We run three repair shops and the job management system we use doesn't work across locations. Can you build something that does?

Yes. Multi-location support, with a consolidated view of jobs across all shops, location-specific bay scheduling, and shared vehicle history by VIN, is something we build. You get visibility across the whole operation, not one location at a time.

How long does it take to build custom auto repair shop software, and what does it cost?

Most shops launch a validated v1 in 12 to 14 weeks, then keep iterating. Cost depends on scope. A focused repair order and customer communication system typically runs $25,000 to $50,000. A full platform with VIN service history, digital inspections, parts ordering, and bay scheduling runs $65,000 to $120,000. Fixed cost, agreed before work starts.

Can you build a digital vehicle inspection tool with photo capture that sends reports to customers for approval?

Yes. Digital vehicle inspection with photo and video capture against each inspection point, automated report generation, and customer approval via a link (without requiring a phone call) is a core feature. Customer approval or rejection is tracked with a timestamp in the system.

Can the software integrate with parts suppliers so we can order from multiple suppliers in one place?

Yes. Parts ordering consolidated across multiple suppliers in one interface, rather than separate logins or phone calls, is a standard part of what we build. Parts requests are raised directly from the job card so the link between the part and the repair is never lost.

We want customers to stop calling to ask if their car is ready. Can the system send automatic updates?

Yes. Automated SMS and email updates at each key stage, vehicle received, inspection complete, estimate ready, parts ordered, repair complete, ready for collection, are built in. Customers approve estimates via a link, not a phone call. This is one of the primary problems the software is designed to solve.

Auto Repair Shop Software

Custom auto repair shop software for independent shops, repair chains, and tyre service centres who need repair orders, parts tracking, and customer communication built around how their workshop actually operates.

Digital job cards and repair orders linked to vehicle history by VIN
Parts ordering consolidated across suppliers with real-time inventory tracking
Automated customer SMS and email updates at each stage of the repair
Bay scheduling, technician assignment, and workshop capacity management

3+ years RetentionWeek 1 First milestoneFixed price Pricing

The problem

Sound familiar?

Service advisors writing job cards on paper and chasing technicians across the shop floor for status updates?
Customers calling every hour because there's no automated way to tell them their car is ready?

Short answer

RaftLabs builds custom auto repair shop software for independent shops, multi-location chains, and tyre centres. It covers digital repair orders linked to VIN service history, digital vehicle inspections with SMS approval, parts ordering across suppliers, automated customer updates, and bay scheduling. Most shops launch a validated v1 in 12 to 14 weeks, then iterate. Cost typically runs $25,000 to $120,000, fixed and agreed up front.

Auto repair shop software built around the workshop floor, not a generic service desk

Auto repair shop software has to follow the vehicle through the bay, not sit on a generic service desk. A vehicle moves through intake, inspection, estimate approval, parts ordering, repair, quality check, and customer handover. Information needs to follow it accurately at every step. When that information lives on paper or across disconnected tools, service advisors spend their day chasing updates rather than managing customers.

Independent shops are winning the work that makes this matter. Dealership service lanes fell to 30% of US service visits in 2023, down from 35% in 2021, as owners moved to general repair shops (Cox Automotive, 2023 Service Industry Study). The shops taking that volume need software built for how a workshop actually runs.

The parts problem compounds it. Most shops order from three to six suppliers. Without a consolidated view of what's ordered, what has arrived, and what's on backorder, technicians sit idle waiting on parts with no sight of when the job can progress.

