Resources
Think like an owner. Buy like an operator.
Educational content that helps you evaluate any shop platform — including ours — with clearer criteria. No fake ROI theatre.
Cornerstone guides
Guide · operations
The Shop Day Workflow Explained
How an independent auto workshop day should run in software: book, check-in, inspect, approve, parts, labour, invoice, retain. Process links to Workshop Wrench.
Guide · profit
Auto Repair Shop KPI Theory (ARO, Efficiency)
ARO, car count, efficiency, utilisation, deferred revenue — profit theory for shop owners with formulas you can explain.
Guide · procurement
Auto Repair Software Buyer Checklist 2026
What to force in a shop software demo: RO speed, approvals, parts readiness, invoice from job, training time, data export, honest pricing.
Guide · DVI
How to Evaluate Digital Vehicle Inspection Software
How to evaluate DVI in shop software: findings structure, media, convert to estimate, customer approve, deferred recovery, offline.
Guide · migration
Switching Workshop Software Without Losing WIP
How to switch auto repair shop software: parallel week, export customers/vehicles/jobs, keep GL in Xero/MYOB, evaluate board and money path first.
Product & process links
All processes & use cases
Stage sequences with action, why, surface, and outcome for every primary SaaS flow.
KPI theory for shop owners
ARO, efficiency, utilization, ELR — how Wrench maps metrics to screens.
The shop day workflow
From check-in to paid: state machine and board columns explained.
Public booking & embed
Share /book/[slug] or iframe the live form on your shop website.
Customer portal approvals
Tokenised mobile estimate approval — line-level approve / decline / defer.
SMS estimate approval pattern
Why deep links beat reply-YES texts — and how the portal closes the loop.
Process Studio (roadmap)
Growth+ entitlement for shop SOPs — honest status and what ships today.
Buyer checklist 2026
What to demand in a demo: approvals, parts readiness, training time, data export.
Migrate without WIP chaos
Parallel-week evaluation, export expectations, honest import sequencing.
Design system & Storybook
Atomic components, tokens, and interaction patterns.
KPI theory
Profit ≈ Car Count × ARO × Gross Margin − Waste
Waste includes idle bays, unapproved work, missing parts, unpaid invoices, unbilled labor, and training friction. Wrench surfaces ARO, efficiency, productivity, utilization, and effective labor rate with documented formulas.
Full KPI guide →Workflow
The shop day sequence
- 01Book or walk in
Public booking or front desk intake with customer + vehicle first-class. Why: car count dies when first contact never becomes a system object.
- 02Check in & board
Booking becomes a repair order; board shows stage, tech, and blockers. Why: WIP you cannot see is WIP you cannot manage.
- 03Inspect with evidence
DVI findings with severity convert to estimate lines or deferred work. Why: verbal upsells without structure kill trust and ARO recovery.
- 04Authorise work
Line-level approve / decline / defer via portal tokens. Why: silent scope expansion creates write-offs and disputes.
- 05Parts & labour
Reserve stock, raise POs, clock labour on the RO. Why: authorised work without parts is fake progress; unbilled labour is pure waste.
- 06Invoice & collect
GST invoice from approved lines, payments, AR visibility. Why: revenue is not cash until collected — money path stays on the RO.
Buyer checklist
What to force in a demo
- 1. Create a full RO from walk-in in under three minutes.
- 2. Send an estimate approval path (portal or SMS deep link).
- 3. Show parts not in stock → impact on board stage.
- 4. Invoice from the RO and export or PDF.
- 5. Explain how a new tech is trained without a week of shadowing.
- 6. Ask what happens to your data if you leave.