What your workshop gains from a free software trial

A free software trial gives a workshop something no demo can: the chance to decide with its own data. Your team uses it before it becomes mandatory, you see how much time you save on appointments, repair orders and invoices, and you find out what the software needs to work in your workshop, all at no cost and with no obligation. With Cafler, the free trial runs in your real workshop, with guided onboarding, no card required and no lock-in.

This guide explains what a workshop gains by trying before signing up, and how to make the most of the trial, step by step, so you choose with data.

What does a workshop gain by trying before signing up?

• You decide with your data, not the demo’s. Your services, your customers and your timings say more than any presentation.
• Your team tries it before it’s mandatory. Whoever is on the front desk and whoever is in the bay gives their view with the software in hand, so adoption starts on its own.
• You see the savings in your own day-to-day. How long it takes to book an appointment, open a repair order or issue an invoice, measured in your workshop.
• You know what it needs to work. Setting it up shows you first-hand what needs preparing and how long it takes.
• You try it with peace of mind. No card required and no lock-in: the only commitment is your time.

How do you request the free trial?

With Cafler, you request it on the website in a few minutes, in three steps:

• Fill in the form with your details and your workshop’s.
• We confirm your request and email you your username and password.
• Log in to the platform at os.cafler.ai with those credentials and get started.

Step 1: set up your workshop’s basics

Any software needs to know your workshop before it can show you what it can do. The first step is telling it, and with guided onboarding you’re not doing it alone:

• Your tax details and invoice series, so you can issue a real invoice.
• Your services with their real duration, the time your team actually takes: that’s what the schedule is built on.
• Your staff and your bays, with what each one does.
• Your customers and vehicles: a few entered by hand, or an import of the ones you already have.

It’s the least glamorous part of the trial and the one that pays off most: well-configured software makes better suggestions from day one.

Step 2: try it with real work

Pick a few of the vehicles coming into the workshop and take them through the software from start to finish. If you prefer, run it alongside the way you work today:

• The appointment, with the technician and bay the platform suggests based on the day’s workload.
• Vehicle check-in, finding the vehicle by its number plate, with photos and damage marked.
• The repair order and the estimate, with parts and labour, and customer approval from their phone.
• The invoice, generated from the repair order without retyping anything.

A full run with a real vehicle teaches you more than lots of one-off tests: you see where the software fits and where it’s worth adjusting the way you work.

Step 3: try what saves the most time

With the day-to-day running, it’s time to try what saves the most time. This is where the leap from the notebook or the spreadsheet shows most:

• Cafler AI, the AI for aftersales. Ask it about the day’s schedule or take a photo of a vehicle: it reads the number plate and tells you whether it’s already registered and which customer it belongs to.
• Supplier invoices from a photo. Upload the PDF or photograph the paper copy, and Cafler AI fills in the supplier, line items and amounts for you to review before saving.
• The connection with your ERP or accounting software, if you use one, to see how invoices sync without exporting anything by hand.

Note down how long each task takes before and after. It’s the figure that carries most weight when you decide.

Step 4: measure and decide

Before the trial ends, look back with data and answer three questions:

• How much time has the team gained? Booking appointments, opening repair orders, quoting and invoicing.
• What’s better organised now? Calls, estimates waiting for an answer, supplier invoices.
• Does the team use it without being asked? It’s the best sign that the software fits.

If the answer convinces you, choose the plan that matches the size of your workshop. And if you’d rather start at no cost, Cafler also has a Free plan to get going and move up when your workshop needs it.

Three habits that get more out of the trial

• One person in charge. Someone in the workshop who owns the trial and answers everyone else’s questions.
• Real work, not sample data. Your customers and your vehicles teach you far more than made-up data.
• Ask early. Onboarding is guided: the sooner a question is answered, the more you get out of the trial.

“The best demo is the one done with your workshop’s vehicles: your services, your customers and your real day.”

Summary: the free trial, step by step

• Step 1: set up your tax details, your services with their duration, the team, the bays and your customers.
• Step 2: take real vehicles from appointment to invoice.
• Step 3: try Cafler AI, supplier invoice reading and the connection with your ERP.
• Step 4: measure the time gained, check whether the team uses it and choose a plan.
• The trial: in your real workshop, with guided onboarding, no card and no lock-in.