Question 1

How much does Auto Shop Base cost?

Accepted Answer

Three simple tiers: Essentials at $100/mo for the core shop management (work orders, invoicing, scheduling, online payments). Professional at $250/mo adds AI smart suggestions, voice DVI, ShopPulse retention, and digital vehicle inspections. Enterprise at $500/mo adds tech and writer PIN logins for shops with multiple people. Most shops want Professional.

Question 2

Is there a free trial?

Accepted Answer

Yes. 30 days of full access to everything, no credit card required. After the trial you pick a tier or your account goes read-only — your data is never deleted, you can come back and choose a plan whenever you're ready.

Question 3

Can I change tiers later?

Accepted Answer

Anytime. Upgrade or downgrade from the Stripe billing portal — Stripe prorates the change to the day. No phone calls, no retention rep, no friction.

Question 4

Why three tiers instead of one?

Accepted Answer

Because a solo owner running a one-bay shop has different needs than a 5-person crew on three bays. Essentials is for the simple operator who just needs to write tickets and get paid. Professional adds AI and customer retention for shops that want growth. Enterprise adds multi-person device mode for shops with staff. You pay for what you actually use.

Question 5

Are you going to sell my customer data?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely not. We don't sell, share, or monetize your data in any way. Your customer information belongs to you. We don't show ads, we don't sell leads, and we don't share data with third parties for marketing purposes. Our only revenue comes from payment processing fees.

Question 6

What if Auto Shop Base shuts down?

Accepted Answer

Your data is always yours. You can export all your data at any time in standard formats. We're built on sustainable economics — every shop that uses online payments contributes to our operating costs. We're not a venture-funded company burning through investor money hoping to figure out monetization later.

Question 7

Who is behind Auto Shop Base?

Accepted Answer

Auto Shop Base was founded by Chris, a 20+ year automotive industry veteran who ran his own shop. After years of paying hundreds per month for software that was slow, clunky, and missing features, he built Auto Shop Base. It's not a Silicon Valley startup — it's built by someone who understands what shops actually need.

Question 8

How do you protect my customer data?

Accepted Answer

We use enterprise-grade security. All data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest. We use Row-Level Security (RLS) which means even if there was a bug in our code, other shops could never access your data — it's enforced at the database level. Your data is stored on infrastructure that's SOC 2 Type II certified.

Question 9

Where is my data stored?

Accepted Answer

Your data is stored on Supabase, which runs on AWS infrastructure in the United States. Supabase undergoes rigorous third-party security audits and maintains SOC 2 Type II compliance. Data is replicated across multiple availability zones for reliability.

Question 10

Is payment information secure?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We never see or store your customers' credit card numbers. All payments are processed through Stripe, which is PCI DSS Level 1 certified — the highest level of payment security certification. Card data goes directly to Stripe's servers, never ours.

Question 11

Can other shops see my data?

Accepted Answer

No. We use Row-Level Security (RLS), which means every single database query is automatically filtered to only show your shop's data. This is enforced at the database level, not just in our application code. Even if there was a bug in our software, the database itself would prevent cross-shop data access.

Question 12

Do you back up my data?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Your data is automatically backed up continuously with point-in-time recovery capability. We can restore data to any point in the last 7 days if needed. Additionally, you can export your own data at any time.

Question 13

What happens if there's a data breach?

Accepted Answer

While we take extensive precautions to prevent breaches, we have an incident response plan in place. We would notify affected users within 72 hours as required by law, explain what happened, and take immediate steps to remediate. Our architecture minimizes exposure — we don't store payment card data, and customer PII is isolated per-shop.

Question 14

Is my data encrypted?

Accepted Answer

Yes, on multiple levels. All data transmitted between your browser and our servers uses TLS 1.3 encryption (the same standard used by banks). Data at rest in our database is also encrypted. This means even if someone intercepted your data in transit or accessed our storage, they couldn't read it.

Question 15

Who has access to my data?

Accepted Answer

Only you and your authorized staff members can access your shop's data through the application. On our end, access to production data is extremely limited and logged. We don't browse customer data — we only access it when you specifically ask us to help troubleshoot an issue.

Question 16

How do I set up my shop for the first time?

Accepted Answer

After signing up, you'll be guided through onboarding which covers: adding your shop info (name, address, logo), setting up labor rates, creating staff accounts with PINs, and configuring your bays. You can also access this anytime from Settings.

Question 17

How do I add technicians and service writers?

Accepted Answer

Go to Settings → Team (or /settings/team). Click "Add Staff Member", enter their name, email (optional), role (tech/writer/manager), and a 4-digit PIN. Techs and writers use their PIN to clock in on shop floor devices.

Question 18

What's the difference between Device Mode and regular login?

Accepted Answer

Device Mode is for shop floor tablets/computers shared by multiple employees. It locks the device to only tech/writer portals and requires a PIN to access. Regular login (email/password) is for owners/managers who need full dashboard access. You can set up Device Mode from Dashboard → Device Mode button.

Question 19

How do I create a work order?

