ARI shops interactive leads map

Get Discovered by Local Customers: Introducing “Leads” & ARI Shops

Your shop is about to become visible to thousands of customers looking for trusted local mechanics—and it won’t cost you a dime.

Marketing an auto repair shop usually comes with a painful trade-off:
You either spend big on ads, or you join a marketplace that takes a cut and pushes you to compete on price.

We built a better option.

When you set up Online Booking in ARI, your shop becomes discoverable on ARI Shops — our customer directory designed to help clients find honest, fair-priced independent repair shops.

No commissions. No forced discounts. No games.

Just your shop, your pricing, and direct customer bookings.

The Problem with the “Middleman”

If you’ve ever tried a generic repair marketplace, you’ve probably dealt with this:

  • High commissions: You lose part of every job to platform fees.
  • Discount pressure: You’re pushed to lower your rates to “win” visibility.
  • Gatekeeping: The platform decides who gets the work — not the customer.

ARI Shops is different. It was built with one simple principle: treat shops fairly, and customers get better service.

 

The ARI Promise

The “Other Guys”The ARI Way
Charge per lead or bookingZero Lead Fees
Force you to discount laborYou Control Your Pricing
Hide customer contact infoDirect Customer Communication
Make you bid for workInstant Online Booking

What is ARI Shops?

ARI Shops is a growing directory of verified repair shops where vehicle owners can bypass the chain stores and find independent pros like you.

Drivers use it to:

  • Search locally: Find mechanics by location, service type, or name.
  • Verify quality: View real shop details, verified reviews, and photos.
  • Book instantly: No bidding wars—just straight scheduling into your calendar.

For you, this means visibility without the middleman tax. When a customer books through ARI Shops, they are booking directly with you. You get a new lead; they get a trusted mechanic. Everyone wins.

ARI shops interactive leads map

Meet Your New “Leads” Dashboard

To help you measure results, we added a Leads section inside (Auto Repair Software).

Once your shop is listed, you can track:

  • 📊 Listing Views: How many times drivers saw your shop card on ARI Shops.
  • 🔗 Listing Clicks: How many potential clients clicked to learn more about you.
  • 📍 Direction Requests: How many users pulled up a map to drive to your bay.
  • 📅 Appointments: Actual bookings that originated from the directory.

You can switch between Month and Year to quickly answer: “Is this bringing me business?”

How to Get Listed (You’re Likely Already Done!)

To get your shop on ARI Shops and unlock the Leads dashboard, you don’t need to pay a setup fee or wait for approval. You just need three things:

  1. An Active ARI Subscription (Trial or Paid).
  2. Shop Details Filled In (Name, address, and phone number in Settings).
  3. Online Booking Configured.

That’s it.

If you have already set up Online Booking to let clients schedule appointments, your shop is likely already live on ARI Shops right now.

Why You Need Online Booking

If you haven’t enabled Online Booking yet, you are leaving money on the table. Every day you don’t have it configured is a day you lose a customer to the shop across town that does offer 24/7 booking.

Online Booking gives you:

  • Bookings while you sleep.
  • Fewer interruptions from phone calls.
  • Automated reminders to reduce no-shows.

💡 How to set it up in 5 minutes:

Go to Appointments → Settings and configure your availability, service types, and duration.

Why Online Booking Matters

If Online Booking isn’t enabled yet, you’re missing easy wins. Customers want to schedule when it’s convenient — not just when someone picks up the phone.

Online Booking helps you:

  • Capture bookings after hours
  • Cut interruptions from constant calls
  • Send automatic reminders to reduce no-shows

Set it up in a few minutes:
Go to Appointments → Settings and configure your availability, service types, and appointment duration.

 

Why This Matters for Independent Shops

Most marketplaces are built to squeeze shops for fees and discounts. ARI Shops is built to help independent shops compete with big chains — while keeping control of your pricing and customer relationships.

The best part: customers using directories like this are often looking for a shop they can trust — not just the cheapest option.

The results

Shops already live on the platform are seeing:

  • Hundreds of free listing views per month.
  • Double-digit appointment requests from new clients.
  • Zero acquisition costs.

Your Next Steps

Ready to see if customers are looking for you?

  1. Open your ARI App.
  2. Navigate to the new Leads section.
  3. Check your requirements: If you see green checkmarks for Subscription and Online Booking, your data is already rolling in.
  4. View your Stats: See how many locals are viewing your shop right now.

