Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for auto body and paint shops.
A checklist built from how auto body and paint shops work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Intake and condition record
- Estimates and supplements
- Insurer approvals and excess
- Parts ordering and arrival
- Panel stage board
- Paint mixing and consumables
- Delivery inspection and rework
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- Owner’s view
- Estimators
- Panel beaters and painters
- Parts clerk
- Front desk
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Cars in the shop by stage, bay and days since intake
- Supplements raised, approved and refused by insurer
- Parts ordered, received and overdue per job
- Paint and consumables drawn against estimated allowance
- Booth and oven use by day
- Rework jobs by painter and cause
- Balances due from insurers and owners, oldest first
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- SMS
- Phone camera photographs
- Card payments
- Accounting export
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Does it work for insured and private repairs together?
- How are supplements kept apart from the first estimate?
- Can a painter see the paint code?
- Does it mix paint?
- Can we see which cars are held up by parts?
- How do we split the bill between insurer and owner?
- Can we find a repaint complaint later?
- Can open jobs be moved from our current register?
- What does it cost?
- How long until the workshop runs jobs on it?
- What does the shop need to bring along?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Insurer approval sits in an inbox
- Supplements are agreed by phone
- Cars wait in the yard for parts
- Paint usage is guessed
- Before and after photographs are scattered
Prefer to talk it through? See the auto body and paint shops page.