Appliance repair software for diagnose, order, return.
Half your repairs take two trips. Redline keeps the model and serial on the customer, bills the diagnostic and the parts deposit on the first visit and books the second one when the part shows up.
First visit on a fridge that won't cool
The plate reads Whirlpool WRF555SDFZ. I'll add the model, serial and both parts to Linh Nguyen's contact notes when you confirm.
Thursday you're open at 1:00, right after the Ortiz dryer, also in Quincy. Book it?
Booked Thursday at 1:00. Invoice drafted for Linh: $209, "Diagnostic $89 plus parts deposit $120". Approve it and the pay link goes live.
Invoices and pay links are on Solo and up. Scheduling works on every plan.
Built around the two-visit repair
Two-visit jobs stay in one place
The job stays In Progress between the diagnosis and the fix, with the return visit on the calendar. The job pipeline shows days in stage, so a repair waiting on a backordered part doesn't drop off.
Model and serial on the customer
Send a photo of the data plate and Redline reads it into the customer's notes. Next time that washer acts up, you show up knowing what it is.
Diagnostic and parts deposit
Bill the diagnostic and a parts deposit on the first visit and the repair on the second, each with a card pay link. Invoicing is on Solo and up. See invoicing.
Parts cost against the job
Log what the part cost you as an expense on the job, and Reports shows profit per job after it. Amounts are typed in, there's no receipt scanning. See expenses and reports.
Part ETAs as reminders
"Remind me Wednesday to check the Nguyen part" lands in Wednesday's morning push on the iPhone app, so a delayed shipment doesn't surprise you at the door.
The repair loop
Plenty of appliance techs work alone, and the week is a loop. Monday is full of washers and dryers that died over the weekend. You diagnose, quote the part, collect the diagnostic, order from the distributor, and then wait. Meanwhile the customer calls twice to ask when you're coming back, and you're scrolling through your camera roll to remember which fridge it was.
Redline keeps the loop on the job. The model number, the part, what you collected and when you're coming back are all on one file. When the part lands, one message books the return visit next to other work in the same town, and when you finish, the repair invoice is one more message.
The seasons shift the mix more than the volume: ovens and ranges before the holidays, refrigerators when the summer heat hits. The rest of the year is steady, which makes it the time to look at Reports and see which repairs actually pay after parts.
Straight answers for appliance techs
Redline does
- Read a data plate photo into the customer's notes
- Book return visits by chat
- Bill diagnostics, parts deposits and repairs (Solo and up)
- Show profit per job after the parts you logged (Solo and up)
- Remember your diagnostic fee and labor rates
Redline doesn't
- Order parts or track shipments with distributors
- Look up parts diagrams or part numbers for you
- File manufacturer warranty claims
- Keep a parts inventory for your van
- Text the customer when the part arrives
Questions contractors ask
Can Redline track my parts orders?
Not as orders. Put the distributor and order number in the job notes and set a reminder for the expected date. Redline doesn't connect to any parts supplier.
Can I credit the diagnostic fee toward the repair?
You decide what goes on each invoice. Tell Redline the repair amount after the credit and to say so in the description, then check the draft before you approve it.
What about manufacturer warranty calls?
You can schedule and track them like any job, with notes and photos. The claim itself goes through the manufacturer's own system, not Redline.
What plan does a one-person repair shop need?
Solo at $29 a month covers invoicing, card payments, deposits, expenses and reports for one person, with a 7-day free trial on the web. Free covers the chat, contacts and calendar if you invoice elsewhere. See pricing.
Free appliance repair paperwork and tools
Keep reading
- Expenses and reportsReceipts filed against the job, profit per job after materials, and CSV exports.
- Scheduling and calendarAsk for a time, get the 3 best open slots. Optimize tightens the week.
- Garage door softwareFit spring calls into a full day, invoice on site and chase new door quotes.
- HVAC softwareBook tune-ups and no-heat calls, quote changeouts and invoice from the truck.
- Markup vs margin calculatorSee profit, markup and margin on any job, or price for a target margin.
Run your business by chat.
Redline is free to start. Tell it about the job and it handles the quote, the schedule, the invoice and the follow-up.