Don’t have Online Booking yet?

Go to Appointments → Settings and turn it on. It takes minutes to set up, but it builds customer relationships that last for years.

Go check your Leads dashboard today.

ARI Update - Pass processing fees illustration
ARI Update: Pass processing fees to clients

Pass Payment Processing Fees to the Client As part of our latest ARI software update, we’ve introduced a highly requested option that gives shops more control over online payment costs: the ability to pass payment processing fees to the client. As more customers choose to pay invoices online, processing fees

ARI Update - Client reviews Illustration
ARI Update: Introducing Client Reviews

Our latest update comes with one of the most requested features to date – the ability for clients to rate your shop using ARI (Auto Repair Software). That way, the quality of your services can reach more people, and you can attract new customers. You can activate the reviews feature

ARI update free diagnose features illustration - mechanic looking at a tablet in his garage
ARI Update: Diagnose Is Now Completely Free

Auto repair shops are dealing with rising costs everywhere — parts, labor, equipment, and rent. That’s exactly why our newest ARI update does the opposite. The Diagnose feature no longer uses ARI credits, and every Diagnose action is now 100% free. This puts real money back into your hands as

ARI Fall 2025 Upgrade: Smarter VINs, Better AI, and Cleaner Reports

We’re back with the rest of the changes from ARI(Auto Repair Software)‘s latest software update. This release focuses on giving you more accurate data (especially with VINs and AI), faster bookkeeping with QuickBooks, and lowering the friction points in your workflow. Here are the most impactful additions. Vehicle Page Updates

ARI update illustration
ARI Update: Smarter Messaging, Easier Grouping, and Better Job Cards

You asked, and we delivered. The latest ARI(Auto Repair Software) update is live, and it brings numerous improvements for your daily workflow. This update was made possible thanks to the awesome feedback you provided in recent months. Let’s dive into the changes and see how much time and headaches we

Client Management

Add clients, vehicles & all the details that are relevant to them

Vehicle Management

Create detailed inspections with checklists, damage reports

Inventory Management

Manage your parts, tires, business assets, and all other important items.

Job Cards

Track labor progress, start & stop work clocks, approve & deny services.

Estimates

Create professional quotes for your auto repair clients

Invoices

Generate professional invoices for your auto shop’s clients

Inspections

Generate damage reports & attach pictures to your auto inspections

Appointments

Let your clients book your services online from the comfort of their home

Service Reminders

Earn return customers by reminding them when service is due

Accounting

Create purchase orders, track your expenses, and monitor your profits

OBD Scanner

Read Engine Error Codes with ARI monitor car’s parameters live

Reports & Stats

Reports for your business performance & export the data

Payments

Never miss a payment keep an eye on your invoice billing process

Marketing

Reach your core customers & market business across different channels

Vendors

Manage vendors, partners & orders for a streamlined repair experience

Time Tracking

Monitor and label the activity of multiple employees

Payment Processing

Receive payments on your Online Invoices with the world’s most renowned payment networks

Parts Ordering with
PartsTech

Order parts easily with PartsTech and ARI! Smooth and reliable parts procurement process.

M1 Labor Guides and
Estimates

Every mechanic benefits from quality Repair Guides and Car Repair Estimates.

Vehicle History with
CarFax

Get Service History Instantly. Decode VINs and Plates with Accurate Data from a Leading Supplier.

Car Diagnose with
CarMD

Get Diagnostic & Maintenance Info. Access Diagnosis, Solutions, and Problem Predictions.

Accounting with
QuickBooks

Sync ARI invoices to QuickBooks Online. Manage customers and inventory.

AI Labor
Guides

Get detailed labor guides, labor times, and estimates from the world's first AI labor guides system.

POS Terminal from 360Payments

Process In-Person Payments On The Spot. Geared towards auto repair businesses.

Customer Financing With Wisetack

ARI has partnered with Wisetack to offer your clients extra payment options for auto repair services.

Get Started

A complete guide to setting up and running your auto repair business

Client Portal

ARI’s client portal lets clients easily stay informed when they visit you

Multiple Users

How to add multiple users to your ARI Profile

Update ARI

You must ensure you keep your app updated all the time

Profile Setup

ARI offers features and settings tailored for auto repair services

Blog

Welcome to ARI's blog for updates, articles, and guides

ARI Awards

Here are our most notable achievements over the years.

Online Documents

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ARI Demo

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