SHOP MANAGER LITE // COMMAND
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SHOP ONLINE
New Job
✦ Quick Entry — describe the job
AI
Types out the whole job — vehicle, labor, parts, payment — and fills the fields below. Review before saving.
Full Shop
New Record
Time on job
00:00
Customer
Vehicle
Service & Labor
More job details
$105 Indep
$130 Spec
$160 Dealer
$
$
0.5h Light
1.0h Diag
1.5h Brakes
3.0h Major
Fees, discount & tax
$
Quick fees:
$
0%
GST 5%
QC 14.975%
Apply to all lines
The slider live-prices lines you haven't customized. Lines where you typed your own sell price stay put — use Apply to all lines to reprice everything.
Notes & Recommendations
Smart Estimate
Turn this job into something the customer actually understands — a plain-English explanation and up to three options to choose from. Everything here is editable and prints on a branded options sheet.
Inspection Map
Flagged areas
Click a part of the car to flag a problem area (rust, dent, leak, worn brake…). Flags save with the job and print on the estimate.
Inspection Checklist
Good Soon Now
Tap a condition per item, add a measurement (mm, %, CCA…). Prints on the estimate/invoice — the honest upsell.
Performance & Tuner Tools
Dyno Results saved with the job
Street / GPS-box numbers Dragy, RaceBox… — estimates, not rollers
Enter baseline and final figures to see the gains.
Import a Virtual Dyno / dyno-software CSV to graph the full HP & TQ curve.
E85 Blend Calculator mix to a target ethanol %
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AFR / Lambda Converter by fuel stoich
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Wheel HP → Crank HP drivetrain loss estimate
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Parts 0 lines
| Part / Description | Qty | Cost | Sell | Taxable | Actions |
|---|
Parts Price Finder compare suppliers
or open a specific supplier
Compare quotes type what each supplier quoted — the cheapest is highlighted
Service Templates
Templates save the job category, labor hours, rate, markup, and parts list. Great for jobs you repeat — pick one to load it instantly, then adjust for the specific car. New here? Tap ★ Add Quebec Presets for a ready-made starter set.
Customer Total
$0.00
Revenue pre-tax: $0.00
Shop Margin
$0.00
Margin: 0.0%
Balance Due
$0.00
Paid: $0.00 • Unpaid
Payment
$
✓ Matches total — mark as Paid In Full?
Generate
Clear
+ Add payment
Content Creator
Track which jobs you filmed and where they got posted — saves with the job.
Full Vehicle Inspection
no inspection started
Inspection Log
0 logged
Preferences
Ten looks for the shop: Tactical Dark is the default; Light, High-Vis Day and Sepia read easily in a bright bay; Midnight, Carbon, Emerald, Redline, Garage Amber and Neon are darker moods. Saved on this computer.
Switches the interface language. Your choice is saved on this computer.
Hi-Vis Bold swaps the terminal font for wide, bold lettering that reads at arm's length on the shop floor. Auto turns it on with Mechanic mode. Saved on this computer.
The 60-second walkthrough new installs see on first launch — where everything lives and where to start.
Shop Setup
Easy strips the screen down to the essentials and enlarges the text — ideal for less tech-savvy users. Standard is the balanced default. Pro unlocks everything and opens all sections at once.
Solo Mechanic streamlines the screen for a one-person operation — hides the per-bay field and the tech-cost line (your labor is your margin). Full Shop keeps everything.
Tuner Mode reveals the extra powertrain fields on a job — Drivetrain (FWD/RWD/AWD) and Forced Induction (turbo, supercharged…) — and keeps them out of the way when you don't need them. The Engine & Transmission selectors are always available.
Compact Mode tightens padding and text across every panel so more fits on screen at once — handy on a smaller shop PC or tablet.
The typing intro that plays when the app opens. Click anywhere on it to skip; turn it off here if you want straight to work.
Sets the Job Category every new job starts on, so your most common work is one less click away.
Sets how many lift bays the Command home screen shows — match it to your shop.
Install Shop Manager Lite as a desktop/tablet app — its own window and icon, and it keeps working with no internet. Available when the app is opened from a web address (not a local file).
Shop Profile
Shown on invoices
$
🔑 License
Checking license…
Activation checks your key online once to register this PC, then the app runs fully offline as always. The app keeps working without a key — a license registers your copy and unlocks your tier. Base keys cover 3 PCs, Pro covers 10.
