Industries · Automotive workshops
The car is ready.The customeralready knows.
We build workshop systems that connect check-in, job cards, estimates, customer approvals, parts, bays and invoicing — so every car moves through the workshop on one record, and nobody has to call around to find out where it is.
- JC-4471SUV · 80,000 km service + brake noiseApproval sentAdvisor S. · Tech R. · Bay 2Approval
- JC-4468Sedan · AC not coolingCompressor due 14:00Advisor M. · Tech K. · Bay 4Parts
- JC-4466Pickup · Fleet · Harbor TradingOn trackPO captured · Tech A. · Bay 1In repair
- Digital job cards
- Bay & technician planning
- Estimates & approvals
- Parts ordering
- Vehicle history
- Fleet accounts
- Invoicing
01Where workshops lose hours
The work gets done. The paperwork around it doesn't keep up.
Most workshops have skilled technicians and full bays. What slows them down is everything between the key drop and the handover.
01Job cards are paper, and they leave the building with the car
What happens
The service advisor writes the complaint on a paper card, the technician adds notes in the bay, and extra findings are passed on by shouting across the floor or a WhatsApp photo.
What it costs
Work done but never written down, findings that never reach the customer, and no reliable history the next time the same car comes in.
With one system
A digital job card per visit: complaint, inspection checklist, photos, labour lines and parts — updated from the bay on a tablet and visible to the advisor in real time.
02Cars sit on the lift waiting for the customer to say yes
What happens
Additional work is found mid-job, the advisor calls the customer, the call goes unanswered, and the car waits in the bay with the wheels off.
What it costs
A bay blocked for hours, a technician switching jobs half-finished, and approvals agreed verbally that become disputes at the counter.
With one system
Estimates sent from the job card with photos and line items. The customer approves or declines each line on their phone, and the approval is timestamped on the record.
03Parts are ordered by phone and tracked in someone's head
What happens
The parts person calls three suppliers, writes the prices on a notepad and waits for deliveries without a clear link to which job each part belongs to.
What it costs
Cars held up for parts nobody chased, parts arriving for jobs that were cancelled, and margins that are hard to see per job.
With one system
Parts requests raised from the job card, quotes and orders recorded per supplier, and each delivery received against the job it was ordered for.
04Bay and technician capacity is a guess
What happens
Bookings are taken by phone and written on a whiteboard. Nobody can say at 10am how many hours of work are still open across the bays.
What it costs
Walk-ins turned away on quiet days, promises made that the floor can't keep on busy ones, and technicians idle while others are overloaded.
With one system
A bay and technician plan built from booked jobs and estimated labour hours, so advisors promise times the floor can actually meet.
05Fleet and insurance jobs need their own paperwork
What happens
Fleet customers want purchase orders and monthly statements; insurance jobs need survey reports, approvals and photos. All of it is handled in email and spreadsheets.
What it costs
Invoices rejected for missing PO numbers, insurance jobs stuck waiting for an approval no one followed up, and slow collections.
With one system
Accounts with their own rules — PO capture, approval limits, statement billing — and insurance jobs tracked through each step with documents attached.
06Owners only find out how the month went after it ends
What happens
Revenue, labour sold versus hours worked, comebacks and parts margin are pieced together from the accounting system and the job folder.
What it costs
No early sight of a technician struggling, a service line losing money or a customer segment that has stopped coming back.
With one system
A live view of jobs, labour efficiency, parts margin, comebacks and revenue by advisor, technician and job type.
02Workshop platform preview
What your workshop system could look like.
Switch between the screens a service advisor, workshop controller, parts desk and owner would use every day. Every view is designed per workshop in discovery.
- JC-4471SUV · 80,000 km service + brake noiseApproval sentAdvisor S. · Tech R. · Bay 2Approval
- JC-4468Sedan · AC not coolingCompressor due 14:00Advisor M. · Tech K. · Bay 4Parts
- JC-4466Pickup · Fleet · Harbor TradingOn trackPO captured · Tech A. · Bay 1In repair
- JC-4463Hatchback · Insurance repairSurvey bookedInsurer A · photos attachedInspection
- JC-4459Coupe · Gearbox warning lightRoad testTech R. · diagnostics report savedQuality check
- JC-4455SUV · Tyres and alignmentCustomer notifiedPaid by link · collection 17:30Ready
Illustrative interface with sample data — your system is designed around your bays, services and customer types.
