Most guitar repair shops run on paper tickets, Excel, or a notebook. It works — until a job gets lost, a customer calls for the fourth time, or you try to figure out how much you actually made last quarter. Here's what changes when you switch.
| Feature | Paper / Spreadsheet | FretWork |
|---|---|---|
| Ticket intake with customer signature | Manual, no digital record | ✓ Digital, searchable, permanent |
| Online appointment booking with deposit | Phone call, no deposit collected | ✓ Public booking page, deposit upfront |
| Customer notified when job is ready | Phone call or text from you | ✓ Automatic email, no extra steps |
| Service reminders for lapsed customers | Manual outreach or nothing | ✓ One-click reminder emails |
| Customer can check repair status online | No — they have to call | ✓ Shareable status URL per ticket |
| Invoice and online payment | Manual invoice, cash or Square handled separately | ✓ Square or Stripe — invoice link, M2 reader, Tap to Pay, cash |
| Technician assignment per job | Sticky note or everyone knows by memory | ✓ Per instrument, tracked, visible to the whole shop |
| Find a job by customer or instrument | Scroll through a list | ✓ Instant search |
| Revenue report with deposits and tax | Build it yourself, every time | ✓ Built in, CSV export on any view |
| Works on iPad at the counter | Sort of | ✓ Any browser, any device |
| Retail point of sale for parts & accessories | Separate register or cash box — nothing syncs | ✓ Built-in POS with barcode scanning, Square or Stripe, receipt emails |
| Inventory tracking with low-stock alerts | Spreadsheet updated manually, if at all | ✓ Stock qty, low-stock thresholds, auto-decrements on sales and ticket parts |
| Monthly cost | $0 — but your time isn't free | From $4.99/mo |
The spreadsheet is free. What isn't free: the 10 minutes you spend updating it after every ticket, the phone calls from customers wondering if their guitar is done, the afternoon you spend at the end of each quarter figuring out your revenue, the job you miss because someone didn't update the sheet.
FretWork's Starter plan is $4.99 a month — less than a set of strings. At that price, it pays for itself the first time a customer gets an automatic "your guitar is ready" email instead of a phone call you forgot to make.
We built FretWork in an active shop because we got tired of the spreadsheet too. We still use it every day.
You don't import anything. Add your services and pricing, connect your Square or Stripe account, and open your first ticket. Your spreadsheet history stays where it is — you don't need it in FretWork to start using FretWork.
Yes. Every plan starts with a 30-day free trial. No charge until after your first month. No setup fees, no credit card required to get started.
Yes. Instrument types are fully customizable. FretWork is used for guitar, bass, violin, cello, trumpet, saxophone, and more. If it comes through your door, you can track it.
30-day free trial. No charge until after your first month. Setup takes about five minutes.
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