PDR software for paintless dent repair shops.
PDRCore (sometimes written PDR Core) is shop software built for paintless dent repair: repair orders, estimates priced by dent size and count range, supplements, technician pay, invoicing and customer messages, on a computer or a phone. Here's what a PDR or hail shop needs from its software, and how PDRCore does each part.
- Repair orders
- Matrix estimates
- Supplements
- Technician pay
- Invoicing
Paintless dent repair isn't collision repair.
Most shop software is built for collision repair: parts, paint and body labor hours. Paintless dent repair is priced another way. A hail estimate is a list of panels, each read for its dent size and count range, with R&I lines for access and upcharges for aluminum or glue pulls. Software that can't write that estimate makes the estimator do it on paper first.
PDR crews are paid another way too. Commission splits after a facility fee, pay by the panel and mixed plans are normal in PDR and rare elsewhere, and a hail crew can repair hundreds of cars in a few weeks. Pay worked out in a spreadsheet at the end of a storm is where most disputes start.
And the work happens away from a desk: in a dealership's back lot, under a tent, in a customer's driveway. PDR software has to work from the phone in a technician's hand as well as from the office computer.
Ten things a PDR shop needs from its software.
Each one, why it matters in PDR, and how PDRCore does it today.
Repair orders from drop-off to paid
Every car needs one record that holds the estimate, photos, billing and messages, and a board that shows where each car is until the money arrives.
Repair ordersIn PDRCore: The RO and the board
Receive a car with a VIN scan and seven guided photos, keep everything about it on one RO page, and see every car on the board until it's paid.
Estimates priced by dent size and count range
Hail is priced by the panel: the dent size, from Dime to Half-Dollar, and the count range. Anything else needs a flat price, set by the person writing the estimate.
EstimatingIn PDRCore: PDRCore's dent matrix, or your price
Each panel is priced from PDRCore's dent matrix by its dent size and count range, or by a price you set on the estimate, with aluminum, glue-pull and oversize upcharges on top.
R&I and R&R kept apart
Remove and reinstall is labor; remove and replace adds a part. Mixing them up bills the wrong amount and pays technicians on the wrong figure.
EstimatingIn PDRCore: Two kinds of line
R&I and R&R lines sit under the panel they belong to, beside its PDR line, and technician pay counts the labor, never the part.
Supplements that hold up
Hidden damage shows once parts are off. The approved estimate has to stay as it was approved, with every change in a supplement that says why.
EstimatingIn PDRCore: Locked once approved
The approved estimate is locked as the version of record. Changes go in a supplement with a reason, and every sent version is kept and compared with the original.
Technician pay the way PDR pays
Commission after a facility fee, hourly, flag hours, per panel and salary, often on one crew, with shared panels and pay released when the carrier pays.
Payroll and My PayIn PDRCore: Five ways to pay, figured car by car
Pay each person by their own plan, credit each line to the tech who did it, take the facility fee off first, and lock the pay period when it's right.
Invoicing the carrier, the owner and the dealer
A claim is often paid by two parties, and a dealer account wants one statement. Receivables need watching by account and by age.
Invoicing and paymentsIn PDRCore: Invoices, statements and A/R aging
Invoice the carrier and the customer for their own amounts, take deposits and payments, download a statement for each dealer or fleet, and see who owes you and how late.
Customer messages on the car
Owners want to know when their car is ready, and the answer belongs on the car, not in one person's phone.
Customer messagesIn PDRCore: Texts and email per customer
One inbox per customer for texts and email, a Messages tab on every RO, and estimates the customer approves from the link you send.
Photos and the VIN, without typing
A storm line moves fast. The VIN and the photos of each panel are what an estimate stands on, and nobody wants to type a VIN in a parking lot.
Photos and VIN scanIn PDRCore: The camera does the typing
Scan the VIN and the year, make and model fill in. Take the seven intake shots, attach photos to the lines they show, and scan a written estimate sheet into lines you check.