Illustrative demo · sample dataCan you picture your own workshop floor on it?
Build your workshop system03Solutions
The parts of a workshop system — chosen for your workshop.
One record per car, per visit
Check-in & digital job cards
Plate, VIN, mileage, the customer's complaint, walk-around photos and an inspection checklist captured at the counter — then labour, parts and technician notes added from the bay.
- Plate and VIN lookup
- Walk-around photos at check-in
- Inspection checklists by service type
- Technician notes from a tablet
One record per car, per visit
Check-in & digital job cards
Plate, VIN, mileage, the customer's complaint, walk-around photos and an inspection checklist captured at the counter — then labour, parts and technician notes added from the bay.
- Plate and VIN lookup
- Walk-around photos at check-in
- Inspection checklists by service type
- Technician notes from a tablet
Not every workshop needs every module. We scope the ones your operation actually uses, and add the rest when you need them.
04AI inside the system
AI that keeps the counter and the floor in step.
AI in a workshop system works on your own job cards, estimates, parts orders and history. It writes the messages advisors never have time for, and finds the answer in the records — people make the calls.
AI here supports administration and communication. It doesn't diagnose faults or decide on repairs — that stays with your technicians. Estimates, prices and customer messages are sent only after an advisor approves them, and access follows each user's role.
- 01
Technician notes into customer language
Advisor reviewsTurn the technician's notes on JC-4471 into a message for the customer.Rewrites "pads 2 mm, discs scored, recommend replace front" into a short, clear explanation with the photos and the estimate lines attached — ready for the advisor to check and send.
- 02
Status updates on request
A customer messages: "Is my car ready?"The assistant reads the job card, replies with the current stage and the promised time if the advisor has set rules for it, or drafts the reply for the advisor if anything is pending — like an approval or a late part.
- 03
Vehicle history summaries
What do we know about this car before it goes on the lift?A short summary at check-in: last service, mileage trend, parts fitted, open warranty items and declined recommendations from earlier visits.
- 04
Deferred work follow-ups
Sent after approvalWho declined work last month that's now due?Builds the list from declined estimate lines and mileage, with a draft reminder per customer for the team to review and send.
- 05
Parts request drafting
Order the parts on the approved estimate for JC-4468.Prepares a parts request with the vehicle details and part descriptions for your usual suppliers. The parts desk confirms the supplier and price before anything is ordered.
- 06
Plain-language reporting
How did approvals convert this week compared with last?Answers from your own estimate records with the figures and the jobs behind them, broken down by advisor if asked.
05A day with ORCHESTR
One workshop Thursday, two ways.
- 07:30Check-in in a few minutesPlate lookup pulls the vehicle and its history; the advisor captures the complaint and walk-around photos on a tablet.
- 09:15Bays planned by hoursJob cards are already placed on bays and technicians by labour hours, skills and shifts.
- 10:40Approval on the customer's phoneThe estimate goes out with photos. The customer approves the brake lines and defers the tyres in one tap.
- 12:30Parts tracked to the jobThe parts order shows the ETA against the job card, and the technician sees when it has been received.
- 15:00Open capacity, visibleThe bay plan shows two free hours in Bay 1 — the walk-in is booked in on the spot.
- 17:15Ready message with payment linkCustomers get a ready message with the invoice and a payment link; collection is a key handover.
- 19:00Owner checks the dayJobs closed, hours sold, approvals and revenue for the day are on the owner's phone.
An illustrative day — every system is designed around how your team actually works.
06Integrations
Works with what your workshop already uses.
Integrations depend on what each provider exposes — we confirm every connection in scoping before committing to it. Names are examples of categories we work with, not partnerships.
- Messaging
- WhatsApp Business APISMS gatewaysEmailWebsite booking forms
- Parts & catalogues
- Supplier price lists (via API or export)Parts catalogue lookups (where available)Barcode scanners
- Diagnostics
- Diagnostic tool reports (as PDF or export)Tyre and alignment equipment exports (where available)
- Payments
- Card payment gatewaysPayment linksCard terminals
- Accounting
- Zoho BooksQuickBooksXeroExisting ERP (via API or export)
- Data
- Existing workshop software (via API or export)SpreadsheetsBI tools
07How we build your system
Built around your workshop — not a template.
