Release notes

A list of version notes for the Simple GMS system. Have a feature or suggestion for the system? Use our feature suggestions form.

Customer imports

  • Individual imports now have a view page to show a breakdown of any erroneous records with the reason they could not be imported into the system
  • Import history page added to show an overview of previous file results
  • Additional import information available including number of valid, invalid and new customer records added.

Silkmoth administration

  • Timezone information for a location is now mandatory
  • Region management functionality added

Tyre finder by TyreMerge

  • Added online ordering for tyres for Micheldever (via CAM integration)
    • Contact the support team for assistance in setting this up

Tyre finder by TyreMerge

  • A new tyre price comparison/product finder tool has been added to the Simple GMS. Using your merged price files from different suppliers, you can find the best price available for tyres and log any purchases made from various wholesalers.
    • A TyreMerge account is required to use the Tyre finder tool, go to the TyreMerge sign-up page for more information.
    • The tool is only available for English speaking locations at the time of writing, this may expand to other languages in future iterations.

Fixes

  • Translation updates for calendar widget.
  • Fixed issue w/ reseller user filtering showing incorrect locations on occasion.
  • Fixed issue w/ anomalous location name characters causing import issues.
Check-in app
  • Customers can now be manually sent a link to the check-in app to add/update their information (via SMS or email depending on available details)
    • This can be found in the customers section, job sheet information modal (click on a calendar job sheet) and invoices
    • Note: The automated check-in link functionality (that optionally sends a check-in app link to a customer one day prior to their job's allocated time slot) remains unaffected
Invoices
  • Customer invoice statements for overdue payments can now be viewed within the system, with a printable PDF version available
    • Available at Invoices -> Overdue balances -> View statement or via the customer edit page (on the "invoices" tab) for customers with an overdue balance
    • Invoice statement email functionality has now been moved to this page
  • A statement note can be added to all customer invoice statements to allow garages to add any salient payment information
    • This can be found at Invoices -> Settings -> Statement settings -> Invoice statement note
  • Social media/website URL links (up to 5) can now be added to the bottom of all invoices
    • This can be found at Invoices -> Settings -> Add social media links to invoice
  • Various print display improvements
Calendar
  • Job sheets can now be created with a placeholder customer record which only requires a mobile phone number
    • A prompt to send the customer a link to the check-in app will display on jobs created with a placeholder customer record so that customers can provide their own information
  • On the calendar page, job sheets can now optionally use the job name as the text on the calendar event (defaults to vehicle registration otherwise)
    • This setting can be turned on at Config -> Manage location settings -> General settings -> Use job sheet name
Calendar widget
  • Booking slot widget can now optionally select the first date with at least one time slot available (for any instances where previous dates were fully booked)
Miscellaneous
  • Added manual calendar event refresh to force through new job sheets if SignalR connection drops
  • A settings overview page has been added, providing an at-a-glance view for all of the various configurations within the system for a given location
    • This can be found at Config -> Additional config pages -> Settings overview
  • Additional audit information for browser language compatibility improvements
  • Updated knowledge base content to include updated explanations of customer outstanding/overdue balances
Fixes
  • Additional measures taken to ensure live updates are reflected on new calendar events when switching between day/week view
  • Various language translation improvements and additions
  • Fixed issue w/ check-in app translation causing search issue on mobile devices for non-English cultures
  • Fixed issue w/ check-in app customer title/first name validation being circumvented in some cases
  • Fixed issue w/ calendar "Today" navigation button displaying on the current date for Lite version users
  • Fixed issue w/ calendar bay popular job templates dropdown space formatting
  • Fixed issue w/ calendar bay popular job templates dropdown not displaying in some cases
  • Fixed issue w/ calendar holiday icon displaying on week view in some cases
  • Fixed issue w/ message variables inadvertently displaying on custom message template options if manually entered into message content
  • Audit information formatting fixes

Culture

  • Location and Reseller admin areas are now compatible with multiple non-English languages
    • Currently set up for French and Swedish