01 Diagnosis

Problems we solve in auto repair

01
Problem
Your service advisors spend two hours a day chasing technicians for job status instead of managing customers
Solution
When the service desk has no live view of what stage each vehicle is at, advisors walk the workshop floor or call across the bay before they can answer a customer. That time compounds across every open job on the floor. A job card system with real-time status updates, pushed by the technician from a mobile device at each stage transition, gives the service desk a live dashboard without the chase.
02
Problem
Customers call five times a day asking for updates you don't have time to give
Solution
Inbound status calls are the highest-volume distraction in most repair shops. Each call takes two to three minutes, interrupts a service advisor mid-task, and produces no revenue. For a ten-bay shop with 20 active jobs, that volume is unmanageable. Automated SMS and email updates at each job stage, sent when the technician moves the status rather than when a staff member remembers, cut the majority of inbound calls without changing the service advisor's workload.
03
Problem
Estimate approvals require a phone call that goes to voicemail 40 percent of the time, delaying the job by half a day
Solution
When a service advisor calls a customer to discuss inspection findings and the customer doesn't pick up, the job sits. The bay is blocked. The technician moves to another job and loses momentum on the first. Digital inspections change that math. AutoVitals, analysing repair orders across its shop network, found the average repair order value for inspections with 20 or more photos runs 30.4% higher than inspections with five or fewer (AutoVitals). A digital inspection report with an approval link sent by SMS or email lets the customer review findings, approve or decline individual items, and respond in their own time. That converts a blocking phone call into a non-blocking event, and it gives the customer the evidence to say yes to more of the work.
04
Problem
Your multi-location operation has no consolidated view: each shop is an island with its own job records and parts stock
Solution
When each location manages its own job cards, parts inventory, and customer records independently, a customer who visits a second shop is treated as a new customer with no history. Parts overstocked at one location and out of stock at another sit in the wrong place. A multi-location system with shared VIN-based vehicle history, cross-location parts visibility, and a consolidated operations dashboard gives the owner a real picture of the business without calling each shop for an update.

02 What we build

Auto repair shop software we build

Job card and repair order management
Digital job cards created at vehicle intake and linked to the customer record and vehicle VIN. Technician assignment with job status tracking through each stage: received, in inspection, estimate sent, approved, parts ordered, in repair, quality check, ready for collection. Service advisor dashboard shows all open jobs with current status and time in current stage. Mobile-friendly technician view so the workshop floor doesn't require a desktop. Job notes and technician comments captured against each repair order. Billing happens directly from the completed job card via your invoicing workflow.
Vehicle inspection apps
Digital vehicle inspection with photo and video capture against each inspection point. Condition ratings for tyres, brakes, lights, fluids, and visual checks, with photos attached to each flagged item. The inspection report generates automatically and goes to the customer for estimate approval. Customer approval or rejection is tracked with a timestamped record. Additional items found during inspection are presented as a clear list of recommended work with costs, not a phone conversation the customer can't review later. Inspection history stores against the vehicle VIN for reference on future visits.
Parts ordering and inventory
Parts ordering consolidated across your suppliers in one interface, not separate logins or phone calls. Parts requests raise from the job card so the link between part and repair is never lost. Stock level management for fast-moving parts with reorder point alerts. Parts arrival tracking links back to the job card so the service advisor knows when all parts for a job are in. Supplier comparison for pricing and availability where multiple suppliers carry the same part. Backorder tracking with expected arrival dates updated against the job record.
Customer communication
Automated SMS and email updates sent at each key stage: vehicle received, inspection complete, estimate ready for approval, parts ordered, repair complete, ready for collection. Estimate approval happens via a link in the message. The customer reviews the inspection report and approves or declines without calling the shop. Two-way SMS for customers who want to respond. Customer communication history stores against the job record. Configurable notification triggers let you control which events send automatic messages. No customer needs to call the shop to find out what's happening with their vehicle.
Bay scheduling and workshop management
Bay-level scheduling with a visual workshop calendar showing each bay, assigned technician, and job duration. Capacity management lets the service desk know before booking a job whether a bay and technician are available on the requested date. Job time estimates by repair type block the right amount of time per bay. Technician skill and certification tracking covers jobs that require a specialist. Workshop throughput reporting: jobs completed per day, average job duration, bay utilisation, and technician productivity. End-of-day status report shows all open jobs with expected completion dates.
Service history and fleet accounts
Full service history stored against each vehicle by VIN: every job card, inspection report, parts fitted, and technician note from every visit. Service due reminders trigger automatically based on mileage intervals or time since last service. Fleet account management for businesses sending multiple vehicles: single account with billing consolidated across all vehicles, fleet reporting, and service schedule tracking per vehicle. Fleet managers get a customer portal to view job status and service history across their fleet.

