Generator repair shop software

ServiceCenterSoft is job-tracking software for generator repair and service shops: portable and inverter generators for homes and food trucks, diesel sets for farms and contractors, standby units and the transfer switches that go with them. Every job gets one record: the hour meter reading, what the customer approved, what was replaced, when the next service is due, and the unit’s full history by serial number. It runs in the browser, on the shop PC and on your phone.

An engine shop and an electrical shop in one

A generator fails in two ways. Either the engine will not start — stale fuel, a varnished carburetor, a fouled plug, a low-oil sensor, a broken recoil — or it runs fine and puts out nothing useful: a failed automatic voltage regulator (AVR), worn brushes, a dead capacitor, a burnt stator. Diesel sets add injectors, fuel pumps, batteries, the controller, and the automatic transfer switch that is supposed to start the set on its own.

And the work comes in waves. A portable sits in the garage all summer with fuel in the tank. Then the first big storm of the season knocks the power out, everybody pulls the cord at once, and nothing starts. Within days the shop floor is full, and every customer needs theirs back before the next outage.

What usually goes wrong:

• forty units in the queue, and who came first and who was promised what lives on a whiteboard;
• customers call every day and half the morning goes on “we’re looking at it”;
• you fit a new AVR and the customer says nobody mentioned that price;
• carburetor kits and spark plugs run out in the middle of the rush;
• a contractor’s diesel is back for the third time, and nobody remembers what was done last winter.

The storm-season queue, with a date on every unit

Every job has a promised date. Once it passes, the row turns red and the “overdue” filter pulls those jobs together. An “urgent” flag — for the unit that runs a pharmacy fridge or a sump pump — stands out in the list. Date changes stay in the history, so you know what you told the customer and when.

Statuses are a list you control. Next to the defaults — diagnostics, waiting for parts, waiting for approval, in repair, ready — add your own, such as “Load test” or “Waiting for site visit”, each with its own colour and a quick filter above the list. The answer to “where’s my generator?” is on the screen.

Booking in: hours, fuel and what came with it

Each job has device type, make, model and serial number. Put output and type in the model field — “7.5 kW portable, electric start” or “30 kVA diesel, three-phase” — and the engine or generator serial in the serial field. Both are searchable.

There is no dedicated engine-hours field, so the hour meter reading goes into the notes at drop-off: “287 h, full tank, oil low”. The condition and accessories fields are filled in with the customer present: wheel kit, key, battery, fuel cap, cords. They print on the job sheet the customer signs.

A rental company drops off five identical units? Fill in the first job, copy it for the rest and type in each serial number.

Carburetor, AVR, starter — after the customer says yes

Cleaning a carburetor is cheap. A new voltage regulator, an electric starter or a stator rewind is a real decision. After diagnosis the technician writes the findings in the work log — “jets blocked, AVR won’t hold 120 V under load, brushes worn” — and the job moves to “waiting for approval”.

The estimate is built line by line: carb clean, regulator from stock, brushes, labour, with quantity and price. A button sends it by email or Telegram, the customer opens the link, sees each line and presses “I agree” or “I decline”. The answer and date land in the job history. If you charge for diagnosis, set a diagnostics price for the device type and it is on the job from day one.

Maintenance by engine hours

Oil, plug, air and fuel filters, valve clearance — generator maintenance runs on hours: every 50, 100 or 200, whatever the manufacturer says. Add “Portable generator service” and “Diesel generator service” to the list of standard jobs with a price per device type, and each one goes on the estimate as a single line.

The detail goes in the work log: “100-hour service: oil 0.6 qt, plug, air filter, valves adjusted; 412 h”. Advanced search has a text mode that looks through the work log, notes and recommendations, so a year later you can see what was done and when.

The next service goes in the Recommendations field: “next service around 500 h or before winter; drain fuel for storage”. Recommendations print on the completion report the customer takes home.

To be clear: there are no scheduled maintenance reminders. The software will not message a customer that an oil change is due. The customer sees the next service on their report; you see it in the unit’s history.

The same unit, back again

Generators come back — every autumn for a service, after every outage with the same problem. Searching by serial number shows every earlier job: when it was in, at how many hours, what was replaced, what you advised. The default repair types include “Repeat repair”, and the customer card lists all their units and jobs.

Stock up before the season

Stock is a movement log: goods in with cost price and supplier, used on a job as an estimate line, returned, adjusted at stock-take. A plug or filter picked from stock on an estimate reduces the balance automatically.

Each item can have a minimum level, and the “running low” tile tells you to reorder in late summer, not mid-storm. Quantities are whole numbers: carb kits, plugs, filters, regulators and brushes count as units; oil goes by the quart bottle or the jug. An unusual regulator or injector is ordered for the job: the request is created from the job and emailed to the supplier. More on spare parts tracking.

Contractors, farms and transfer switches

Customers have a “Company” field: different crew members drop off units from the same contractor, but the customer is one, and the company name prints on the paperwork. A job can take several payments — a deposit for parts, the balance on invoice later — and the software shows what is still owed. The completion report lists the estimate lines, the work log, recommendations and the amount due.

A transfer switch or a generator controller is simply another device type. On-site work is booked as a job like any other; there is no dispatch or scheduling module.

Finished units take up floor space. The customer gets an email or a Telegram message (they subscribe with a QR code on the job sheet), and each ready unit shows how many days it has been waiting. More on customer notifications.

If you also repair portable power stations and inverters, see power station repair; for mowers and trimmers, outdoor power equipment repair.

About connecting to a building

This is repair-tracking software, not an electrical design tool. Connecting a generator to a house or business, or installing a transfer switch, is work for a licensed electrician, and the rules depend on where you are. Check with a qualified professional.

What repairs typically cost

As a rough guide only — prices vary with region, size and condition: portable generator service €60–150, carburetor clean or rebuild €50–130, voltage regulator replacement with the part €80–220, recoil starter repair €30–90, electric starter €70–200, stator rewind €250–700, diesel generator service €150–450. You set your own prices: per device type, in standard jobs and as estimate lines.

What it does not do

• scheduled maintenance reminders or a dedicated engine-hours field — hours are text in notes and the work log;
• dispatch and scheduling for site visits;
• photos or file attachments on jobs, SMS, a mobile app, online payment by the customer;
• links to supplier catalogues.

What it costs

One price for the whole shop — no extra charge for staff or branches.

Off-the-shelf not enough — your own forms, roles, reports or workflow? We will build a program for you. How it works

Try it without signing up in the demo: book in a generator, log the hours and a service in the work log, then find it again with advanced search.

In short

• A storm-season queue with promised dates, overdue and urgent jobs in view.
• Hour meter reading and fuel level on the job at drop-off.
• Service as a standard job, details in the work log, next service on the report.
• Estimates approved by link before carburetor, AVR or starter work.
• Filters and carb kits in stock with minimum levels.
• Each unit’s history by serial number, company customers, completion report.
• €20 a month for the whole shop.