Invoices

  • Invoice statements can now be emailed to customers with an overdue balance (i.e. payments required past the invoice due date) to chase up payments at Invoices -> Overdue balances
    • Customer records in question will need to have at least 1 email address associated with their account to receive invoice statements
  • Locations can now add an optional note to all invoices to provide any additional details (Invoices -> Settings -> General settings -> Note)

Check-in app

  • Locations now have the ability to optionally hide an active job sheet's allocated time slot (Config -> Location settings -> Check-in app settings -> Hide check-in app time slot)

Calendar

  • Altered weekly view date format for better readability
  • Lead times can now be directly overridden on the calendar widget itself

Miscellaneous

  • Added Belgium as an available region within the system
  • Additional bank holidays for European regions
  • Updated various UI elements including fonts
  • Updated vehicle VRN display to be clickable link to vehicle edit page where appropriate
  • Additional credit reporting information

Fixes

  • Fixed issue w/ certain Swedish SMS recipients not receiving messages when using the default "Car Update" sender name
  • Fixed issue w/ certain customer address formats not locating correctly in Google Maps link
  • Fixed issue w/ incorrect invoice generation prevention error message displaying under certain job sheets
  • Looser restrictions on third party booking email validation

Check-in app

  • New report has been added to display daily check-ins via the app with the ability to quick-create a job/invoice

Miscellaneous

  • Altered third party VRN vehicle lookup service provider
  • Additional bulk update functionality is available for widget/calendar settings (Reseller only)

Fixes

  • Fixed issue w/ quick invoice line items failing to display on certain job sheet template selection on occasion
  • Fixed visual issue w/ certain MOT history items wrapping display

Widget

  • Additional languages are now supported:
    • 'es-ES' (Spanish)
    • 'pl-PL' (Polish)
    • 'pt-PT' (Portuguese)
    • 'fi-FI' (Finnish)
    • 'cz-CZ' (Czech)
    • 'hu-HU' (Hungarian)
    • 'de-DE' (German)
    • 'nl-NL' (Dutch)

Fixes

  • Fixed issue w/ additional job line items attached to an existing template not converting to invoice line item on occasion
  • Updated wording on account reset password error page to better diagnose potential issues

Job sheets

  • "CENOS" booking source has been added to the system
  • Incoming bookings w/ Klarna being used as the payment option are flagged as such (in the notes)

Reminders

  • Added ability to link group-level job sheet templates to reminder templates (previously at a location-level only)
  • Additional audit information has been added

Invoices

  • Additional Xero export options have been added for "Amount due" and "Amount paid"

Fixes

  • Fixed issue w/ main system logo not displaying in certain browsers under particular circumstances
  • Fixed display issues on calendars w/ slot duration settings displaying short length job sheets
  • Fixed issue w/ incorrect invoice discount total displaying on job info modal in certain scenarios
  • Fixed issue w/ datepicker display being out of position when clicking directly on trigger icon in job create modal
  • Fixed issue w/ job template selection being retained without name/time settings when switching between customer/vehicle inclusion on job sheet creation

Miscellaneous

  • Location import tool has been created to allow importing of new locations en masse (contact support team for further information if required)
  • Simple GMS administrators have additional email debugging tools/information available
  • Refined UI for credits section
  • Mobile-centric UI refinements for various pages
  • Job sheet line items will now reset when switching between job sheet templates (previously would append new items)
  • Added "Apply Mon-Fri" option to operating hours page
  • Calendar holidays that have already passed will be hidden by default in the management list page

Reminders

  • Custom reminders can now be created for job sheets via job templates
    • These are created via Reminders -> Custom templates and then can be linked via Config -> Job sheet templates -> Linked reminder

Messages

  • Added search/sort/filter functionality to message template list page
  • Additional message template information is available including recipient type

Job sheets

  • For customer addresses, a link has been added to view the address in Google Maps
  • Customer address/delivery address has been added to the calendar job sheet info modal

Invoices

  • Negative value job sheet line items from imported bookings will now automatically create an invoice discount when the invoice is generated
  • Customers can now optionally have up to 5 additional email addresses to receive invoice emails
    • Additional email addresses can be added via Customers -> List -> Edit -> Email address -> Add extra invoice recipient(s)
  • Xero invoice export has better support for line items and discount values in relation to tax status
    • Default AccountCode and TaxType values have now been provided

