For small auto shops · In development · Open source
Stop answering “Is my car ready?”
KeysReady gives your customers online booking, live repair status and estimates they approve and pay from their phone. They always know where their car is, so you can stay under the hood instead of on the phone.
- Free for a small shop
- No app for customers to download
- Payments go to your own Stripe
- Open source, self-host if you like
2019 Honda Civic · Brakes
Ready for pickup by 4:30
Booking confirmed
Drop-off Tuesday at 8:00.
In progress
We're inspecting your brakes now.
Estimate ready: $412.80
Front pads and rotors. Approve to start the work.
ApproveDeclineYour car is ready
Paid $412.80. Keys are at the front desk.
Illustration of the customer view. Shop and amounts are examples.
Three calls you take every day, answered before the phone rings
"Is my car ready yet?"
Every status change reaches the customer by email or notification, and a live status page answers the rest.
"How much is this going to cost?"
Send the estimate to their phone. They tap approve or decline, and you get a timestamped yes.
"Can I pay when I pick it up?"
They pay the approved estimate from their phone before they arrive, so pickup takes a minute.
How it works
From booking to keys in hand, without phone tag
KeysReady is the customer side of your shop. Keep your paper tickets, spreadsheet or shop software for the work itself.
- 01
They book online
Share your booking link on your website, Google profile or texts. Customers pick a service and enter their car. No account, no app.
- 02
You tap the status
Move each car from Received to In progress to Ready on a board that works on your phone in the bay.
- 03
They hear right away
Each change goes out by email or notification, with a status page they can check any time. SMS comes with Pro.
- 04
They approve and pay
Estimates and payment happen on the customer's phone, and the money goes to your own Stripe account.
Features
Everything between “can you fit me in?” and “thanks, see you next time”
Green labels work in today's single-shop prototype. The rest are planned, and the label says for which release.
- Status: Prototype
- works today
- Status: MVP
- first release
- Status: Beta
- hosted beta
- Status: Later
- after the beta
Booking
Fewer calls to book, and a new-booking alert on your phone the moment one lands.
Online booking page
Status: PrototypeCustomers pick a service and enter their car and contact details. No account needed.
New-booking alerts
Status: PrototypeA notification on every staff phone as soon as someone books.
Your own booking link
Status: MVPOne link per shop to put on your site, Google profile or email signature.
Hours and closed days
Status: MVPBooking only offers days you are open.
Live repair status
The part that stops the phone ringing: customers always know where their car is.
One-tap status board
Status: PrototypeReceived, In progress, Ready, Picked up. Built for a phone in a greasy hand.
Notifications, no app store
Status: PrototypeWeb push on every status change, from the browser they already use.
Live status page
Status: PrototypeA page per job that answers "is it ready?" before they think to call.
Email updates
Status: MVPThe same updates by email for customers who never turn on notifications.
ETA and notes
Status: MVP"Waiting on parts, expected Thursday" right on the status page.
Text message updates
Status: BetaSMS for customers who want texts, with carrier registration done for you.
Messages, estimates and payment
Get the yes on extra work and get paid, without phone tag.
Messages per job
Status: PrototypeTwo-way chat attached to the car, so nothing gets lost in your personal texts.
Estimates on their phone
Status: PrototypeLine items in your words. The customer approves or declines with one tap.
Pay by phone
Status: PrototypeCard payment for the approved estimate through Stripe. No card data stored by KeysReady.
Payouts to your Stripe account
Status: MVPYou are the merchant. Money goes straight to your account.
Photos on estimates
Status: BetaShow the worn brake pad next to the price.
Bringing customers back
The same free channel that says "ready" can say "due for service".
Customer garage
Status: PrototypeCustomers keep their cars and repair history for next time.
Review requests
Status: BetaOne message with your Google review link after pickup.
Service reminders
Status: Beta"Your oil change is due" by email, notification or text.
Export and delete
Status: MVPDownload your customers any time. Delete a customer's data on request.
How customers get updates
Updates that reach every customer, not just the ones who install something
Every update also lives on a status page that opens from a link. On top of that, customers get whichever channel suits them.
- Status: MVP
Email
Included free
Every update by email, for every customer with an address. The default, so nobody is left out.
- Status: Prototype
Notifications
Included free
Web push with no app store. Works in Android and desktop browsers. On iPhone it works after the customer adds the page to their home screen.
- Status: Beta
Text messages
On the Pro plan
SMS for customers who want texts. We handle carrier registration, STOP and HELP replies, and quiet hours.
