Why process beats feature grids
Buyers lose money on weak booking, invisible WIP, unauthorised work, missing parts, late AR, and KPIs nobody trusts. Evaluate vendors process by process — not checkbox by checkbox.
Guide · operations
The shop day workflow — from first contact to paid invoice
Software only pays for itself when it matches how bays actually earn margin. This is the operational spine every serious shop platform should encode.
The sequence
Book or walk in → check-in to repair order → inspect with evidence → authorise lines → parts readiness → labour & produce → GST invoice → collect → retain deferred work. Each stage should create audit, metrics, and customer moments.
How to force it in a demo
Create a walk-in RO in under three minutes. Send a portal approval. Show parts short → board stage. Invoice from the RO. Ask what happens to data if you leave.