Credits

  • Additional credit audit information is available including:
  • VRN credit origin source (e.g. check-in app, external booking)

Resellers

  • Default configuration settings can be applied for new locations (e.g. lead time, cut-off, operating hours, work breaks) at a reseller level and also for a region within that reseller
    • The default location settings can be viewed at Reseller -> Locations -> Templates (these are managed by the Simple GMS support team)
  • A list of relevant system-wide regional holidays are now viewable for resellers at Reseller -> Regional holidays (these are managed by the Simple GMS support team)

Miscellaneous

  • Additional debug and test tools for Simple GMS administrators to monitor emails
  • Additional credit usage report statistics and options for Simple GMS administrators

Fixes

  • Fixed issue w/ URL slug text casing transformation displaying ambiguous validation error
  • Fixed issue w/ URL slug duplication check on help articles
  • Fixed issue w/ blocked times not displaying on the calendar under certain circumstances

Reminders

  • Reminder SMS and email wording can now be customised (for the latter, contact the Simple GMS support team)

Messages

  • SMS messages sent out via the system can now have custom wording (this can be defined at a location or reseller level)
  • Shortened links are now used for SMS correspondence to conserve character usage

Check-in app

  • Customers can now provide a "Where did you hear about us?" response
    • These responses are available to read on the customer edit page and customer exports

Resellers

  • Bulk location updates can now be applied for multiple locations at once including:
    • Operating hours
    • Blocked times (e.g. lunch breaks)
    • Active status
    • Widget config settings
    • Calendar holidays
  • Location details can now be exported into a CSV format

Miscellaneous

  • Added location ID to navigation sidebar
  • Standardised design for various list page toolbars
  • Additional measures have been put in place to better test and pinpoint issues for messaging services and reminders
  • Additional help knowledge base articles for new reminder and message template functionality
  • Additional location search filtering options for Silkmoth/reseller admins
  • Additional location CSV import options and refinements
  • Refinements to user management page location assignment list
  • Credit status default setting updates

Fixes

  • Fixed issue w/ previously failed reminders being unable to re-attempt on occasion

Check-in app

  • A print-friendly check-in poster can now be accessed via Customer check-in -> Poster with a unique QR code per garage to allow customers to check-in using their personal device

Vehicles

  • Vehicle health check subsequent report edits now display previous follow-up details more prominently
  • Vehicle health check report now uses report's red/amber/green status for tyre tread depth diagram (previously used minimum tyre tread depth value)

Reminders

  • Applied filters are now remembered across sessions
    • Additional "reset filters" button now automatically reverts to default reminder display settings
  • MOT reminders now discerns the reminder due date from the vehicle's MOT due date in the display

Miscellaneous

  • Unscheduled jobs calendar list and navigation count is now limited to jobs created within the last 2 weeks
    • Full unscheduled jobs list can now be found via new navigation menu item)
  • Automated service (i.e. background data processing) efficiency improvements
  • Mobile display improvements for reminder health check reports and check-in app
  • Added link to tutorial videos via "Help & tips" navigation section
  • Various UI improvements (navigation and customer communication options predominantly)
  • Job sheet template management UI improvements
  • Added logged in user's name to "my account" dropdown

Fixes

  • Fixed issue w/ customer mapping logic on incoming orders with multiple customers sharing phone number/email addresses
  • Fixed issue w/ customer phone type (mobile or landline) sometimes mapping incorrectly on incoming orders
  • Fixed issue w/ line item templates without a SKU populating job sheets incorrectly
  • Fixed issue w/ unscheduled job archive status change not updating unscheduled job count in the navigation
  • Fixed issue w/ job sheet template linked item count showing incorrect number on certain shared location setups
  • Health check reminder management options will now only display for appropriate regions and for records with at least one associated customer

Reminders

  • Vehicle MOT and health check reminders are now available in the system
    • MOT reminders are automatically generated for upcoming MOT due dates for vehicles within the system
    • Health check reminders are optionally generated when a report is created
    • The reminder system is initially limited to UK regions, this will later be expanded to non-UK regions

