GarageForge is the inspection station system. Every sticker accounted for from the batch to the windshield, reminders that bring last year's inspection customers back on their own, and repair orders for the work you find in the bay. From $59 a month, no contract, and no per-user fees until you're well past a one-bay operation.
7-day free trial · No credit card · Month-to-month, cancel anytime
Shopmonkey is solid software for what it was made for: a full-service repair shop with supplier parts ordering, tire TIN capture, bulk fleet invoicing, and a service writer at the counter. Most of that sits unused at a station where the inspection line is what brings cars in the door. And the one thing you would actually pay for, a sticker count you could hand to the state, is not in there at all.
Enter the batch when it comes in. When an inspection passes, the sticker is logged to that VIN automatically. Void one and it stays in the record with a note and a timestamp, because nothing gets deleted.
When the state wants to see your count, you print the audit pack instead of digging through the drawer and hoping the logbook matches.
Click through the live demoEvery inspection sets a due date. When it comes around, the customer gets a text with your shop name on it (email if there is no cell number) before they drive to whoever is closest. On a fail, set a short due date and the same reminder handles the re-check.
You already earned these customers once. This is how you keep them without anyone at the counter remembering to call.
Estimate from your phone, one tap to an invoice, text-to-pay through the payment processor you already use. No lock-in to one processor's rates.
Work the customer declines is saved and followed up on automatically, instead of walking out the door and being forgotten by Friday.
| What you need | GarageForge (Pro, $99/mo) | Shopmonkey |
|---|---|---|
| Sticker inventory with an audit trail | Every plan, from $59/mo | Not offered |
| Automatic inspection-due reminders | Every plan, text first, email fallback | Not offered |
| Digital vehicle inspections with photos | Included | Clever plan and up |
| Estimates, repair orders, invoices | Included | Included |
| Text-to-pay | Included, your own processor, no lock-in | Shopmonkey Payments: 2.5 to 2.7% per transaction, card readers $249 plus $10/mo |
| Declined work follow-up | Automatic text and email nudges until they book | Deferred services can be re-added to the next estimate by hand |
| Customer portal | Included | Not offered |
| Vehicle history by VIN | Included, free VIN decode | Included, via CARFAX |
| Extra users | No per-user fees; Pro includes up to 5 users, Shop+ unlimited | $20 per extra user per month |
| Trying it | 7-day free trial, no credit card | Check shopmonkey.io for current trial terms |
| Starting price | $59/mo (Starter) | $199 to $215/mo (Basic) |
| Top plan | $179/mo (Shop+, multi-bay) | $449 to $475/mo (Genius) |
Shopmonkey column reflects its publicly listed plans, pricing and features as of July 2026 and may have changed since. Verify current details at shopmonkey.io. GarageForge column reflects the Pro plan; sticker inventory, the audit trail and reminders are on every plan.
The one-bay station. 1 user, 75 repair orders a month. Sticker inventory, audit trail, inspection-due reminders, estimates and invoicing.
The busy station. Up to 5 users, unlimited repair orders. Everything in Starter plus digital inspections with photos, online booking and automatic declined-work follow-up.
Multi-bay scheduling and unlimited users for the station that also runs a full repair side.
Month-to-month, no contract. No per-user fees: Pro includes up to 5 users and Shop+ is unlimited. Pay annually and get 2 months free. Need more texts? Add 250 for $10/mo. Done-for-you data import from Shopmonkey or a spreadsheet: $199, free for founding members.
Fair question. It costs less because it does less, on purpose. No tire TIN capture, no bulk fleet invoicing, no supplier parts ordering, no labor guide. Those are the things a repair chain pays Shopmonkey (and its Genius tier) for and an inspection station never opens. Less to build, less to charge you for.
I'm a mechanic who used to work in IT. When I opened my Pennsylvania inspection station I tried the shop software that was out there, couldn't afford Shopmonkey, and noticed none of it tracked stickers anyway. So I built the tool I wished I'd had.
The trial has no card on it because I'd rather you find out it fits your shop than get talked into it. If it doesn't fit, the trial ends and nothing happens. If it does, you'll stay. That's the whole bet.
If you run a multi-bay collision or tire shop, order parts from a dozen suppliers inside your software, or live in a labor guide all day, Shopmonkey's top plan is built for you and GarageForge is not. GarageForge does not have an integrated labor guide or supplier parts ordering yet.
If the inspection line is what brings cars through the door and the repair work follows from it, GarageForge was built for exactly that.
GarageForge was built by a former Pennsylvania inspection-station owner, and it works the same in any state that puts a sticker on the windshield: the sticker trail, the audit pack and the reminders do not care which state's program you run.
GarageForge is an independent product. It is not affiliated with PennDOT or any state agency, and your station stays responsible for its own compliance.
As of July 2026, Shopmonkey's published plans were Basic at $199 to $215 a month, Clever at $324 to $359, and Genius at $449 to $475, plus $20 a month for each extra user, payment processing fees, and card-reader hardware. Check shopmonkey.io for current pricing, since it may have changed.
For a state inspection station or a small repair garage, yes. GarageForge starts at $59 a month for a one-user Starter plan, and Pro is $99 a month with up to 5 users and no per-user fees. Every plan includes sticker inventory with an audit trail and automatic inspection-due reminders, which Shopmonkey does not offer. If you need integrated supplier parts ordering or a labor guide, GarageForge does not have those yet.
Yes. Export your customers and vehicles from Shopmonkey and import them yourself, or take the $199 done-for-you data import (free for founding members). Repair orders and inspections start the same day.
GarageForge Starter is $59 a month and every plan includes sticker inventory with an audit trail and inspection-due reminders, plus estimates, invoicing and text-to-pay. There is a 7-day free trial with no credit card.
No. The trial is 7 days with no credit card, and paid plans are month-to-month with no contract. If it is not for you, the trial ends and there is nothing to cancel.
7 days, no credit card, nothing to cancel if it isn't for you. Month-to-month from $59 after that.
Want the full feature list first? See the GarageForge product page.