Choosing workshop software: a checklist for repair shops

The wrong choice shows up after three months: retyping remains, technicians never log in, customers still call for status. Use this checklist before you sign, regardless of which product you are evaluating.

1. Is the job chain truly end-to-end?

Good garage software connects:

1. Customer and vehicle (plate, history)
2. Inspection / intake on the floor
3. Work plan and customer approval
4. Work order, scheduling, and capacity
5. Hours, parts, consumables
6. Invoice and customer visibility

If steps 3 and 6 live in different systems, you are not buying “one system”, you are buying two islands with an Excel bridge.

2. Three roles, one source of truth

Ask explicitly about:

• Office, customers, quotes, planning, invoices
• Technician, work order, inspection, hours (timer or manual), media on the line
• Customer, approval, slot after approval, status, invoice download

Without a technician or customer portal, the front desk stays the bottleneck. Motivox ships three web portals on one dataset, no separate native app.

3. Local practice (Netherlands)

Check VAT invoices, office vs technician roles, MFA, and whether APK / plate flows fit your process. “International” software with half-baked local invoicing costs bookkeeping time later.

4. Data and multi-tenant

Each shop should see only its own data. A second location must not accidentally share a customer list. Ask how multi-tenant isolation works, and what a second shop means (own registration vs shared tenant).

5. Adoption on the floor

Software that only works on office PCs fails on the bay. Browser + tablet should be enough. Test whether a technician can finish an inspection or hour line in five minutes.

6. Pricing without surprises

• What is in the base price vs add-ons?
• Seats: office and technician counted?
• Trial without a mandatory demo call?
• Cancel monthly?

Motivox publishes fixed amounts: ZZP €35 / Garage €80 excl. VAT, seats €4, 30-day trial. Details: pricing and what garage software costs.

7. Support and updates

Business-day email support (NL/EN) and product updates without a separate upgrade fee keep you from being stuck on an old version in two years.

Decision rule

Pick the product that eliminates retyping between inspection, approval, floor, and invoice, not the one with the longest feature list. If Motivox covers that chain for your team size, start a trial or review features.

Further reading: Workshop software.