A Protractor alternative for transmission shops
Protractor and BayStacker, side by side
Protractor is a full general shop management system with its own accounting and Epicor parts and labor data, and it is one of the few that lists core and warranty tracking on its base plan. BayStacker overlaps on accounting and cores; it differs on what the record is built around. Protractor's column is read from its pricing, feature and inspection pages on 27 September 2026.
| Criterion | BayStacker | Protractor |
|---|---|---|
| Built for transmission work | ||
| What the record is built around | The diagnosis case1 | The work order2 |
| Unit and core tracking | Included: Cores tracked until the credit lands3 | Partial: Core and parts-return tracking; no unit record2 |
| Teardown findings and build sheets | Included: Build record with each measurement3 | Not stated2 |
| Rebuild vs. reman workflow | Included: In-house rebuild, reman swap or sublet | Not stated2 |
| Comeback tied to the job’s history | Included: Reopens the original work order, same case1 | Partial: Warranty handling for parts2 |
| Diagnosis with evidence | Included: Ranked hypothesis, evidence, next test; a person confirms1 | Not stated2 |
| Road test and QC before the invoice | Included: No invoice until verification passes4 | Not stated2 |
| VIN-gated diagnosis | Included: Analysis A waits for a decoded VIN1 | Not stated2 |
| General shop work | ||
| Estimates and invoices | Included: Full OS5 | Included2 |
| Customer approval links | Included: Estimate approval by link6 | Partial: Through inspections; no link described7 |
| Digital vehicle inspections | Partial: Evidence and photos on the case; no customer-facing inspection | Included: Basic on Core; AutoServe1 from Performance8 |
| Scheduling and online booking | Included: Appointment calendar; booking page per location | Add-on: Online scheduler, $249/mo add-on8 |
| Accounting | Partial: Its own ledger per location; records export as CSV3 | Included: Integrated general ledger2 |
| Two-way texting | Not offered: Not offered1 | Partial: Text-to-pay; texting with inspections7 |
| Supplier parts ordering | Not offered: Requests and POs recorded; ordered at the supplier1 | Included: Catalog lookups, vendor integrations2 |
| Labor guide | Not offered: None1 | Included: Epicor, every plan8 |
| Card payments | Not offered: Recorded on the invoice, not processed1 | Included: Integrated; fees apply8 |
| Marketing and reviews | Not offered: Not offered1 | Included: Digital marketing suite on Prestige8 |
| Price and plan | ||
| Month to month, one location | $149 or $4995 | $399–$1,2998 |
| Billed annually | Monthly only5 | $359–$1,1698 |
| Users | No per-user charge5 | Not stated8 |
| Moving your history in | CSV import with a dry run; no vendor import9 | Not stated8 |
Sources for the matrix
- BayStacker: transmission shop softwarebaystacker.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
- BayStacker solutions: what the customer seesbaystacker.com
- Protractor digital vehicle inspectionsprotractorsoftware.com
- Protractor pricingprotractorsoftware.com
- 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.
Who should switch, and who should stay
BayStacker fits if
- Cores and warranty are tracked already, but nobody can see why a unit came back.
- The diagnosis should be written down with its evidence and confirmed by a person before parts move.
- The invoice should wait for the road test and code recheck.
- The shop wants its management system for less than Protractor's $399 entry plan and has its labor source elsewhere.
Stay on Protractor if
- Estimates are built from the Epicor labor guide and parts matrices.
- The shop takes cards and text-to-pay through its management system.
- Protractor's general ledger is the shop's accounting and the accountant relies on it.
- The work is broad general repair rather than transmissions.
What each costs for one location
Protractor's published prices, for new customers or upgrades, before payment transaction fees. Its CRM and online service scheduler are an extra $249 a month.
| Plan, one location | Month to month | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Protractor Core | $399 | Accounting, Epicor guides, payments, basic DVI, core tracking |
| Protractor Performance | $599 | AutoServe1 inspections |
| Protractor Prestige | $1,099 | Digital marketing suite |
| Protractor Elite | $1,299 | Inspections and marketing |
| BayStacker Intelligence | $149 | The diagnosis case, Analysis A and B |
| BayStacker Full OS | $499 | Adds work orders and invoices |
Both BayStacker editions start with a 30-day free trial; see pricing.
Moving from Protractor
There is no Protractor import. Export the repair history to a spreadsheet file — we help with the export — then bring it in through BayStacker's CSV import: choose the location and the file, and Check the import runs a dry run that reports what would be imported, skipped or refused before anything is written. Reconcile open cores and warranty claims on the day you switch. The walk-through is in How do I import my history?
Further reading
- Mitchell 1 alternative — the other system sold with repair and labor data
- Transmission rebuild vs. replace — the decision a core record supports
- Auto repair invoice software — what an invoice should wait for
- Transmission shop software — the diagnosis-first workflow
Common questions
How much does Protractor cost?
Protractor publishes Core at $399, Performance at $599, Prestige at $1,099 and Elite at $1,299 a month, or $359, $539, $989 and $1,169 billed annually, for new customers or upgrades. Payment transaction fees apply, and the CRM and online service scheduler are $249 a month extra (read 27 September 2026).
What is a good Protractor alternative for a transmission shop?
If the shop needs an integrated labor guide and general ledger, the like-for-like alternatives are Mitchell 1 Manager SE, Tekmetric and Shop-Ware. If it needs the diagnosis recorded with its evidence and the invoice held until verification passes, BayStacker is the diagnosis-first alternative, at a lower monthly price but without a labor guide, parts ordering or card processing.
Does BayStacker track cores like Protractor?
Yes. BayStacker keeps a core shipment and a recovered credit as separate facts, so a core that went out is not counted as money that came back. It also reopens the original work order when a repair comes back under warranty, with the diagnosis that led to it on the same case.
Does BayStacker have accounting?
Yes. Each location keeps its own books in BayStacker. It does not process card payments: payments are recorded on the invoice.
Sources
- Protractor pricingprotractorsoftware.com
- Protractor feature overviewprotractorsoftware.com
- Protractor digital vehicle inspections (two-way texting, approvals)protractorsoftware.com
- BayStacker pricingbaystacker.com
- BayStacker help: How do I import my history?baystacker.com
More comparisons
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.
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.