Top 5 Automotive Scheduling Softwares (Comprehensive Guide)

Benjamin Johnson

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May 22, 2023

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Read time: 3 min

Modern auto repair shops face a customer base that expects the same digital convenience from their local mechanic that they get from Amazon or Uber. If your shop is still relying on phone calls to schedule service appointments, you're likely leaving revenue on the table.

Choosing the right automotive scheduling software isn’t just about putting a date on a calendar; it’s about choosing a management system that makes your shop more efficient, provides a better customer experience, and maximizes your revenue.

Why does my shop need automotive scheduling software?

With automotive repair scheduling software, you and your team gain more control over your shop’s time. Instead of slow updates from around the shop, all employees can check the status of each repair at the same time.

Another advantage of appointment booking software is that your auto shop will make fewer mistakes when it comes to giving customers status updates about their vehicles. Before contacting a customer, a team member can check the system to have a more accurate estimate of how much time is left on a repair.

Going a step further, can your customers book appointments after hours and over the weekend? If not, appointment scheduling software can allow them to book online without having to talk to your employees first. This leads to more customers, fuller bays, and a better customer experience.

Best automotive service scheduling software options

Tekmetric

Tekmetric is our top pick because it offers an all-in-one solution with a full scheduling software solution. Offering online scheduling, marketing, payments, and shop management all under one hood, Tekmetric is hard to beat.

  • Best for: Single or multi-location shops that want their scheduling, payments, CRM, and shop management all in one place.
  • Tekmetric features: Online scheduling, automated reminders, POS, marketing, DVIs, two-way texting, real-time reporting, mobile app, and a book online button for your Google My Business profile.

AutoOps

AutoOps is a specialized tool designed to sit on top of your existing shop management system. While it does not offer an all-in-one solution, it can be a powerful integration into your workflow.

  • Best for: Shops that already have a shop management system and want to upgrade their scheduler.
  • AutoOps features: Online scheduling, calendar, text reminders, book online button for your Google My Business profile.

EZauto Scheduler

EZauto Scheduler is a cost-effective, cloud-based way to handle your shop scheduling. Similar to AutoOps, EZauto is a dedicated scheduling software with modern features.

  • Best for: Shops looking to save money but want something better than a basic Google calendar.
  • EZauto Scheduler features: Online scheduling, two-way texting, reporting, and mobile access.

Setmore

Setmore is a general-purpose booking tool used by everyone from barbers to automotive shops. Setmore is not an all-in-one solution, but it is one of the lowest-priced options on the market.

  • Best for: Small shops or mobile mechanics on a tight budget.
  • Setmore features: Online scheduling, calendar, payments, and text reminders.

Acuity

Owned by Squarespace, Acuity is a modern scheduling tool used in a variety of industries. You will need to integrate with a shop management system to run your shop, but Acuity can handle your scheduling.

  • Best for: Small - medium sized shops looking for a modern scheduler that already have a shop management software.
  • Acuity features: Scheduling, payments, reminder emails, calendar and mobile app.

What features should I look for in a mechanic scheduling software?

When it comes to auto repair scheduling software, there are a lot of options on the market, which can make it tricky to find the right one for your shop. However, these are the modern features you should look for in a scheduling software:

1. Cloud-Based

Say you need to take the day off to take your child to the doctor. Or perhaps your shop is expanding to a second location, and you’re in back-to-back meetings to iron out the details.

Managing your shop with cloud-based service scheduling software, you can do all of those things without losing sight of what’s happening at your shop!

Tekmetric user Andrew Minkler of Bavarian Motor Repairs loves that flexibility. As he puts it, “As we expand, it’s critical that we have a cloud-based system that seamlessly grows with us. I can attend a twenty-group, meet with my business coach, spend time with my family, and still have access to my shop from my phone. Anywhere access gives me the confidence to let my staff grow into their roles.”

2. Integrations

You likely use a variety of tools to propel your shop forward. If your automotive scheduling software integrates with these other types of solutions, you’ll be able to manage everything from one place, creating a streamlined process for juggling all of these various tools.

