An all-new software system for vehicle workshops has been launched in New Zealand, after two years in development and testing.
Named ‘Spanner Planner’, the system manages all aspects of running a workshop – from customer and job management, including processing from client and vehicle detail, right through to invoices, payments, purchase orders and return of unused goods to the supplier.
“Being an online system, we can easily update the software to release new features,” says Craig Byrnes, managing director of Spanner Planner. “Currently we are updating the software nearly every day with new features and improvements. This also means support issues that need development changes can be implemented quickly, unlike the legacy software model.”
Created by the Auckland company App2SaaS, the product has been in development and beta testing for over two years, and has now been launched internationally.
“It’s been a long journey to get this far but we wanted to get it right by working closely with Kiwi workshops. We now have customers in New Zealand and Australia using the system and we are getting good interest from the UK and USA. We look forward to expanding our international presence rapidly in the coming months,” says Byrnes.
“Locally we have been working with the guys at Motorweb who have provided awesome support throughout the process and have helped us integrate Spanner Planner with their system.
“With your Motorweb account details entered into Spanner Planner, you can retrieve vehicle details including make, model, year, chassis and VIN; saving you potentially hours per week. In the near future we hope to bring WOF details back, too, using an enhanced search.
“One of the other key aspects of the system is its integration with Xero, the online accounting system. Customer and supplier invoices, and customer payments, are pushed to Xero – while customer and supplier information synchronises between Xero and Spanner Planner.
“This means no double handling of information such as manually entering in purchase orders at the end of the month,” adds Byrnes.
“To keep it simple we have also built in easy-to-use stock control which focuses on how vehicle workshops run their business. This is not mandatory, but is a great feature for tracking, leakage and cutting down on paperwork.
“If it is utilised fully, this means no stock item should be lost as it is continually accounted for and if it is removed from a job it is either returned to stock, or marked for return to the supplier based on a ‘return order’.
“You can create an account on Spanner Planner in minutes and setup your company through the online wizard. It comes as a 30-day trial and no credit card is required.”
“We recommend using an integration partner – like ‘Work in the Cloud’ or another Xero partner – to help set-up Spanner Planner with your Xero account. They can also assist to migrate historical data from your old system into to Spanner Planner to help you get going more quickly!”
Check out Spanner Planner at www.spannerplanner.co.nz – or,
Motorweb www.motorweb.co.nz – or,
Work in the Cloud – www.workinthecloud.co.nz
