Compare
Shop software built for transmission shops vs. general repair software
BayStacker and six general systems, feature by feature
Every general system here is built around the repair order, and none of them publishes a unit record, a teardown and build record, or a check that holds the invoice until the repair is proven. They do publish the counter tools BayStacker does not have: a labor guide, parts ordering, texting and card payments. Each vendor cell is read from that vendor’s own pages on 27 September 2026 and cites the page; where a vendor says nothing, the cell says Not stated.
| Criterion | BayStacker | Tekmetric | Shopmonkey | Shop-Ware | AutoLeap | Mitchell 1 Manager SE | Protractor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built for transmission work | |||||||
| What the record is built around | The diagnosis case1 | The repair order2 | The work order3 | The repair order4 | The repair order5 | Estimates and invoices, beside ProDemand6 | The work order7 |
| Unit and core tracking | Included: Cores tracked until the credit lands8 | Not stated2 | Not stated3 | Not stated4 | Not stated5 | Not stated6 | Partial: Core and parts-return tracking; no unit record7 |
| Teardown findings and build sheets | Included: Build record with each measurement8 | Not stated2 | Not stated3 | Not stated4 | Not stated5 | Not stated6 | Not stated7 |
| Rebuild vs. reman workflow | Included: In-house rebuild, reman swap or sublet | Not stated2 | Not stated3 | Not stated4 | Not stated5 | Not stated6 | Not stated7 |
| Comeback tied to the job’s history | Included: Reopens the original work order, same case1 | Not stated2 | Not stated3 | Not stated4 | Not stated5 | Not stated6 | Partial: Warranty handling for parts7 |
| Diagnosis with evidence | Included: Ranked hypothesis, evidence, next test; a person confirms1 | Not stated2 | Not stated3 | Not stated4 | Not stated5 | Not stated6 | Not stated7 |
| Road test and QC before the invoice | Included: No invoice until verification passes9 | Not stated2 | Not stated3 | Not stated4 | Not stated5 | Not stated6 | Not stated7 |
| VIN-gated diagnosis | Included: Analysis A waits for a decoded VIN1 | Not stated2 | Not stated3 | Not stated4 | Not stated5 | Not stated6 | Not stated7 |
| General shop work | |||||||
| Estimates and invoices | Included: Full OS10 | Included: From Start2 | Included: Every plan3 | Included11 | Included5 | Included6 | Included7 |
| Customer approval links | Included: Estimate approval by link12 | Included: Digital authorizations2 | Included: Authorizations and e-signatures3 | Included: Through DVX13 | Included: Verified eSignatures5 | Not stated6 | Partial: Through inspections; no link described14 |
| Digital vehicle inspections | Partial: Evidence and photos on the case; no customer-facing inspection | Included: From Start2 | Included: Every plan3 | Included: DVX13 | Included: Standard on Essentials5 | Included: Mobile inspections6 | Included: Basic on Core; AutoServe1 from Performance15 |
| Scheduling and online booking | Included: Appointment calendar; booking page per location | Add-on: Calendar; online booking in Marketing16 | Included: Calendar and reminders, every plan3 | Add-on: Online scheduler on Ultimate+ or as an add-on4 | Included: Calendar and website booking5 | Included: Appointment scheduling6 | Add-on: Online scheduler, $249/mo add-on15 |
| Accounting | Partial: Its own ledger per location; records export as CSV8 | Not stated17 | Included: QuickBooks Online from Clever3 | Add-on: Accounting Link, fee applies4 | Included: QuickBooks Online from Pro5 | Add-on: Accounting Link, $69/mo18 | Included: Integrated general ledger7 |
| Two-way texting | Not offered: Not offered1 | Included: From Scale2 | Included: Every plan3 | Included: Limited on Startup; unlimited from Pro4 | Included: From Pro5 | Add-on: MessageCenter, $39/mo18 | Partial: Text-to-pay; texting with inspections14 |
