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Best all around Managment software?
I am in the process of opening my own shop and am having a difficult time deciding on the software. I am only familiar with reynolds & reynolds, which is great, but not reall feasible for a small shop. I have been looking at Mitchell and Alldata’s programs but it seems to be about $500+ a month for all of the features.
Aside from R.O.writer, are there any other full featured programs out there that aren’t 10 g’s? I definitely need the ability to integrate parts lookup and ordering into the program.
Any suggestions?
Thanks, B.J.
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13 Replies
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We just recently signed up with AutoBiz by Total Auto Business Solutions. We chose it partly because of their integration capabilities (Napa ProLink, ATD (tires), Alldata, etc. We are still waiting for them to convert the data from our previous system, however. http://tabsautobiz.com/
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Not yet… I will though, Thanks.
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Integration/ data transfer is actually a huge issue with me. I have recently looked into purchasing a shop that is currently running shopkey. I may end up using the system that’s in place, but it seems pretty expensive for a four bay shop. Is it worth the money?
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I use a program from Janco international called Stocktrac Enterprise
it integrates for me with Napa, Carquest, AutoZone, Advance. I can access Realtime Labor Guide, Mitchell, Alldata as well as a host of many other services. They are a smaller company with above average customer service, we have been with them for almost 20 years. Please let me know if you more info.
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BJ,
We have three shops and are using Protractor. Great software, does everything that we need it to including time clock, payroll etc. Great value for the monthly investment.
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We have used Master Repair by Summit Ordering Systems , for 18 years ,
they are great to work with and will even do custom work for you.
The system just works and works , The only time I ever call them for
technical help is just to better understand a section of what the system
can do that we haven’t tried previously, You can even talk to the owner
of the company if you have a problem his name is John Didione . The
system is not expensive , updates are about $2-300 every few years is
all and best of all your information is kept all in house and there is
no monthly fee.
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I am also looking at Tabs. Any thing that stands out as good bad or ugly
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We have been using TABS since last spring. We have been very pleased with it. Tech support has always been available when we had a question and has been very responsive about making changes to handle some of our individual preferences and idiosyncrasies (which all shops seem to have). The remote access feature allows them to log on over the internet and actually look at and explain or make changes on our computers immediately if necessary. Maybe most companies can do that, but if tech support isn’t available or doesn’t know what they’re doing, then it’s of no benefit! TABS has always been there and been knowledgable any time we needed them. And most of the time we’ve needed tech support, it’s been to just answer questions, not because of glitches with the software.
Another thing, which has been helpful for us, is that they have ongoing unlimited online training (with a real person) included in their package. This allowed us to launch the basics and use it right away, then gradually train and work different staff into the other features (such as customer followup postcards) over time. You could dive into it all at once if you prefer, or if you’re like us, gradually start using the extra features. That way we didn’t have to take too much time away from the day to day operations of the shop. But the choice is yours.
The integration from NAPA online prolink ordering and ATD online ordering into quotes and work orders is great! (TABS also integrates Alldata, Mitchell, etc., etc., etc.)
We export the daily data seamlessly from TABS into Quickbooks (general ledger account daily totals, not invoice detail) and it has worked quite well.
Most of the reports can either be printed, or export the data in Excel format for further use, sorting or manipulation as desired.
I can’t think of much “ugly”. If you have your inventory items, quantity on hand and cost already set up in Excel or similar format, they can import them for you; otherwise, it will take some time to manually enter beginning data.
It’s important that the service writer use the right inventory/labor items on the work orders/invoices since those are the source for all your sales category reports and exporting to Quickbooks accounts (should you decide to integrate TABS with your accounting software).
TABS handles accounts receivable and billing. You can choose to track vendor accounts through TABS or not. (We continue to use Quickbooks for that function, as well as payroll and financial reports.)
That’s all I can think of off the top of my head. Hope it helps.
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One more thing. We have 4 computer work stations networked to TABS and they have all worked flawlessly. We have never had user conflicts or file access problems. And after all this time, we finally decided to transfer our scheduling from paper to TABS. Our techs can now find out what their next jobs are and access the work order from the work stations in their bays.
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Check out Motive Power 3 Shop Management Software. It is for independent
shops and you only pay for it once. You can find more about it at
http://www.cohenconsulting1.com.
Steve
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Protractor, Its like having an additional service advisor on the counter for a fraction of the cost!
Ivan
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For future folks that come across this thread, we’ve written a buying guide for shop management software that may help.
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I’m currently doing a research in the Automotive Aftermarket industry. Having come across many workshops, the most popular softwares that people have been using are RAMP from Shanrohi Technologies.
Salient Features:
- Digital Job Card Creation
- Inventory Management
- Technician Assignment and Management Customer Relationship Management
- Real time interaction between customer and workshop
- Enhanced Business Intelligence
Added to this, the software can be easily handled through the mobile application, right from your pocket, anytime anywhere. So the workshop owner/manager does not necessarily need to be around his computer all the time.
The most outstanding aspect of this software is the business intelligence. They produce reports regarding every person and company your business is associated with. I’ve been told that workshops have been able to improve their revenue by 50% by making their business smart.
Hope this helps you too!
Website: https://bit.ly/39CJWxJ
App link: https://bit.ly/2ZPW0ZhSP
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