New Features

Account Credit — Keep a Credit Balance on a Client’s Account

  ARI can now keep a running balance of money on a client’s account — like a gift card — that draws down against their future invoices. A new Credit tab on the client page shows the current balance and a full, permanent history of every credit added, applied, or voided. Add credit with the (+) button: pick a reason (a refund without cash back, a goodwill make-good, a correction, or a manual entry), an amount, and a short note. To spend it, choose the new Account Credit payment method when taking a payment on an invoice — it pays the invoice down just like cash or card, and the client’s balance updates automatically. ARI also watches for overpayments: if a customer pays more than an invoice’s total, you’re offered the option to keep the extra on their account as credit instead of leaving the invoice overpaid — and the full cash you actually collected is still recorded. When you start a payment for a client who already has a credit balance, ARI proactively offers to apply it. Made a mistake? Void any entry from the ledger and ARI appends a reversing entry, so the history always stays accurate and auditable. The current credit balance also appears on the client card next to Invoiced, Paid, and Due. Note for QuickBooks users: account credit is tracked in ARI but is not synced to QuickBooks automatically — record credit memos and applied credits there manually (a reminder banner appears on the Credit tab whenever QuickBooks is connected).

  Find it: Client page > Credit tab

Advanced Search — Find Job Cards, Invoices & Estimates by What’s Inside Them

  The Job Cards, Invoices, and Estimates pages now have an Advanced Search that finds a document by its contents — not just its name or number. Click the sliders icon at the edge of the search box and a panel opens with four toggles: Parts, Services, Clients, and Vehicles. Type a part description or part number, a service description or name, a client name, or a vehicle’s info, plate, or VIN — and the list narrows to every document that contains a match, even when that text never appears on the document’s header. Tick only the categories you want to search (all four are on by default), or tick none for an honest “pick a category” result. Advanced Search looks across all dates so an older job isn’t hidden behind the Last-30-Days filter, while still respecting your current status tab. Clear the box or click the icon again to return to the normal search box and your date-scoped list. The simple search (by name, number, status, label, and notes) is always one click away.

  Find it: Job Cards, Invoices, or Estimates page > sliders icon inside the search box

AI Electrical & Wiring Assistant

  A brand-new AI tool for diagnosing electrical problems on any vehicle. Pick a service or describe a custom electrical symptom and ARI returns three coordinated outputs on a single screen: a step-by-step diagnostic walkthrough (what to test, where to probe, expected reading, and what each result means); full connector pinouts and component locations (pin numbers, wire colors, function, physical location, fuse ratings, ground points); and an interactive system schematic built to service-manual standard — typically 12 to 20 nodes per circuit covering the power source, fuse boxes, relays, modules, connectors, splices, loads, sensors, and grounds, with real wire colors, gauges, and ignition states drawn on every line. Tap any block on the schematic to see its full details on the side rail. Tap “Ask Questions” on a block to drop straight into a context-loaded chat with the Repair Assistant — preloaded with that exact node, its 1-hop neighbors, and the circuit context — perfect for “how do I bench-test this relay?” or “what readings should I see across pins 3 and 7?”. Switch to Wire-Trace mode to pick any two blocks and have the shortest path between them highlighted instantly, with a hop count and an inline narrator banner that guides each tap. Zoom from 0.5× to 6× with on-screen ± controls so dense schematics stay readable on phones and tablets, and on wide desktop screens the diagram automatically lays out left-to-right — power on the left, ground on the right — so the layout doesn’t waste your screen. Every answer is cached for instant re-opens (with a Refresh Data button if you want a fresh AI run later), and a one-time “I understand” gate plus a persistent on-screen disclaimer frame the output honestly: this is AI-generated guidance, not an OEM service manual — always verify wire colors, pin assignments, and procedures against the manufacturer’s documentation before disconnecting, probing, or cutting wires.

  Find it: Labor Guides > any service > Parts & Labor page > “Electrical & Wiring” button

Body Repair Labor Guides

  A new Body Repair tab has been added to Labor Guides, built specifically for collision, paint, and body shops. Choose from 15 body-shop categories — Structural & Frame, Panel Repair & Replacement, Dent Repair, Paint Prep, Paint & Refinishing, Plastic & Bumper Repair, Glass, Trim & Moldings, Interior & Upholstery, Rust & Corrosion, Welding & Metal Fab, Detailing & Reconditioning, Protective Film & Wraps, R&I / Access Operations, and Estimate & Admin — each with a comprehensive list of real, billable services (Fender R&R, PDR, Quarter Panel Replacement, Tri-Coat Application, Windshield R&R with ADAS calibration, and many more). Tap any service and the AI estimator returns parts, body-shop materials (paint, filler, primer, clear, abrasives, seam sealer), and labor hours tailored to your selected vehicle — automatically factoring in construction (steel / aluminum / unibody), paint system, OEM position statements, and EV high-voltage safety requirements where applicable. Transfer items into your invoice or job card with a single tap, just like the existing Parts & Labor guides.

  Find it: Labor Guides > Body Repair tab

Helcim Payment Processor

  A fifth payment processor has been added alongside Stripe, Square, 360Payments, and PayPal. Helcim offers transparent interchange-plus pricing and keeps your customers in-app during checkout — payments collect through an iFrame modal instead of redirecting to an external page. Connect your Helcim account from Settings, then accept card payments on invoices and in the Client Portal. Refunds, receipts, and connection status alerts are all supported, with loading indicators so you always know where a transaction stands.

  Find it: Settings > Payment Processor > Helcim

Added Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Cash App Pay to Square Checkout (Client Portal/ Online Invoices)

  The Square payment dialog now supports three additional payment methods alongside the existing card flow: Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Cash App Pay. All three are powered by the Square Web Payments SDK and require no backend changes — each method produces the same payment token that flows through the existing processing pipeline. Google Pay appears automatically on supported browsers, Apple Pay renders a native button on Safari (domain verified for portal.ari.app), and Cash App Pay displays a branded button with QR code support on desktop. Each method initializes independently with full error isolation — if any wallet method is unavailable, it is silently hidden without affecting the card flow. Payment instances are properly cleaned up on dialog close to support repeated open/close cycles.