| Supplier parts ordering | Not offered: Requests and POs recorded; ordered at the supplier1 | Included: PartsTech integration17 | Included: PartsTech, Nexpart, RepairLink3 | Included: Native parts catalog from Pro4 | Included: Every plan5 | Included: Parts catalogs and ordering6 | Included: Catalog lookups, vendor integrations7 |
| Labor guide | Not offered: None1 | Included: From Grow2 | Included: MOTOR, from Clever3 | Included: MOTOR, from Pro4 | Included: From Pro5 | Add-on: ProDemand, in the TeamWorks bundle19 | Included: Epicor, every plan15 |
| Card payments | Not offered: Recorded on the invoice, not processed1 | Add-on: Payments add-on; built in on Enterprise2 | Included: Every plan3 | Included: Shop-Ware Payments; fees apply4 | Included: Listed on every plan5 | Included: Through OpenEdge or 1st Mile6 | Included: Integrated; fees apply15 |
| Marketing and reviews | Not offered: Not offered1 | Add-on: +$345/mo per shop2 | Add-on: CRM Essentials, $349/mo3 | Add-on: On Ultimate+, or CRM add-on4 | Add-on: Marketing Suite, sold separately5 | Not stated6 | Included: Digital marketing suite on Prestige15 |
| Price and plan | |||||||
| Month to month, one location | $149 or $49910 | $199–$439; Enterprise quoted2 | $239–$499; Multi-Shop quoted3 | $279–$9994 | $199–$449; Enterprise quoted5 | $348 TeamWorks bundle; Manager SE alone not listed19 | $399–$1,29915 |
| Billed annually | Monthly only10 | $179–$4092 | $215–$4493 | $251–$8994 | $179–$4095 | 12-month lease19 | $359–$1,16915 |
| Users | No per-user charge10 | Unlimited2 | 3–5 included, then $20/mo each3 | Unlimited4 | Not stated5 | +$15/mo per additional user18 | Not stated15 |
| Moving your history in | CSV import with a dry run; no vendor import20 | Not stated2 | Assistance; one-time $500 fee3 | Migration fees may apply4 | Not stated5 | Not stated6 | Not stated15 |
Sources for the matrix
- BayStacker: transmission shop softwarebaystacker.com
- Tekmetric pricingtekmetric.com
- Shopmonkey pricingshopmonkey.io
- Shop-Ware packages and pricingshop-ware.com
- AutoLeap pricing and plansautoleap.com
- Mitchell 1 Manager SE product pagemitchell1.com
- Protractor feature overviewprotractorsoftware.com
- BayStacker product: builder bench, parts and coresbaystacker.com
- BayStacker help: Why can’t I invoice?baystacker.com
- BayStacker pricingbaystacker.com
- Shop-Ware estimatingshop-ware.com
- BayStacker solutions: what the customer seesbaystacker.com
- Shop-Ware Digital Vehicle Experience (DVX)shop-ware.com
- Protractor digital vehicle inspectionsprotractorsoftware.com
- Protractor pricingprotractorsoftware.com
- Tekmetric appointment schedulingtekmetric.com
- Tekmetric integrationstekmetric.com
- Mitchell 1 online store: Manager SE Shop Management Solutionsbuymitchell1.net
- Mitchell 1 online store: TeamWorks packagesbuymitchell1.net
- BayStacker help: How do I import my history?baystacker.com
On this page
BayStacker at a glance
- What it is: diagnosis-first auto repair shop management software for transmission and powertrain work. The complaint, the decoded VIN and the first finding become one diagnosis case; Analysis A returns a ranked hypothesis with the next test and the rework risk, a draft until a person confirms it; the work order, parts, build and invoice read from that case.
- What it costs: Intelligence $149 or Full OS $499 per location per month, billed monthly, with a 30-day free trial and 1,000 analysis runs a month. There is no per-user charge and no annual contract; a plan is cancelled from the billing page.
- Who it is for: transmission and rebuild shops, fleet powertrain operations, multi-location groups, and general repair shops with a transmission bay.
- What it does not do: it has no labor guide, no integrated supplier parts ordering, no two-way texting or marketing suite, and it does not process card payments — payments are recorded on the invoice.
- Moving in: history comes in as a CSV file, one row per past repair, after a dry run reports what would be imported, skipped or refused. There is no direct import from Tekmetric or any other vendor.
- Moving out: every record can be exported at any time as a zip of CSV files.