Vehicles

  • Automated MOT due date/V5C issue date refresh service is now implemented for vehicles to assist with MOT reminders
    • This will only apply to vehicles that have previously had an online lookup used to populate the data
  • Reminders for a specific vehicle has been added to the edit page

Emails

  • Styled emails are now used throughout the system rather than plain-text
    • Customer-facing emails will use the related garage's logo if available (contact the support team to set this up)
  • Custom email templates can be set up within the system to use your own HTML/branding (allocated to a specific location, group or reseller depending on requirements)
    • Contact the GMS support team to set this up

Miscellaneous

  • Locations can now be marked as inactive, these are still operational within the Simple GMS system but will have restricted access to calendar widgets
  • Added "show x results" customisation functionality for listing pages
  • Added Italy region/tax settings and widget translations to the system
  • Resellers can now manage certain location details (e.g. name, time zone, address)
  • Additional location operating hour options
  • Page speed efficiency updates to vehicle edit section

Fixes

  • Fixed issue w/ incoming API orders failing to convert to job sheets for garages w/ no remaining credits
  • Updated mobile number validation to be less strict to allow greater variety of region number formats
  • Fixed issue w/ missing widget minutes to refresh value causing the widget display to flicker (field is now mandatory)
  • Fixed routing issue on Silkmoth admin default page
  • Fixed issue w/ vehicle health check follow-up custom dates not displaying on subsequent edits

Check-in app

  • The check-in app now supports "walk ins" where customers can add their vehicle/personal information prior to a job sheet being entered into the system

Vehicles

  • Vehicle health check reports now support custom template formats with tyre check report template added
    • Existing health check reports will default to the full 27-point health check
    • Contact the Simple GMS support team for any custom report template requests

Credits

  • Simple GMS support team can now set custom credit alerts to notify of a remaining credit threshold being hit

Miscellaneous

  • System-level SMS messages (such as the order notification/re-schedule messages) can now have custom text for alternate messaging and/or translations
    • Contact the GMS support team to set up any custom SMS messaging
  • Quality of life improvements for managing locations, credit status records and API accounts via Silkmoth administrator role
  • SignalR logic efficiencies to improve performance and better pinpoint any issues
  • Credit usage reporting efficiency improvements and additional data access

Fixes

  • Fixed issue w/ whitespace-only fields causing exception on customer management form
  • Fixed issue w/ empty header search causing exception
  • Fixed issue w/ credit status records on 0 monthly credit allocation affecting reporting calculations
  • Fixed issue w/ third party bookings form not converting to job sheet under certain circumstances
  • Fixed issue w/ credit reporting not displaying monthly renewal applications for certain dates
  • Fixed issue w/ job sheet line items without a price causing an error on the job sheet split page
  • Fixed issue w/ vehicle health check datepicker displaying inadvertently under certain circumstances

Invoices

  • Invoice discounts have been added to the system, allowing fixed or percentage discounts to be highlighted on a customer-facing invoice
    • Discounts can be applied on a per-invoice basis or alternatively, an auto-applying discount can be allocated to specific customers (with the discount automatically applying to any future generated invoice for said customer)
    • Any invoice discount will be included in the invoice exports where applicable (as a negative value line item)
  • A "running total" for invoices now displays when creating and editing a job sheet (or editing an invoice), this will dynamically update to show what the invoice will total before it is generated to provide a quotable value
    • Quotes shown will include any customer auto-discount when applicable (this discount can be altered once the invoice is created)

Widget

  • Customisable lead times with cut-off logic can optionally be added for widget integration (this will not affect any existing integration with the likes of TyreClick)
    • This is managed either via the Simple GMS support team or at a reseller level (impersonating a location administrator)
  • Customer address fields can now be added to a service widget (for mobile fitting services), the address fields will only be visible/mandatory for bookings if the setting is turned on
    • This is managed via Config -> Manage service widgets -> Create/edit -> Widget settings -> Include customer address fields
  • Widget script is now minified to increase performance speed
  • Script versioning has been implemented to prevent updates not being applied instantly for certain users

Customers

  • Incoming API orders can now optionally prevent any customer mapping logic so a new customer record is created each time
    • This is managed at a reseller level (Settings -> Prevent customer mapping)
  • Customer address will now display on daily job report where available

