Auto repair shop software for the phone, the estimate and the pickup

Where the day gets stuck in a small shop

Most independent shops have the same three bottlenecks:

1. The phone. Calls at opening and pickup time stack up, and missed calls become lost appointments.
2. The approval. The car is on the lift, the tech found worn rotors, and the shop waits for the customer to call back and say yes.
3. The pickup. The car is done, but nobody has had time to call, so it sits in the lot and the bay stays busy.

Good auto repair shop software clears each one. When you pick the automotive industry type, Dheed uses words like repair orders and technicians, and sets up pipeline stages that fit a shop.

An AI receptionist for auto repair shops

The AI receptionist add-on answers on your Dheed number with your shop name. It knows your services, hours and location, books drop off times into your real calendar, or takes requests you approve. It does not diagnose a noise or promise a price on work nobody has inspected.

Every call is saved with a summary, transcript and recording, and you get a text summary. Urgent calls, such as a customer stranded with a car that will not start, are flagged and texted to you right away. The add-on is on Pro and Business for $250 a month with 500 minutes, plus a one time setup fee. You can forward your shop line to the Dheed number during busy hours or after close.

Auto repair shop software for estimates customers approve

After the inspection, build the estimate from your price book of services, parts and fees. One estimate can hold up to three options, which fits how shops really sell:

• Option 1: replace front pads only.
• Option 2: front pads and rotors.
• Option 3: front and rear pads and rotors with a brake fluid flush.

Each option has its own discount, and sales tax is applied to the taxable amount. Send it by email or text the link. The customer picks one, checks the agreement box and signs on a phone. The signed estimate becomes the job, and you are notified. Photos of the worn parts can be kept on the job so the service writer can show what the tech found. See invoicing and estimates for more.

If auto repair estimate approval stalls, the Estimate follow-up recipe sends an email two days later and creates a call task three days after that.

Job status texts and the pickup

With the business texting add-on, your shop gets an approved local number and one shared inbox. The service writer can text "We found the leak. Estimate is in your email" from the inbox, and the reply lands in the same thread. To send the car ready text message, set an automation to text the customer when a job is marked completed, for example "Your car is ready. We close at 6 PM." Texting is $50 a month for 1,000 texts, and carrier approval usually takes a few days to a few weeks.

Each technician sees only their own jobs, with notes and photos.

Repair order invoicing and payment at pickup

Create the invoice from the job in one click. Customers can pay by card from a link before they arrive. Money goes to your own Stripe account. Online card payments carry Stripe's fee plus a Dheed platform fee of 1% on Free and Starter, 0.5% on Pro and 0.25% on Business. Cash and checks can be recorded by hand. The payment receipt recipe emails a thank you when the invoice is paid.

After the job or the payment, auto shop review requests can go out by text with your review link, at most once every 90 days per customer.

Setup in one afternoon

1. Pick the automotive industry type.
2. Load your common services and fees into the price book.
3. Set drop off times and hours.
4. Turn on Estimate follow-up and a job completed text.
5. Add texting and the AI Receptionist when you are ready.

Dheed is an all-in-one business platform, so calls, estimates, jobs and payments share one record. See plans and pricing, or start free.

Frequently asked questions