The repair tag, without the paper.
SmallEngineDesk checks equipment in, tracks every job to pickup, and texts your customers so you are not on the phone all day. It is built for small engine shops still running on paper tags.
A job, from drop-off to pickup
Every tag has one button for its next step. Nobody has to learn a system.
Check in
Type the phone number. A returning customer and their equipment fill in. Print the tag and tie it on.
Estimate
Add parts and labor. The customer gets a ballpark and approves it with one tap.
Repair
One button moves the tag. Jobs waiting on parts sit in their own column.
Ready
The customer is told the total and the last free day of storage.
Picked up
The job closes and becomes part of that machine's history.
It chases pickups, so you do not have to
Finished equipment that sits is where shops lose time and floor space. You set the free days and the daily fee once.
From then on the system counts calendar days from the day the customer was told, adds the storage fee on its own, and sends the reminders. Repair time never counts against the customer.
Customers who would sooner get a phone call are flagged on the board instead, with their number.
What is in it
Here is what each part looks like.
Check-in in under a minute
Phone number first, then tap the kind, the brand and the problem. Very little typing at the counter.
A board that shows every job
Checked in, waiting on approval, waiting on parts, in repair, ready. Find any tag by name, phone or number.
Text, email, or a call
Each customer picks how to be reached. You pick which steps send a message, so you only pay for the texts that matter.
Past work on every machine
When a mower comes back, its earlier repairs, parts and notes open in one tap, right at check-in.
Tags that print on what you have
Plain paper, tag sheets, or a thermal label printer. The printed tag matches the screen.
An invoice link, no app
Customers open a link to see the itemized bill and approve an estimate. They pay at your counter, as they do now.
Your logo, your shop
Your logo goes on the tags, the top of the screen, and the page your customers see.
Runs on what you own
A counter computer, a tablet, or a phone at the bench. Nothing to install and no inventory to load first.
Also in it
Parts inventory
A parts list with prices and shelf counts. Pick a part on a job and the count drops. Scan barcodes if you have a scanner.
Parts to order
A list that fills itself from low stock and from jobs waiting on parts, grouped by supplier.
Counter sales
Sell a chain or a quart of oil with no repair job. Sales tax is added and a receipt prints.
Deposits and payments
Take a deposit, then record pickup as cash, card or check. See today's money at closing.
Promised dates
Set when a job is due and who has it. Tags turn red when they are late.
Online booking
Customers pick a drop-off time on your booking page, or on a calendar you paste into your own website. One tap checks them in.
Reports
Money in, parts against labor, sales tax collected, and how many days jobs wait for pickup.
Pricing
One price for the shop. No charge per person, and no limit on jobs.
Messages, billed by use
- Texts$0.016 per text segment
A segment is up to 160 characters, which is how phone carriers charge. A short text is one segment, and one with the invoice link in it is usually two. You choose which steps send a text.
- Emails$0.002 each
- Texting setup$23.40 one time
- Your shop's own texting number$3.78 per month
Texting is optional. Phone carriers require each shop to have its own registered number, and we handle the registration.
What it does not do
It does not run cards through the system, take online bookings, connect to an online store, or do payroll. You keep using your own card reader. If you need those built in today, a larger all-in-one system is the better fit. The comparison below lists them plainly.
How it compares
SmallEngineDesk next to two general repair shop systems: Orderry, which has a small engine offering, and RepairShopr, one of the best known names in repair shop software. We left in what they have and we do not.
| Feature | SmallEngineDesk | Orderry Startup | Orderry Business | RepairShopr Repair Shop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | ||||
| Monthly price | $45 | from $69 | from $99 | $139.99 |
| People included | Everyone at the shop | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| Each person after that | No charge | $6 a month | $9 a month | Not listed |
| Jobs | ||||
| Check-in and job tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Job board with a column for each stage | Yes | No | Yes | Not listed |
| Estimates with customer approval | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Promised dates and who has the job | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Every machine's past repairs, one tap from check-in | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| A go-ahead limit, so small jobs skip approval | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Repair tags on plain paper, tag sheets or thermal labels | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Storage fees with free days, added by themselves | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Parts and the counter | ||||
| Parts list with prices and shelf counts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Receiving stock | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not listed |
| Counting the shelves | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not listed |
| A shelf or bin for each part | Yes | No | Yes | Not listed |
| Parts-to-order list by supplier | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Counter sales with a receipt | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Deposits and part payments | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Itemized invoice for the customer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Today's money by cash, card and check | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Customers | ||||
| Customer records | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Online booking | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not listed |
| Reports and security | ||||
| Reports for the owner | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Data encryption | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not listed |
| Backups | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not listed |
| Setup and help | ||||
| Account set up for you | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not listed |
| Loading your customer and parts lists | Yes | No | Limited | Yes |
| Help pages | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| A person you can reach directly | Yes | No | Yes | Not listed |
| Training for your team | Yes | No | No | Not listed |
| What they have that we do not | ||||
| Running cards through the system | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Online store connections | No | Yes | Yes | Not listed |
| Time clock and timesheets | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Payroll | No | Yes | Yes | Not listed |
| Social media inbox | No | Yes | Yes | Not listed |
| Built-in phone system | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| API for developers | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Orderry's columns come from the feature table on their pricing page, and the RepairShopr column from the list for its Repair Shop plan and its feature list, at repairshopr.com/pricing and repairshopr.com/features, each as it read on Oct 6, 2026. Their products may have changed since. "Not listed" means the feature is not on those pages. We have not tested their products, so it is not a claim that they lack it. Orderry and RepairShopr are trademarks of their owners, and SmallEngineDesk is not affiliated with either.
See it with your shop's name on it
Leave your details and we will show you the whole thing, start to finish, in about fifteen minutes.
- Your shop's name on the tags and screens, so you see it as your customers would.
- A job walked from check-in to pickup, with the messages your customers would get.
- Nothing to install, and no card asked for.