Shop Boss - Avis

From The integrated inspection feature, to the ease of creating unlimited canned jobs, to the way the software communicates with some of my marketing partners, where do I start? Where do I end? It’s good!!

Only con I can think of is that we didn’t switch sooner!!

The Digital Inspections, and Texting/Emailing has really stepped up our game.

We were 17 year Mitchel1 users, So coming from them to ShopBoss some of the things you can and cant do seem odd. Id like to be able to change the width of some of the items in the W.I.P.. Id like to be able to change the status( Inspection,Approval,Parts,Etc..) into my own custom labels and then color code them on the W.I.P.. I dont like the operation of a recomended Repair, I prefer the Revision(From Mitchel), basically an open quote stuck to the customers vehicle profile that I can see with out having to reopen. There seems to be a lot of Re opening things. Sometimes, Rarely, But Sometimes, The cloud base can be an Issue! It would be nice to have some sort of Server Based "imprint" or "Copy" for when there are Internet issues, either on my end or Shop Boss's end.

that it saves limited history. that we can order parts for specific vehicles. that we can email/text customers.

features dont always work as we need. cant combine husband/wife/children/siblings. dont show all avaiable parts for vendors we use. scheduling doesnt work for what we need. very confusing to navigate. no rep came to educate us on use. cost is not worth the few features we use. estimates/quotes are very difficult to use/transfer. cant change credit card for partial cash payments. i could write a list of issues but these are the main ones.

The software is very windows based, so easy to work with, it's "click and play". The team at shop boss is interactive with their clients and very responsive to suggestions to make the product better. They have a dedicated support team available by chat during business hours and respond to email queries within one day typically.

The inventory system needs work - but guess what? As stated above, they are hugely responsive and they are working on fixing it! It would be nice if their reports explained a little better what data they were pulling (sometimes it doesn't make sense what information is presented) but again, if you contact support they will explain everything to you.

The software is very intuitive and easy to use. New employees can walk in and start writing work orders almost immediately. The work flow is simple and makes logical sense walking the customer through the intake process. They have built in labor books, parts ordering, and texting that are easy to use and make the speed of service lightning fast. New features are constantly being released and improving the overall quality of the product.

There isnt much bad to say about their product. They have experienced some growing pains as they expanded their customer base that effected service slightly. They have since corrected these issues. There are difficulties when working with a completely web based system but the benefits greatly exceed the cons.

Cloud Based and the ability to have custom reports made

The fact that they are falling away from being an individual and teaming up with others

I was in this business before computers were. I wasn't thrilled (to put it mildly) to integrate computers into my workplace. It was however a necessity. I have hated most softwares that I had to use. We changed over from a software that was cumbersome and had many less features. I hate change! It was really easy however with the support crew that is always a click away. I am a computer dummy, but the girls in the support section are a Godsend to me. They never get impatient with me, or get frustrated with my ignorance regarding computers. I absolutely refuse to change from Shop Boss primarily because of the stellar support group. I just cannot say enough about that team!

I would like to be able to send the same text to two or more phones on the repair order at the same time. can't use the "workflow" window because I cannot see enough at once.

I like how easy it is to learn and access. The ability to look up labor times is a huge help for this program also.

As far as scheduling goes its just too cluttered. We still use google for scheduling but if that changes in the future that would be great!

My favorite feature is to build individual estimates in there own box, and be able to ok or send to recommendations!

Overall it’s all good !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Short learning curve and everything we were looking for in a POS System

Could use a better Parts and Labor guide.

It just works! It's simple, easy, and intuitive. It's cloud based, amazing customer support, very affordable, and quick to learn

Maybe the look of the software is a little dated? But it's still better than something like Mitchell or protractor.

Shopboss is a cloud based management program that easy to use. I can access it any where.

Shopboss does not allow for individual customer reports

Did not require training to get in. When I hired an experienced service writer he could believe how easy and powerful it was. When after just just a couple steps an RO was created and estimate done he asked what else. I stated, that's it. he could not believe it was that easy.

It could be a bit more tablet friendly.

I found Shop Boss really easy to use. It's really easy to set up for your shop. The customer service is extremely helpful and friendly. The price is right.

