Cloud Based Management Software with Tablet Capabilities

[mikerisich]

Mike can you give us an update on the SMS you integrate with. This thread is kinda old and I'm curious to know who else your company is working with.

 

Regards,

Dan

 

Hey Dan,

 

We currently integrate with the following shop management software:

 

• Mitchell 1
• ShopKey
• R.O. Writer
• NAPA TRACS
• ALLDATA

*We also have TCS, Tasco, MaxxTraxx, Omnique and more in the works as well. I'll keep you posted as we release them.

[xrac]

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[AJFA]

Mitchells scheduler is not the only thing that drives us crazy. Tech support has not always been seamless and quick books integrator has given us numerous time wasting sessions on the phone solving issues, they have actually told us we should log out of the program half way through the day and log back in to clear memory out, of course that's not always able to be done. The use of the RO write up is not very self explanatory in that I have hired service writers that have used other systems and they struggle with completing all the write up correctly, there are too many hidden fields. For example why is the most important charge - labor rate hidden? There system is OK if you only have 1 hourly rate but many shops have a variable rate depending on the car line, there is no way to change this in Mitchell with out remembering to go to the obscure button ( type) and select the correct rate. What happens is the service writer forgets to look at the type/rate and bills the job out at default whether its a Honda or Mercedes or a Rolls. It would seem to me Mitchell could have a rate list that is set according to car make so the writer did not have to decide what rate to charge.

 

I could go on with issues we have but Mitchell is what we use and we have gotten use to it so its hard to change now but I feel like they never get into the shops and see how it is being used and the issues that are overlooked.

Dave

[mspecperformance]

Mitchells scheduler is not the only thing that drives us crazy. Tech support has not always been seamless and quick books integrator has given us numerous time wasting sessions on the phone solving issues, they have actually told us we should log out of the program half way through the day and log back in to clear memory out, of course that's not always able to be done. The use of the RO write up is not very self explanatory in that I have hired service writers that have used other systems and they struggle with completing all the write up correctly, there are too many hidden fields. For example why is the most important charge - labor rate hidden? There system is OK if you only have 1 hourly rate but many shops have a variable rate depending on the car line, there is no way to change this in Mitchell with out remembering to go to the obscure button ( type) and select the correct rate. What happens is the service writer forgets to look at the type/rate and bills the job out at default whether its a Honda or Mercedes or a Rolls. It would seem to me Mitchell could have a rate list that is set according to car make so the writer did not have to decide what rate to charge.

 

I could go on with issues we have but Mitchell is what we use and we have gotten use to it so its hard to change now but I feel like they never get into the shops and see how it is being used and the issues that are overlooked.

Dave

 

I haven't had much of a problem navigating through it. I suppose there is a learning curve but there is a learning curve with every shop management software.

[Junior]

2. Look under the hood on the software you're buying.

I'm pretty much stunned over and over to see shops running proudly on databases that Microsoft abandoned 20 years ago. That's nothing to brag about. Today's state of the art is three tier architecture using .net Framework on SQL Server. Anything else is like comparing a wagon wheel with an iron rim to a Michelin tire.

 

I can't stress this point enough and I hope some software companies listen. I worked in software development for ten years before moving back to the family business. We are working with cars that have network technology developed after most management platforms. Almost everything you can get in this industry that is not cloud based is built on database software that was developed 15-20 years ago and has been deprecated or unsupported for nearly a decade.

 

That brings me to cloud based services, none that I have found understand what the term "mission critical" means. How can you expect to run your entire business off an entirely web based product with no local app or data cache. This means that if you have one of these products and you loose Internet connectivity or have any other network issue (tablet goes out of range) the software does not work and is inaccessible. I can't shut down my business because Verizon has problems with their DSL network. Not a risk that is worth taking and any software company that is developing a management platform should fully understand this. Technology to work around this problem has been around for 20+ years, they should learn about it.