--- description: Review of Real-Time Labor Guide Software: system overview, features, price and cost information. Get free demos and compare to similar programs. image: https://gdm-localsites-assets-gfprod.imgix.net/images/software_advice/og_logo-55146305bbe7b450bea05c18e9be9c9a.png title: Real-Time Labor Guide | Reviews, Pricing & Demos - SoftwareAdvice GB --- Breadcrumb: [Home](/) > [Car Repair Software](/directory/4261/auto-repair/software) > [Real-Time Labor Guide](/software/77460/real-time-labor-guide) # Real-Time Labor Guide Canonical: https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/software/77460/real-time-labor-guide Page: 1 / 4\ Next: [Next page](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/software/77460/real-time-labor-guide?page=2) > Real-Time Labor Guide is a cloud-based auto repair platform that helps small to large size automotive businesses manage customer charges, technician tracking and staff. Real-Time Labor Guide enables users to manage complete store operations with labor guide, packaging jobs, miscellaneous charges, unlimited tickets, QuickVIN decoding, advanced reporting and more. Additionally, it allows staff management, customer history, shop reports, technician tracking, parts markup, inventory and accounts receivable. The repair guide tool feature in the platform allows tracking vehicles’ condition, mechanic experience, availability of tools and testing time that can be used to provide quotes, manage customers, access jobs and estimates. Real-Time Labor Guide allows users to create custom tickets, estimates and invoices. The platform is available on a per month subscription pricing and support is extended via phone and email. > > Verdict: Rated **4.3/5** by 80 users. Top-rated for **Likelihood to recommend**. ----- ## Quick Stats & Ratings | Metric | Rating | Detail | | **Overall** | **4.3/5** | 80 Reviews | | Ease of Use | 4.6/5 | Based on overall reviews | | Customer Support | 4.4/5 | Based on overall reviews | | Value for Money | 4.5/5 | Based on overall reviews | | Features | 4.2/5 | Based on overall reviews | | Recommendation percentage | 90% | (9/10 Likelihood to recommend) | ## About the vendor - **Company**: Dowell Systems - **Founded**: 1989 ## Commercial Context - **Starting Price**: US$17.50 - **Pricing model**: Per User (Free Trial) - **Pricing Details**: Each service level offers a 21-day free trial. Real-Time Labor Guide is available for $17.50/month per user. Real-Time Pro is available for $35.00/month for the first user, $17.50/month for additional users. ShopDriver Elite is available for $100/month and includes 2 users\! Additional users are $17.50/month. - **Target Audience**: Self Employed, 2–10, 11–50, 51–200, 201–500, 501–1,000, 1,001–5,000, 5,001–10,000, 10,000+ - **Deployment & Platforms**: Cloud, SaaS, Web-based, Android (Mobile), iPhone (Mobile), iPad (Mobile) - **Supported Languages**: English - **Available Countries**: Canada, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, United States ## Features - Alerts/Notifications - Billing & Invoicing - CRM - Customer Database - Customer History - Data Import/Export - Estimating - Inventory Management - Labor Cost Reporting - Labor Rates - Parts Management - Point of Sale (POS) - Quotes/Estimates - Reporting & Statistics - Service History - Third-Party Integrations - User Management - VIN Lookup - Vehicle Information - Work Order Management ## Integrations (6 total) - 360 Payments - Gmail - Microsoft Outlook - QuickBooks Online - Yahoo Mail - iCloud ## Support Options - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Phone Support - Chat ## Category - [Car Repair Software](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/directory/4261/auto-repair/software) ## Alternatives 1. [ARI](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/software/97484/ari-auto-repair-invoices) — 4.6/5 (600 reviews) 2. [AutoLeap](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/software/120367/autoleap) — 4.8/5 (742 reviews) 3. [AutoRepair Cloud](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/software/29965/autorepair-cloud) — 4.9/5 (163 reviews) 4. [NAPA TRACS](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/software/76836/napa-tracs) — 4.2/5 (258 reviews) 5. [Shopmonkey](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/software/88459/shopmonkey) — 4.6/5 (263 reviews) ## Reviews ### "Best Bang for your buck available" — 5.0/5 > **Eric** | *8 June 2020* | Automotive | Recommendation rating: 10.0/10 > > **Pros**: I have used this software for years and love the features and ease of use\! This has cut my service ticket time considerably and is quite accurate with the labor times posted. If you are a small shop then you must have this software to compete with the big boys and show a big time appearance to the customer, it reinforces professionalism and integrity of your shop,I.e. letterhead and breakdown of ticket with an appealing look. I would recommend it to all repair shops no