Digital estimates, two-way SMS, DVI review, AI upselling, customer CRM, and job board visibility — everything a service advisor needs to sell more work and build customer trust. $0/month.
Service advisors are the hardest-working people in the shop. You're the first face customers see and the last voice they hear. You're estimating, selling, scheduling, following up, handling complaints, reviewing inspections, chasing approvals, and keeping the techs fed with work — all at the same time. You need software that speeds you up, not software that adds more clicks to your day.
Most shop management software treats the service advisor role as an afterthought. The estimate builder is clunky. SMS is locked behind a premium tier. The inspection reports are buried three menus deep. And the CRM? That's a separate $300/month tool.
Shop Commander was built with service advisors at the center of the workflow. Every screen you touch daily — estimates, the job board, customer messages, inspection reviews — is designed to be fast, intuitive, and connected. No tab-switching. No copy-pasting. No "let me check the other system." And it's completely free. See how the owner and technician sides work too.
The estimate process is where money is won or lost. A slow, confusing estimate means the customer walks. A clear, professional estimate with photo evidence from the inspection means they approve on their phone before you even hang up. Here's how Shop Commander streamlines the entire process:
Pre-built service templates with labor hours and parts already configured. Oil change, brake job, timing belt — one click and the entire job is on the estimate. No typing part numbers. No looking up labor times. Just add and go.
Customers approve or decline each service individually. No more all-or-nothing estimates. This dramatically improves approval rates because customers can greenlight the essentials even if they pass on the nice-to-haves.
Generate a unique URL and send it to the customer via SMS. They open it on their phone, review each service line, and sign digitally. You get a real-time WebSocket notification the second they approve. No phone tag required.
Every authorization is captured with a digital signature, IP address, timestamp, and complete decision history. Timestamped PDF snapshots are generated automatically. Full legal protection without a single piece of paper.
Bundled part sets for common jobs. Brake job? One click applies pads, rotors, hardware, brake clean, and fluid. No missing parts on the estimate. No "oh, we forgot to add the hardware" after the fact.
The instant a customer approves work from their phone, every connected user gets a WebSocket notification. No delay. No checking email. You know immediately so you can dispatch the tech and keep the workflow moving.
Most competitors charge $200–439/month to unlock two-way SMS. Tekmetric restricts it to their Scale tier at $439/mo. Shopmonkey locks it behind their higher plans. Shop Commander includes it on every account for $0.
Full SMS history per customer in a chat-style interface. See every message, every photo sent and received, with unread indicators and real-time delivery via WebSocket. No separate app. No checking your personal phone.
Vehicle received, estimate ready, inspection ready, awaiting parts, vehicle ready, and review request — all sent automatically based on RO status changes. Customizable templates with dynamic variables. Your customer stays informed without you making a single call.
Send and receive photos via MMS. Attach images to outgoing messages with camera capture. This is huge for service advisors — send the customer a photo of the worn part, and suddenly they understand why you're recommending the work.
Queue messages for specific dates and times. Schedule a follow-up for Monday morning, a reminder for a customer's appointment, or a seasonal campaign blast. Cancel or edit before send. Full status tracking.
Digital vehicle inspections are the most powerful selling tool in a service advisor's arsenal. When your tech flags a problem with a photo and a red indicator, the customer can see it with their own eyes. No more "trust me, your brakes are bad." The evidence is right there. Here's how Shop Commander puts the inspection workflow at the center of the service advisor experience:
For more on getting the most out of digital inspections, read our DVI Best Practices guide.
Shop Commander's AI isn't a gimmick. It's a set of practical tools that help service advisors sell more work with less effort and more confidence. Every AI feature is included free.
AI suggests additional parts, services, and talking points based on the vehicle, mileage, and current work. Working on an oil change for a 2018 Camry with 120,000 km? AI might suggest transmission fluid, cabin air filter, and spark plugs — with the language to present it naturally.
AI generates customer follow-up scripts for declined work. Complete with objection handling: "I understand the budget concern. Here's why addressing this now saves you money long-term..." New advisors sound like veterans. Veterans save time.
Your tech writes "PS pump leaking, whine on full lock." AI rewrites: "The power steering pump has developed a fluid leak and is making noise during full steering lock. Replacement is recommended to prevent complete failure." You send the AI version to the customer. Done.
When creating a new RO, AI distinguishes between symptoms ("noise when turning") and explicit requests ("oil change"). Symptoms get routed to diagnostic. Explicit requests get matched to canned jobs. The right work gets quoted from the start.
One-click AI draft for marketing campaigns. Select your campaign type and audience, click the AI draft button, and get a personalized message ready to send. Works in Messages, the Campaign wizard, and inspection detail views.
AI converts technical inspection data into customer-friendly summaries. Instead of a grid of green/yellow/red dots, the customer gets a plain-English summary of what's good, what to watch, and what needs immediate attention, with health score context.
Want to level up your front counter skills? Read our Service Advisor Training guide, take the free 25-lesson Service Advisor course, and our Increase ARO guide.
A good service advisor knows their customers. Shop Commander gives you a CRM that works with your workflow instead of requiring you to log into a separate system. Every customer profile is packed with the information you need to provide personalized service.
As a service advisor, you need to know the status of every job without walking back to the shop floor. Shop Commander's Kanban job board gives you real-time visibility into every active repair order and internal task.
Day, week, and month views with drag-to-create and drag-to-reschedule. Color-coded by service type, with bay assignment and source tracking. Convert appointments to ROs in one click. Online booking integration means customers can book themselves.
Record payments by cash, debit, credit, e-transfer, cheque, or other. Split payments across multiple methods. Void with reason tracking. Real-time balance calculation. PCI-compliant integrated processing.
Print a QR poster for your waiting area. Customers scan it, identify themselves by phone or plate, and check in. Their appointment auto-updates to "arrived" and you get an instant notification. Less time on the phone, more time selling.
Each customer gets a secure portal link — no login required. They can view their vehicles, service history, inspection reports, active warranties, and recommended services. Less "can you send me my last invoice?" calls.
Every declined service is a future sale waiting to happen. Shop Commander automatically tracks every declined line item with severity (yellow for "needs attention," red for "requires immediate action") and runs automated follow-up at configurable intervals — typically 7, 30, and 60 days.
The follow-up messages escalate in tone naturally. First touch is a friendly reminder. Second is a value-focused nudge. Third is a safety concern. Smart suppression prevents messages if the customer visited recently, has an upcoming appointment, has negative feedback pending, or was contacted within the frequency limit.
When a customer returns for declined work, Shop Commander automatically tracks the recovery and links it to the new RO. You get a recovery rate dashboard with monthly trends, recovery by service type, and top opportunities ranked by dollar value.
This is the kind of revenue that falls through the cracks at most shops. With Shop Commander, it's automated, tracked, and measurable. Want to understand what this means for your bottom line? Read our profit margin guide.
Digital estimates, two-way SMS, DVI review, AI upselling, and full CRM — everything a service advisor needs. $0/month. Forever.
Free migration. Same-day setup. No credit card. No catch.