How to choose shop management software
What to ask in a demo, and what to try with a real car, before you decide on shop software.
Start from the day
A long feature list does not say whether the counter can open an order while the phone is ringing. Ask to see one car: it arrives, it is booked or received, it is worked on, it is estimated, and it is invoiced.
If that path jumps across four unrelated screens, the software will not replace the notebook. It will sit beside it. The useful question is how many places you must look to know where the car is.
What to try in the demo
Bring a case from this week. A plate, a customer, and a real job. See whether the booking, the order, the estimate, and a low-stock part make sense without a manual.
Ask about inspection or MOT reminders, a second location, and an invoice that has not been paid. If the answer is another module you cannot see, write that down. That is what you will need on Tuesday.
What the shop already has
Paper, a spreadsheet, or another program does not disappear on day one. The new software has to live for a week beside real work. If it demands years of history before the first order, the setup stalls.
Ask what is imported and what is typed. This week's customers and the parts that stop cars are enough to start. The old archive can wait.
Price, in the open
Look at the published price and what it includes: users, locations, the portal, reminders. A low price with every notice billed aside is not the price. Ask for the demo before you talk about a contract.
GarageBolt publishes Starter, Professional at €49 a month, and Business at €99. The demo itself is not a charge. It is there to see whether the job sheet fits the shop.