What garage software covers
Garage software runs the workshop day: bookings, job cards, parts, MOT and service reminders, invoices and payments. A bespoke one is built around how your garage already works and runs in a browser. We build them for UK independent garages and workshops whose current system is tied to one PC.
What a garage runs on now
- A whiteboard of today's jobs, photographed at 5pm in case someone wipes it.
- Desktop garage software on the PC under the reception desk, backed up when someone remembers.
- MOT reminders sent from a list exported once a month, if at all.
- Card payments taken on the terminal, then ticked off against invoices by hand.
- An accounts export each month, fixed up in Excel before it goes to the bookkeeper.
Moving off desktop garage software
Many desktop garage packages have no API. Getting off one is a migration, so it is planned like one.
Look at the data first
We export customers, vehicles, job history and invoices from the old system and check what comes out. This is cheap to do and settles most of the risk.
Build the daily screens
Bookings, the job board and job cards go first, tested on the workshop tablet and the front desk PC.
Connect payments and accounts
The card terminal and your accounts package are wired in, so a paid job marks itself paid.
Run a dry migration
The full history is loaded into the new system and counted against the old one, twice.
Switch over
The old PC stays on, read-only, until you're happy nothing is missing.
What goes into one
| Part | What it does |
|---|---|
| Plate lookup | Fills in make, model and MOT due date from the registration, using the DVLA and DVSA vehicle services |
| Job cards | Labour, parts and notes per job, with photos from the workshop tablet |
| Job board | Every bay and every job for the day, updated as technicians clock on and off |
| Reminders | MOT and service reminders by text or email, sent on a schedule |
| Payments | Card terminal payments matched to the invoice automatically |
| Accounts | Invoices and payments posted to Xero or Sage |
Related services
Replace desktop software
Move a system tied to one PC into a browser, with the history intact.
Read moreQuestions from garages
Can you get our data out of our current garage software?
Usually, yes. Most desktop systems can export to CSV or have a database underneath that can be read. We check this first, before any build, because it decides how the migration runs.
Can it look up a vehicle from the number plate?
Yes. The DVLA and DVSA publish services that return make, model, tax and MOT details for a registration. The system calls them when a booking is made.
Does it work with our card terminal?
It depends on the terminal. Square and Stripe terminals can report payments back to a system. Older bank terminals usually can't, so the payment is marked by hand.
Should a small garage buy a package instead?
Often, yes. A modern cloud garage package suits most independent workshops. Bespoke makes sense when you run several sites, sell other services alongside repairs, or need the system to work a way no package does.
Tell us what runs the workshop
Book a free initial alignment call. Tell us which system you use and what the whiteboard is for, and we'll tell you whether a package would do.