Miscellaneous

  • Added JavaScript versioning for bespoke scripts
  • Additional reseller location filtering options
  • Added location name to navigation menu for single-location users
  • Various quality of life improvements for reseller accounts
  • Additional location filtering options for Silkmoth administrators

Fixes

  • Address labels for "County/Province" are now flagged as optional to reflect new data setup
  • Fixed issue w/ invoices potentially generated without a vehicle under certain circumstances
  • Added "cancel impersonation" link for Silkmoth administrators impersonating reseller administrators

Vehicles

  • Vehicle mileage history can now be added
    • Mileage will display on invoices and health check reports if mileage is recorded within 30 days of the report
  • Vehicle notes can now be added (useful for details such as preferred tyre size etc.)
  • Manually created vehicles can now retrospectively be updated via the online lookup

Calendar

  • Incoming bookings from a third party system can now optionally send an SMS/email notification to the garage to inform them of a new order
    • Fixed slot orders (e.g. AM/PM) correspondence will inform garages that action needs to be taken to allocate a time slot
    • Any failed booking to job conversions (due to insufficient data) will be flagged to garages to provide any missing information as soon as possible
  • Additional vehicle information is now shown on the quick invoice and unscheduled job lists
  • Calendar invoice list will now show invoices with an issue date of the selected date, the dependency on a job on the same date has been removed
  • Calendar invoice list will now display invoices with payment due on selected date

Customers

  • Additional "account" customer type (e.g. fleets)
  • Customer list page now displays type info and can also now be filtered by customer type
  • Customers can now optionally add/update/remove their address via the check-in app tracking page
    • Garages can opt-out of displaying the customer lookup via Credits -> Settings

Invoices

  • Added new invoice payments report w/ monthly presets and custom date range options
    • End of day report has now been moved to new "Reports" navigation item in the menu
  • Added "payment assist" as an invoice payment source option
  • Added due date to invoices where the due date doesn't match the issue date

Miscellaneous

  • Additional help articles and re-worded some existing articles to reflect new/altered features
  • Additional custom theme display options including extra navigation and input control colours (requires Simple GMS team)
  • Improved dropdown menu UI and added descriptive labels for items
  • Refined credit reporting UI to better match updated taskbar UI throughout system
  • Upgraded FontAwesome to version 6
  • Additional credit audit information
  • Additional error debug tools (GMS team only)
  • Added new "clear local information" page to clear all Simple GMS cookies (for resolving user issues)
  • Improved vehicle health check report UI to work better responsively (tablet focused changes)
    • Refined reporting options to use new dropdown format on health check report

Fixes

  • Incoming API bookings customer email validation has been relaxed to allow plus symbol
  • Fixed issue w/ live connection status overlapping config menu item on low-height, high-width display resolutions
  • Additional measures to prevent spamming the vehicle/customer lookup functionality on job sheet create
  • Fixed issue w/ date formatting on quick invoice menu shortcut modal prompt
  • Fixed issue w/ calendar widget not displaying available time slot for certain fixed slots setup
  • Refinements on calendar invoices to use more efficient data structure and prevent excessive data error intermittently coming through

Reseller role

  • Added reseller role with the ability to:
    • View location details
    • View credit status details
    • Access garage admin areas via user impersonation
    • Update job sheet statuses (single or multiple depending on workflow settings)
    • Optionally add reseller support contact information (phone/email) to display to garages on their "contact support page"
      • Reseller details will be marked as "Business" with the Simple GMS team info as "Technical"
      • Garage reseller support interaction is tracked in Google Tag Manager

Miscellaneous

  • New, lower-priced "lite" version of the system
  • Location switching tool has been moved to main sidebar navigation menu
    • This now includes an inline search for users with access to a larger number of locations (8+)
  • Default credit status values have been updated
  • Invoices have been updated to better cater for zero priced items/invoice totals
  • Additional report control options and improved UI on task board, daily report and end of day invoice report
  • Quick invoice selected job type will now be remembered (i.e. "Vehicle + customer" or "Vehicle only")
  • New features/improvements suggestion page (feature suggestions) now linked in the "Contact support" page

