Shop Estimator Manual

For version 1.2. The browser version and the Windows version work the same way; where they differ, this manual says so.

1. Getting started

There are three ways to run Shop Estimator. Pick one; you can switch later.

The first time it opens you are shown the free-version terms. Choose I understand and accept to continue. The app then downloads the parts catalog and vehicle list, which takes a few seconds.

2. Set up your shop

Open Settings (on a phone: More). Fill these in once:

• Shop identity: name, address, phone, email, website and logo. These print at the top of every estimate and invoice. Typing a ZIP code fills the city and state.
• Default rates: labor rate per hour, shop supplies percent and its cap, tax rate, whether labor is taxed, and your parts markup. New tickets start with these values; you can change them on any single ticket.
• Ticket numbering: an optional prefix and the next number to use.
• Technicians: the names of the people who work on vehicles.
• Receipt text: the disclaimer printed on estimates and the footer printed on invoices.

In the browser version settings save as you type. In the Windows version choose Save Settings.

3. Dashboard

• Active jobs: tickets that are Approved or Completed but not yet invoiced.
• Pending estimates: Draft tickets waiting for the customer.
• Total sales today: the total of tickets invoiced today.
• Recent tickets: choose one to open it.
• Backup reminder: an amber notice appears when you have never exported your data, or the last export is 14 or more days old.

An empty app offers Load sample data so you can look around. Remove it later with Settings > Clear all data.

4. Customers and vehicles

Choose Customers, then Add customer. First and last name are required.

• Phone numbers are tidied to (480) 555-0142. An extension typed as x12 becomes ex 12.
• Email is checked for format and common misspellings, with a one-click fix such as "Did you mean jane@gmail.com?". It cannot confirm that a mailbox exists.
• ZIP fills in City and State when they are empty.
• Search finds customers by name, phone, email, city, or any of their vehicles' plate, VIN, make or model, as you type.

Vehicles

Open a customer and choose Add vehicle. The VIN comes first:

1. Type the 17-character VIN. The app checks it and says "VIN looks valid" or explains what is wrong.
2. Choose Decode VIN to fill Year, Make, Model and Engine from the U.S. NHTSA database.

No VIN? Pick Year, then Make, then Model from the lists, which narrow as you choose. You can also type anything that is not on the list.

A customer or vehicle that has tickets cannot be deleted.

5. Parts and suppliers

The Parts screen is your own list of parts you stock or use often. Each part has a part number, description, supplier, your cost, your retail price and the quantity on hand. Parts with 2 or fewer on hand are flagged as low.

Adding parts

• Add from APAS catalog searches the Auto Parts and Stuff catalog of in-stock parts. Type a part number, brand or a few words; every word you type must match. Choosing a part adds it to your list.
• Other suppliers (the second tab in the same window): pick the supplier, open their website search, then type in the part number, description and your price.
• Add part by hand for anything else.

"APAS: $x" beside a cost means the current catalog price differs from the cost you have on file. Your own prices are never changed automatically.

Your supplier list

Settings > Parts suppliers holds the suppliers you buy from. Auto Parts and Stuff is built in. AutoZone, O'Reilly, NAPA, Factory Motor Parts and Parts Authority are listed to start; add, rename or remove others, and choose a default. The part picker opens on your default supplier.

Live prices and stock inside the app are available for Auto Parts and Stuff only. For other suppliers the app opens their website and you enter the part details yourself.

6. Writing an estimate

1. Choose New Estimate.
2. Pick the customer and vehicle, or add them on the spot with New customer and New vehicle.
3. Fill in Job details: what the customer reported, the technicians, and notes to print. Change the labor rate, shop supplies or tax for this ticket if it needs different rates.
4. Add line items.

Part lines

• Pick a part from your list, the APAS catalog, or another supplier; or type the description, quantity and unit price.
• Customer supplied: tick this when the customer brought the part. The line prints with its description but its price and tax are $0.00.

Labor lines

• Hourly: enter hours; the line is hours times the ticket's labor rate.
• Flat rate: enter a dollar amount; hours are not used.
• Optionally choose which technician did that line.

Approved, declined, deferred

Every line has an approval setting. Only Approved lines count toward the total. Declined and Deferred lines are dimmed, left out of the total, and printed in a separate "Declined / Deferred work" list so the customer has a record of what was recommended.

Use the arrows on a line to reorder it and the trash button to remove it. In the browser version everything saves as you type; in the Windows version choose Save Ticket.

Quick command: type or say it

The Quick command button at the top of every screen (or Ctrl+K) lets you write an estimate in one sentence instead of filling in the screens. It works in the browser, on a phone and in the Windows version. In the browser and on a phone you can also tap the microphone and say it.

How it works

1. Open Quick command and type the customer, the vehicle, then each part or job, with commas between them.
2. Press Enter (Check it). You get a numbered list of exactly what will happen. Nothing is saved yet.
3. Press Enter again (Do it) to save. If the list is wrong, change the wording and check again.
4. Read the cost: labor, parts, shop supplies, tax and total.
5. Choose Approve and print, Approve or Print, or type another request to keep adding to the same ticket.

