Live repair board
Every job by stage on a workshop TV and phones, with due dates, techs and hold flags.
Panel beater software: repair tracking & customer updates
Panel beaters: customers follow the repair, not the phone. Stages, photos and insurers in one system.
Customers ring every day for an update. Insurers chase photos, parts are "on the way" and the only real job list is a whiteboard next to the spray booth. We build repair tracking, photo and update systems for panel beaters that keep customers, assessors and the workshop floor on the same page. Then we host them and look after them.
Looking for panel beater software that tracks repairs and keeps customers in the loop?
A smash repair job has more people hanging off it than most businesses deal with in a week. There's the customer without a car, the insurer, the assessor, the parts suppliers, the hire car company and sometimes the tow truck that dropped it off. Your estimating system handles the quote but everything around it runs on phone calls, emailed photos, sticky notes and a whiteboard that's only right when the foreman's just updated it.
Wollopit builds custom panel beater software around how your shop actually runs. Every job moves through stages on a live repair board. Customers get a text with photos when their car hits paint or is ready to collect. Insurers get a tidy photo set per claim. Parts carry ETAs so you know which jobs are stuck before the customer does. We work alongside iBodyshop, EstImage or whatever you quote in, connect your accounting and look after the lot on our own servers.
01The problems
What we hear from panel beaters
Does your panel beating business have these problems? Here's how we'd fix them.
Most panel shops we talk to do beautiful work and lose hours a day to phone calls, photo emails and chasing parts. It holds together until a busy hail season hits.
- The problemCustomers ring every day for an updateThe front counter spends half the morning saying "it's in paint, should be Thursday" to the same five people.How we fix itAutomatic SMS updates at each repair stage with a link to a live progress page and photos. The phone goes quiet.
- The problemInsurers and assessors chase photosArrival, damage, supplementary and completion photos get emailed one at a time from someone's phone.How we fix itPhotos taken in the app land on the job, sorted by stage. Share a clean photo set per claim with one link.
- The problemThe repair board is a whiteboardJob stages live in marker pen and the foreman's head. Nobody in the office knows what's actually in the booth.How we fix itA live repair board on the workshop TV and every phone, with jobs moving from strip to panel to paint to reassembly to QC.
- The problemJobs stuck waiting on partsA car sits half stripped for a week because a headlight is back-ordered and nobody noticed.How we fix itParts tracked per job with ordered, ETA and arrived status. Late parts flag the job and the customer gets told before they ring.
- The problemSupplementary approvals drag onHidden damage turns up, the supp gets sent and the job stalls while someone keeps checking the inbox.How we fix itSupps logged against the job with photos, sent date and approval status, plus reminders when an insurer goes quiet.
- The problemPrivate quotes from blurry photosPeople text random photos at night asking how much, then never hear back because nobody had time.How we fix itAn online quote request with guided photo angles, rego and contact details that drops straight into your quote queue.
- The problemHire cars arranged by phoneEvery repair means a call to the hire company, then another when the job runs late.How we fix itHire car bookings linked to the repair, with extension alerts when the finish date moves.
- The problemBooking in is a juggling actDrop-offs, assessments and quote inspections all get squeezed into one paper diary.How we fix itOnline bookings for quotes, assessments and drop-offs, matched to workshop capacity so you don't overload a week.
- The problemPickup day confusionThe car's ready but the customer doesn't know, the excess hasn't been paid and keys go missing.How we fix itReady-to-collect texts with an excess payment link, a booked pickup time and a key tag log.
- The problemReviews you never ask forA happy customer drives off in a car that looks brand new and never leaves a review.How we fix itA review request a day after pickup, sent to Google Business Profile, with any unhappy replies flagged to you first.
02What we build
Solutions
What we build for panel beaters. Usually all talking to each other.
Pick the one that's hurting most or join the whole lot up. Everything is built around how your team works, not the other way round.