Published prices at a glance
Month-to-month prices for one location, from each vendor's own pricing page. Annual billing is lower for every vendor that offers it; payment processing, add-ons and migration fees are extra.
| System | Entry plan | Top published plan | Users | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tekmetric | $199 | $439 | Unlimited | Tekmetric alternative |
| Shopmonkey | $239 | $499 | 3–5 included, then $20 each | Shopmonkey alternative |
| Shop-Ware | $279 | $999 | Unlimited | Shop-Ware alternative |
| AutoLeap | $199 | $449 | Not stated | AutoLeap alternative |
| Mitchell 1 (TeamWorks lease) | $348 | Quoted | $15 per additional user | Mitchell 1 alternative |
| Protractor | $399 | $1,299 | Not stated | Protractor alternative |
| BayStacker | $149 | $499 | No per-user charge | Pricing |
Mitchell 1's figure is its TeamWorks bundle of repair information, estimating and Manager SE on a 12-month lease; it does not publish a stand-alone Manager SE price. The two best-known general systems are compared plan by plan in Tekmetric vs Shopmonkey.
How to choose shop management software
- What the record is built around. Every general system above is built around the repair order. If your costly jobs are diagnoses that come back, ask where the diagnosis, its evidence and the confirmation are recorded.
- The whole monthly bill. Add users beyond the allowance, the add-ons you would actually turn on, payment processing and any migration fee before comparing entry prices.
- What the counter needs. A labor guide, parts ordering, texting and card payments are included in most general systems at some tier. BayStacker has none of them.
- How history moves. Ask for the export format, and for a dry run of the import that shows what would be refused before anything is written.
For a transmission or rebuild shop, also test cores to credit, bench labor and what happens to the record when a job comes back — the checklist is in the best transmission shop software guide, and the workflow is on transmission shop software.
Common questions
What is the best auto repair shop software?
It depends on the shop. For general repair and maintenance, Tekmetric, Shopmonkey, Shop-Ware and AutoLeap are the most-compared systems, and the right one is usually decided by team size, whether the shop needs texting and card payments on the first plan, and where the labor guide sits. For a transmission shop, the deciding question is whether the software records the diagnosis and holds the invoice until the repair is verified — which is what BayStacker is built for.
How much does auto repair shop management software cost?
Published entry prices run from $199 a month (Tekmetric, AutoLeap) to $399 (Protractor) for one location, month to month, and top plans reach $999 (Shop-Ware Ultimate+) and $1,299 (Protractor Elite). Mitchell 1 lists its TeamWorks bundle at $348 a month on a 12-month lease. Users, add-ons, payment processing and migration fees are extra, and annual billing is lower (read 27 September 2026).
What is the difference between auto repair shop software and transmission shop software?
General auto repair shop software is built around the repair order: estimate, approval, labor, parts, invoice. Transmission shop software has to hold what a repair order cannot — the diagnosis with its evidence, the unit and its core, the bench work, and the comeback — because a rebuild that fails is the most expensive job a shop does. BayStacker is built around that diagnosis case.
Can I switch shop management software without losing my history?
Usually, if you control the order: export customers, vehicles, repair orders and invoices before cancelling anything; ask the new vendor for a dry run of the import; keep the old system readable for a month; and reconcile open work, cores and warranty claims on the day you switch. BayStacker imports history as a CSV file and runs a dry run before it writes.
Sources
- Tekmetric pricingtekmetric.com
- Shopmonkey pricingshopmonkey.io
- Shop-Ware packages and pricingshop-ware.com
- AutoLeap pricing and plansautoleap.com
- Mitchell 1 online store: TeamWorks packagesbuymitchell1.net
- Protractor pricingprotractorsoftware.com
- BayStacker pricingbaystacker.com
Every comparison
Tekmetric alternative
Where BayStacker replaces Tekmetric for a transmission shop, where it does not, and what each costs per location.
Shopmonkey alternative
Shopmonkey’s per-user plans against BayStacker’s per-location price, and which shop each one is built for.
Shop-Ware alternative
Shop-Ware’s parts, texting and customer-facing polish against BayStacker’s diagnosis case and verification gate.
AutoLeap alternative
AutoLeap against BayStacker for a transmission shop, plus AutoLeap vs Tekmetric plan by plan.
Mitchell 1 alternative
Mitchell 1 Manager SE, sold with ProDemand on a lease, against BayStacker’s monthly per-location plan for transmission work.
Protractor alternative
Protractor’s Epicor labor guides, accounting and core tracking against BayStacker’s diagnosis case, at a lower monthly price.
Tekmetric vs Shopmonkey
The two best-known general systems, plan by plan: prices, users, labor guide, texting and payments — then where BayStacker fits.
Run Analysis A on the unit that came back.
Try it on your own last rework: the complaint, the decoded VIN, the ranked hypothesis and the rework risk, on a case you can read.