Profit & Loss Statement

  See exactly how your shop is performing with a full P&L report — broken down into Income, Cost of Goods Sold, Gross Profit, Operating Expenses by category, and Net Profit. Income is split into Parts, Labor/Services, Other Income, Tips, and Discounts so you can see where your revenue comes from. COGS is calculated automatically from the parts cost on your invoices. Operating expenses are grouped by the category you assigned when entering them — no hidden consolidation. Switch between Accrual (by invoice date) and Cash Basis (by payment date) with a single checkbox. Drill down into detail tables for every income, COGS, and expense line item. Purchases are shown as a separate comparison section. Export to CSV, download as PDF, or print directly.

  Find it: Reports > P&L Statement

Nexpart Parts Ordering Integration

  Order parts from thousands of aftermarket, OE dealer, recycled, and specialty vendors — directly from your invoice, estimate, work order, or purchase order. Connect your Nexpart account in Settings > Parts Procurement > Nexpart, then click “Order Parts” on any document and choose Nexpart from the dropdown. The Nexpart catalog opens with your vehicle pre-selected (when a VIN is available), so you can search, compare, and add parts to your cart. When you close the catalog, your selected parts are automatically imported into the document with your preferred pricing — choose from wholesale as cost, list as cost, wholesale as price, or list as price. Core charges are added as separate line items so your pricing stays transparent. After quoting, use the “Place Order” button to send parts back to Nexpart for purchasing — order confirmations sync right back into ARI. Supports multi-vendor ordering, so parts from different suppliers are grouped and tracked separately.

  Find it: Any invoice, estimate, work order, or purchase order > Order Parts > Nexpart

Custom Expense Types

  Create your own expense categories beyond the built-in defaults — name them anything you like and assign them to either Vendor or Employee. Custom types are stored on your account so every user on the team sees the same list. A search bar at the top of the type selector lets you quickly find any type, and you can delete custom types you no longer need. The category you assign (Vendor or Employee) is saved with the expense, so the correct vendor or employee workflow is always used — even after reopening the record or syncing with QuickBooks.

  Find it: Accounting > Expenses > Create/Edit Expense > Select Type > + Add Custom Type

Recycle Bin — Recover Deleted Records

  Accidentally deleted a client, vehicle, invoice, estimate, line item, or template? You can now get it back. Anything you delete anywhere in ARI is kept in a new Recycle Bin for 7 days before being permanently removed — with a Restore button that puts the record back exactly where it was, keeping all its original connections intact (a restored vehicle goes back to its client, a restored invoice keeps its line items and payments linked, and so on). You can also permanently purge individual records or empty the whole bin manually if you prefer. After 7 days, entries clean themselves up automatically so your account stays tidy. Every existing delete button in ARI works exactly the same as before — this safety net runs quietly in the background.

  Find it: Settings > Recycle Bin

Getting Started Checklist

  A new floating progress pill on the Home page walks you through the 10 essentials of setting up ARI — from adding your business name and logo to creating your first invoice and recording your first payment — with each item linking straight to the right screen so you never have to hunt for where to go next. Once all 10 are done, the pill flips to a gold “Pro Tips” variant with 4 bonus items (Online Booking, Payment Processor, Automated Service Reminders, and AI Labor Guides) to help you unlock ARI’s more advanced features at your own pace. Confetti celebrates each milestone, and the whole thing tucks away with a “Don’t show this again” link whenever you’re ready.

  Find it: Home page > floating progress pill (bottom-left)

Pass Processing Fee to Client at the POS

  The “Pass fee to client” feature — already available for online payments — now works at the POS terminal too. Configure a separate fee for in-person card-present payments (Square Terminal hardware or 360Payments terminal) with its own label, type (fixed amount or percentage), and value, so you can price online and in-shop transactions independently. Before charging the terminal, ARI shows you a confirmation with the full breakdown — original amount, processing fee, tax on fee, and the final amount the customer will be charged — and the fee is added to the invoice’s Other section automatically once the sale completes. The terminal screen and printed Square Terminal receipt show the fee-inclusive total so the customer sees exactly what they’re paying. Smart recovery for interrupted sales: if a 360 sale comes back non-final or a Square Terminal poll times out, the staged fee is held until the cashier resolves it via Check Status — Approved still applies the fee correctly, Canceled rolls it back. Invoices that already have an online processing fee on them are skipped at the POS so customers are never double-charged. The settings page also includes a strengthened disclaimer covering Visa/Mastercard surcharge caps, the US Durbin Amendment debit-card prohibition, and state-by-state restrictions, plus a save-time warning when you set a percentage above 3%. Note: Square POS App payments are not yet supported in this version — only Square Terminal hardware and 360Payments.

  Find it: Profile > Online Payments > POS Processing Fees

Improvements

Upgraded Stripe Payment Connection (one-click reconnect)

  We’ve upgraded the payment infrastructure behind Stripe. If you accept card payments through Stripe, you’ll see a quick “Reconnect to Stripe” prompt — it takes about 30 seconds and one click. Your Stripe account, your history, and your payouts all stay exactly the same; you just keep accepting online payments without interruption. Nothing changes for your customers, and there’s nothing to do until you see the prompt.

  Find it: Settings > Payment Processor > Stripe (or the banner on your Home screen)

Separate Email Template for Estimates

  Estimates now have their own customer email template, independent from the invoice one. Previously, emailing an estimate reused the invoice email — including invoice-only wording like “Balance Due”, which never made sense for a quote. There is now a dedicated “Estimate email template” you can edit on its own: open Settings > Customize Email Templates and you’ll find an Estimate row alongside Invoice and the others. The default estimate email shows an “Estimated Total” instead of a balance owed, and the rest of the message already adapts its wording to the document type. When you email an estimate, ARI automatically uses the estimate template; emailing an invoice still uses the invoice template — nothing changes there. Shops that have already customized their invoice email keep that customization for invoices; estimates simply start from the new estimate default until you customize it too. The short plain-text version of the email (used by your phone’s mail app and as a fallback) was also updated so estimates no longer list an “Amount Due” line.