- 01
Understand your business
We learn how the business actually runs — people, tools, hand-offs and where time is lost — before proposing anything. - 02
Map your workflows
Every workflow is mapped end to end: who does what, when, with which information, and what should happen automatically. - 03
Design your system
Screens, records, permissions and integrations are designed around those workflows, and the scope is agreed in writing. - 04
Build and integrate
We build in stages and connect the tools you keep, so your team sees working software early and gives feedback as we go. - 05
Test and launch
We test with real scenarios, migrate the agreed data, set up roles and access, and onboard the team. - 06
Support and improve
After launch we support the system under an agreed arrangement and extend it as the business changes.
08Why it matters
What changes for the workshop.
We don't quote savings we haven't measured. In discovery we baseline how your team works today, so improvements can be tracked against your own numbers.
Fewer cars stuck on the lift
Approvals happen on the customer's phone with photos attached, instead of waiting for a call back.Every hour of work on the invoice
Labour and parts are recorded on the job card as they happen, so they reach the invoice.Promises the floor can keep
Advisors see real bay and technician capacity before they commit to a time.Parts that arrive for the right job
Orders, deliveries and margin are tied to the job card instead of a notepad.A history customers notice
Advisors see every previous visit and recommendation at check-in.Fewer status calls
Customers hear about progress and readiness without having to chase.Numbers while they still matter
Efficiency, approvals and revenue visible during the month, not after it.
09Possible use cases
How different workshops could use it.
Examples of what we could build — not completed client projects.
Off paper and the whiteboard
Digital job cards, bay planning and WhatsApp approvals for a single site with six to ten bays, replacing paper cards and a whiteboard.
Depth for one marque or system
For centres focused on a brand, transmissions or AC: detailed vehicle history, warranty tracking and diagnostic reports attached to every job.
Built around fleet accounts
For workshops serving delivery, rental or company fleets: POs, spend limits, statement billing and a portal where fleet managers see their vehicles' status.
One standard across branches
Shared customer and vehicle records, branch-level bays and parts stock, and a group dashboard comparing efficiency and revenue across locations.
FAQs
Workshop questions, answered.
Logistics & automotive
01We already use garage management software. Do we have to replace it?
Not necessarily. If it handles invoicing well but lacks approvals, bay planning or fleet workflows, we can build those around it and connect where it allows. If it's holding you back, we'll plan a full migration. Discovery is where we decide that together.
02Can technicians use it in the bay?
Yes. Technician screens are designed for tablets and phones — large controls, photo capture, checklists and clock-on/clock-off per job — so updating the job card doesn't mean walking to a desk.
03How do customers approve estimates?
They receive a link by WhatsApp, SMS or email showing the estimate lines, photos and notes. They approve or decline each line, and the response is stored on the job card with a timestamp. Customers who prefer to approve by phone can still do so — the advisor records it on the job.
04Can it look up parts from our suppliers?
Where a supplier or catalogue offers an API or a regular price-list export, we can bring it in. Where they don't, the parts desk records quotes in the system. We check each supplier during scoping rather than assume.
05Does it handle insurance and fleet jobs differently from retail customers?
Yes. Accounts carry their own rules — PO numbers, approval limits, payer splits, document requirements and billing cycles — so the same job card flows correctly for a walk-in, a fleet vehicle or an insurance repair.
06Will AI diagnose faults?
No. Diagnosis and repair decisions stay with your technicians. AI helps with the administration around the work: turning notes into customer messages, summarising vehicle history, drafting parts requests and answering questions about your own records.
07Can we bring our existing customer and vehicle history across?
Usually, yes — from your current system's export or API, or from spreadsheets. We map customers, vehicles and past invoices, merge duplicates and agree what moves before launch.
08Does it work for more than one branch?
Yes. Each branch can have its own bays, technicians, parts stock and reporting, with shared customer and vehicle records so a car serviced in one branch is recognised in another.
09Who can see what?
Access is role-based and enforced on the server: technicians see their jobs, advisors see customers and estimates, and owners see financials. Hosting and data retention are agreed in scoping.
10How is a workshop system priced?
We quote after a discovery call, based on the modules, integrations, bays and branches involved. Support, hosting and future additions are set out in writing before any work starts.
Start here
Let's mapyour workshop floor.
Tell us how cars move through your workshop today. We'll come back with how one system could connect your counter, bays, parts desk and accounts.
- 01We get back to you to arrange a call.
- 02A focused conversation about how your workshop runs today.
- 03If there's a fit, a written scope and quote — no obligation.
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