3. Customer communication

It’s important to reach your customers how they want to be reached. When researching any automotive scheduling software, check for the following features so you can streamline customer communication:

These features build trust with customers by keeping them in the loop throughout the repair process. They’ll see that your shop cares about making sure they’re informed every step of the way.

4. Trackable repair notes

Every customer is unique. For example, one customer might always prefer dropping off their car in the morning whenever they need routine maintenance.

Another customer might be busy during the middle of the day and doesn’t appreciate being called on the phone during that time. By tracking these preferences in your system, you can ensure that you’re providing excellent customer service to each customer.

5. Customer support

A strong support and customer success team can:

  • Resolve questions you might have about a feature in a quick manner, so you and your colleagues don’t have to spend precious time figuring it out on your own.
  • Listen to your feedback about existing features and evaluate what updates need to be made to improve the user experience.
  • Help you with data migrations, as data migrations to a new system can be tricky.

Fine-tuning your service scheduling process

Once you have your automotive scheduling software and basic appointment scheduling process in place, you can make additional adjustments to enhance your shop’s efficiency and reach new heights.

Add more staff and resources

As you navigate through scheduling cycles, you might find that business is rolling—and to meet those higher demands, you’ll likely need to make adjustments to your staff and resources.

You might even decide to extend your shop’s working hours to accommodate the uptick in business. An additional hour of being open can go a long way for customers.

Streamline customer communication and payment

It’s no surprise that the majority of your customers are in a rush. Squeezing in a repair can be tough on their schedule, as they need their car to get to work, make it to that parent-teacher conference, and more. That’s why it’s essential that your shop has streamlined ways of communicating with customers via true two-way texting, text-to-pay, automated follow-ups, and digital vehicle inspections.

Gather customer feedback

Customer feedback can help you address people’s pain points with your shop, and as a result, take your shop to new heights. For instance, most of your customers could be annoyed that your shop is taking a bit longer than promised on each repair, and this could soon create a negative perception of your shop.

Unless you survey customers on a regular basis, you’d have no way of knowing this. Don’t leave your shop’s reputation and growth to chance. Be proactive, not reactive, by creating a customer feedback system and fixing gaps in the customer experience.

Final thoughts

The shift to digital automotive scheduling software is no longer optional for shops that want to thrive in the modern automotive industry. Shop customers are expecting more and more, and these solutions are here to help you stay relevant. Whichever option you choose, focus on providing the best customer experience and making it easier for customers to book with you.

👉 Ready to grow your automotive business? [Book a personalized Tekmetric Demo Here]

FAQ

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When researching digital vehicle inspection software solutions, you should look for these seven core features that benefit your team and your customers:

  1. A searchable DVI history
  2. The ability for technicians to attach photos and videos to inspections
  3. A color-coded system that indicates the severity of inspection findings
  4. A direct tie-in to parts and labor data when building estimates
  5. The ability to add canned jobs when building estimates
  6. Digital authorization
  7. Automatic saving and tracking of declined jobs

1. Searchable DVI History

When shopping for digital vehicle inspection software, make sure that you can easily look back on past inspection findings. When service advisors are able to quickly find out what was uncovered during previous inspections, they’re less likely to miss a repair opportunity and leave money on the table. They can simply pick up where they left off, helping your shop sell more repair work.

2. The ability for technicians to attach photos and videos to inspections

It’s one thing to tell a customer, “Hey, your car has really bad engine corrosion.” It’s another thing to show the customer a photo of the orange, brittle-looking rust all over their engine. When customers can see what’s really going on with their vehicles, they’re more likely to trust your team’s word and authorize repairs right then and there. They’ll be less inclined to shop around for a second opinion or tell you, “Oh, I’ll sleep on it and come back tomorrow.”

A digital vehicle inspection software that enables technicians to quickly attach photos and videos will help your team keep repairs moving along and build customer trust.