  Find it: Settings > Customize Email Templates > Estimate email template

Show the Technician Name on Customer Invoices

  You can now print the technician’s name on the customer invoice. Turn on “Show Technician Name” in Invoice Template Settings, and the default invoice template lists every technician assigned to a Part or Labor line — right below your company details — as a single line, for example “Technicians: Jack Doe, Jean Smith”. Names are de-duplicated, so a technician assigned to several lines appears only once, and a technician whose only work is on a hidden declined line is left off so the list matches what’s actually shown on the invoice. The setting is off by default, so existing invoices look exactly the same until you switch it on — helpful for shops in states that require the servicing technician to be disclosed on the customer’s invoice. Applies to the default invoice template (not custom templates) and shows on the on-screen preview, the printout, and the downloaded PDF.

  Find it: Invoice or Estimate preview > Settings > Change Template Settings > Invoice Information > “Show Technician Name”

Mark a Whole Group of Items Complete in One Action

  When Parts and Labor lines on a Job Card are organized into groups, you no longer have to mark them complete one at a time. Tapping “Mark as Completed” (or “Mark as Not Completed”) on any grouped item now asks whether to apply the change to the entire group — the same way Authorize, Decline, and Recommend already work for groups. Choose “Apply to All” and every item in the group flips at once and the WIP progress bar updates to match. If any items in the group have running time clocks, ARI follows up with a single prompt to stop all of them together, and then — for labor items — one combined prompt to update their invoiced hours to the tracked time, so a whole group’s worth of clocks and hours is settled in a few taps instead of dozens. Prefer to change just the one line? Choosing “No, just this one” keeps the original per-item behavior exactly as before. This removes the friction that previously made the per-item complete workflow tedious enough to avoid on grouped work orders.

  Find it: Job Card > tap any grouped Part or Labor line > Mark as Completed > “Apply to All”

Per-Item Discounts, Right in the Parts & Labor Grid

  When “Discount per item” mode is turned on, a new Discount % column now appears in the Parts and Labor grids on Job Cards, Invoices, and Estimates — so you can enter a line’s discount directly in the grid instead of opening the dedicated part or labor editor. The column shows only while per-item discount mode is active and hides itself automatically otherwise, exactly like the Discount field in the editors. Discounted lines are now also flagged with a small tag icon in the Compact and Grouped views, placed right before the line total, so you can tell at a glance which items carry a discount. The Discount column follows the same financial-visibility rules as the Cost, Price, and Amount columns — team members without financial-data access see it masked rather than exposed. The Parts and Labor grids on the Job Card page also now stretch to fill the screen width, matching the Invoice page.

  Find it: Any Job Card, Invoice, or Estimate > Discounts > “Discount per item” > Parts & Labor grid

Per-Item Discounts Now Work on Labor Lines

  “Discount per item” mode now covers labor, not just parts. When per-item discount mode is on, the labor editor shows a Discount% field just like the parts editor — enter a percentage and that labor line’s amount drops accordingly, the invoice’s Discount total includes it, and the final Total stays correct. It works the same on Job Cards, Invoices, and Estimates, and on read-only and printed/PDF copies. Existing labor lines are untouched (no discount means no discount), and nothing changes for invoices that don’t use per-item discount mode. QuickBooks sync was tightened up at the same time: in per-item mode, discounted parts and labor lines now sync to QuickBooks with the discount carried correctly on each line, so the QuickBooks invoice total matches what you see in ARI (previously discounted lines could sync at the wrong amount or be discounted twice). Declined lines no longer count toward the discount summary, consistent with how the rest of the invoice math treats them.

  Find it: Any Invoice, Estimate, or Job Card > Discounts > “Discount per item” > Labor line editor

A Clearer, Self-Explaining Discounts Screen

  The Discounts screen now guides you as you use it. Picking a discount type fills in a plain-English description automatically — and the percentage option keeps it in sync with the value you enter (e.g. “A 15% discount was applied to the invoice total.”) — while a short info note under the type explains exactly how that discount is applied. The “apply discount before Taxes” switch now reads “Discount Applied Before Taxes” / “Discount Applied After Taxes” so its effect is never ambiguous. You can still type your own custom reason at any time, and choosing “No discount” now cleanly clears any leftover description. In “Discount per item” mode the “before/after Taxes” switch is now greyed out with a short note, since per-item discounts are always taxed on each line’s discounted amount. Behind the scenes, invoices with no discount no longer send an empty discount line to QuickBooks.

  Find it: Any Invoice, Estimate, or Job Card > Discounts

Keep Your Custom Template When Resetting to Default

  Switching your invoice template back to default no longer throws away your custom design. When you tap “Reset to Default”, ARI now quietly saves a permanent backup of your current custom template before switching — and an amber “Restore previous custom” banner appears on the Edit Template page and the Templates picker so you can bring it back with one tap whenever you want, even months later. This makes it safe to flip between your custom design and a built-in template without fear of losing work. Resetting and restoring are also faster now: ARI no longer does a full app restart for either action — the preview updates in place and you stay right where you were. Saving a new custom template clears the old backup (you’ve committed to the new design), and the restore prompt shows the date the backup was taken so you always know what you’re bringing back. Your previous behavior is unchanged if you never reset — the backup safety net runs quietly in the background.

  Find it: Edit Template page or Settings > Custom Templates > Templates > “Restore previous custom” banner

Placeholder Reference for Custom Templates (and Smarter Template AI)

  Editing a custom invoice template no longer means guessing which placeholder name to type. The Info button on the Edit Template page now opens a full reference of every placeholder ARI supports — organized into eight categories (Invoice / Job Card / Estimate, Client, Vehicle, Your Shop, Other top-level, Parts, Services / Labor, Diagnostic codes) plus an Advanced section of formatting helpers (ternaries, fallbacks, currency-and-decimals patterns). Click any code and it copies to your clipboard in its fully-wrapped, paste-and-go form — dates already include the Kendo date helper (e.g. ${kendo.toString(invoice.DatePromised, “dd-MMM-yyyy”)}), money already includes the currency symbol and 2-decimal formatting (e.g. ${myDetails.myCurrency}${kendo.toString(invoice.Total, “n2”)}), image fields (logo, signature, header banner, QR code) are wrapped in <img> tags so they render inline, and tax-rate fields already carry the % suffix. A sticky search box at the top filters by code or description (try “tax”, “vin”, or “due”) and entire sections hide when nothing matches. The two AI buttons on the same page — Import (recreate a template from an image) and Edit with AI (modify the current template in plain English) — now also see this full reference inside their prompt, instead of the small cherry-picked list they used before. So asking “add the customer’s company name next to the invoice number” or “show the Due Date under the date ordered” now produces the correct placeholder (${client.CompanyName}, ${kendo.toString(invoice.DatePromised, “dd-MMM-yyyy”)}) instead of an invented name that would silently render as empty text. The reference is a single source of truth — adding a new placeholder to the modal automatically teaches the Import and Edit AIs about it too.

