Shop Boss

What it is

Shop Boss puts repair orders, customer messages, parts ordering, inspections, payments, and reporting in a browser-based system. It serves independent and multi-location repair operations, including collision, truck, RV, tire, powersports, and marine shops. Plans start at $179 a month when billed annually, with no free plan but a free trial.

Who it suits. Independent and multi-location repair shops Collision, truck, RV, tire, marine, and powersports shops Fleet services needing hosted shop operations

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What Shop Boss is

Shop Boss is cloud-based management software for independent shops and multi-location operations. Its stated customers include auto repair, collision, heavy-duty truck, RV, tire, powersports, and marine businesses, plus fleet management services.

The service runs in a web browser without downloads or updates. Technicians can also use BOSS Inspect on phones or tablets for inspections, customer reports, records, and repair recommendations.

What is included

Every pricing package includes unlimited repair orders and users, two-way text and email, parts ordering, reporting, workflows, vehicle lookup and history, a technician view, and VIN scanning with license decoding.

The system also covers work orders, estimate approvals, parts inventory, technician time tracking, customer communications, a customer portal, and payment-linked messaging. Its API returns JSON for records such as customers, vehicles, repair orders, appointments, parts, suppliers, quotes, and inspections.

API access uses a support-issued Bearer-token key with endpoint permissions. The documented limit is 500 calls a minute in production and 100 calls a minute in staging; excess requests receive HTTP 429 responses.

What Shop Boss costs

The lowest annual-billing entry is $179 a month. Gold is $199 a month when billed monthly, or $179 a month with the annual option. It includes calendars, inventory and vendor management, embedded payment processing, canned jobs and sublets, time and job clocks, profit-per-hour forecasting, and parts and labor-guide integrations.

Other listed plans are $224 a month for CRM and online scheduling when billed annually, $349 a month for Platinum, $449 a month for Premier, and $649 a month for Premier Plus. Annual options shown are $314 a month for Platinum, $404 a month for Premier, and $584 a month for Premier Plus.

Data transfer costs $399 one time for customer and vehicle data, or $899 one time for customer, vehicle, repair-history, and inventory data. A free trial is available, but there is no free plan. Embedded payment processing has transaction fees.

How the plans differ

Gold is the base listed package. Platinum adds labor guides, a BI dashboard, digital inspections, DVI integrations, employee analytics, a real-time dashboard, tire ordering, and AI ProNotes. Premier adds a responsive website, maintenance and design, digital reporting, quarterly digital reviews, and one-to-one training.

Premier Plus adds 24/7 online booking, custom scheduling rules, automated reminders, declined-work tracking, CRM, email campaigns, automated re-engagement, and customer segmentation. The CRM and Online Service Scheduler plan focuses on automated customer communication, reminders, custom offers, and online scheduling.

For a wider look at shop-management choices, see auto repair shop software.

Who Shop Boss suits

Shop Boss fits repair businesses that want work orders, customer updates, parts and tire ordering, inspections, payments, and reporting in one hosted system. Its stated audience spans general repair, collision, heavy-duty truck, RV, tire, powersports, and marine shops.

It can also suit operations needing connections to other systems. The partner list includes 360 Payments, Autoshop Solutions, Cinch, Matco, Market Genie, OktoRocket, PartsTech, ShopLoaner, Steer, Epicor CRM, and Back Office.

Trade-offs to weigh

The service is paid, and the listed packages range from $179 a month on annual billing to $649 a month for Premier Plus. Data migration can add a one-time charge of $399 or $899.

Payment surcharging is unavailable in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York, according to the maker's stated state-law limits. API use requires a support-issued key, and rate limits apply.

Verdict

Shop Boss is a broad operating system for shops that want customer communication, repair workflow, parts, inspections, payments, and reporting together. Its plan ladder lets a business add digital inspections, dashboards, websites, marketing, and booking as needs grow. Budget for a paid subscription, possible data-transfer fees, and payment transaction charges. The state limits on surcharging and the API's key and rate rules matter for implementation planning.

Getting started

1. Visit the Shop Boss website.
2. Use the book-a-demo contact option or call (858) 252-4007.
3. Choose a package such as Gold, CRM + Online Service Scheduler, Platinum, Premier, or Premier Plus.
4. Discuss data transfer options if customer, vehicle, repair history, or inventory records need to be moved.

Limits

There is no free plan. Gold, the listed starting package, includes embedded payment processing with transaction fees; higher packages add features such as CRM, scheduling, digital inspections, tire ordering integration, and AI ProNotes.