Fixes/improvements

  • Speed improvements for deciphering theme data (default theme only)
  • Refined Google Tag Manager integration
  • Visual improvements to check-in app to better fit smaller screen sizes
  • Responsive improvements catered for mobile devices
  • Additional customer import debug information to determine any file formatting errors
  • Fixed issue wherein jobs with a line item not containing a price would error on the job info modal pop-up
  • Fixed issue wherein selected location would reset after period of extended inactivity for multi-location users
  • Fixed issue wherein job tooltip would remain visible on calendar week view following modal display

Invoices

  • "Quick invoices" can now be created on the calendar, enabling invoices to be provided with minimal steps required
    • Quick invoices have an allocated date but no time slot is required
  • Invoices can now be edited (including the due date, allocated customer and line item information)
  • Invoices can now be cancelled  this will remove the "invoiced" status from the associated job sheet and remove the invoice from all reporting
  • Invoices now have a status path for customer interaction i.e. Report created -> Sent to customer -> Viewed by customer -> Paid by customer
  • Invoices can now be created without a linked customer (a customer can later be added if required)
  • "End of day" invoice report is now available w/ overview of payments/invoice totals

Widget

  • The calendar widget supports French (languageCulture: 'fr-FR')
  • Customisable "fixed" slots can now be used on the widget (Config -> Manage widget settings), allowing for AM/PM bookings and greater flexibility for mobile fitting
  • An optional "all day" slot can be added for autogenerated widget slots
    • Additional display text can be added for this slot to inform customers of things like drop off/pick up times
  • Configurable options for showing the widget time slot end time and displaying the garage's opening hours
  • Widget script is now completely JS driven with no jQuery dependencies

API updates

  • API information requests have been added including:
    • GetById (return a single job sheet via its GMS ID)
    • GetByIds (return a list of job sheets via the GMS ID)
    • GetUpdatedAfter (return a list of job sheets updated after a specific date/time)
  • API keys can optionally be linked to a booking source
    • This will ensure all bookings made via the API key will be linked to the booking source
    • Any info requests using a linked API key will only return job sheets for that booking source
    • Linked API keys will need to be set up by the Simple GMS support team
  • Vehicle info can optionally be returned when adding a booking via the API (ReturnVehicleInfo: true)
  • API keys can now have a list of allowed referrers to prevent malicious API request attempts (requires GMS support team)

Vehicle health checks

    • Vehicle health checks now have a status path for customer interaction i.e. Report created -> Sent to customer -> Viewed by customer
    • Vehicle health checks can now be sent to customers directly via the associated vehicle page (previously only accessible via the report itself)

Standalone service widget

  • Service widgets can be created to enable bookings for specific services via external websites directly into the GMS
    • These can be setup/updated via Config -> Additional config pages -> Manage service widgets
  • Widgets operate independently and can be customised with various settings such as:
    • Service information (name, description, icon, price)
    • Display settings (primary colour, single/multi-column display)
    • A linked job sheet template/line items (this will automatically allocate any incoming job via the widget to have the line item(s) associated for easy invoicing)
    • Job time estimates and lead time in days (e.g. if a service cannot be done prior to 2 days in advance from the booking being made)
    • Bay limitations (if a service can only be done on a particular bay or set of bays – the time slots shown on the widget will reflect the bay(s) chosen)
    • Customer notification settings (the customer can be automatically notified of their booking via SMS)
  • On the service widgets page, for created widgets there is an “Add this to my website” button leading to a page containing the required steps to set it up on an external site

Job sheets/calendar

  • Job sheets can now be "split" into multiple linked jobs (e.g. servicing could be split into a TPMS check and oil change depending on time/bay availability)
    • Jobs can be split by clicking the job in the calendar or going to the job sheet's edit page and selecting "Split job sheet"
    • This will take the user to a page to provide some details of the job split (e.g. line items, time estimate)
    • Linked jobs will be marked in the calendar/task board etc. and all linked jobs are easily accessible when viewing a job that has been split
    • When generating an invoice, all linked jobs' line items will be used and each linked job will be marked as "read only" to prevent any updates
  • Job sheets with a "hidden from calendar" job status (e.g. cancelled) are now hidden from the daily report (previously had a visual strike through the job name)
  • When creating a job sheet, an option now displays to find an existing customer by last name/phone number (if for example, a vehicle is searched with no linked customers but the customer for the job is already in the system)
  • When creating a job sheet, searched vehicles with a single customer will auto-select that customer for the job sheet (this can still be changed manually if required)
  • Removed superfluous "job added" display after creating a new job sheet
  • Job sheets with a generated invoice will now display an invoice link on the daily report and/or job search results

