An auto workshop is a hive of activity: vehicles waiting for diagnostics, mechanics working across bays, parts being sourced, and customers calling to check progress. For an owner, managing this flow feels less like engineering and more like firefighting.
Jobs stall between stations, mechanics wait on missing parts, invoices pile up, and payroll takes days to reconcile. Customers grow frustrated, margins slip, and growth feels impossible.
Workshops need the control of an ERP, but without the cost and complexity. This is where Orion steps in—a mini-ERP designed for small businesses like auto workshops.
Most auto repair shops still rely on outdated systems or no systems at all:
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Paper work orders taped to dashboards or walls.
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Whiteboards in the garage to track vehicles, often smudged or outdated.
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Manual part tracking in notebooks or memory.
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Payroll by approximation, with hours scribbled on sheets.
These methods might work for a 2-bay shop, but once the volume grows, jobs start slipping through the cracks.
1. Customer Returns, Job Not Ready
A customer comes back to collect her car, only to find it’s still in the testing bay. Nobody updated the whiteboard. The trust gap widens instantly.
2. Missing Parts Delay Repairs
A mechanic is halfway through a brake replacement when he realizes the part is out of stock. Nobody linked inventory to the job. The car sits idle, and so does the bay.
3. Invoices Out of Sync
Repairs are complete, but billing gets delayed because paper job cards pile up at the office. Customers grumble about late invoices, and the owner’s cash flow suffers.
4. Payroll Errors Erode Morale
Two mechanics argue over logged hours. The owner cross-checks scraps of paper and still gets it wrong. Errors creep in, leading to disputes and mistrust.
These aren’t minor inconveniences—they’re daily, expensive headaches.
Imagine if every job had a clear digital pipeline:
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Vehicles move from diagnostics → repair → testing → delivery seamlessly.
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Parts link directly to jobs, deducting automatically from inventory.
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Staff clock in and out on mobile, payroll calculates without arguments.
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Invoices are generated the moment a car is ready.
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Owners see the entire workshop in real time from a dashboard.
That’s the promise of Orion job tracking software for auto workshops.
Orion is a mobile-first mini-ERP that simplifies workshop operations.
Instead of five disconnected systems—or worse, paper—Orion combines job tracking, invoicing, payroll, inventory, and customer management in one app. Built on Google’s framework, it’s reliable, secure, and scales with you.
Every account starts with four essential stations—Admin, Billing, Inventory, and Primary Process—so you’re ready to run jobs immediately. Add extra stations as your workflow expands for just $4.49 each. Pricing stays fair, predictable, and affordable.
Workshops thrive on throughput. Orion ensures jobs never stall by keeping everything visible and connected:
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Mechanics know exactly which jobs are waiting at their bay.
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Owners see which cars are stuck, who’s working, and what parts are missing.
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Customers get billed on time with accurate invoices.
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Payroll runs in minutes, not days.
This isn’t about adding another app—it’s about replacing five weak processes with one strong system.
Features That Matter for Auto Workshops
Instead of throwing a checklist, let’s look at how features translate into daily wins for an auto workshop:
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Job Pipelines – Cars move digitally across bays, so no one wonders, “Where is that vehicle right now?”
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Inventory Sync – Brake pads, oil filters, and fluids link to jobs. Usage deducts automatically, stock alerts warn before shortages hit.
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Invoicing & Payments – The moment a job is marked complete, the invoice is ready. No more end-of-week backlog.
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Attendance → Payroll – Mechanics clock in on their phone, hours calculate automatically. Payroll disputes vanish.
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Owner Dashboard – One screen shows jobs in progress, late vehicles, cash collected today, and pending invoices.
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Customer Database – Store vehicle histories, past invoices, and notes. Next time the customer calls, you know the car and the context instantly.
Together, these features remove friction and restore confidence—for staff, owners, and customers alike.
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Digital job pipelines across bays
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Real-time job status for mechanics and owners
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Inventory deduction per job
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Low-stock alerts
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Attendance logging on mobile
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Automated payroll calculation
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Invoice generation on job completion
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Customer & vehicle history database
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Owner dashboard with live metrics
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Staff issue logging and job reassignment
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Unlimited sites and stations
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Google-backed framework with data encryption
Each of these is an ERP-level function—but designed for the speed and simplicity auto workshops need.
The fear of “switching systems” keeps many owners stuck. Orion makes the switch painless:
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One-on-one onboarding – Our team helps configure your bays, staff roles, and inventory lists.
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30-minute deployment – Go live in less than an hour.
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No credit card required – Try it free for the first month.
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Early adopter perks – 25% discount for the next 11 months, feature requests prioritized, and dedicated support.
Instead of drowning in setup, you’re running real jobs in the app on day one.
Auto workshops don’t fail because they lack skilled mechanics—they fail because they lack visibility and control. Jobs stall, parts go missing, invoices are delayed, and payroll eats valuable time.
Orion changes that. With job pipelines, inventory sync, mobile payroll, and real-time dashboards, workshops get ERP-level clarity at a fraction of the cost.
For owners, that means less firefighting and more growth. For customers, it means trust and loyalty.