Best Auto Repair Software

Let’s face it, managing the day-to-day operations of a growing business can be such a tough, time-consuming slog that even the most efficient shop owners may struggle to keep up. 

This is especially true when competitors are taking advantage of a new wave of top automotive repair software to help them streamline processes and provide optimum value to customers. 

Not wanting your business to get left behind, we put together our recommendations of the top five best auto repair software solutions around in 2023 to help you not only free up the time and energy it takes to manage your company so that you have more time to grow it but also help you gain that all-important competitive advantage. 

Top 5 Best Auto Repair Software in 2023

1. Shopmonkey

Best All-Round Auto Repair Shop Software

There’s an abundance of reasons why we pick Shopmonkey as the best all-round auto shop management software on the market today, but for the sake of brevity, let us tell you about just three of them. 

The first is just how easy it is to use. Boasting hundreds of five-star reviews, this cloud-based platform earns its popularity thanks to its sleek, well-designed interface, super-fast performance, and tools that even a digital novice would have no problems getting used to in seconds. 

Speaking of tools, that’s the second reason we revere Shopmonkey so much. 

Automated tools allow you to quickly and effortlessly create quotes, add them to your system, and manage every part of the job, all the way through to invoicing. 

Meanwhile, the use of QuickBooks integration and in-built Point of Sale (POS) tools make it simple for customers to make card payments in your repair shop. 

That’s before we even begin to mention the invaluable inventory and employee management tools. 

Finally, we love that Shopmonkey provides detailed, accurate reporting features that present information in a user-friendly way so that you can make strategic decisions about the growth of your auto repair shop based on real-time data. 

Shopmonkey Pricing

The only area where Shopmonkey doesn’t score top marks with us is its higher-than-average pricing. 

The company’s Basic Monkey plan costs $112.49 per month and includes: 

• CARFAX integration
• Unlimited quotes and invoices
• Automated workflows
• Vehicle history
• Payment processing
• Unlimited texts and emails with customers
• Workflow management app for technicians. 

You can also access additional features with the following plans:

Clever Monkey – $224.99 p/m

Includes everything in the Basic Monkey package plus:

• Inventory management
• Digital Vehicle Inspections
• Quickbooks Integration
• Allow customers to sign documents using e-signatures.

Genius Monkey – $382.49 p/m

Includes everything in the Genius Monkey plan plus: 

• Search for and order parts from local parts suppliers
• Tire ordering
• Diagrams and procedures
• Vehicle Lookup.

• Visit ShopMonkey

2. AutoRepair Cloud

Best Budget Software

If you’re in the early days of getting your auto repair business off the ground and don’t yet have an extensive budget to spend on software, AutoRepair Cloud may be the ideal tool to start with. 

The platform’s low-cost, entry-level plan includes enough tools to help get your business off the ground, including automated labor time estimates, inventory management, and an intuitive work order management system that makes it a breeze to track and manage every job with optimum efficiency. 

For us, the highlight is the Diagnostic – OBD2 diagnostic troubleshooting and testing dashboard, which takes the time and hard work out of identifying and solving problems. 

AutoRepair Cloud Pricing

AutoRepair Cloud is a cloud-based platform designed to run on web browsers, tablets, and mobile apps. 

The $49.99 per month Mini Plan is the most affordable of any plan offered by the five top software platforms reviewed in this guide.

It includes: 

• 1 x user
• Labor time estimates
• Repair and quotes management
• Vehicle service history
• Auto parts (inventory) management
• OBD diagnostics 
• Accounting and basic reports
• Basic technical information
• A basic business website. 

To access more features and add extra users, you’ll need to upgrade to one of the following two plans: 

Standard – $84.99 p/m

Includes everything in the Mini plan plus:

• 4 x users
• Appointments scheduling
• Access to Motor* and Haynes Systems advanced OEM technical information
• Advanced reports and third-party accounting software integrations
• Let customers manage their accounts via their own mobile app.

Full – $119.99 p/m

Includes everything in the Standard plan plus: 

• Automated inventory reordering
• Marketing and advertising tools
• Custom user permissions. 

All plans come with a 14-day free trial.

• Try AutoRepair Cloud

3. AutoLeap

Best Automation Features

Since it launched in 2019, AutoLeap has carved out a reputation as one of the fastest-growing automotive repair shop software brands thanks in no small part to its advanced automation features. 

Designed to make life easier when running a busy repair shop with multiple mechanics, the platform’s most significant selling point is its powerful appointment scheduler which automatically assigns jobs to the most suitable technical based on their availability, skills, and job requirements. 

As a result, you spend less time managing new jobs while also ensuring that customers get the best possible tech for the job, a simple-but-effective way to boost customer satisfaction and increase long-term loyalty.