03 How we work

How we build auto repair software

01
Discovery
We map your job lifecycle from vehicle intake to invoice: every status, every handoff between technician and service advisor, and every supplier your parts flow through. For multi-location operators, we document how job data and vehicle history need to be shared across sites.
02
Architecture
We design the data model around the vehicle as the primary entity: VIN-linked job history, parts ordered per job, technician assignments per bay, and customer communication events. Supplier integration approaches confirm based on available APIs or ordering portal connections.
03
Build
Working software at each checkpoint, in two-week cycles. Repair order creation, status tracking, and the technician mobile view come first as your validated v1. Customer notifications, the inspection app, parts ordering, and bay scheduling follow.
04
Launch and support
We run parallel with your existing job card system for the first week so no job is lost in transition. Post-launch support covers supplier integration changes, new location onboarding, and workflow adjustments as your operation grows.

Trusted by

04 Track record

How we deliver

Shipping production software: Since 2015

Rated on Clutch: 4.9/5

Cost, agreed up front: Fixed

To a validated v1, then iterate: 12-14 wks

05 Client voices

What our clients say

Three-year average engagement. Founders and operators describing the work in their own words. No marketing varnish.

Charles E.

Entrepreneur at Aggie Technologies

USA

All of the milestones were delivered on schedule and on budget. We highly recommend RaftLabs!

06 Why us

Why choose us?

01
We've seen your problem before
Across dozens of industries, we recognise your situation fast, then frame the fix around your margin and your operations, not a generic template.
02
We own the number, not the ticket
We measure success the way you do: hours saved, revenue earned, margin recovered. We stay through launch and growth, so the result is ours to own.
03
Serious businesses trust us
Vodafone, T-Mobile, Cisco, Energia, Aldi, Nike. Building since 2015. Serious businesses keep coming back because we stay accountable long after launch.

07 Questions

Common questions

: Off-the-shelf workshop management platforms work well for straightforward repair shop operations. Custom software makes sense when your workflow has specific steps those platforms don't support. For example: a multi-brand repair group that needs consolidated reporting across locations with different service types; a tyre centre with a high-volume inspection and fitment workflow that doesn't map to a general repair order; or a business building a software product for other repair operators. The wrong answer is building custom when a platform configuration would handle the requirement. Platform subscriptions carry lower ongoing cost than custom software maintenance.
: Yes. Automated customer notifications triggered by job status changes are one of the highest-value features we build for repair shops. The system monitors each job card and sends the configured message (SMS, email, or both) when the status changes to a trigger point. Estimate approval links sent with the inspection report let the customer approve or decline via the message without calling the shop. The service advisor sees the approval in the system in real time. No manual message sending, no tracking who has been called, no customers falling through the gap because a staff member forgot.
: Yes. Integrating with parts supplier APIs or ordering portals to present consolidated parts availability and pricing in one interface is a common requirement. The technical complexity depends on what each supplier exposes. Some have well-documented APIs; others require screen scraping or EDI integration. We scope supplier integrations during discovery, because the available integration method for each supplier determines how much time that part of the project takes.
: A focused repair order and customer communication system typically runs $25,000 to $50,000. A full platform with digital repair orders, a vehicle inspection app, parts ordering integration, customer notifications, bay scheduling, VIN-based service history, and fleet account management typically runs $65,000 to $120,000. Cost depends on the number of supplier integrations, the complexity of your multi-location setup, and how much of an existing system needs replacing rather than extending. Most shops launch a validated v1 first, then keep iterating. We scope every project before pricing. Fixed cost, agreed before work starts.
: The VIN is the primary identifier for the vehicle record. Every job card, inspection report, parts fitted, and technician note from every visit across every location in your group stores against that VIN. When a customer brings their vehicle to a different location, the service advisor pulls up the full history immediately. Fleet customers with multiple vehicles get a consolidated account view with per-vehicle history accessible at any site. This shared record is what prevents a customer being treated as a new visitor at a second location.

Related services

Talk to us about your auto repair software project.

Tell us the workflow problem, job cards, parts ordering, customer updates, or fleet management, and we'll tell you what we'd build and how.

Scope and cost agreed before work starts. No surprises. No obligation.
Working prototype within 3 weeks of kickoff.
Pay by milestone. You see progress before each invoice.
60-day post-launch warranty. Bug fixes, UI tweaks, and deployment support. No retainer.
All conversations are NDA-protected.

Useful next steps