Vehicles

  • Vehicle lookups have been altered to include extra info, namely:
    • Tyre sizes
    • Last V5C issue date (UK only)
  • When using the vehicle lookup when creating a job sheet, additional info will show:
    • Engine size
    • Fuel type (e.g. petrol, diesel)
  • Vehicle detail page has been updated to include the new information as well as refined UI
  • When adding a vehicle link to an existing customer, a new vehicle can be searched/created outright (previously relied on the vehicle already existing in the system)

Invoices

  • Added invoice export functionality w/ pre-defined templates for Quickbooks, Sage and Xero
  • Locations can update their tax (e.g. VAT) registration status, by not offering tax this will remove any mention of tax on generated invoices
  • When an invoice is generated for a job sheet, the job status is now marked as "invoiced" automatically
  • Invoices can now optionally display a link for customers to leave a Google review for the business (Google Place ID must be provided – requires Simple GMS support team)
  • Line items now display a “price each” value to better clarify the totals shown on the invoice
  • Invoice payments via the customer edit page now redirects back to the customer (previously went to invoices section)

Miscellaneous

  • All pages with listed records (e.g. job sheets, customers) now use a standardised display for any filtering
    • Additionally includes sorting options for all listed records (varies by page depending on content)
  • Live chat service has been added (top-right hand corner)
  • A dedicated "contact support" page has been added to outline the various means of getting assistance for the system
  • The check-in app has had various display adjustments to be print-friendly (recommended on an A4 sheet)
  • Customised tablet/mobile shortcut icons have been added for the admin area and check-in app
  • When typing in your password on the login or “my account” page, there is now an option to display the password being typed out
  • Menu refinements, namely:
    • Config menu section has been consolidated to a single menu item containing all configuration setting pages
    • Added mobile menu close button

Job sheet line items (new)

  • Line items can now be added to job sheets including standard invoicing information (description, quantity, unit price w/ and w/out tax, item tax rate)
  • Line item "templates" can be created, containing default information for line items - these will display when typing in a description on a job sheet line item (with an "autocomplete" function showing relevant item templates). This can be managed at Config -> Job sheet line items.
    • A job sheet template can be linked to these line item templates - for example if a job sheet template was "Wheel alignment" this could include line items for "Front wheel alignment (x2)" and "Rear wheel alignment (x2)", with the entire structure being auto-populated for the job sheet with one dropdown selection (Config -> Job sheet templates -> Manage templates -> Location line items)
    • Line item templates are location-specific (to cater for individual pricing) but can be copied between locations within the same group to make an exact replica, this can be done via Config -> Job sheet line items -> List -> Map between locations
  • Items from calendar widget bookings will generate relevant line items automatically

Invoicing (new)

  • Generate invoices for job sheets (these must have at least one complete line item assigned to the job sheet)
    • Any job sheet with an invoice generated will become "read only" and cannot be altered afterwards
  • View customers with outstanding balances (these are highlighted in the navigation sidebar)
  • Make partial/full payments with automated updating of the invoice’s payment status and the associated customer's outstanding balance
  • Send invoices to customers (option to email/SMS them dependent on available customer information)
  • Add garage payment information (e.g. cheque/bank transfer details) for generated invoices
  • Multiple currency support - at the time of writing this pertains to Great British Pound Sterling (£) and Swedish Krona (kr). New currencies will be added as and when required.
  • Location logo can be added to the invoice (requires Simple GMS support team)

Calendar holiday management (new)

  • Added calendar (bank) holiday management (Config -> Settings -> Holidays)
    • These holiday dates will prevent any bookings being made via calendar widgets (job sheets can be manually added by location admins via the calendar page however if required)
    • Newly-created holidays can be simultaneously created for other locations in the same group        