Customer repair updates
Automatic SMS at each stage with photos and a live tracking page. No app to download.
Job photo capture
Take photos on any phone and they file themselves to the right job and stage.
Insurer photo sets
One link per claim with arrival, damage, supplementary and completion photos ready for the assessor.
Parts tracking & ETAs
Parts ordered, due and arrived per job, with alerts when an ETA slips.
Supplementary tracker
Supps logged with photos and approval status, plus reminders to chase quiet insurers.
Online photo quotes
Guided damage photos, rego and contact details straight into your quote queue.
Bookings & drop-offs
Quote inspections, assessments and drop-offs booked online against workshop capacity.
Hire car links
Hire cars matched to repairs with automatic extension alerts when jobs run over.
Excess & payments
Excess and private job payments by link, with invoices into Xero or MYOB.
Pickup & key log
Ready-to-collect texts, booked pickup times and a tag log for every set of keys.
Reviews & follow-ups
Review requests after pickup and warranty check-ins a few months later.
A website that gets the call
Fast on phones, with photo quote requests and insurer info, built to rank for 'panel beater near me'.
03The systems
The big ones
Your whole panel shop, on one system.
These are the systems panel beaters ask us about most. Each one works on its own and they get properly useful once they're joined up.
Repair tracking
The whiteboard, live on every screen.
Every job sits on one board and moves through your stages as the work gets done. The office, the floor and the front counter all see the same thing, so nobody walks out to the booth to find out where a car is up to.
- Your own stages from arrival to QC
- Workshop TV board
- Drag jobs between stages on a phone
- Tech assigned per job
- Due dates and overdue flags
- Hold reasons like parts or supp
- Insurer and claim number on each job
- Courtesy and hire car shown per job
- Daily jobs in and out
Customer updates
Customers follow the repair, not the phone.
Each time a job moves stage the customer gets a text with a link to their own progress page. They can see photos, the expected finish date and what's holding things up, so they stop ringing the front counter.
- SMS at each stage you choose
- Live progress page per job
- Before and progress photos
- Expected finish date shown
- Delay messages when parts slip
- Ready-to-collect alerts
- Replies land back on the job
- No app for customers to install
Insurer & photos
Photo sets the assessor actually wants.
Photos taken on any phone file themselves to the right job and stage. When the insurer or assessor asks, you send one link with everything sorted instead of forty separate emails. Supplementaries get tracked until they're approved.
- Photos straight from the workshop phone
- Sorted by arrival, damage, supp and completion
- One share link per claim
- Claim and assessor details on the job
- Supplementary requests with photos
- Approval status and chase reminders
- Works alongside iBodyshop or EstImage
- Full photo history kept per vehicle
Parts tracking
Know which jobs are stuck before the customer does.
Every part on every job has a status and an ETA. When something's back-ordered the job gets flagged on the board and the customer gets a heads up automatically. Parts that turn up wrong are logged for returns.
- Parts list per job
- Ordered, due and arrived status
- ETA per part
- Late part alerts
- Jobs flagged on hold automatically
- Customer delay texts
- Wrong or damaged part returns
- Supplier history per part
Quotes, bookings & hire cars
From blurry photo to booked-in job.
Customers send damage photos through your website with guided angles, then book a quote inspection or drop-off against your actual workshop capacity. Hire cars link to the repair and get extended when the finish date moves.
- Guided photo quote requests
- Quote queue with follow-up reminders
- Online quote and drop-off bookings
- Workshop capacity per week
- Hire car bookings linked to jobs
- Extension alerts when jobs run late
- Excess payment links
- Booked pickup times
04How it changes
Before and after
An insurance repair, wolloped.
Here's how one insurance job could change. Every shop runs a little differently, so we map yours first.