Accepted Answer

From the Writer Portal, click "Service Intake" for walk-ins, or go to Work Orders → New. Select or create a customer, add their vehicle, describe the concern, then add labor and parts. You can send it for customer authorization via text/email.

Question 20

How do I send an estimate for customer approval?

Accepted Answer

Open the work order and click "Send for Authorization". Enter the customer's phone or email. They'll receive a link to view the estimate and can approve it with a digital signature. You'll get notified when they respond.

Question 21

What do the work order statuses mean?

Accepted Answer

Pending = waiting to start, In Progress = actively being worked on, Waiting for Parts = parts on order, Waiting for Authorization = sent to customer for approval, Complete = work done but not invoiced, Invoiced = converted to invoice.

Question 22

How do I assign a job to a technician?

Accepted Answer

Open the work order and use the "Assign Tech" dropdown, or drag the job to a tech in the Job Queue (/writer/queue). The tech will see the job in their portal when they log in with their PIN.

Question 23

How do techs clock time on jobs?

Accepted Answer

When a tech opens a job in the Tech Portal, they click "Start Timer" to begin and "Stop Timer" when done. This tracks actual labor time vs. estimated time for productivity reports.

Question 24

How does the Digital Vehicle Inspection (DVI) work?

Accepted Answer

Techs can perform multi-point inspections from their portal. They mark items as Good/Caution/Needs Attention and can take photos. Results sync to the work order and can be shared with the customer.

Question 25

Can techs look up parts?

Accepted Answer

Yes! From the Tech Portal, click Parts to search O'Reilly, AutoZone, NAPA, and other suppliers. Part numbers and prices can be added directly to the work order.

Question 26

How do I convert a work order to an invoice?

Accepted Answer

When a work order is complete, click "Create Invoice" or change status to "Invoiced". This creates an invoice with all the line items. You can then email it to the customer or print it.

Question 27

How do I record a payment?

Accepted Answer

Open the invoice and click "Record Payment". Enter the amount and payment method (cash, check, card). Partial payments are supported - the invoice will show the remaining balance.

Question 28

How do I set up sales tax?

Accepted Answer

Go to Settings → Tax (/settings/tax). You can set different tax rates for parts and labor, and configure whether tax applies to each. Tax is automatically calculated on invoices.

Question 29

How do I look up parts from suppliers?

Accepted Answer

Go to Parts (/parts) and search by part number or description. You can search O'Reilly, AutoZone, NAPA, WorldPac, RockAuto, and more. Click a result to add it to a work order or view supplier details.

Question 30

How does the parts markup matrix work?

Accepted Answer

In Settings → Parts Matrix, you define markup percentages based on cost ranges. For example: parts under $10 get 100% markup, $10-50 get 75%, etc. This automatically calculates retail prices when you add parts.

Question 31

Can I track my own parts inventory?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Go to Parts → Inventory to add items you stock. Set reorder points to get alerts when stock is low. When you use inventory parts on a work order, stock is automatically decremented.

Question 32

How do customers book appointments online?

Accepted Answer

Share your booking link: autoshopbase.com/book/[your-shop-id]. Customers can see available time slots and book appointments. You can find your booking link in Appointments → Booking Link section.

Question 33

How do I manage appointments?

Accepted Answer

Go to Schedule (or Writer Portal → Appointments). You can view appointments in list or calendar view, confirm/cancel bookings, and convert arrivals directly to work orders.

Question 34

Can I block off times when I'm not available?

Accepted Answer

Appointment availability is based on your bay count and existing bookings. To limit capacity, adjust your bay count in Settings → Bays, or manually mark time slots as blocked in the calendar view.

Question 35

Do I have to take online payments through Auto Shop Base?

Accepted Answer

No. Stripe Connect (text-to-pay, online invoices, financing) is an optional feature. You're paying for your subscription tier either way. Most shops turn it on because it gets them paid 3-5 days faster — but cash, check, and your own terminal are all still free to use.

Question 36

What's the fee on online payments?

Accepted Answer

Nothing from us — 0%. You pay Stripe's standard processing rate (2.9% + $0.30) and that's it. No monthly fee for Connect, no minimums, no markup. You can pass the processing fee on to the customer as a line item if you want — many shops do.

Question 37

How is this cheaper than Tekmetric?

Accepted Answer

Tekmetric starts at $199-299/mo for the base platform, then adds $49/mo for SMS and $349/mo for their Tekmessage CRM. Real cost: $500-700/month. Auto Shop Base Professional is $250/mo with SMS, AI, and customer retention all included. Same features, hundreds of dollars cheaper.

Question 38

Can I use Auto Shop Base on my phone/tablet?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Auto Shop Base is fully responsive and works on any device with a web browser. For shop floor tablets, we recommend using Device Mode for a streamlined tech/writer experience.

Question 39

How do I import data from my old system?

Accepted Answer

Go to Settings → Import (/settings/import). We support imports from Tekmetric, Mitchell1, and generic CSV files. Upload your export file and map the columns to Auto Shop Base fields.

Question 40

Is my data backed up?

Accepted Answer

Yes! All data is stored securely in the cloud with automatic daily backups. We use industry-standard encryption for data at rest and in transit.

Frequently Asked Questions