Open source and self-host
Use ours, or run your own
Same app either way. Most shops will want the hosted version; agencies, developers and privacy-minded owners can host it themselves.
Open-source code
The whole app: booking, status, messages, estimates and payments. Read it, run it, change it.
Runs on your own server
Any Node host with a SQLite or libSQL database. Bring your own email, text and Stripe accounts.
Your customers stay yours
Self-hosted, customer data never reaches us. Hosted, you can export everything or delete it any time.
Released before the hosted beta
The self-host release comes first, so the open-source promise is real from day one.
terminal
Planned setup
# get the app and fill in your keys
$ git clone https://github.com/n8watkins/keysready
$ cp .env.example .env
# create your shop and start it
$ npm run setup
✓ database ready, push keys generated
$ npm startThe repository is private until the self-host release. This is the setup we are designing toward.
Compare
Not another shop management system
Tekmetric, Shopmonkey and AutoLeap run the whole shop, and they are good at it. KeysReady only does the customer side, for the shops that do not need or cannot justify the rest.
Swipe the table sideways to see every product.
| Capability | KeysReady (planned) | Tekmetric | Shopmonkey | AutoLeap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $0 (Pro $29/mo) | $199/mo | $239/mo | $199/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No | No | No |
| Open source, self-host | Yes | No | No | No |
| Online booking on the entry plan | Yes | Add-on | Not described | Add-on |
| Two-way messages on the entry plan | Yes | From $439/mo | Yes | From $349/mo |
| Estimate approval and pay by phone | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Repair orders, parts and inventory | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Digital vehicle inspections | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
KeysReady column describes the planned product. Competitor prices are monthly list prices for the entry plan, from tekmetric.com/pricing, shopmonkey.io/pricing and autoleap.com/pricing, checked 1 November 2026. “Not described” means the pricing page lists appointments and reminders but not customer self-booking.
Pricing
Free for a small shop. One simple upgrade.
Card payments cost Stripe's standard fees on every plan. KeysReady adds no payment fee during the beta.
Planned pricing. Nothing is billable today, and prices may change before the hosted beta.
Self-host
The open-source app on your own server.
$0forever
- Everything in the app
- Your own email, SMS and Stripe keys
- Your data never leaves your server
- Community support
- Start here
Free
A real front desk for a small shop, run by us.
$0hosted
- 1 shop, 1 staff seat
- Unlimited bookings and status pages
- Unlimited email and push updates
- Messages, estimates and pay by phone
Pro
Texts, reminders and reviews for a busier shop.
$29/mo per shop
- Everything in Free
- Text updates (about 500 a month)
- Review requests and service reminders
- Up to 5 staff, your branding only
FAQ
Straight answers
Including the ones about what does not exist yet.
Is KeysReady available today?
Not for your shop yet. A working prototype runs booking, live status, messages, estimates and card payment for one demo shop. The first release adds signup so any shop can use it. Join the waitlist on n8builds.dev to hear when it opens.
Is this shop management software?
No. KeysReady does not do repair orders, labor guides, parts, inventory or inspections. It is the customer-facing part: booking, status, messages, estimates and payment. It works next to paper tickets, a spreadsheet or the shop software you already use.
Do my customers need to download an app?
No. Every update works from a link and an email. Customers can turn on notifications in their browser if they want them. On iPhone, notifications need the page added to the home screen first, which is why email is the default.
What does free actually include?
The planned free plan covers one shop and one staff seat with unlimited bookings, status pages, email and push updates, messages, estimates and pay by phone. Card payments cost Stripe's standard fees, and KeysReady adds no fee during the beta.
Why is it free?
Email and browser notifications cost almost nothing to send, so a free plan is sustainable. Pro pays for text messages, which do cost money, plus reminders, reviews and more staff.
Where does the money from customers go?
To your own Stripe account. You are the merchant, KeysReady never holds your money and never stores card numbers.
Can I host it myself?
Yes. KeysReady will be open source, and the self-host release comes before the hosted beta. You bring your own server, database, email provider and Stripe account.
Are the prices final?
No. Pricing is planned and may change before the hosted beta. Nothing is billable today.
Early access
Want your phone to ring less?
The first release lets any shop sign up and get a booking link, live status pages, email and push updates, estimates and pay by phone. A small free pilot with real shops follows. Join the list to hear when each step is ready.
- 1Self-host releaseOpen source, on your own server
- 2Hosted pilotWe run it for a small group of shops, free
- 3Pro planText updates, reminders and reviews
The waitlist lives on n8builds.dev, where I build in public. One email when each release is ready.