✦ AI Features
AI runs a free, open-source model on this PC via Ollama — no API key, no internet, no cost. The AI Edition ships with it preinstalled; on the other editions, set it up once below.
1) Install Ollama and leave it running. 2) In a terminal, pull a model once —
ollama pull llama3.1 is a safe default; on a gaming-class PC (8GB+ graphics card) use ollama pull qwen2.5:14b for noticeably smarter estimates; on a weaker PC try ollama pull qwen2.5:7b. 3) Type that same model name above, Save, then Test Connection. Everything runs on this PC — nothing is sent over the internet, and it's completely free. The first AI click after a break takes ~30s while the model loads; after that it's fast.
⇄ USB Data Sync
Not linked — your jobs are saved on this computer only.
🖧 Shared-Folder Sync (two PCs, live)
Not linked — pick a folder both computers can see and they stay in sync automatically.
Point both PCs at the same folder on your network — a mapped network drive or a shared folder both computers can open. Each computer keeps its own file in there, and the app reads the other computer's changes automatically every few seconds — no restart, no USB stick. Your data still merges safely: the newest edit of any job wins and nothing is ever wiped. Desktop app only.
🛟 Backups
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In the desktop app, a timestamped backup file is written automatically once a day to a backups folder next to the App (the last 30 are kept, and a safety copy is also taken right before any import or data-file sync). In a browser, Backup Now downloads the file instead. Restore from backup reads any backup or exported
.json and merges it in — your current jobs are never overwritten (newest wins), so it's safe to run on a new PC or after a mishap. Tip: the USB "Open Data File" also works with a shared network folder — point two computers at the same file for a simple LAN sync.—
Link a single data file on your USB stick and the app reads and writes it automatically — your jobs, templates, and shop info travel with the stick. First time: click “Create Data File on USB” and save it onto the stick (e.g. protech-data.json). On another computer: click “Open Data File from USB” and pick that same file. After that, every change saves to the stick on its own.
🩺 Diagnostics
If something ever misbehaves, copy this and send it over.
The app quietly records the last 50 errors it hits (just the error and where it happened — never your job or customer details). This is local only; nothing is sent anywhere unless you copy it yourself.
🛡️ Health & Trust
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Support diagnostics are redacted by design — version, storage use, record counts, recent errors and sync history. Never customer names, jobs or photos. The audit log records sensitive actions on this PC (deletes, imports, voided payments, license changes) so you can always reconstruct what happened.
Fills an empty install with a realistic sample shop — jobs in every stage, a comeback, a deposit, low stock, a walk-in, a build. Perfect for the tour, training or a demo; refuses to run once real jobs exist.
The hard-off switch for every internet call: VIN decode, recall checks and the license ping stop entirely — this device talks to nobody. Local AI (Ollama) keeps working; it never leaves this PC anyway. Per-device, audited, reversible.
Estimate & Invoice Designer
Live preview
Everything here saves automatically and applies to both estimates and invoices — the preview on the right is the exact sheet your customer gets. Your design also travels with USB sync and backups.
Revenue (Pre-Tax)
$0.00
Tax Collected
$0.00
Shop Margin
$0.00
Outstanding
$0.00
Shop Targets
This Month
✎ Set monthly targets
$
$
Jobs in Filter
0
Avg Ticket
$0.00
Avg Margin %
0.0%
Collected
$0.00
Job Distribution
Revenue Breakdown
Labor Revenue$0.00
Labor Cost$0.00
Parts Sell Total$0.00
Parts Cost Total$0.00
Parts Markup$0.00
Best Job (by margin)—
Profit & Loss
This Month
Rent, insurance, tools, utilities… Mark monthly bills as recurring and they count in every month's P&L automatically.
Recent Transactions
Money in & out
Shop Reports
This Month
This Quarter
This Year
Accounts Receivable
—
Cash Reconciliation
Today
7 days
Month
Team Efficiency
This MonthComeback Machine
—Customers due for service based on their last visit (oil ≈ 4 months, everything else ≈ 6). Copy the text, paste in SMS — repeat business on autopilot.
Comebacks & Redos
—Jobs flagged "Comeback / Redo of…" on the work form. The true cost of fixing it twice — parts, hours, and what you charged (usually nothing).