Credits (updated)

  • Additional audit information (on the credit history page) including specific details e.g. the type of SMS sent like "Re-schedule", "Order tracking notification" along w/ links to any relevant items (job sheet/vehicle)
  • History CSV export for a full breakdown of credit usage (including individual location spend)

Help & tips (updated)

  • The help & tips section has been updated to include an built-in help function - the system now has various help "prompts" (e.g. a question icon) that when clicked on, show a help sidebar with the information relevant to the section/page element
    • The help & tips page also now has an inline search function (w/ autocomplete) to better narrow down topics
  • Help & tips sub-menu has been added to the calendar page w/ relevant help items all pertaining to the calendar functionality

Miscellaneous

  • Re-scheduled job sheets will now also provide the option to send the customer an email to inform them (assuming they have an email on record), previously this was only SMS
  • Various pages on the system w/ job sheet info now has a "View in calendar" link which will open the calendar page w/ the selected job sheet highlighted
  • Home page "panels" have been added with some quick info to guide new/existing users on the system features
  • Additional info and search options on the following list pages:
    • Job sheets
    • Customers
    • Vehicles
  • On the check-in app, a confirmation page will display when a user checks in successfully (after 10 seconds this will redirect back to the relevant page)
  • Various UI refinements – create job sheet/job info modals have been refined and some mobile focused changes

Customer order tracking notifications

  • This will send customers an SMS message the day before their job sheet is scheduled with a tracking link – this enables them to check their order details and update their customer record information
  • This setting can be turned off if required (Credits -> Settings -> Send Customer Order Tracking Info)

Customer check-in app

  • Accessible via the garage admin, this allows customers to check-in for a job and let the garage staff know the work is ready to start (customers can also check/update their details)
  • The app is ideal for something like a tablet to display in the garage itself and also has a QR code/website for customers to visit if they don’t want to use a shared device

Credit reporting (usage stats, location use etc.)

  • Location credits overview now has charts to show allocated vs actual credit usage for a month, credit type cost breakdown (e.g. SMS, VRN, Address) and location breakdown for shared credits (i.e. who has spent what)
  • Additional credit usage information in reporting i.e. the context of how a credit was spent (e.g. customer being sent a job sheet tracking notification)

Vehicles re-structure

  • VRN searches will only incur a credit cost for either an entirely new vehicle or when a user explicitly chooses “Update vehicle info” for an existing vehicle
  • There is a new vehicles section in the location admin area, containing all linked vehicles w/ the ability to force a live service update and see any previous job sheets
    • This also has the MOT history and vehicle health check reports if available (UK only)

Miscellaneous

  • Additional help & tips content to cover the additional functionality put in place
  • Location logos can be added to the system via the Simple GMS support team - these will display on vehicle health check reports

MOT history (UK only)

  • Each time a VRN search is done via a UK location, we import the MOT history of the vehicle where possible – this can be accessed in the new vehicles section

Vehicle health check reports (UK only)

  • Health check reports can be created/updated for a given vehicle (and linked to a job sheet if required) – this can be sent directly to a customer
  • Visits to the report via tracking links sent to customers are logged in the system
  • These can be added via different areas of the system (calendar page, job sheet task board, daily report, vehicles section)
  • Various design refinements (including new logo)
  • Custom theming/colour scheme options (requires Simple GMS support team involvement)
  • Credit structure (credit costs are incurred for live VRN lookups, address lookups and SMS messages using third party services)
  • Additional customer information (e.g. title, marketing preferences, notes)
  • Customer export functionality (including pre-defined templates like direct mailing etc.)
  • Customer address lookup (for standard and delivery addresses)
    • Note: this is only for UK locations at the time of writing
  • Help & Tips section which contains information about the system and explaining the underlying functionality involved
  • Custom workflows (including the ability to add custom SMS messages when switching a job sheet's status)
  • Customer check-in functionality (mark a job sheet's customer as "checked in" to display an at-a-glance view for staff)
  • Option to send out an SMS to customers when re-scheduling a job sheet