Reports an owner actually reads
After a storm an owner needs to know what was billed, what went to pay, what the shop kept, and which carriers are slow.
ReportsIn PDRCore: What the shop did, and kept
Revenue, repair order, technician and A/R aging reports as PDF or CSV, what the shop kept for owners, and the supplement rate by carrier.
A phone in a parking lot, and roles for the crew
Techs work away from the office, and each person should see what their role needs: a technician their own cars and pay, an owner everything.
Crew, roles and setupIn PDRCore: On the phone, by role
Write and send estimates from your phone and save PDRCore to the Home Screen. Technicians see their own cars and pay, nobody else's.
Know the trade, then the tools.
Plain guides to the parts of a PDR shop that software has to get right.
Guide
How a PDR pricing matrix works
Dent size, count range, upcharges, and when a flat price fits better than the grid.
Read the guide : How a PDR pricing matrix worksGuide
R&I vs R&R on a PDR estimate
Remove and reinstall against remove and replace: when each appears, and how each is priced and paid.
Read the guide : R&I vs R&R on a PDR estimateGuide
How PDR technicians are paid
Commission splits, the facility fee, hourly, flag hours, per panel and salary, with a worked example.
Read the guide : How PDR technicians are paidGuide
The hail repair workflow, from drop-off to paid
Each stage of a hail car, from intake and the estimate to supplements, invoicing and getting paid.
Read the guide : The hail repair workflow, from drop-off to paidGuide
Writing a PDR estimate for insurance, retail and wholesale
How the estimate changes with who pays: pricing, paperwork, approval and billing.
Read the guide : Writing a PDR estimate for insurance, retail and wholesale
Not built yet, and said so.
PDRCore is in beta. These are coming, with no promised dates, so they're not claimed above.
- Coming soon
Take payments online
The people you bill pay an invoice by card online, and the payment lands on that invoice.
- Coming soon
A portal for your accounts
Dealers, fleets and carriers see their cars, invoices and statements in one place, and approve work there.
- Coming soon
Automatic messages to customers
Texts and emails that go out on their own as a car moves along, such as when it's approved or ready. You switch each one on.
- Coming soon
More than one location
Run branches or storm sites under one PDRCore account, each with its own settings, crew and roles.
Questions about PDR software.
What is PDR software?
Software for running a paintless dent repair business: writing estimates priced by dent size and count range, tracking each car as a repair order, handling supplements, paying technicians, and billing carriers, owners and dealers.
Is PDR Core the same as PDRCore?
Yes. PDRCore is sometimes written PDR Core, with a space. It's the same shop software for paintless dent repair, at pdrcore.com.
Does PDRCore work for hail repair and door-ding shops?
Yes. Hail work is priced from PDRCore's dent matrix by dent size and count range. Retail and door-ding work takes your own figure, and a dealer or fleet account keeps its own price sheet.
Can PDRCore handle insurance claims and supplements?
Yes. Carrier, claim number, deductible and adjuster go on the RO with the date of loss. The approved estimate stays locked, changes go in a supplement with a reason, and the carrier and the customer are each invoiced for their part.
How does PDRCore pay PDR technicians?
Each person is paid by their own plan: commission, hourly, salary, by the panel or by flag hours, or hourly or salary plus commission. A facility fee comes off before commission, and pay periods lock.
Does PDRCore work on a phone?
Yes. PDRCore runs in your phone's browser, and you can save it to your iPhone's Home Screen so it opens like an app. Estimates can be written and sent from the phone.
Can my shop use PDRCore now?
PDRCore is in beta. Apply, and if it's a fit we send a one-time link that opens your shop. Prices are coming soon, and beta shops hear them first.
Founding shops shape what PDRCore becomes.
We're opening PDRCore to a small number of shops and technicians first. Apply, tell us how your shop runs, and star what you want built next.