Marine service software, built for the bay.

Where service shops actually lose time

Independent boat dealers make most of their margin in the service bay. They also lose most of their time there — not turning wrenches, but answering "is my boat ready?", chasing parts, and re-typing the same data into three different tools.

HelmDMS marine service software was designed by sitting at a real shop and watching where the time actually goes. The result is a service workflow that cuts the daily friction:

Work orders done right

• Concern / Cause / Correction — the industry-standard service documentation structure. Every work order captures what the customer said, what you found, and what you did.
• Who's paying selector — Customer Pay / Warranty / Internal — required field, no more lost warranty submissions.
• Warranty split & claim tracking — split a ticket between the customer and the manufacturer, then track each claim until it's paid instead of losing it in a folder.
• Quote mode — build the estimate as a quote, text it to the customer, and convert it to a live work order when they say yes.
• Your statuses, your words — configure the work-order statuses to match how your shop actually runs.
• Multi-day jobs with technician assignment across days. Real boat service rarely fits in a single day.
• Estimated hours on every WO so the schedule reflects reality.
• Parts and labor lines with inventory decrement at add-time (not at checkout — so the lot guy knows when something's actually low).
• PDF attachments for Mercury diagnostic reports, Yamaha warranty docs, customer photos.

Status board the front desk can read

The single biggest time-sink at a boat shop: the front desk doesn't know what's going on in the back. Customer calls. Front desk takes the call, walks back to ask the tech, walks back to call the customer. Twenty times a day.

HelmDMS has a status board that updates as the techs work. Service Writer view shows everything in flight: what's diagnosing, what's awaiting parts, what's awaiting approval, what's ready for pickup.

The Shop Queue keeps a Ready for pickup strip up top so "is my boat ready?" is one glance. No walking back. No "let me check and call you back." Drag jobs to reorder priorities, and put it on the shop-floor TV with TV mode so the techs always know what's next.

A status page the customer can check themselves

Every work order can send the customer a private link. They see where their boat is, the photos and notes your tech added, and the estimate — which they can approve with a signature right from their phone. Need a deposit before you order parts? They can pay it on the same page. Fewer "just checking in" calls, faster approvals.

Scheduling that doesn't make you click 14 times

• "Next available" button — finds the first open slot for the right tech and books it.
• Drag-and-drop rescheduling on iPad and desktop. 30-minute snap.
• Per-tech availability strip — see each technician's next open hour at a glance.
• Card-on-file at booking with configurable deposit / no-show fee per your policy. Reduce no-shows measurably.
• Schedule board by technician, with time off blocked out so nobody gets booked on their vacation day.
• Automatic appointment reminders by text or email — 3 days, 24 hours, and 2 hours before. Customer can confirm via reply.
• Estimated completion time in the intake SMS so customers know what to expect.

Technician productivity, not surveillance

Two clocking systems, one purpose: pay people right.

• Time clock for payroll — IP-restricted to the shop network so techs don't deal with MFA at clock-in.
• Time-clock kiosk — one shared screen in the shop; each tech punches in with their own PIN. No logins, no passwords at 7am.
• Job picker — techs pick the work order they're on when they punch, so tech time ties to specific jobs and you can actually report on productivity per job.
• Manager edits when someone forgets to clock in/out (because they will).
• Timesheet export to your payroll system, plus a weekly payroll timecard report emailed to you as a spreadsheet.

"Your boat is ready" — without lifting the phone

When a tech marks a work order complete, HelmDMS automatically sends the customer an SMS, email, or natural-voice automated call (your choice, per the customer's preference). No more end-of-day "I forgot to call so-and-so."

This is what most marine DMS systems outsource to Kenect for ~$300/mo. We include it.

Take payment at Stripe rates, not merchant-services rates

When the customer picks up, payment runs through Stripe at 2.7% + 5¢ in-person or 2.9% + 30¢ for emailed pay-by-link invoices. Stripe's published rates with no markup. That's typically below the 3.0–3.5%+ most independent shops pay legacy merchant services after monthly fees, PCI surcharges, and terminal rentals. On a $1,200 service ticket, you keep about $7 more than you would at 3.5%. On a year of service volume, that's real money — and the work-order total goes straight to the card reader so the writer never re-keys a number.

Connected to the rest of HelmDMS

Service software is one piece. The same platform handles your parts counter POS, boat sales pipeline, live supplier search, customer database, caller ID, and QuickBooks Online sync. Full feature list →

$499/mo flat. Founding pricing locks in for life. Reserve a founding-dealer slot ($200 refundable) or book a demo first.