Before
- Customer rings every day asking where it's up to
- Photos emailed to the assessor one at a time
- Supp sent and nobody remembers to chase it
- Parts ETA unknown until the box turns up
- Hire car runs over and the bill lands on you
- Whiteboard out of date by lunch
After
- Customer texted at each stage with photos
- One photo link shared per claim
- Supp reminder fires when the insurer goes quiet
- Late part flags the job and tells the customer
- Hire car extension alert sent automatically
- Repair board live on the workshop TV
05Services
Everything under one roof
Software, websites and systems for panel beaters.
Whether you're starting fresh or upgrading what you've got, it's one team from the first sketch to the support call.
Custom software for panel beaters
Built around how your panel beating business actually runs: live repair board, customer repair updates and the admin in between, in one system you own.
Websites for panel beaters
Fast, hand-built websites that rank for the searches your customers make and turn visits into enquiries, bookings or orders.
Panel beating business system upgrades
Running on spreadsheets, old software or a platform you've outgrown? We move your data across and upgrade in stages so the business never stops.
Apps and portals for panel beaters
Job photo capture and insurer photo sets: customer and staff portals that work on any phone without an app store.
Integrations and automation
We connect iBodyshop, EstImage and Audatex so information moves on its own and nobody retypes it.
Hosting, support and care
Managed hosting, updates, backups and security for your panel beating business, looked after by the people who built it.
06Integrations
Connections
Plays nicely with what you already use.
We connect to the tools you rely on, work alongside estimating systems you're happy with or replace the bits holding you back.
- iBodyshop
- EstImage
- Audatex
- PartsTrader
- Xero
- MYOB
- Stripe
- Square
- Twilio SMS
- Google Business Profile
- Google Calendar
- Microsoft 365
- Gmail
07How we work
The process
Some people dip their toe in. We turn up in a rebreather.
We get properly below the surface of your panel beating business: the systems, the busy days and the jobs everyone hates. Then we fix the bits that matter most first.
- 01
Think
We spend time at the front counter, on the workshop floor and in the office to see where the calls, photos and delays really come from.
- 02
Archi-tech
We plan it before writing code: your stages, insurers, parts flow, customer messages, estimating system, hosting and cost.
- 03
Build
Real engineering, shown to you early and often. Usually the repair board and customer texts first so the phone quietens down quickly.
- 04
Look after
We host it, maintain it and keep improving it. When something breaks you call the people who built it.
08Questions
FAQ
Things panel beaters ask us.
Something else on your mind? Ring 0423 011 252 and ask the people who'd build it.
Can it work with our insurer estimating system?
Yes. We work alongside iBodyshop, EstImage and similar systems, sharing job details, photos and status so you're not entering everything twice.
Do customers need to download an app?
No. They get a text with a link to their own progress page. It works on any phone without logging in.
Can techs take photos from the workshop floor?
Yes. Any phone or tablet can snap photos straight to the right job and stage. They're sorted for you, ready to share with the insurer or customer.
Do we have to switch from the systems we already use?
No. If your estimating and accounting are doing their job we build around them. If something's holding you back we'll show you what replacing it would involve before anything changes.
Can it handle hail season when we're flat out?
Yes. The repair board, capacity planning and automatic updates are exactly what keeps a busy shop sane when jobs double overnight.
How much does a panel beater system cost?
It depends on what you need, so we quote up front once we understand it. No surprise invoices, no lock-in and you own what we build.
How long does it take?
Smaller pieces like customer stage texts or a repair board can be quick. Bigger systems are planned in stages so you get the first win early instead of waiting for everything at once.
Who looks after it once it's built?
We do. We host it on our own managed servers and keep it updated and secure. When you need something you ring the people who built it.
We already have systems. Can you upgrade them instead of starting again?
Usually, yes. Most panel beaters we work with keep what's working and upgrade the rest in stages. We move your data across, connect the old and new while we switch and retire the old system only when the new one is proven.
Contact
Got a panel beating business problem? Consider it wolloped.
Tell us what's slow, broken, manual or missing. You don't need a spec, just describe what's going on.