Supplies Usage & Spend
Last 90 daysMy Work
0 jobs
Tap a job to open it. When the wrenching is done, hit Done — send to front desk and the front desk takes it from there.
Work Board
0 active
Job Ledger
| Date ↓ | Job / Customer | Category | Status | Charge | Margin |
|---|
Customer Registry
Parts Inventory
In stock
Each bin shows stock at a glance — the fill bar drops as parts get used and turns amber/red as you near the reorder point. Stock auto-decrements when a saved job uses a matching part (deleting a job restocks it). Tip: build this wall fast with ⚡ Quick add supplies or Import job parts.
Tire Hotel
0 sets stored
Quebec runs on changeovers — track every customer's stored set: rack location, tread depths, storage fee. The season banner reminds you when it's time to text everyone. Data travels with your USB sync.
Tuning & Dyno
No job open
HP & TQ CurveImport a pull CSV on the job to see this
Before / After
Engine Health vs Stock
Record a pull — laptop + OBD adapterNot connected
—RPM
—km/h
—Coolant °C
—Intake °C
Plug a USB or Bluetooth OBD-II adapter into the laptop (≈$40 OBDLink SX class recommended — $15 clones work but poll slower), connect, and record a 3rd-gear pull. Uses the vehicle weight from the job. Two people, closed road or dyno — the driver drives, the laptop records.
No dyno? Start here~$30 gets you curves
- Easiest — this app: plug an OBD-II adapter into the laptop and use “Record a pull” above. Connect, drive the pull, done — the curve lands on the job.
- Phone route: log the pull with the Torque app (Android, ~$5), then open it in Virtual Dyno (free, Windows) with the car's weight. It reads Cobb, HP Tuners, Hondata and 60+ other logs too.
- Import any CSV in Performance & Tuner Tools (top of this tab) — the curve shows here, and the branded dyno sheet is one click.
Next step up: a Dragy/RaceBox GPS box (~$150) for real 0–60 and ¼-mile — log those on the job's Street numbers row. Rented rollers still rule for tuning.
Gear up — three ways inwhat to buy, in order
Free — $0
- Demo drive (above) — learn the whole flow with no car connected.
- Stock specs + health check — built in, 140 engines, works today.
- Virtual Dyno (free PC software) — if the car already has any logger (Cobb, HP Tuners, Hondata…).
- Phone GPS 0–60 apps — rough, but free ballparks.
Budget — under $75
- ELM327 adapter ($15–25, USB or Bluetooth) — unlocks Record a pull right here. Clones poll slower; curves come out rougher but real.
- Torque Pro ($5, Android) — the phone route when the laptop stays at the shop.
- Truck-stop scale ticket (~$15) — the car's real weight makes every estimate honest.
Shop — $250 and up
- OBDLink SX/LX ($40–80) — fast, reliable polling; the adapter to standardize on.
- Dragy or RaceBox Mini ($150–200) — real 0–60, 60–130, ⅛ & ¼-mile for the Street numbers row.
- Wideband AFR kit ($200+) — if you're touching fuel, watch the mixture, not just the power.
- Rented dyno time (hourly) — final tunes and the numbers customers frame.
Shop Gains Over Time
Enter dyno figures (or import a pull CSV) in Performance & Tuner Tools at the top of this tab — the curve and before/after show up here. Numbers save with whatever job is open. The shop trend chart plots every dyno pull you've ever saved, no extra work needed.
🏎️ Project Car — Build Planner
The Carengine code drives the recommendations
Recommended Upgradesby budget + what you're modding
Stages describe power mods only: Stage 1 runs on stock hardware (tune, intake, cat-back), Stage 2 adds supporting parts (headers, downpipe, intercooler, fueling) and needs a tune, Stage 3 is forced induction. Each part shows its own hp gain and an estimated torque gain (marked ~). The “Stage total” on the header is the whole stage over stock and climbs as you go up (Stage 2 > Stage 1); your build's live total is always up top in the tile. Torque is estimated from the power gain — put it on a dyno for exact numbers. Brakes, suspension & tires aren't "stages" — grip comes before power. Prices are typical street prices; check local emissions & traffic rules.
The Build
| Mod | Gain | Price | Status |
|---|
💬 Garage Chattalk builds with the AI
🚗 Vehicles — Registry
Appointment Scheduler