  Find it: Edit Template page > Info button

Smarter Parts Dropdown + “Linked to Inventory” Indicator

  Typing shorthand in the parts Description column now surfaces the right inventory item even when your shorthand doesn’t exactly match the inventory name. The dropdown matches by individual words in any order, ignores punctuation differences (so “05w30” finds “05w-30”), and also searches by part number/SKU and category — so typing “engine oil 05w30” finally pulls up “Engine oil – Penrite 05w-30 Enviro+ Full synthetic” the way you’d expect, and typing a part number like “WZ436” surfaces the matching part directly from the Description field. A small grey package icon now appears next to the ID on every line linked to your inventory — freehand lines show no icon, so you can see at a glance which lines will deduct stock when you save as an Invoice. Hover the icon for a quick explanation (the wording adapts for Invoice vs. Estimate). Visible in Detailed, Compact, and Grouped views on Invoices, Estimates, and Job Cards, plus the Job Card display page. Together these fix a quiet failure mode where stock wasn’t deducting because the typed description never matched anything in the dropdown to begin with — and gives you confidence at a glance about which lines are connected to inventory.

  Find it: Any Invoice, Estimate, or Job Card > Parts table > Description column

“Save to Inventory” Now Links the Line Back to Inventory

  Clicking the green “Save to Inventory” (package-plus) button on a parts row now also creates the inventory link on the line itself — the grey package indicator appears next to the ID immediately, and from there on changes to that line’s quantity deduct correctly from the new inventory record. Previously the inventory record was created but the line stayed orphaned, so the indicator never appeared and quantity changes had to fall back to a description/SKU match — which could silently deduct from the wrong inventory row (or multiple rows) when more than one row shared the same description and part number. The fix also applies to the “Add Part” form’s “Also save to my Parts list” checkbox path, and to the labor version of the button. For labor specifically, if a matching service already exists in your labor inventory, the line is now linked to that existing entry (instead of just blocking the action with a “duplicate” alert and leaving the line unlinked).

  Find it: Any Invoice, Estimate, or Job Card > Parts or Labor table > “Save to Inventory” button

Pick a Payment Method When You Mark As Paid

  Tapping “Mark As Paid” on a Job Card or Invoice no longer hardcodes the payment as Cash — a picker now opens with seven methods to choose from: Cash, Check, Card, PayPal, Wire Transfer, Phone Transfer, and Other. The method you pick is stored on the payment record, so dashboards, reports, and your QuickBooks sync (if connected) finally reflect what actually came in instead of showing every quick-paid invoice as Cash. If you also need to capture sub-details like a check number, card information, or a processor receipt, an “Open Payments page” button at the bottom of the picker drops you straight into the full Payments form for that invoice. Same one-tap convenience as before — just with the right method recorded.

  Find it: Any Invoice or Job Card with a balance due > Mark As Paid button

More Vehicle Types in Online Booking

  Ten new vehicle categories have been added to the Booking Form so shops that work on more than just cars can finally accept the right kind of booking online — Boat, RV / Motorhome, ATV, UTV / Side-by-Side, Snowmobile, Personal Watercraft / Jet Ski, Heavy Equipment, Agricultural Tractor, Golf Cart, and E-bike / Electric Scooter. They sit alongside the existing nine categories (Passenger Car, Truck, Motorcycle, Trailer, Bus, MPV, LSV, Off Road Vehicle, Incomplete Vehicle) as opt-in checkboxes — your current selections are untouched until you decide to check a new one and save. When a customer picks one of the new categories on your booking page, the make and model fields switch to free-text instead of forcing a pick from the standard auto database, since these vehicle types aren’t covered by VIN/NHTSA lookups.

  Find it: Schedule > Booking Settings > Booking Form > Vehicle Types

Faster Invoice & Job Card Loading

  Invoices, estimates, and job cards now open noticeably faster. Previously the page loaded its data in a chain — first parts, then services, then payments, then images — with each step waiting for the one before. Now those fetches run in parallel, and a redundant background query that ran on every line-item load has been trimmed out. The payments lookup also reuses already-loaded data when it’s safe to do so, so opening a document no longer re-pulls your entire payment history every time. The biggest improvements show up on slower connections and on busy shops with lots of payment history. No change to what you see on screen — same data, just much less waiting.

Faster Repeat AI Calls

  The AI features that talk to Google’s Gemini model — Parts & Labor, Body Repair Parts & Labor, Diagnose (Cause / Correction / Instructions), Maintenance Services, Fluids, Guides & Procedures, Wiring Diagrams, the Electrical Assistant, and CarMD — now benefit from automatic prefix caching. The internal instructions sent to the model on every call are reused from a cache for a short window, so repeat or back-to-back AI requests come back faster and at a lower compute cost. Most noticeable on the larger estimator actions (Parts & Labor and Body Repair Parts & Labor). Answer quality is unchanged.

