Independent auto repair
Torque
The shop computer runs it. Nothing else has to.
A single-user workshop system installed directly on the shop's own machine. Work orders, parts, bay scheduling and customer history in one window — running from a local database file, with no accounts and no internet connection required.
- Desktop application
- SQLite
- Offline-first
- TypeScript
- React PDF
- Monthly cost
- None
- Works offline
- Always
- Backup
- One file
no seats, no subscription
no network calls at all
copy it anywhere
What was going wrong
A two-bay shop running on a paper day-book and a whiteboard. Every cloud product they tried wanted a monthly fee per seat, an account for a person who does not use email, and a working connection in a building with concrete walls and bad reception.
What we built
Skip the cloud entirely. The whole system is one application on the shop's own computer, storing everything in a single SQLite file. It opens instantly, works during an outage, and can be backed up by copying one file to a USB stick. We installed it on site, imported the existing customer list, and sat with them through two real work orders before leaving.
What it looks like
The screens this build was designed around.
Work orders
Every job in the shop on one screen — vehicle, customer, what it is in for, and where it has got to.
shop.dbon this machine.In the shop
5
Waiting on parts
2
1 arriving today
Ready for pickup
3
Open work orders
| Vehicle | Customer | In for | Bay | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 F-150 | D. Rancourt | Brakes, front | 1 | In progress |
| 2019 CR-V | S. Okonkwo | Timing belt | 2 | Parts |
| 2012 Civic | J. Bélanger | Safety | — | Ready |
| 2021 Silverado | M. Lachance | Oil, tire swap | — | Booked |
Bay schedule
The week across both bays. Drag a job to move it; the whiteboard it replaced never told you about next Thursday.
Two bays, five days, one screen. The whiteboard this replaced could not tell you about next Thursday.
What it does
Runs entirely offline
No network calls at all. The shop keeps working when the connection does not.
One database file
Everything lives in a single file on the shop's machine, backed up like any other.
No logins, no seats
Nobody needs an email address, and there is no monthly bill per person.
Work orders end to end
Intake, parts, labour and pickup on one screen per job.
Bay scheduling
The week across both bays, so next Thursday is something you can see.
Printable paperwork
Work orders and invoices that come out the same every time.
Who reaches for it, and when
The owner at the counter
Opens a work order while the customer is still describing the noise.
The tech in the bay
Adds parts and labour to the job on the same machine, no account required.
Month end
Copies one file to a USB stick and has a complete backup of the business.
What makes this one different
The cloud was the wrong answer
Concrete walls, bad reception and a per-seat price for a person who does not use email. Skipping the network entirely was the feature, not a compromise.
Installed in person
Set up on site with their real customer list imported, and two real work orders run through it before we left.
Backup you can explain
There is no export step and no vendor to ask. The whole system is a file, and copying files is something everybody already knows how to do.
Built with
What each piece is doing here — the people who read this section are usually the ones who would have to maintain it after us.
Desktop application
Installed on the machine, launched from the taskbar, no browser involved.
SQLite
A single database file on the machine. Back it up by copying it.
Offline-first
A service worker serves the whole app with the radio off.
TypeScript
Strict mode everywhere. A field renamed in one place fails to compile in the others.
React PDF
Documents generated on the server, identical every time they are made.
Want something like Torque?
It does not have to be your industry — the underlying problem is nearly always the same. Tell us how the work moves through your business and we will tell you what it would take.
Every project is quoted on its own. Turnaround starts at two weeks.