matter the size or location. This software has definitely made me a lot of money and helped ensure to not leave any on the table. > > **Cons**: Wish it had older model cars I work on some older cars and a lot are not on the software and I understand I’m probably in the minority on this ----- ### "Great pic for small shops" — 4.0/5 > **Charles** | *16 September 2020* | Automotive | Recommendation rating: 10.0/10 > > **Pros**: Overall the product is very useful. The are very few products for small guys to get away from paper \& get access to labor guides. Ive tried all of the $20-$50 monthly options as I wanted a cloud based system that I could work with from anywhere regardless of platform. I really think this has helped me attract more business \& close more sales due to accurate quoting. Lets face it people want professional \& accurate quotes up front...and when they come back to pickup they dont want surprises either- this gains trust. In this regard RT has actually made me more money \& makes things more efficient. How can a small shop justify $100-250 per month for Shop Management? Well theres not much out there that will get you running for sub 100 much less the $25/month I promise ya\! > > **Cons**: Now for the downsides...Im anxiously awaiting some upgrades- another tier for those of us wanting AR \& Inventory, regardless of the info page here there is no inventory- nada. This needs to be fixed. The Customer owed balance needs to me on the main page so you know what folk are due/overdue at a glance instead of drilling into each work order \& clicking thru to the end- its ridiculous to have to do that. Multiple tech assignment would be super helpful as well- each labor line should have ability to assign more than one all of the techs- not just one. Adding part vendors on the fly would be nice too but thats nit pickin. We need inventory Customer AR (and report) as well as Quickbooks online integration. I should be able to use this software to see what oil \& filters I have on hand at least\! All that said, they promise more soon \& are adding payment processing- I really hope its soon\! > > Needs more features in an additional tier or al a cart add ons. I use this daily, incredibly easy to generate accurate quotes, but a POS system its not...yet. ----- ### "Labor guide with invoicing not bad" — 3.0/5 > **Christopher** | *7 December 2025* | Automotive | Recommendation rating: 5.0/10 > > **Pros**: Someone offered me the opportunity to take my Shop to the next level from paper invoices and calculator to something that did most of the work for me. It’s really inexpensive. I would say it’s cheap and it works for a start up shop which is what I used it for. Only a few months so I could get off the ground. > > **Cons**: Invoices are tough to find once finalized for warranty. They are there you just have to do an irregular search. > > I was happy for the first month. I needed something that had more integration and more functionality. Even though those things cost more money with another company, that’s where I went. ----- ### "Useful Tool with Some Rough Edges" — 4.0/5 > **Sayyed** | *15 December 2025* | Information Technology & Services | Recommendation rating: 5.0/10 > > **Pros**: Real-Time Labour Guide does a great job with Invoice Management and Appointment Scheduling, and the Security gives confidence when handling sensitive data. Mobile Access is handy on the go. > > **Cons**: There’s a noticeable Learning Curve, and I ran into a few Bugs and Issues that slowed things down. Customer Support is helpful, but responses can sometimes take longer than expected. > > Overall, it’s a solid and practical system once you’re set up, especially for managing schedules and invoices. With fewer bugs and a smoother learning process, it could be excellent. ----- ### "Auto repair invoicing and labor" — 5.0/5 > **Darren** | *26 May 2020* | Automotive | Recommendation rating: 10.0/10 > > **Pros**: Ease of use, great customer service, pricing, does pretty much everything we want. We’ve stayed with this software for several years. > > **Cons**: In progress tickets drop from system after 14 days. There are times when we are waiting for special order parts that arrive past that period and we have to rekey what we’ve entered already. > > The customer service has always been extremely friendly and helpful. For us as a small business the software works perfect. It allows us to customize our invoices and track our customers repairs. Customer service is very helpful with finding labor on old cars or very new cars that may not be in a labor system. ----- Page: 1 / 4\ Next: [Next page](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/software/77460/real-time-labor-guide?page=2) ## Links - [View on SoftwareAdvice](https://www.softwareadvice.co.uk/software/77460/real-time-labor-guide) ## This page is available in the following languages | Locale | URL | | en | | | en-AU | | | en-GB | | | en-IE | | | en-NZ | | ----- ## Structured Data