GarageDoorBossPro Blog — Tune-Ups & Maintenance Plans

Choosing Garage Door Maintenance Software: What to Check Before You Switch

Plenty of field-service software claims to handle recurring work. For a garage door company running tune-up plans, that phrase can mean anything from a real maintenance program to a calendar that repeats an appointment. Before you move your plan customers into a new system, it is worth checking that it handles the things a tune-up program actually needs.

Start With How You Work

Splitting maintenance work across your vans is covered in One Van on Repairs, One on Tune-Ups: Splitting Garage Door Maintenance Work. Whatever software you choose should fit how your vans really run, not force you into a new way of working.

Write down how a tune-up moves through your company today: how it is sold, how it is scheduled, what the tech checks, how the customer finds out what was found, and how you get paid. Then check every step against the software.

Recurring Visits and the Due List

The core of a tune-up program is that visits come due on their own. Check:

• Does recurring work count from the last completed visit? Minimum days between visits handles real-life delays far better than fixed calendar dates.
• Can you set different intervals? 365 days for residential tune-ups, 90 for commercial docks, and anything else you need.
• Is there a map of what is due? A list is not enough. You want to see due visits where they are, so you can group them.
• Does it show overdue visits? Late visits should stand out, with some grace so the map is not all warnings.

In GarageDoorBossPro, plans are set by minimum days, and the Waiting List shows every due visit on a live map colored not due yet, due now and overdue past a 7-day grace.

The Visit Itself

The inspection is what the customer pays for, so the software should make it easy to do well:

• A real checklist on the tech's phone, not just a notes box. GarageDoorBossPro has thirteen items, from springs and cables & drums to the emergency release and keypad & remotes.
• Readings and a condition rating, so the record says what was found, not just that someone was there.
• Written recommendations the office can act on.
• A printed report for the homeowner.
• Equipment saved on the house, with brand, model, serial, year installed, size and bay, shown on the job card.

Also check that the tech app works on the phones your techs already carry. GarageDoorBossPro runs in the browser on iPhone and Android and installs to the home screen, with no app store, and techs sign in with a company login and a personal PIN.

Turning Findings Into Work

A tune-up program pays off through the repairs it uncovers. Check whether the software can:

• Build an estimate from your own service list.
• Carry equipment details from the estimate onto the job.
• Let the customer approve online.
• Turn the approved estimate into a scheduled job.
• Send follow-up emails on estimates that are not approved.

If any of those steps means retyping, recommendations will slip through the cracks. How that flow works in practice is in Turning Tune-Up Recommendations Into Garage Door Repair Estimates.

Sign-Ups, Billing and Reminders

The money side has to be as automatic as the scheduling:

• Sign-ups with a card. In a customer app and from a form on your website, ideally converting to a client in one click.
• Card on file and auto-charge, on completion or on a schedule.
• Invoices with line items and sales tax, plus online payment and past-due follow-up.
• Monthly account billing for property managers, HOAs and commercial accounts, with every address on one statement.
• Reminder texts and emails, with customer-chosen alerts and two-way texting from the office.

Check how texting is priced too. GarageDoorBossPro plans include 500, 1,000 or 2,000 texts sent and received each month on Start, Pro or Crew, across the US and Canada.

Moving Over and Trying It First

Ask how your existing plan customers get in. GarageDoorBossPro takes a CSV import, and imported addresses are placed on the map automatically. Set the last visit date on each plan and they come due from the right day.

Then try it before you commit. Click around the live demo at my.garagedoorbosspro.com/demo.html, a fully stocked sample garage door company with no signup. Then start a 14-day free trial with no credit card. Plans are Start at $59, Pro at $89 and Crew at $199 per month.

Run one real tune-up day through it during the trial, from the Waiting List to the printed report to the charge. That tells you more than any feature list. For everything covered in this series, go back to the garage door maintenance software page.