• It always shows you what it will do first. Nothing is saved until you press Enter again or Do it.
• When it finishes it shows the labor, parts, shop supplies, tax and total, with buttons to open the ticket, approve it, or approve and print.
• A part named in words, such as “brake pads”, is priced from your own Parts list when exactly one part matches. Otherwise the line is added with no price and flagged, and you choose the exact part on the ticket. Give a price in the sentence (brake pads $64.99) to skip that.
• If more than one customer matches the name, it asks which one.
• Separate the customer, the vehicle and each part or job with commas. It understands set wording like the examples above, not every possible sentence.

Using the microphone (browser and phone only)

1. Tap the microphone button beside the box. The first time, the app explains where the audio goes and asks before turning it on. Your browser may then ask for permission to use the microphone; choose Allow.
2. Say the request the way you would type it, for example “new estimate for Jane Doe, 2018 Ford F-150, brake pads, one and a half hours labor”, then pause. It stops listening by itself.
3. The words appear in the box and are checked, exactly as if you had typed them. Fix any word it misheard, then press Do it. Nothing is saved before that.
4. When a spoken request finishes, the app reads the total back to you.

7. How totals are calculated

Each figure is rounded to the cent. Example: 1.8 hours at $100 is $180.00 labor; parts of $79.99 and 2 × $89.99 come to $259.97; supplies are 5% of $180.00 = $9.00; tax is 8% of $268.97 = $21.52; the total is $470.49.

8. Approving and invoicing

• Convert to Invoice locks every field, records the date, and subtracts the parts used from your quantities on hand.
• Revert Invoice unlocks the ticket and puts those quantities back. It asks you to confirm.
• Only Draft tickets can be deleted, from the ticket or from the Tickets list.

9. Printing and PDF

Open a ticket and choose Preview / Print. The page shows your logo and shop details, the customer and vehicle, the approved lines, totals, any declined or deferred work, your notes, and a signature line. The title is ESTIMATE until the ticket is invoiced, then INVOICE.

• Browser version: choose Print / Save as PDF, then pick a printer or "Save as PDF" in the print window.
• Windows version: Print / Save as PDF opens the receipt in your web browser with the print window ready. Export Receipt (.txt) saves a plain-text copy.

10. Parts catalog and vehicle list

Two shared lists are downloaded from the website and kept on your device: the Auto Parts and Stuff parts catalog and the year / make / model list.

• The app checks for newer lists each time it opens. If there is something new you see a short "Getting the latest parts and vehicle data" screen. It never holds you up for more than 15 seconds; a slow download finishes in the background.
• Settings > Data sync shows when you last synced, has a Sync now button, and lets you turn off checking on open.
• Syncing only downloads. It never uploads your records.
• Offline, the app keeps using the lists it already has.

11. Backing up and moving data

Export data (Dashboard or Settings) saves everything to one file, shop_data.json. Keep copies somewhere other than the device you work on, such as a USB stick or cloud drive.

Import data replaces what is in the app with the contents of a backup file. It asks before replacing anything.

Moving to another device or version

1. On the old device: Export data.
2. Copy the file to the new device.
3. On the new device: Import data.

The same file works in the browser version and the Windows version. For the Windows version you can also simply copy shop_data.json into the folder beside the program.

12. Using it on a phone

• iPhone or iPad: open the app in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen.
• Android: open the app in Chrome and choose Install app in Settings, or use the browser menu.

The installed app opens full screen and works without a signal. On a phone, the totals stay pinned at the bottom of the ticket; tap Details to see the breakdown.

13. The Windows version

• One program file with no installer. Keep it in its own folder; it creates shop_data.json, the parts catalog and the vehicle list beside itself.
• Windows may warn the first time because the program is not yet code-signed. Choose More info, then Run anyway.
• To update, download the newer file and put it in the same folder. Your data file is left as it is.
• Settings > Parts suppliers and lookups holds the supplier list and the switch for online lookups.

14. Privacy and registration

• Your customers, vehicles, parts and tickets are never sent to us.
• The Quick command microphone uses your browser's speech recognition, which may send the audio to the browser maker (Google or Apple). Typed commands stay on your device.
• ZIP lookup sends the ZIP code to zippopotam.us. Decode VIN sends the VIN to the U.S. NHTSA vehicle database. Nothing else is sent, and both can be switched off under Online lookups.
• Register your shop (Settings) is optional. It shows exactly what will be sent, which is your shop's name and contact details, and sends it only when you press the button. We use it to tell you about updates.
• The full terms and disclaimer are available at any time under Settings > About.

Asking for a feature

If something is missing or gets in your way, tell us on the feature request page. There is a Request a feature link in the app too: at the bottom of the side menu and under Settings > About in the browser version, under More on a phone, and at the top left of the Windows version. It opens the request page; nothing from your shop's data is sent.

15. Troubleshooting

Still stuck, or have a suggestion? Email help@shopestimator.com.