The parts ordering integration is really the only thing I don't like about Shop Boss. In my option, it really doesn't save any time, as I still have to manually enter the PO number after I order the parts. Also, and this may be an issue with PartsTech, but if I go and add parts to an existing cart, it wants to add ALL the parts, not just the one(s) I added. Also, it I create multiple orders, and order from of them, all the orders get erased. If I decline a job, and then the customer comes back, I have to re-look up everything as the order isn't saved. In my opinion, once the parts integration issues get fixed, this will be a phenomenal product.

We like the ability to create work orders when vehicles and equipment come in for repair. It eliminates the conversations over phone/text message/in person between techs and admin, as all of the information is in ShopBoss. It is also a bonus that the program allows employees to clock in and out.

It is a real downfall that it does not link to QuickBooks in Canada.

Keeping track of estimates and being able to separate repairs by job for customers. Love that we can send updates on repairs via email and text.

Need a manual that's easily available to learn more about software. Videos are helpful but not enough videos available .

I like the invoicing parameters, the employee time sheets, the sales tax and accounting features. I also like the overview of daily, monthly or yearly spans of parts and labor pricing. I like the feature on emailing the estimate or the invoice to a client. I like that I can upload pictures to an invoice.

Other than glitches now and again, I am extremely happy with this program. I am wondering if there is feature to download past history of invoices/customers incase something happens with the program or I go out of business in this location?

Texting customers, photo upload, internet based, easy interface.

No real mobile app, no parts return tracking, no offline option, can’t change all labels, missing AR tracking, can’t split one labor line between 2 techs, can’t upload videos.

Being web-based adds a great level of versatility. The support team is pretty good at handling individual requests and can readily customise features for one's needs.

Be careful when making changes to an RO because there isn't a "Cancel" option

Ease of building and charging an RO. Adding a vehicle to a customer is simple. Building canned jobs goes quick as well.

Doing quotes need improvement. Not being able to navigate multiple historic ROs without having to search for the vehicle again.

Very quick to get up and running. I was able to log in and instantly start entering customers, making invoices. The internet based log in is a huge plus as I can take paper work home and log in to finish up RO's.

I run a custom high performance BMW shop and had some unique needs and I was able to enter support requests and was amazed when within the hour I was called by the technical support team to review my needs and they where able to implement changes to the software immediately. When you can communicate directly with the software developer on call, that is a huge plus.

One feature I really enjoy is the ability to send my customers updates to their RO via email or text and even upload pictures with the invoice so customers can see exactly what is happening with their vehicle. For a shop that deals exclusively with custom workmanship, my customers really enjoy this feature.

Overall I have been very impressed by this software and for the small shop owner it works excellent.

This is basically a 'Front End' based software and does not really focus on financial management. To fully implement the financial side of things you will need to use Quick Books. At the same time this keeps it simple. Quick Books is also the most recognized small business financial management tool available, so the fact the software integrates with Quick Books is a plus.

Their have been some minor developmental issues, but as said above the tech support is awesome and they will generally resolve any issues on the fly within a short amount of time, sometimes within the hour.

Not really any cons to this software at all.

In the educational environment we needed software that would allow the first year students pick up and use with little instruction. Students are able to navagate the software easilly.

It is a little time consuming setting it up intially, but having the customization is a great advantage.

User friendly, ability to access online (nice for us to check in while on vacation), quality, constantly adding new features to keep up with the technological changes, excellent price point.
We also appreciate the customer service, often times the owner, Chris is the one to directly contact us to answer and questions we have or customize the software to fit our needs.
Shop Boss has excellent reports that give us an instant snap shot of where our business is financially at any given time.

None, if ever there is a concern it is addressed immediately!

Online function makes it easy. And the texting feature. The VIN scanner, though I never use it.

The quote feature. Needs to be just like the normal estimate feature, but you need to be able to save it, reference it later, open on the date the vehicle comes back in, etc...

Ease of use and customer service have been exceptional. The team has always done a good job of listening to feedback and trying to implement requests for us.

It would be handy to be able to see the actual communication sent from Shopboss to customers. Not just a log of when sent, but what the email communication actually said (similar to texting).

It would also be useful to be able to flag a customer to show if they will be "waiting" with car or dropping off.