Shop Commander Docs
Everything in the app, explained — with real screenshots from a live shop. Free software, free docs, no gatekeeping.
Getting Started
Getting Started
Log in, find your way around, and understand how Shop Commander keeps your whole team in sync.
Your First Day
From empty shop to first paid invoice — set up the shop, add a customer, and write your first repair order.
Daily Workflow
Job Board
The drag-and-drop Kanban board that shows every active job in the shop, live.
Check-Ins
QR self-check-in for customers and a live queue so the front counter always knows who just walked in.
My Work
Each technician's personal queue — every inspection, job, and task assigned to them, on one page.
Repair Orders & Billing
Repair Orders
The full lifecycle of every job — line items, parts, labor, photos, and the paper trail behind it all.
Estimates & Approvals
Send digital estimates by text, get line-by-line approvals with a signature, and keep a bulletproof authorization trail.
Payments
Record any payment method, text customers a pay link, run card terminals, and let the books reconcile themselves.
Customers & Vehicles
Customers
Every customer's contact info, vehicles, history, alerts, and lifetime value — in one profile.
Vehicles
Full vehicle records with VIN decoding, odometer tracking, photos, and complete service history.
Scheduling
Appointments
The scheduling calendar — day, week, and month views with drag-and-drop rescheduling and bay assignment.
Online Booking
Your shop's public booking page — customers pick a service, a time, and book themselves in.
Bay Management
A live view of every service bay — what's in it, how it's progressing, and what's waiting for one.
Inspections
Inspections
Digital vehicle inspections with photos, condition ratings, and a health score — done on a tablet, sent by text.
Inspection Builder
Build inspection templates from reusable modules — your checklists, your order, your photo rules.
Communication & Marketing
Messages
Two-way texting with every customer, threaded by conversation and tied to their vehicle and repair order.
Campaigns & Follow-Ups
Declined-work recovery, seasonal SMS campaigns, feedback requests, and a Google review pipeline — all automated.
Parts & Inventory
Parts & Inventory
Track stock, vendors, purchase orders, and returns — from the shelf to the repair order.
Canned Jobs
Pre-built service templates with labor and parts, ready to drop onto any repair order in one click.
Tire Storage
Seasonal tire storage with tread tracking, printed QR labels, pull lists, and automated swap reminders.
Loaner Vehicles
Run your courtesy fleet — check-outs with photos and digital signed agreements, returns with damage checks.
Team & Operations
Users & Roles
Give every person in the shop their own login, role, and PIN.
Time Tracking
Clock techs onto jobs with a live timer, then compare clock hours to billed hours.
Tasks
Internal shop tasks with checklists, assignments, and recurring schedules — the work that isn't on an RO.
ShopTalk
The built-in team forum for ideas, bug reports, and announcements — with voting and screenshots.
Audit Log
Every change in the shop, recorded — who did what, to which record, and when.