auto-repair-software.org

Shop Management Software Evaluations Suspended Indefinitely

Demands on my time have made it impossible for me to continue the evaluations any further at this time.  The results through part of round three are listed on the website at http://www.auto-repair-software.org/ratings.htm.  The programs listed there are the ones you should look at if you are looking for shop management software.  The particular program that is right for you will depend on your specific needs.  Each vendor and program has its share of pluses and minuses.

Round Three – Preliminary Program Evaluations – Resumes on the 24th

I’m taking the next two weeks off to work on a project in the community where I live.  Round three resumes on the 24th.

Reliability of R.O. Writer Now a Concern

I have received several reports recently that the more recent updates of R.O. Writer are causing severe crashes that occur several times a day. The reports state that months of trying to get the issues resolved with the vendor have been unsuccessful. Progressive Automotive Systems has even suggested replacing computers. That did not resolve the problems for any of the reporting shops. Data is lost at times when the system crashes. The reports also stated that pleas to upper management of Progressive Automotive Systems corporate have been ignored.

If you have experienced any these or similiar problems, please post your responses on the forum thread or, if you prefer to report your experiences privately, use the online contact form. It’s only by taking time to report such issues what we can alert others and push Progressive Automotive Systems to address the situation.

Thank you,

Kenneth Brotman
www.auto-repair-software.org

MaxxTraxx by Scott Systems Eliminated at Beginning of Round Three

Scott Systems continues to struggle to get out MaxxTraxx its successor to their old DOS program MotorTraxx. They also claim to have gone “virtual” in 2003, getting rid of the traditional “bricks and mortar” model. That’s why it’s especially unimpressive that their website continues to display”Temporary Web Page” and “This site is currently undergoing renovation.”

Around April 29th, I was told:

“In the next week or two, we will finally put our web portal up that will be geared towards new customers, …”

Here we are about ten weeks later and it still has just the temporary web pages on it.

In April I was also told that I could evaluate MaxxTraxx by connecting to their servers through the MaxxTraxx Pro CE (Full Running Demo) link on the Downloads page but the connection failed. I was told that they were hoping that problem was fixed already.

This continues to leave me no way to evaluate the program and no confidence in this vendor’s competence. This long time vendor is eliminated at the beginning of round three.

To be reconsidered, Scott Systems will have to step up the development efforts considerably – including putting a professional website back up.

FastTrak Auto Shop Manager by Risoria Limited Eliminated at Beginning of Round Three

When I connected to Risoria Limited’s servers the program repeatedly crashed.  It started happening in the first few minutes.  I told one of the company’s principals, who was on the phone with me at the time what was happening.  The person tried to brush it off.  Later it was more excuses.  The excuses didn’t add up.  It appears to be a serious bug in their program.  I do not know how many such bugs there are.  I made several offers to reconnect to their servers to confirm that it was an isolated situation which they could then easily fix in a upcoming release, but they only tried to sidestep the issue.  I tend to think there is a quality issue with the program. 

FastTrak Auto Shop Manager by Risoria Limited is eliminated in the beginning of round three. 

They are a relatively young company to our industry with a very small user base.  Perhaps after they have had more experience and more development time I’ll look at them again.

Manage (Service Center Elite) by AllData Eliminated at Beginning of Round Three

Three issues with Manage (Service Center Elite) by AllData caused me to eliminate them at the beginning of round three:

• Turns out they still don’t have the functionality that other systems have had for years,
• Too many customers are dissatisfied with the program and are leaving them right now, and 
• A massive shake up of personnel recently at the Alldata sales team indicates to me that they are still trying to get their bearings for their shop management software business.

I look forward to reassessing their program after they have had more experience.

NAPA TRACS Eliminated at Beginning of Round Three

NAPA TRACS’ continuing bias towards their own stores has finally caught up with them.  With NAPA TRACS you can only order parts online from NAPA stores.  Plenty of other shop management software vendors that have comparable feature sets do not have this limitation.  The Automotive Shop Management Software Standards state that as a requirement:

The program shall interface or integrate seamlessly with at least two electronic parts ordering options each of which gives the user the ability to electronically order parts and check on price and availability.

The NAPA TRACS website also continues to state a number of questionable advertising claims. For now, NAPA TRACS is eliminated at the beginning of round three.

In order to reconsider NAPA TRACS, more electronic parts ordering options will have to be available.  This means that users must be able to use NAPA TRACS to seamlessly order from other parts vendors.  Also, the advertising claims on their website will have to be revised.

COSTAR Computer Systems Eliminated at Beginning of Round Three

COSTAR did not score high enough in round two.  All categories need to be improved.  There are also unacceptable advertising claims on their website that would need to be revised before they could be considered again. For now COSTAR is eliminated at the beginning of round three.

ServiceShop by GenesisFour Eliminated at Beginnning of Round Three

GenesisFour has not been able to stay competitive with the functionality offered by several other programs.  They also continue to make unacceptable advertising claims on their website.  ServiceShop by GenesisFour is therefore eliminated at the beginning of round three.

In order to consider them again in the future they will have to accelerated their rate of development and revise their advertising claims.

Major Cuts Thin Out the Field of Candidates as Round Three Begins

Major cuts to the number of vendors and programs are underway.  We are entering the more labor intensive rounds now.  The question has always been who will score well enough against the standards to  have a shot at becoming certified in time?  Why waste your time and mine on those that do not appear to be very close to achieving that? 

I will try to give my reasons for cutting each candidate as well as what it will take to consider them again.   These cuts should not be considered lifetime bans.