Instant Repeat AI Answers (On-Device + Shared Cache)

  In addition to the prefix-caching improvement above, ARI now also remembers the **full** answer for an AI request and reuses it when you ask the exact same thing again — so the second time around feels instant. The cache works in two layers: the first time you ask, the AI runs normally and the answer is saved both on your device and in a shared cache for your shop. The next time you (or a teammate at the same shop) ask the exact same question for the exact same vehicle, ARI returns the saved answer in milliseconds — no spinner, no wait. On the same device the response is essentially instant; on a different device or after closing the app, it’s still much faster than a fresh AI call because it pulls from the shared cache instead of re-running the model. Cached answers refresh automatically (14 days for actions that pull live web sources, 60 days for everything else) so they don’t go stale, and any AI response that comes back empty or malformed is never saved — so a one-time hiccup can’t turn into a sticky bad answer. Per-shop pricing context (city, state, ZIP, currency) is part of the cache key, so two shops in different cities never share the same parts/labor row — regional accuracy is preserved. **What this means in practice:** the first time you click an AI button for a new vehicle/service, you’ll see the usual loading time. Click the same combination again — same instant. Open it on a tablet or another phone with the same login — much faster. New vehicle, new service, or different shop location — fresh AI call, regular speed. **Refresh AI Data button** — when a cached answer is shown on the Labor Guides Parts & Labor page (the second-and-later time you open the same vehicle/service combo), a “Refresh AI Data” button appears in the top-right of the page. Tap it whenever you suspect the saved answer has gone stale (prices look old, parts list seems incomplete, etc.) and ARI will bypass the cache, run a fresh AI call, and overwrite the saved answer with the new one — so everyone at your shop gets the updated version on their next open.

  Find it: Any AI feature (Labor Guides, Diagnose, Wiring Diagrams, Electrical Assistant, Maintenance/Fluids, CarMD); Refresh AI Data button: Labor Guides > any service > Parts & Labor page (top right, when a cached result is shown)

Faster Repair Assistant Chat

  The in-app Repair Assistant chatbot now responds 3-4× faster — most replies come back in under 5 seconds, where the previous version often took 15-25 seconds. The underlying AI model has been upgraded to Google’s latest Gemini 3 Flash, which is purpose-built for low-latency conversations while still delivering the same depth of diagnostic logic, step-by-step procedures, and follow-up suggestions. The output format is unchanged — same markdown answers, same context-aware suggestion pills, same accuracy rules around torque specs and pin numbers (the assistant continues to flag values it’s not 100% sure of and points you to the FSM for verification). Multi-turn conversations work the same way, so existing chat flows from Pro Demand, Labor Guides, and the in-app launcher all just feel snappier.

  Find it: Repair Assistant chat (Pro Demand > Expert Support, Labor Guides > Ask the Assistant, in-app chat launcher)

AI Parts & Labor — Regional Pricing and Live Totals

  The AI estimator now uses your shop’s city, state, and currency to pull parts prices from retailers that actually serve your area — so a shop in Phoenix no longer sees Los Angeles pricing, and shops outside the US get prices in their own currency from their own market. Labor lines now show the regional market rate for your area, so you can instantly see whether your Primary rate is above or below what local shops charge — then pick which rate to use when you Transfer Items into the invoice. Each price is color-coded by how it was sourced: green (Local market — found via a regional search), orange (National avg — generic estimate, sanity-check before quoting), or blue (OEM list — manufacturer list price). A new Total Selected card below the grid sums your selected parts and labor live as you check boxes, and an AI notes block surfaces the model’s own summary of what it validated — engine compatibility, ADAS requirements, paint system assumptions, and more. Profile combinations that conflict (such as a non-US currency paired with a US state code) are automatically corrected before being sent to the AI to prevent wildly inflated prices from currency confusion.

  Find it: Labor Guides > any service, or Diagnose > Get Parts & Labor

Labor Guides — More Services in the Parts & Labor Catalog

  The built-in service list under Parts & Labor has been expanded to cover common repairs that were previously missing. Most notably, front CV axles (also searchable as “half shaft” or “drive axle”) and front CV joints / boots are now in the catalog, alongside the rear options that already existed — so a search for any of these terms on a front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive vehicle now returns matches instead of an empty list. Other additions include rear parking aid sensors, rear sway bar (stabilizer) bushings, rear exhaust pipe / tail pipe, front driveshaft U-joint for AWD/4WD vehicles, and standard maintenance services like Engine Coolant Drain & Refill and Power Steering Fluid Drain & Refill. Pick any of them and the AI estimator returns parts and labor for your selected vehicle just like the existing entries.

  Find it: Labor Guides > Parts & Labor

Settings Page Redesign

  The Settings page has been completely redesigned for clarity and ease of use. Your account info and subscription plan now sit side by side at the top, general preferences (language, date format, currency, odometer units) are organized in clean rows, and all customization and integration options are grouped into clearly labeled cards with modern icons. Hovering a card highlights it in the matching accent color so you can quickly find what you need. Canceled subscriptions now display a red warning style so you never miss a billing issue.

  Find it: Settings

POS Setup — Unified Hub for Both Terminal Options

  The “POS Setup” tile in Settings now opens a single hub that covers both POS terminal options instead of jumping straight into 360Payments. From the new page you can see the connection status of each option at a glance — Square Terminal and 360Payments — and tap “Manage” on either to open its existing setup flow. The “Pass POS fee to client” setting also lives here now (it used to be buried inside Online Payments), so terminals and the fee that applies to them are configured in the same place. The original Online Payments page, the Square page, and the 360Payments page all keep their existing functionality — the new hub simply makes both POS options discoverable from one entry point and keeps related settings together.

  Find it: Settings > POS Setup

Employee Report — Filter by Assigned or Updated Date

  The “Work Assigned” tab in the Employees & Salaries report now includes a “by Updated Date” checkbox. By default, the report filters by the date work was originally assigned — preventing items from appearing twice when a job card is later modified. Check the box to switch to filtering by the date the item was last updated — useful for payroll workflows where you need to see all work that was touched (e.g., marked as paid or edited) within a specific pay period. The date shown in the grid, list view, and CSV export updates automatically to match your selection.

  Find it: Reports > Employees & Salaries > Work Assigned tab > “by Updated Date” checkbox

Remember Parts Import Price Preference

  When importing parts from PartsTech or Nexpart, you can now check “Remember my selection and don’t ask next time” on the price mapping screen. ARI saves your choice and automatically applies it on future imports — no more picking the same option every time. A quick notification confirms your prices were applied, with an Edit link to clear the preference whenever you want to see the options again. Works across invoices, estimates, job cards, and purchase orders.

