Free repair shop software: what it really costs
Free plans, open-source systems and spreadsheets each cost something other than a subscription. Here is what each one asks of you, and how to try SlickCell for 14 days with no card.
Three kinds of free repair shop software
Free repair shop software usually means one of three things: a free plan of a hosted system, an open-source system you install and run yourself, or a spreadsheet. Each can work for a shop that is starting out, and each has a cost that is paid in something other than a subscription: a limit you will reach, a server you have to look after, or steps you type twice. SlickCell is paid repair shop software with a free start: a 14-day trial you begin yourself, with no card, on the plan you choose and with every feature switched on. After that, Starter is £39 a month excluding VAT.
- A free plan of hosted software
- Someone else's system with a limit on it, usually on repairs a month, users or features. The paid plan is the way past the limit, so check the price you will pay when you reach it, and whether your records export if you leave.
- Open-source repair shop management software
- The licence is free. The server, the domain, backups, security updates and fixing it when an update breaks are yours, and so is the time. If nobody in the shop wants to run a server, that time comes off the bench.
- A spreadsheet or free generic tools
- A spreadsheet holds a list well and costs nothing. It does not reserve a part to a job, take a payment, count a till or work out VAT, so those steps happen somewhere else and get typed twice.
Running a computer, phone or electronics repair shop? See computer repair shops, phone repair shops or electronics repair shops.
What to check before you choose free software
- Can you export everything?
- Repairs, stock, customers and payments, as files you can open elsewhere.
- What is the limit, and what happens at it?
- Repairs a month, users, locations.
- Where is the data held?
- And who backs it up.
- Does it do your VAT?
- Including the margin scheme if you sell second-hand devices.
- Is there a till?
- Deposits, part payments and split tender against the job.
- Are devices tracked one by one?
- By IMEI or serial, with their own cost.
- Can staff have their own logins?
- With roles that limit what each person can do.
SlickCell: a 14-day trial with no card, every feature included
No sales call and no card. Nobody has to ring you back before you can look at it.
- 01Pick a planStarter, Professional or Supplier Pro, monthly or yearly.
- 02Create your loginName, email and a password.
- 03Enter the codeA six-digit code from your email.
- 04Set up the shopCountry, currency, tax and opening hours.
- 05Book a repair inYour first ticket, on real stock.
- 06DecideWhen the 14 days end, choose how to pay, or stop. There is nothing to cancel.
Every answer above is SlickCell's: exports to CSV from the screen you are on, hosted in London, UK VAT and the margin scheme, a till, every device by IMEI or serial, and staff roles enforced by the database.
Questions about free repair shop software
Free for the first 14 days, with every feature and no card. After that, Starter is £39 a month, Professional £59 and Supplier Pro £99, all excluding VAT, or ten times the monthly price for a year. When the trial ends you choose how to pay, or you stop. There is nothing to cancel.
No. You create the account, choose a plan and use every feature for 14 days without entering card details. You add a card only if you decide to stay.
Starter is £39 a month, Professional £59 and Supplier Pro £99, all excluding VAT, or ten times the monthly price for a year. Every feature is on every plan; plans differ by team size, locations, discount rules and support. Every plan starts with a fourteen-day free trial with no card.
Yes. There are open-source repair systems you can install on your own server. The licence is free; the hosting, backups, security updates and support are yours to arrange. SlickCell is hosted for you in London, runs in any browser and has nothing to install.
You choose a plan and add a way to pay, or you stop. Nothing is charged during the 14 days and there is nothing to cancel. Your shop, stock and repairs stay as you left them when you carry on.
Yes, at any time. Repairs, stock, payments, profit and loss, tax and payroll reports export to CSV from the screen they are on, so your records go with you.
Yes. Parts, accessories and devices import from CSV with a preview of exactly what will be written before anything is saved. Most shops finish open repairs on the old system and start new work in SlickCell from go-live.
Yes. Book a demo and we walk through your own workflow on the real screens, or start the trial and put a real repair through it.
Put your own shop on it tonight
Fourteen days on the plan you choose, every feature on, no card.