3. A color-coded system that indicates the severity of inspection findings

When explaining repairs to customers, the best route is often the simplest one. Instead of spending time speaking or writing about the intricacies of each inspection finding, service advisors can leverage digital vehicle inspection software that uses a simple, color-coded system to instantly give customers an idea of how urgent each inspection finding is. For instance, an inspection finding marked in green would indicate that everything is good to go, one marked in yellow would indicate something that might need attention down the line, and red would indicate the need for immediate action.

4. A direct tie-in to parts and labor data when building estimates

It’s vital for service advisors to weave in the right parts and labor data when building estimates. But doing so manually is a tedious process. With everything going on, service advisors might accidentally scribble down the wrong piece of information, resulting in the customer getting the wrong parts and labor pricing, or inaccurate parts availability.

Digital vehicle inspection software with a direct tie-in to parts and labor data helps service advisors create accurate estimates from the get-go, so there are no unpleasant surprises for anyone at the shop come estimate-review time.

5. The ability to add canned jobs when building estimates

On a daily basis, service advisors may find themselves writing the same types of findings on estimates over and over.

Digital vehicle inspection software with a canned jobs feature will eliminate a lot of this repetition by enabling service advisors to add pre-saved jobs to estimates in a matter of seconds. That way they can complete inspections faster and get estimates in customers’ hands as soon as possible.

6. Digital authorization

The easier you make it for your customers to authorize repair work, the more likely they’ll quickly do so. That’s where digital vehicle inspection software with digital job authorization steps in. Service advisors won’t have to track down customers to get their verbal or written approval to start repair work. Instead, customers can approve or decline individual jobs from the moment they get their estimate.

7. Automatic saving and tracking of declined jobs

Some repair work is going to get declined for various reasons. But don’t worry. Declined jobs show that your shop is thorough with inspections and estimates; your team caught every budding and existing issue with each vehicle. Think of declined jobs as future business opportunities for your shop.

However, remembering and keeping track of declined jobs can get tricky with a pen and paper method. Service advisors might totally forget about these opportunities, or if they remember, they’ll have to dig through stacks of paper or navigate folder after folder on a computer just to find the right estimate.

Digital vehicle inspection software that has a “declined jobs” feature enables your service advisors to pick up right where they left off the next time a particular customer walks into your shop. They’ll be able to search which jobs the customer declined last time, and recommend taking care of those issues. The results? You’ll get more business and impress your customers with your great customer service.

If you’re an automotive shop owner or service advisor looking to upgrade your system, you’ve likely encountered the name Tekmetric. Like any smart shopper, you are looking for a free trial of Tekmetric before you purchase. Below, you can find a few options to test drive Tekmetric for free.

Option 1: Free Tekmetric Trial

To access your free Tekmetric self-guided trial, you can use this link here. It will walk you through the key parts of the Tekmetric software, customer experience, estimate building, customer approvals, digital vehicle inspections, and more. Afterwards, you can book a demo to chat with our sales team and start the onboarding process.

Option 2: Personalized Demo with Tekmetric

If you prefer to chat with a Tekmetric employee, you can book a demo here and ask any questions you have. We will show you how Tekmetric can maximize your efficiency, improve your customer experience, and boost sales. We will also talk about your shop's needs, goals for your business, and what gives your shop a competitive edge.

Option 3: Case Studies and Customer Reviews

We think our customers are the best sales team. So, we have provided our customer success stories, real customer reviews, and G2 rankings to aid in your decision-making process. This is a great place to see the ROI Tekmetric can provide for your shop.

Tek-Tip: Ask ChatGPT or Gemini for a summary of Tekmetric and how it could be a fit for your business.


Final thoughts

Whichever option you pick, we hope you will give Tekmetric a try. Built by a former shop owner, Tekmetric understands the importance of finding the right software for your shop. Tekmetric offers month-to-month pricing options in addition to discounted annual plans to fit any budget. Unlimited users, unlimited RO's, unlimited support, no hidden fees. Are you ready to take your shop to the next level?

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