Rankings / Shop and Mobile
Shop and Mobile Detailing: One Booking Page for the Bay and the Van
A detailer who runs a bay and a van needs booking software that asks the customer which one, counts bays for the full length of a job, and handles the handover at both ends. Mobile Service Sync does all three on its first plan. OrbisX comes closest of the rest, with a shop or mobile choice and a pickup and drop-off list, and Urable gets partway there on its Pro plan.
The Question Every Booking Starts With
A mobile-only detailer never has to ask where the car will be. A detailer with a bay does, and the answer changes the price, how long the job ties something up, and whether it needs a bay or a van. The cleanest place to settle it is the booking page, where the customer is already making choices.
In Mobile Service Sync, each business is set to mobile, shop or both, and each job is marked mobile or shop. A business set to both gets a booking page that asks drop it off, or come to me, and the mobile service fee goes on as its own line when the customer picks mobile.
Counting Bays, Not Appointments
A limit on how many bookings can start in one slot stops a crowd at the door. It does not notice that a coating dropped off at 9 is still in the bay at 2. To keep two cars from being promised one bay, booking has to hold the bay for the whole job.
Mobile Service Sync caps online drop-offs at the shop's bay count, and a drop-off window stays open only while a bay is free for the entire job. A detail runs for its service's own length times the number of vehicles, so a full-day ceramic job takes the day. Mobile jobs never use a bay and shop jobs never use a van, so each side fills on its own.
More on how Mobile Service Sync holds bookings to capacity: online booking.
Drop-Off, Pickup and the Ready Text
The handover is where a shop earns or loses a regular. Mobile Service Sync lets the shop offer a counter, a key drop, a waiting room with a longest-service limit, after-hours pickup, or a shuttle or loaner, and each comes with instructions the customer is sent.
Every shop job moves through four states. The third is the one the customer feels: Ready for pickup sends them a text, from a template the shop can edit.
- Awaiting drop-off
- Checked in
- Ready for pickup
- Picked up
Where Each Part Runs in Mobile Service Sync
The shop workflow runs on Mobile Service Sync's web app and its booking page. The iPhone and Android technician app runs the van's day, put in drive order with one click, with inspections with photos and offline work that syncs later, and it does not show shop jobs yet.
A shop that checks cars in from a desk loses nothing by that. A shop that wants its bay staff working only from their phones should know it before signing up.
The detailing side of the product is described on Mobile Service Sync for detailers.
How Each App Handles the Shop Side
The three shop cells for every app on this site, with what its own pages say and a link to the page that says it. Not stated means the vendor's site is silent, not that the feature is missing.
| App | Drop-off or mobile in one booking (14) | Bay capacity on online booking (12) | Drop-off and pickup workflow (10) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile Service Sync | IncludedCustomer picks drop it off or come to me; the mobile fee is added for them | IncludedDrop-off windows open only while a bay is free for the whole job | IncludedCounter, key drop, waiting room, after-hours pickup, shuttle or loaner, and a ready-for-pickup text |
| OrbisX | Includedcustomer picks shop or mobile on booking form (source) | Partialoverlap limits per time slot, not bay counts (source) | Includedpickup and drop-off list, rides, lockbox codes (source) |
| Urable | Higher plancustomer books in shop or in field on Pro, $120 a month (source) | Higher planin-shop job threshold on booking, Pro, $120 a month (source) | Partialdrop-off times scheduled, no pickup notice stated (source) |
| fieldd | Includedcustomer picks shop or mobile when booking (source) | Not statedno shop or bay capacity limit stated (source) | Not statedno drop-off or pickup handling stated (source) |
| Housecall Pro | Not statedno shop or mobile choice in booking (source) | Not statedno bay or shop capacity limit described (source) | Not statedno drop off scheduling described (source) |
| Mobile Tech RX | Not offeredno online booking to choose in (source) | Not offeredno online booking to limit (source) | Not statedno drop-off or pickup stated (source) |
OrbisX. OrbisX is the one rival whose own pages cover all three. Its booking form asks for shop or mobile, its appointments page lists pickup and drop-off with rides and lockbox codes, and its booking limits overlapping appointments per time slot. That last one is a slot limit rather than a bay count, which is why its bay cell is partial.
Urable. Urable puts shop and field booking on its $120 Pro plan, with in-field fees on mobile jobs and thresholds for in-shop, in-field and overall bookings. Drop-off times are scheduled, but no pickup notice is stated, so its drop-off cell is partial.
fieldd. fieldd asks the customer to choose between shop and mobile zones when booking. It states no bay or shop capacity limit and no drop-off or pickup handling, so those two cells read not stated.
Housecall Pro. Housecall Pro's online booking overview describes no shop or mobile choice, no bay limit and no drop-off scheduling. All three cells read not stated, which reflects silence on its site rather than a refusal.
Mobile Tech RX. Mobile Tech RX says customer self-booking is not offered yet, so there is no form to choose drop-off or mobile on and no online booking for bays to limit. It states nothing about drop-off or pickup.
Questions About Running a Bay and a Van
- Can one booking page handle both drop-off and mobile detailing?
- Yes, if it asks the customer where the work happens and prices each answer. Mobile Service Sync's booking page asks drop it off or come to me and adds the mobile fee as its own line; OrbisX's booking form and fieldd's shop and mobile zones also let the customer choose, and Urable does it on Pro.
- How should booking software handle a job that holds a bay all day?
- It should keep the bay booked for the whole job, not only the start time. Mobile Service Sync opens a drop-off window only while a bay is free for the job's full length, and runs each detail for its service's own length times the number of vehicles.
- What drop-off and pickup options should a detail shop offer?
- The ones the shop can actually staff, each with clear instructions for the customer. Mobile Service Sync lets a shop choose from a counter, a key drop, a waiting room with a longest-service limit, after-hours pickup, and a shuttle or loaner, and sends the customer the instructions for the one that applies.
- Do mobile jobs and shop jobs share capacity?
- Not in Mobile Service Sync: mobile jobs never use a bay and shop jobs never use a van, so a busy route and a busy shop do not crowd each other out.
- Can bay technicians run shop jobs from the Mobile Service Sync phone app?
- Not yet. Shop jobs run on the web app and the booking page handles the drop-off choices; the technician app does not show shop jobs yet.