Garages and mechanics, with gumption.
Garage management software that fits the way your workshop runs
A garage runs on interruptions: the phone, the parts van, the customer in reception asking if it's ready yet. We build garages and mechanics a booking, job card and reminder system that fits how the workshop actually runs, plus the marketing that keeps the bays full.
Sound familiar?
The phone rings when you're under a car.
Somebody wants an MOT on Thursday, somebody wants to know if their clutch is done, and a rep wants to talk about oil. None of them can be answered with a torque wrench in your hand, so calls go to voicemail and the driver tries the next garage on the list. Plenty of people get round to booking in the evening, and by then you've locked up.
Extra work waits on a phone call.
The car is on the ramp, the pads are down to the metal and the discs are scored. You need the customer's say-so before you touch anything, and they're in a meeting. Three voicemails later the ramp is still tied up, the next car is waiting in the yard, and nobody wrote down exactly what was agreed when they finally rang back.
Job cards and MOT dates live on paper.
There's a greasy job card on the bench, a wall planner by the kettle and a box of old invoices under the counter. When a regular's MOT comes round, nobody reminds them, so they book wherever pops up first on their phone. The technician can't read what the front desk wrote, and the parts ordered for the job are somewhere out the back.
Ticked off and ready when you said.
Garage management software for the whole workshop.
Every system is built around how your garage already works. Here are some of the things we'd build for garages and mechanics. Booking systems. How our bespoke systems work.
Online booking for MOTs and servicing.
Customers enter their reg, pick an MOT, a service or a repair, and choose from the slots you've released. MOTs follow your tester's hours, services book the right amount of ramp time, and anything vague, like a knocking noise, comes in as a request you call back about. A confirmation text goes out straight away.
Job cards on a tablet by the ramp.
Each job has a card showing the car, the mileage, what the customer asked for and what the front desk promised. Technicians tick off tasks, add notes and photos of worn parts, and log their time against the job. The card follows the car from booking to invoice, so nobody has to decipher anyone's handwriting.
Estimates approved by text.
When the technician finds more work, the customer gets a text with a link: each item, its price and a photo if it helps. They tick what they want done now, and the rest is saved for next time. You see the answer on screen with the time it arrived, and approved items drop straight onto the job card.
Parts orders and courtesy cars.
Parts for a job go on an order list with the supplier, the part number and the car they're for, so when the motor factor's van turns up, each bag finds its job. Courtesy cars get their own diary showing who has which car, the mileage and fuel when it left, and the agreement the customer signed.
MOT and service reminders.
When a car passes its MOT with you, the due date on the certificate is saved against the reg. A few weeks before it comes round, the owner gets a text with a link to book, and a second nudge if they don't. It's MOT reminder software built into the same system, with services handled the same way.
Where AI helps garages and mechanics.
Every garage phone rings hardest when the person nearest it is under a car. AI answers, writes up and drafts, and the technician still has the final say on what the car needs. How we use AI.
- MOT calls with a torque wrench in handCallers wanting an MOT or a service get an answer and a real slot from your own diary, with the registration and mileage noted. Anything about a car that won't start comes through to you.
- Extra work, priced from the rampSay what you've found, pads to the metal and discs scored, and a draft estimate is built from your own parts and labour prices, ready to approve and text to the customer.
- Advisories in plain EnglishThe technician's notes become a short write-up the customer can follow, so a rear tyre near the limit reads as something to sort soon. Nothing goes out until the desk has checked it.
Garage websites, Google listings and MOT searches.
Drivers go looking for a garage when a warning light comes on or a date creeps up on them. They type "MOT near me", "garage open Saturday", "clutch replacement Shipley" or "mobile mechanic near me", and plenty never scroll past the map. So your Google Business Profile needs every service listed, honest hours and a steady run of reviews, and your garage website should show prices, opening times and a booking button without any hunting.
Ask how to get more customers for your garage and the answer is mostly trust. People worry about being overcharged by someone they've never met, so photos of a tidy workshop, the faces who'll work on the car and clear prices for MOTs and servicing do a lot of quiet work. We can shoot those photos ourselves. Then your reminders keep regulars coming back, and the marketing can concentrate on drivers who haven't found you yet.
An illustration, not a real client
Example: a three-bay garage with its own MOT tester.
Nobody real here: this garage is made up to show how the pieces fit together. Say it's a three-bay independent with one MOT tester, two technicians and a partner running the front desk. We'd put MOT slots online for mornings, keep afternoons for repairs, and give each bay a tablet showing its job cards. Extra work found on the ramp goes out as a text estimate. The two courtesy cars get their own diary, and each Monday a printed sheet lists next month's MOTs that haven't booked yet.
Questions garages and mechanics ask.
What does bespoke garage management software cost?
There's no price list, because a solo mechanic and a four-bay garage with an MOT bay need very different things. We start with a proper conversation about how a car moves through your workshop, then agree a fixed price with you before any building starts. Plenty of garages begin with online booking and MOT reminders, then add job cards, estimates or courtesy cars once the basics have bedded in.
Can technicians use it on a phone or tablet?
Yes. Good garage job card software has to work where the work happens, so ours is built for phones and tablets first. A technician can open the job, photograph a split CV boot and log their time without walking to the office. Buttons are big and screens are simple, because nobody wants to tap something tiny with oily fingers, and a tablet in a sturdy case copes with the workshop.
Can customers book an MOT online?
Yes. They enter their reg, choose an MOT and pick from the slots you've made available, so the diary never takes more tests than your tester can do. You can hold slots back for regulars, or offer an MOT and service together at a combined price. It works as an MOT booking system on your own website and Google listing, and the confirmation text goes out straight away.
Can it remind drivers whose cars haven't had an MOT with us?
Yes, as long as you have the car's details. An MOT is due every year once a car is three years old, so for a newer car you've serviced, the system can work out the first one from the registration date on its record. For cars tested with you, the due date is saved when they pass. Either way, the owner gets a text with a link to book.
Will it work for a mobile mechanic?
Yes. Mobile mechanic software needs addresses, travel time and a way to get paid at the kerb, so every booking carries the customer's address and you set the towns you'll work in each day. The day's jobs appear in a sensible order, job cards work on your phone, and the invoice can be texted before you've packed the tools away.
We already have a garage management system. Should we switch?
Not unless it's getting in the way. Search for garage management software in the UK and you'll find Garage Hive, TechMan, MOT Manager and plenty more, and they suit lots of workshops. If yours is doing its job, keep it, and we'll put the effort into your website, Google listing and photos instead. If you're working round it, with courtesy cars on paper or estimates chased by phone, we can build the missing pieces or something new.
Also with gumption.
Trades with a lot in common with garages and mechanics. Or see everyone we help.
Let's sort your garage out.
Tell us how things run now, paper, spreadsheets and all. We'll tell you honestly what we'd build for a garage like you, and what we wouldn't bother with.