  Find it: Any document > Order Parts > PartsTech or Nexpart > Price selection modal

Inventory Page Modernized Icons

  The Inventory page now uses crisp, scalable vector icons instead of bitmap images — Parts, Tires, Labor, Packages, and Assets all have clean new icons that look sharp on every screen size. Tapping an item also feels more responsive with a subtle press animation.

  Find it: Inventory

P&L Report — Better Layout on Mobile and Print

  The P&L Statement header and metadata now stack vertically for a cleaner look on smaller screens. Tables require less horizontal space so you can view the full report without side-scrolling on most devices. Print output is also improved — styles are properly scoped so they no longer affect other elements on the page.

  Find it: Reports > P&L Statement

Improved Embed Code for Booking Page

  The embeddable booking widget you add to your own website now uses a cleaner, more professional integration. The iframe automatically resizes as customers move through each booking step — no more fixed-height cutoffs or scrollbars. The embedded version also enables the AI chat and voice assistants, and includes accessibility and performance improvements. Updated setup instructions walk you through the process step by step, with platform tips for WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, and custom HTML sites.

  Find it: Calendar > Booking Settings > Embed on Website tab

Repair Assistant Chat — Redesigned with Smart Starter Suggestions

  The AI Repair Assistant has a fresh new look and a much smarter opening. When you launch it from a vehicle, service, or diagnostic screen, it now greets you and offers a few context-aware starter questions based on what you’re working on — just tap one to send it instantly. Answers are now formatted with proper headings, bold text, and bullet lists, so part numbers, labor steps, and torque specs are easier to scan. A subtle animated “thinking…” indicator replaces the old static label, and the chat window itself got a branded gradient header, polished message bubbles, and smooth entrance animations. The Send button also got a cleaner look with an inline send icon.

  Find it: Repair Assistant button on Labor Guides, Diagnose, Services, and Items pages

Clearer Online Processing Fee Setup

  The online payment surcharge settings page has been reorganized — the Processing Fee Label, Fee Type, and Fee Value fields now sit side by side instead of stacked, making the whole setup easier to configure at a glance. The Fee Value input now shows a $ prefix when you choose Fixed Amount or a % suffix when you choose Percentage, so it’s always clear what you’re entering. The field label updates automatically to match your selected fee type.

  Find it: Profile > Online Payments > Processing Fees

Voided & Refunded Payments Now Show Their Real Status

  The Payments list used to show every payment as “Paid” — even after you voided or refunded it — which made it confusing to scan past transactions at a glance. Voided payments now display as “Voided” and refunded payments as “Refunded” (both highlighted in red) in both the grid and card views. Works across all processors — Helcim, Square (online + terminal), 360Payments (POS + card-not-present), and PayPal. Partial refunds leave the payment marked Paid with the reduced amount.

  Find it: Payments list > Status column

Void vs Refund Explainer on Helcim Payments

  The Helcim payment screen now includes a short, clear explanation below the Void and Refund buttons so you always know which one to use. Void cancels a same-day transaction before it’s batched (no fees, no charge to the customer), while Refund moves money back to the card for transactions that have already settled. A quick tip suggests trying Void first when you’re not sure — Helcim will reject it if the payment is already settled, and you can then switch to Refund.

  Find it: Payment page for any Helcim-processed transaction

Purchase Order Flow — Guided Onboarding and Visual Progress Tracker

  The Purchase Order workflow now includes dismissible “how it works” banners on the create page and context-aware “what to do next” tips on the review page (different copy for Created, Receiving, and Received statuses). The review page gains a vertical progress timeline — Created → Receiving → Received — with the date at each step, laid out alongside the vendor card on desktop and stacking on mobile. Action buttons are clearer: “Save & Continue” is now “Save Purchase Order”, “Start Receiving Process” is “Parts Arrived — Start Receiving”, and “Purchase Received” is “Finalize & Update Inventory”, each with a short subtitle. Purchase Number and Purchase Date share a row on wider screens to save space. Every banner can be permanently dismissed with a single click.

  Find it: Accounting > Purchase Orders

Hide Declined Items Now Works on Custom Templates

  The “Hide Declined Items” toggle used to only apply to the default invoice/estimate template — if you had built your own custom template, declined items always showed up with a strikethrough. The setting now applies to custom templates too, cleanly removing declined parts and labor from the printed or emailed document. Works in both flat and grouped views, and totals remain accurate (declined items were already excluded from the math).

  Find it: Template Settings > Hide Declined Items

Skip the Update Odometer Prompt

  If you don’t track mileage — for example, you mostly work on bikes or small engines — the “Update Odometer?” prompt that appears when picking a vehicle can now be turned off. Just tick “Don’t ask again on this device” the next time it pops up and it won’t bother you again on that browser or device. You can still update mileage manually any time from the vehicle’s odometer link, and unchecking the box later brings the prompt back.

  Find it: Job Card / Invoice / Estimate > select a vehicle > Update Odometer modal

Redesigned Days Off Section

  The Days Off section in Booking Settings has been completely reworked. Instead of a plain list, blocked days now appear as a clean card grid — each card showing the month stripe, day number, weekday, and year, with a red “Today” badge or a muted “Past” badge so you can scan the list at a glance. Quick-add chips for Today, Tomorrow, Next Saturday, and Next Sunday block common days off in a single tap, a counter at the top tells you how many days you have scheduled, and an empty-state guide shows up when nothing is set yet. Newest days appear first, hover effects highlight the card you’re about to delete, and the layout adapts cleanly to small screens.

  Find it: Calendar > Booking Settings > Working Hours > Days Off

Unassign Employee From a Job Card Item

  Assigned the wrong employee to a part or labor item by mistake? You can now take the assignment off without having to re-pick yourself or delete the line. When an item already has someone assigned, opening its action menu in a Job Card shows a new “Unassign Employee” option in red, with the current employee’s name shown for confirmation. Tap it and the assignment is cleared — the “Assigned To” badge disappears immediately from the parts list, labor list, and grouped view.

  Find it: Job Card > tap any part or labor item > Unassign Employee

Connecting Stripe — Link Your Existing Account

  Connecting Stripe now asks up front whether you already have a Stripe account and takes you straight to Stripe’s sign-in page, so you link your existing account instead of accidentally creating a second one. A short reminder near the Connect button reinforces this.

