# RO Engine

> RO Engine is shop management software for independent auto repair shops, built by a working shop owner. Its tagline is "The estimate that explains itself": the AI writes the maintenance recommendations on every repair order, and the customer's estimate explains each service in plain language — what it is, why it's due now, and what happens if they wait — written for the customer's own vehicle and sent to their phone. Customer education is the hardest part of selling maintenance; RO Engine does it on every car. One plan: $349/month, everything included, unlimited users, month to month. Each shop gets its own live copy of the app at its own address (yourshop.roengine.com), set up in minutes, free for 90 days.

## What it does
- **AI service recommendations on every repair order** — cross-checks the manufacturer maintenance schedule (54,000+ OEM service intervals), the vehicle's own history and known failure patterns; surfaces overdue and coming-due work, remembers deferred work from past visits, and explains it in plain language. Advisors choose normal or severe service schedules.
- **AI phone answering** — answers when the counter is busy, takes vehicle and customer details, and puts the call transcript on the customer record. Included, not an add-on.
- **Two-way texting** with a local shop number and click-to-call.
- **Digital estimate approval** — customers approve or decline line by line from a private link (no app, no login), with an AI-written explanation of each service ("What is it?", "Why now?", "What happens if you wait?") and a diagram of the car showing where each service is; declines are saved as deferred work for the next visit.
- **Full comparison** with Tekmetric, Shop-Ware, Shopmonkey, AutoLeap and Mitchell 1 SE: https://roengine.com/compare/
- **Parts and purchase orders** — parts attached to the job, purchase orders and receiving, core charges and returns, margin visible before approval.
- **Photo intake** — VIN from the door jamb sticker, mileage from the dashboard, plate capture, timestamped condition photos.
- **Multi-point inspections** — green/yellow/red ratings with photos; tech notes rewritten for customers; red findings become recommendations.
- **Oil-change decals** — next service calculated from the actual oil spec and OEM time interval, printed automatically.
- Work orders, invoicing, customers, vehicles, scheduling and reports.

## Pricing
- $349 per month, one plan, every feature on from day one. No tiers, no add-ons, no per-user fees, no contract; cancel any month.
- Includes 300 AI phone minutes, 300 calls on the shop line and 1,500 texts a month. Beyond that: $0.35 per minute, $0.10 per call, $0.02 per text.
- Founding shop pricing: shops that join before July 1, 2027 pay $261.75/month (25% off) for as long as they stay.
- RO Engine does not take a cut of a shop's card processing; its revenue is the subscription.

## The free trial
- Not a demo or sandbox: signing up creates the shop's own live RO Engine at yourshop.roengine.com, ready in minutes.
- 90 days free; a card or bank account is required to start; nothing is charged for 90 days; cancel online.
- Everything entered during the trial carries forward when the shop stays.
- Texting and the AI phone switch on once the shop's number clears carrier registration (usually within two weeks); everything else works immediately.
- Customer, vehicle and repair history migration is free; migration from Shop-Ware is already proven (full repair orders, inspections, photos, payments): https://roengine.com/shop-ware/

## Who built it
RO Engine is built by Joe Sprandel, an independent shop owner with 13+ years on the shop floor who built his first custom shop system in 2013. Every feature runs in his own shop every day before it ships.

## Key pages
- [Home](https://roengine.com/): product overview, pricing, free trial
- [Start a free trial](https://app.roengine.com/signup): set up your own shop
- [The shop owner's fact sheet](https://roengine.com/card-fees/): how payment processing fees fund much of the shop software industry, with sources
- Contact: joe@roengine.com