  And $50 / month for updates &  tech support is as reasonable as it gets. Many  people thrive on new technology, but I'd rather be sitting in my bass boat than stuck in front of a PC learning new programs & updates. This business dominated my time for years. Never again.  Missed too many ball games & school stuff with my kids. Now I do everything my way and on my schedule. Now it's time to  take my "grand kids" to the lake.......

On 8/2/2017 at 8:47 AM, mspecperformance said:

starting protractor for the new general repair shop we are opening. Being a total "C" on the DISC profile at times I research the crap out of stuff including SMS. I have yet to really put the software in action however I have gone through hours of training and self study and wow what a great program. The drawbacks are there is a steep learning curve and the interface isn't that "pretty" but then again most every SMS is pretty ugly. Also it really requires you to use the software exactly how it was intended since there is integrated accounting within the system as well. It has A LOT of features which I was missing out on mitchell. Linear matrix, robust and custom reports, integrated accounting, etc etc.

 

Did you manage to get any relief on their pricing?  They are a bit pricey at $400/month and another $250/month for digital inspections?    I like their base product, think I want to use it, but I am wondering about value?  The one thing that Protractor does is update their software.   They make updates every 2-4 weeks, adding new features and fixing problems, which I find to be a positive.  Even though they are cloud based, Canadian law mandates that us users maintain ownership of our data.  They allow you to download the database weekly and back it up in their cloud much more often.  (With cloud systems, one always needs to ask about data ownership, because this is not cut and dried in the US).   Also, Protractor is month-to-month, with no contract.   They believe in themselves.

I was ready to go with RO Writer, but I've started seeing a lot of internet noise regarding a total lack of response from their tech support on critical issues.  When you couple this type of problem with their insistence on a 3 year contract, it seems very dangerous.    Many using RO Writer are using their older software.  I'm guessing the growing pains are with their new SQL system because the complaints seem to have ratcheted up recently.   When I ask them about this issue, they dodge this question hard.

I recieved an email today announcing AMS company stopped selling RO writer and switched to Protractor.  May want to check out why.  I did demo a while back seems pretty nice.

I recieved an email today announcing AMS company stopped selling RO writer and switched to Protractor.  May want to check out why.  I did demo a while back seems pretty nice.

Does Anyone have experience with shopboss?

I have used alldata for many years, and loved it. Tried Mitchell hated it was not easy to use. Started using Identifix and its a dream it helps with repair problems does estimates looks up parts with your suppliers price checks. I think the price is a little steep at $180.00 a month I think it could be less expensive. They even order us lunch and had it delivered to our shop. I don't think I could function without Identifix.

Is anyone out there using Service Shop by Genesis 4? I have been with the company a long time, currently I'm considering upgrading to the new subscription based system but hesitate a bit. I would like to know if anyone has gone from the old buy software version and pay for support compared to the new subscription based system. I also have had years of issue with them about updates they said would be coming but never showed up. If someone has it and can let me know what they think I will appreciate it.

We’ve used ROWriter since we started and it is has been a great product with great support....until recently....  With Windows 10 came a variety of issues, especially when Windows 10 updates.  Lately when we have a issue and it needs to go to a second tier of support, it’s taken up to a week to get a call back.  Support from the head office in Florida or one of the US Based remote techs is much better than the support I’ve had from their Mexico support team.   

We are trying to find time to evaluate Protractor.  What we’ve seen is impressive but there are a series of modules you HAVE to finish before going live and simply finding the time to do this is difficult for a small shop owner with a young family.  (8 o’clock at night is not my best time for absorbing new information).  The learning curve is steep.

ROWriter has a great product.  We wish they would go cloud based and up their support expertise.  We have a lot of money invested in the product and we hate to walk away from it but the frustration level keeps rising.

I'm using Protractor.   They do frequent updates and have been quick to fix things that break which are serious in nature.   You can't call tech support, but they do call me back if the issue is too complex to reply/resolve via email.   I especially like their reporting system.  It's pretty thorough and you can customize them as well.    Most of the challenges that I have with it are in the accounting section and the inability to correct all the errors that I routinely make!   (there are work arounds, but I'd prefer actual corrections)   I got started by watching all of their training videos and practicing in their demo system.    Anyway, let me know if I can help you answer any questions.

For anyone looking for web based, this topic is a good read,. there is a comparison the last post

On 8/4/2017 at 2:43 PM, prestigeeuropean said:

Has anybody tried Shop Boss?

I spent months researching and test driving 44 different SMS solutions before opening up January 2nd this year. I ultimately settled on Shop Boss and couldn't be happier. The price, support, and features are far above and beyond everything else I tried. My ideal features I needed/wanted included email/text, cloud based, unlimited applications/users, and a modern interface. If I have any gripes at all, I don't care for their parts integration (partstech/epicor/nexpart, although the worldpac integration does work well), and I'm not a fan of Motor for repair information, and that's all they offer. I opted for the silver plan (without repair information) and just pay for that separately. Silver plan is $159/month.