Protractor

Currently, when a work order is placed “On Hold” (waiting for parts, client authorization, etc.), the tile disappears from the technician’s prioritization screen. This creates a breakdown in workflow visibility and accountability. We are requesting an enhancement where: • “On Hold” work orders remain assigned to the technician • These jobs are displayed in a clearly defined “On Hold” section under each technician’s column • This section should be visually separated from active work • “On Hold” jobs must NOT count toward the technician’s daily workload or load percentage (consistent with how they are excluded on the Overview screen) Why this matters: • Technicians lose visibility of jobs they are still responsible for • Service consultants and managers lose an accurate real-time picture of workflow • Jobs risk being forgotten or delayed once removed from view • Creates unnecessary back-and-forth to track status manually Operational Impact: In a high-efficiency shop environment, technicians are often juggling multiple vehicles at different stages. Even when a job is paused, ownership does not change. Keeping these jobs visible ensures: • Better planning when parts arrive • Faster re-engagement on paused jobs • Improved communication between service consultants and technicians • Stronger accountability across the team Suggested UI Behavior: • Add an “On Hold” section at the bottom of each technician’s column • Greyed-out or visually distinct tiles to indicate paused status • No impact on load %, hours available, or prioritization calculations Priority Level: High – This is a critical workflow improvement for real-world shop operations.

We rely heavily on Protractor’s internal messaging between technicians and service advisors. While communication is strong, there is currently no built-in system to track action items that come out of those messages or any task required for day to day- . A typical example: Technician sends: “Need outer tie rod / approval required” Service advisor replies: “K” to acknowledge Advisor is busy (on phone, with another customer, etc.) Task is unintentionally forgotten This results in: Delays in approvals Technicians waiting on information Reduced efficiency and lost time Increased reliance on memory instead of process This is not a communication issue — it is a task accountability and tracking issue. We are requesting a built-in Task Manager module integrated directly into Protractor. Task Manager in Upper Ribbon Dedicated “Task Manager” tab in the main interface Visible and accessible at all times Smart Task Creation from Messaging Within internal messaging: When a technician sends a message (e.g., “Need outer tie rod”) Service advisor replies “K” Advisor can click a “Create Task” button directly inside the message thread This should: Auto-generate a task Pull context from the message (RO#, job, note text) Require minimal typing Shared Task Queue + Assignment Options Task system should support: Group task queue (any service advisor can grab) OR individual assignment This reflects real shop workflow where: 90% of tasks are not specific to one advisor First available advisor should be able to take ownership Task Status & Workflow Suggested statuses: New (Unclaimed) In Progress Waiting (customer / parts) Completed Timers & Escalation This is critical: Tasks should have time targets (e.g., 5 min, 15 min, 30 min) If not addressed: Visual alerts Optional message reminders Prevents tasks from being forgotten Visibility Task Module visible to all advisors Optional dashboard or screen view Allows team to see: What is waiting What is delayed What needs attention Why This Matters In a high-volume shop, the biggest inefficiencies are not technical—they are workflow-related. Currently: Tasks live in chat Chat is not trackable Memory is unreliable under pressure With a Task Manager: Nothing gets lost Advisors are accountable Technicians are not waiting Workflow becomes structured and predictable Summary This feature would bridge the gap between communication and execution. Protractor already excels at shop management and communication — adding a Task Manager would elevate it into a complete workflow management system.

First, many of my dashboards have a lot of reports in them and take 15-30 seconds to refresh. This is unfortunate already, but it's super frustrating when I initially open the 'Dashboard' utility and it automatically opens the wrong dashboard. The utility auto-opens the last dashboard I had open, and inevitably, that's not the dashboard I want to view. Thus, I waaaaaaiiiiiiit for the wrong dashboard to refresh before I can then waaaaaaiiiiiit for the correct dashboard to refresh. It would be great if I could disable this auto-refresh feature and only refresh the data when I knew I was in the right dashboard. Secondly and related, sometimes I accidently select the wrong dashboard and have to wait while it fully refreshes before I can select the correct dashboard, all the while feeling my chest tighten and breath shorten. It would be great if there was a "Stop Refresh" button I could press allowing me to get to the correct dashboard first. I realize the latter feature would solve both concerns so is probably the most important of the two. However, a 'stop-refresh' button and an 'auto-open' setting I could configure to 'off' would be way cool. Thanks for all you're doing to make Protractor better.

It has come to my attention that the Parts Tech Feature has the ability to also lookup labor at the same time as parts lookup. This would significantly speed up estimating times. However this function is not available through Protractor. Anyhting that increases productivity should be available with Protractor.

WE ARE 4 MONTHS IN THE NEW YEAR AND THIS HAS BEEN IN PROGRESS FOREVER WHAT IS GOING ON AN UPDATE WOULD BE NICE !!!

Protractor already has integrations that allow for VIN's to be decoded, but there is much room for improvement. There should be a way to see VIN attributes easily, like in the utilities tab of a work order. There should also be an automated recall check when creating a work order. If there is a recall, it should automatically be entered into the work order; if not, it should just have information stating when it was last checked.

It would be nice to have a way to mark deactivated, sold, or single visit vehicles. Often we deal with Body Shops, other Mechanical Shops, or Second Hand Dealers, and they will have a vehicle in once or maybe twice for repairs. It would be nice to be able to deactivate, but not delete these old vehicles, so that their history is still intact, but we don't have a list a mile long under that contact.

Would like the ability to Deselect all

Would like a report that has the ability to calculate Proficiency and the checkbox option to include in progress

Having the ability to run a report on all low stock items so we can order all stocked items in one sweep.