  Find it: Settings > Stripe > Connect Stripe

Estimate Closing Rate on the Statistics Page

  The Statistics page now shows your estimate closing rate — how good your shop is at turning estimates into approved work. Under the Estimates section you’ll see three new figures: Estimates Sent (estimates you’ve sent out or had approved), Approved (the ones the customer signed off on), and Closing Rate (Approved as a percentage of Estimates Sent). It’s a quick read on your sales performance without counting statuses by hand. The figures respect the year you’ve selected at the top of the page and update when you change the year and tap Refresh. Estimates still sitting as drafts (never sent) aren’t counted, so the rate reflects only estimates that actually reached a customer.

  Find it: Statistics > Estimates tab (or the All tab)

Bug Fixes

Labor Hours and Rate No Longer Disappear from Customer Invoices

  Fixed a rare data issue where labor lines on a customer invoice could render with the Hours and Rate columns blank — even with “Show Labor Hours & Rates” turned on and the line not set to a fixed rate. The root cause was that the Fixed Rate value on some labor lines was being saved as text instead of a true on/off flag, which then confused the invoice preview into hiding the columns. The labor grid editor now uses a proper checkbox (instead of a free-text input) for the Fixed Rate column, so newly edited lines always save the value correctly. The invoice, job card, and estimate templates were also made tolerant of any previously corrupted records, so they render correctly straight away — Hours and Rate reappear on the very next reload, with no need to re-enter your labor. Affects the customer-facing invoice preview, the digital invoice page, the print-out, the PDF, and the in-app job card view.

Payments Page Footer Totals Now Reflect the Full Filtered List

  The Paid and Pending totals shown in the footer of the Payments page now sum every payment that matches your current filters, not just the rows on the visible page. Previously, when your filtered results spanned more than one page (for example, 35 payments at 10 per page), the footer only added up the 10 rows currently shown, so the totals shrank as you paged and never matched the grid’s own total at the bottom of the table. The totals also now refresh live as you type in the search box — matching how they already updated when you changed the date range.

  Find it: Payments page > footer (Paid / Pending)

Warehouse / Location Now Carries Onto Invoice and Job Sheet Lines

  When you add an inventory part (or tire) to an invoice, estimate, or job card, the part’s saved Warehouse/Location value now flows through to the line item so techs can find the part on the shelf — fixed across all five add paths (single-tap, multi-select Transfer, inline SKU/description autocomplete, barcode scan, and single-tire/multi-tire transfer).

Hidden Prices Now Apply to Compact and Grouped Item Views

  On invoices, estimates, and job cards, when an account user’s role doesn’t grant permission to see financial data, prices and totals on parts and labor lines are now properly hidden in all three view modes — Detailed, Compact, and Grouped. Previously, only the Detailed (grid) view respected this permission; switching to Compact or Grouped continued to display the qty × price line, the per-line totals, and the group totals. Restricted users now see the description and quantity (or hours), but no money figures, regardless of which view mode they pick. Applies to the in-app create/edit screen for invoices, estimates, and job cards, and to the read-only Job Card display page.

  Find it: Invoice / Estimate / Job Card > Parts and Labor > Detailed / Compact / Grouped toggle

Days Off — Show the Right Day in Every Time Zone

  Blocked days off now display and save consistently regardless of where you (or your team) are working from. Previously, a day picked in a US time zone could be saved one day earlier under the hood, causing the scheduler to grey out the wrong day or the booking page to show availability on a day you actually meant to block. New entries are now stored at your local calendar day, and existing days off from older versions of the app are read correctly too. As an extra safety net, any day off with missing or corrupted dates is silently skipped instead of breaking the rest of the calendar.

  Find it: Calendar > Booking Settings > Working Hours > Days Off

Square Terminal — Non-USD Currency Support

  Square Terminal checkouts and refunds now use the currency of your Square location instead of forcing USD, so Canadian (CAD) and other non-USD merchants no longer get an “Invalid Currency” error.

Purchase Order Totals Check on Receive

  When clicking Purchase Received, ARI now checks whether the Sub-Total matches the sum of the items. If they differ, you’ll see a quick prompt to apply the calculated totals or keep your own values — so integration-imported parts (PartsTech, Nexpart) no longer get saved with a zero or stale total.

  Find it: Purchase Orders > Purchase Received

Date Format Setting Now Works Across the App

  Changing the date format in Settings now actually updates how dates appear on most pages. Previously, the setting was saved but ignored — dates were always shown in the default format regardless of your selection. The setting now applies to Job Card cards, Job Card grid views, invoices, estimates, payments, statements, gate passes, work orders, purchase orders, payslips, service reminder stickers, the dashboard, vehicle history, and client pages. More pages will follow in future updates.

  Find it: Settings > Date Format

Inspection Table Styles Leaking to Other Pages

  A CSS issue was causing inspection checklist table styling (blue background, white borders) to bleed into table headers on other pages — now properly contained to inspection reports only.

Discount Values in Tax Reports

  Discounts on the Sales Tax Report and Parts & Services Report now display with a minus sign and red styling so it’s immediately clear they are deductions. Previously, discounts showed as positive numbers while the footer totals subtracted them — making it look like the numbers didn’t add up. All amounts are also formatted to exactly two decimal places, eliminating long floating-point artifacts in the totals row.

Purchase Order Number Always Prefilled as 001

  New purchase orders were always opening with PO number 001 instead of auto-incrementing from your last PO. The next number is now resolved before the form opens, no matter where you create the PO from — Accounting, Inventory, or Materials — so you won’t accidentally save a duplicate 001.

  Find it: Accounting > Purchase Orders > + New Purchase Order

PartsTech — Readable Error Messages

  When a PartsTech order or connection failed, the popup sometimes showed the unhelpful text “[object]” instead of an actual reason. Errors now surface the real message from PartsTech (auth issues, expired tokens, invalid responses, etc.), or a clear fallback prompting you to retry and check your PartsTech account if the problem persists.