This advanced automation runs throughout all of Autoleap’s key features, from invoicing and inventory to syncing the in-built Digital Vehicle Inspections (DVI) with appointments and workflows for better all-round management.

If you’re spending too much time managing your business instead of growing it, putting a lot of work on autopilot with Autoleap is a smart move. 

Pricing

Autoleap offers custom pricing with plans tailored to your individual needs.

You can book a demo to receive a bespoke quote.

• Try AutoLeap

4. Shop Boss

Best Customer Service Features

In fairness, all of the software platforms we’re looking at today help you to improve customer service simply by making your whole operation more efficient. 

After all, when service is smooth, fast, and painless, customers appreciate that and are more likely to return. 

Even still, Shop Boss takes one step further by packing in some handy features that are almost guaranteed to help you get ahead of the competition in terms of customer satisfaction. 

At the heart of this is a dedicated customer portal that clients can use to book their own appointments, view estimates, and invoices, and even make online payments. 

The portal also allows you to send messages to those customers, keeping them up-to-date on your progress. 

That’s just one way the platform helps you to communicate with customers. The easy-to-use email and text notifications option gives you the power to send picture updates straight to their inbox and even link to paperless invoices that customers can settle on their devices using Apple Pay and Google Pay. 

Shop Boss Pricing

Although still more expensive than our budget-friendly option above, Shop Boss’s pricing is still pretty good.

Their entry-level Silver Plan costs $109 per month and includes 

• Unlimited estimates
• Unlimited work orders
• Unlimited invoices
• QuickBooks Integration
• Unlimited texts and emails 
• Customer portals 
• Electronic signatures
• Integrated credit card processing
• Get vehicle information directly from Carfax.

The following two plans are also available with more advanced features: 

Gold – $175 p/m

Includes everything in the Silver plan plus: 

• MOTOR labor times
• Parts ordering
• Digital Vehicle Inspections.

Platinum – $285 p/m

Includes everything in Gold plus:

• Business intelligence dashboard with advanced analytics and reporting
• Lowest payment processing fees
• FULL MOTOR Repair Guide 
• Comprehensive Vehicle Inspection Reports.

A free 14-day trial is also available so that you can give Shop Boss a test run. 

• Try Shop Boss

5. Tekmetric

Best for Multi-Location Businesses

If your auto repair business has grown to the point that you now operate from several shops, we’d be doing you a disservice if we didn’t recommend TekMetric as the best business management tool to use. 

All the standard features, such as estimates, invoices, job tracking, and payments, are present and correct, but the beauty of this one is that each of your sites can use these tools independently to serve customers while you still retain the ability to manage all those locations together from one platform. 

Best of all, inventory and other vital data can be synchronized across all locations, providing you with real-time data on stock levels and even notifications for when you need to reorder parts. 

Speaking of real-time data, this is also synced across the board so that you can monitor each shop’s performance as well as the performance of your business as a whole. 

TekMetrik Pricing

TekMetric’s plans are priced around the industry average, starting at $99 per month for the Start plan. 

This includes: 

• Unlimited users
• Unlimited repair orders
• Inventory and vendor management
• Digital Vehicle Inspections
• One-way messaging from your business to customers
• Allow customers to approve new work electronically.

Other plans include: 

Grow – $299 p/m

Includes everything in the Start plan plus:

• Labor guide
• Maintenance schedule
• Integrated parts ordering
• Inventory reports
• Time and job clocks
• Use of videos in Digital Vehicle Inspections.

Scale – $39 p/m

Includes everything in the Grow plan plus: 

• Two-way communication between your business and customers
• Commission tracking and reporting
• Real-time dashboard for each shop
• Technician dashboards. 

• Try TekMetrik

How to Choose the Best Auto Repair Software for Your Business: Final Recommendations

In our estimation, there’s no better auto repair software out there right now than Shopmonkey. Fast, well-designed, and packed with easy-to-use features, it contains everything you could possibly need to manage your business within just a few quick clicks. 

However, we know all too well that what works for us may not be right for everyone else. So, if you’re still on the fence about which software to invest in, it pays to think about the current state of your business and the challenges you face. 

For example, if you’re a new startup with tight budget restrictions, you’ll want to look at the cost-friendly AutoRepair Cloud, whereas if you’re already building an expanding enterprise, TekMetrik‘s excellent multi-shop features may make it the better option. 

If you’re a fan of automated features such as scheduling reminders, generation of purchase orders, and invoicing, you’re going to love AutoLeap, though if customer service is your biggest challenge right now, we say take a look at Shop Boss. 

Looking to get your new business off the ground but haven’t started yet? Check out our comprehensive guide to starting an auto repair business.