Protractor

Background Work declined today is added to Protractor's Deferred Work list. When the customer later returns for the repair, the deferred items are imported into a new Work Order and parts are sourced again due to changing price and availability. Currently, Protractor preserves part number and pricing information, but not the originally intended supplier. This requires users to re-research parts sourcing that was previously determined. Functional Requirement Add a new editable text field named Source (255 chars max) to Part/Material lines. This field is informational only for user convenience, is not used elsewhere in the program, and must persist both going into and coming out of Deferred Work. Suggested placement: Directly below the Manufacturer field on the part dialog. Additional behavior: Editable until invoice posting Overwritten programmatically during catalog lookup updates, even if the field already contains data Deferred Work predating this feature will return an empty string: "" Use Cases: Use Case 1 – Traditional Catalog Suppliers For catalog lookups, the Source field is automatically populated from the selected supplier. For example: Catalog lookup from WorldPac → Source field updated to "WorldPac". This preserves the originally intended supplier if the work is later deferred. Use Case 2 – Non-Traditional Suppliers Provide a Source field for parts that are ordered via telephone or online, but not from a traditional supplier. The Service Advisor captures ordering details in the Source field. For example: " GMPartsDirect.com , ETA +5 days, Jim - 214-555-5555". Again, the originally intended supplier is persisted. Use Case 3 – Non-Traditional Suppliers with a Bonus! This field also provides lightweight tracking for non-traditional supplier orders outside of Deferred Work. The Service Advisor places an order and enters tracking details into the Source field. For example: " GMPartsDirect.com , ETA 6/5, Order #1234, Jim - 214-555-5555". If ETA changes, the field can be updated at any time.

First, I'd like to thank the development team for providing the ability to search the Service Item database by vehicle model. This functionality is extremely valuable. As a feature enhancement, it would be helpful if the process could be streamlined. Currently, locating service items for a specific vehicle requires navigating through multiple menus and filter settings, which can be time-consuming for users who perform these searches frequently. Current Process: Protractor → Vehicle Search by Model Home Reports All Reports List Service Item List Filter * Define Filter Criteria * Column: Model * Condition: Contains * Value: "Beetle" (example) * Define Additional Filter Criteria * Column: Year * Condition: < * Value: "1980" (example) * Add * OK Suggested Enhancement: Consider adding a dedicated vehicle search function within the Service Item List that allows users to enter a model and optional year range directly, without having to build filters manually each time. For example: * Model: Beetle * Year: Before 1980 This could be presented as a simple search field or quick-filter panel, reducing the number of clicks and making vehicle-specific service item lookups significantly faster and more intuitive. Reasons an independent auto repair shop benefits from searching its database by make, model, and year: 1. Faster diagnostics and repair history access Quickly find prior work, notes, and proven fixes for the same or similar vehicles. 2. More accurate estimates and planning Compare past jobs to improve labor time estimates, parts pricing, and customer expectations. 3. Better pattern recognition for common issues Identify recurring problems tied to specific makes, models, engines, or year ranges. 4. More effective targeted marketing Easily locate owners of specific vehicle types for maintenance reminders, campaigns, or specialty services. 5. Smarter inventory and service planning Use repair trends by vehicle type to guide parts stocking, service offerings, and purchasing decisions. This enhancement would likely save considerable time and improve overall workflow efficiency. Thank you for considering this suggestion.

Would like the ability to Deselect all

When you are receiving parts and you input the supplier invoice it should be directly referenced in the purchase order screen we shouldn't have to search for it

Would like the ability to batch Merge Customers in the contact screen

It would be much faster to be able to assign techs to different labor lines in one window instead of going into every single labor line. Setting a default tech does not fic this problem since we usually have 2-4 different techs working on each vehicle throughout the visit. See this screenshot for an example.

We really appreciate the WO "Warning" button that gives the SA an alert that there's something to take care of before posting the WO to Invoice. Soooo... can we customize our own Warning?? We find that we need a way to remind our SAs to double-check that they've added a "PA State Inspection Due in [MONTH]" Service Package to each work order before they cash the customer out. There are so many things for the SAs to remember, but this is important. It's tough to implement a workflow change and get consistent results, so we're asking you for a little help from the computer. :) Here's why we want this: * PA has annual state inspections * We take photos of EVERY vehicle's windshield, so we KNOW when the customer's state inspection is due next (even if they're not here for state inspection TODAY) * We want to send email/text reminders to all of our PA customers reminding them that their state inspection... can be done now (10 months out), is almost due (11 months out), is due this month. * If we know their future due date, we can still send the reminders! We could GREATLY increase the number of state inspection opportunities we get if we could send reminders to every PA customer rather than just the customers who came in for inspection last year. * In the past we've allowed our state inspection service packages trigger the reminders. But this is insufficient and problematic. (1) There is not an inspection service package on their WO/Invoice if the inspection wasn't done today, and (2) see below. Regarding those who came in for inspection last year: * In PA, customers can come in up to 90 days before expiration to get their inspection done. Their new sticker reflects the same month they were supposed to be due originally; no penalty for coming in early. In other words, a customer can come in on May 1 for their July 31 inspection and still get a July sticker on their windshield. * But stick with me here: If we just start sending out our reminders 10 months after their last inspection, we could end up sending reminders waaaayyyy too early. If a customer came in last year at the 10-month mark, and then we calculate their "due date" as the same month this year, we have a problem. We're sending them their 10-month reminder at the 8-month mark! We need a better system for managing these timelines. Our solution was to create unique "Inspection-Due" service packages that could be manually added to the work order. Then we would set up our retention marketing to key off of those "month due" service packages instead of our state inspection service packages. But you can imagine: "manual task" = "hard to remember." Hence, a request for an option to get the computer to remind us. ------ Alternative request: A field on the WO or Vehicle Card that would let us collect the "state inspection due [month]" info in a way that Retention Marketing companies can map & identify... Of course, then we'd ask for a WO Warning to trigger if that field is not completed (not mandatory bc some customers are out of state). Alternative Alternative Request: A CUSTOMIZABLE MESSAGE BOX that will POP-UP every time the "Post" or "Warnings" buttons are clicked on a WO. Ours would ask, "Did you remember to add a State-Inspection-Due service package?" Maybe other shops can think of other ways they could use a pop-up like that.

The internal messaging needs a good overhaul. I'd like to be able to add users to a message without having to create a group in setup. Basically messaging needs to work just like it does in 99% of all other messaging apps/phone. The notifications also don't behave as one would expect. I receive two pop-ups when I get a message. I just need one notification where I can click anywhere on that notification and it will open the full messaging box. I do NOT need a window where I can't see the full conversation thread.

When merging contacts, allow the option to keep a phone or email from both accounts instead of having to select from only one account.

Takes multiple clicks for anything to happen, and then the blue loading circle happens. everything on my computer is fast besides the program.