  Find it: Any document > Order Parts > PartsTech, and Settings > Parts Procurement > PartsTech

PartsTech — Search No Longer Pre-Filled From the Job Card

  Opening PartsTech from a Job Card or Invoice now starts with a blank search instead of auto-filling the description of whatever part was last touched. When you launch PartsTech from inside the Add-Part screen, your current part description is still pre-filled as a search keyword as before.

  Find it: Any document > Order Parts > PartsTech

Search Boxes No Longer Lose Results From Trailing/Leading Spaces

  Typing an accidental space before or after your query (e.g. “John ” instead of “John”) used to make matching results disappear, because the filter looked for the literal space inside each field. Search now ignores whitespace at the start and end of what you type, so results stay consistent regardless of stray spaces. Applied to every main search box across the app — Clients, Vehicles, Job Cards, Invoices/Estimates, Inventory (Parts, Tires, Services, Packages, Assets, Materials), Vendors, Employees, Coupons, Labels, Time Tracking, Activities, Service Reminders, Inspections, Appointments, Payments, Accounting, Marketing, Reviews, Chats, Comments, Notes, User Roles, and the parts/items pickers.

QuickBooks Sync — Invoices Stuck on “Object Not Found”

  Some invoices were failing to sync to QuickBooks with an “Object Not Found / made inactive” error. This happened on invoices that were originally synced as Estimates and later converted to Invoices in ARI — if the original Estimate had since been deleted in QuickBooks, the invoice carried a stale link to it and QuickBooks rejected the whole sync. ARI now checks whether the linked Estimate still exists before syncing and quietly clears the dead reference so the invoice goes through, with an automatic server-side retry as a safety net. Previously stuck invoices will sync successfully on the next attempt — no user action required.

  Find it: Any synced invoice > Sync to QuickBooks

QuickBooks Sync — Tax (and Shipping/Misc) Now Transfers on Purchases & Expenses

  Purchase Orders and Expenses synced to QuickBooks were posting at their pre-tax amount — the tax, and any separate “Other” shipping/misc charge, were silently dropped, so the QuickBooks total came in short. This affected purchases and expenses with itemized line rows (and any expense without items, since an expense’s amount is stored before tax). ARI now carries the “Other” charge over as its own line, and handles tax by region: for shops outside the US (e.g. Canada) that have set a QuickBooks tax code in Settings, each line is tagged with that code so QuickBooks calculates the tax itself and records it as recoverable input tax — the same way invoices already sync; for US shops, or anyone without a tax code set, the tax posts as its own clearly-labeled line. Re-syncing a previously synced purchase or expense applies the fix automatically — no user action required.

  Find it: Accounting > Purchase Orders / Expenses > Sync to QuickBooks

Appointment Times — No More Stray Seconds Field

  Appointments created on the iOS app sometimes saved with a non-zero seconds value (e.g. 10:30:02 instead of 10:30:00), which caused the desktop time picker to expose an extra seconds spinner when editing the same appointment later. Appointment times are now always saved at minute precision across iOS, Android, and web, and the date pickers no longer show a seconds field. Existing appointments heal to minute precision the next time they’re saved.

  Find it: Calendar > New / Edit Appointment

Double-Tapping Save No Longer Creates a Duplicate Appointment

  Pressing Save twice (or hitting it again while the screen was still catching up) could create a phantom second appointment — usually at a random time/day and missing the vehicle and notes from the original. The Save button now visibly switches to “Saving…” and greys out the moment you tap it, so any extra taps are ignored until the appointment is fully written and you’ve moved on. The same protection applies if you use “Create JobCard”, “Create Invoice”, “Create Estimate”, or “Save Client & Vehicle” from an appointment — those actions are also held off while a save is in progress, so they can’t change the destination of the in-flight save. If your network drops mid-save, the Save button automatically becomes available again so you can retry.

  Find it: Calendar > New / Edit Appointment > Save

Labor Autocomplete Stuck After Searching Services

  After tapping “Select from Services” on a labor line, typing a search term, and then backing out, the labor description autocomplete on the next line could come back empty or only show a sliver of your services list — and the only way to recover was a page refresh. The leftover search filter is now cleared every time you leave the services picker (whether you back out, pick an item, or use Transfer Selected Items), so typing in the labor line always sees your full services list. Same fix applies to the Default Services tab so its list is no longer silently filtered after a previous search.

  Find it: Job Card / Invoice / Estimate > Labor section > Select from Services

Your Default Inspection Template Now Sticks After a Reload

  The inspection checklist template you chose with “Save & Use Template” was quietly reverting to the built-in 50-Point checklist every time you closed the app or reloaded the page — so new inspections kept starting from the wrong template. Your saved template now loads reliably for every new inspection, whether it’s one of your own custom templates or a built-in one (built-in templates also keep working offline). If a saved custom template can no longer be found — for example, it was deleted — ARI now tells you and falls back to the default checklist instead of silently switching it on you. And the Checklist screen now waits for your template to finish loading before it opens, so an in-progress edit can never be wiped out by a late-arriving template.

  Find it: New Inspection > Checklist

Mass Email & SMS Campaigns — Honest Status, Accurate Credits, Clearer Errors

  Campaign sends now report what actually happened, not just what was attempted. The status column reflects the real outcome — Sent (everything went through), Partially Sent (some failed, with count and reason shown), Canceled (you stopped it mid-list), or Failed (nothing got through) — instead of always reading “Sent” no matter what. Credits are deducted only for messages that actually sent: a fully failed campaign now costs zero credits, and a 3-of-5 partial costs three credits, not five. The Sent Date column is left blank when no message actually went out, so the campaign list never claims a send that never happened. When your SMS contains a URL from a domain Twilio’s SMS gateway blocks (only links from ari.app are allowed — Google review short-links, bit.ly, and other shorteners are rejected before the message ever leaves), the per-number warning now reads “Message Blocked — your SMS contains a URL that isn’t allowed” instead of the old, misleading “format/carrier” warning. The same clearer message also shows up when sending a single SMS from a client’s profile. Email campaigns got an accuracy fix too: a hidden counting bug previously misreported the number of successful sends, which could under- or over-charge credits depending on which recipients bounced. The count now matches what actually went out.

  Find it: Marketing > Campaigns