Technician & Team Management

Running a successful garage means having the right people in the right roles, with clear visibility into who is doing what. autoGMS gives you a complete set of tools to build your team, assign jobs, track skills, and monitor performance -- all from one place.

Whether you are a garage owner setting up your first team or a manager keeping daily operations running smoothly, this guide walks you through everything you need to know about managing technicians and staff in autoGMS.

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Overview

The team management features in autoGMS let you:

• Add technicians, receptionists, managers, and admins to your garage
• Define each technician's skills, proficiency levels, and workload capacity
• Track who is busy, who is available, and how many jobs each person has completed
• Assign the right technician to the right job based on their expertise
• Give each team member the exact level of access they need -- nothing more, nothing less
• Monitor technician performance and revenue contribution over time
• Manage compensation records and link salaries to expense tracking

If you manage more than one team member, this section of autoGMS will quickly become one of your most-used tools.

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How to Access

There are two main places where you manage your team.

Technicians Page

1. Open your garage dashboard.
2. In the left sidebar, click Technicians (under the People section).
3. You will see a summary of your team along with a full list of technicians.

Team & Access Settings (Garage Profile)

1. Open your garage dashboard.
2. Go to Settings (gear icon in the sidebar).
3. Select the Team & Access tab.
4. Here you can manage all team members across every role -- technicians, receptionists, managers, and admins.

Good to know: The Technicians page is focused on day-to-day technician work (skills, jobs, stats). The Team & Access panel is where you handle broader team administration like adding new members of any role, managing compensation, and reviewing permissions.

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Understanding Team Roles

autoGMS uses a role-based system to control what each person on your team can see and do. Here is a breakdown of every role in the system, from the most access to the least.

The Full Role Hierarchy

Role	Who is this?	What can they do?
Organisation Owner	The person who owns the business	Full control over all garages under their organisation, including billing, subscriptions, and financial reports.
Garage Owner	The owner of a specific garage	Full administrative access to their garage, including financials, reports, team management, and all settings.
Garage Admin	A trusted administrator for the garage	Most of what the Garage Owner can do, except they cannot change certain high-level settings. Great for a co-manager or senior staff member.
Manager	A day-to-day operations manager	Full operational access, staff management, and reporting. Cannot change garage settings.
Receptionist	Front desk and customer-facing staff	Manages bookings, customers, invoices, and the reception desk. Cannot access financial reports or analytics.
Technician	The people doing the hands-on work	Sees their assigned jobs, can manage service bays, handle inventory, perform inspections, and view customers. No access to financials.
Customer	Your garage's clients	Can view their own bookings and vehicle history through the customer-facing portal.

What Each Role Can and Cannot Do

Technician permissions:

• Can manage service bays and view or update job status
• Can manage bookings and services assigned to them
• Can create and complete pre-inspections
• Can manage inventory items
• Can view customer information
• Cannot access financial data, revenue reports, or analytics dashboards

Receptionist permissions:

• Can manage the reception desk
• Can manage customers and their information
• Can create and manage bookings
• Can create invoices
• Can configure online booking settings
• Cannot access financial reports or analytics
• Cannot manage garage settings

Manager permissions:

• Full operational access to all day-to-day features
• Can manage staff (add and remove technicians and receptionists)
• Can view reports
• Cannot change garage-level settings

Garage Owner and Garage Admin permissions:

• Everything above, plus full team control
• Access to financial reporting and analytics
• Garage settings and configuration
• Technician performance analytics

Good to know: Each role can only see and manage roles below it in the hierarchy. For example, a Manager can add Technicians and Receptionists, but cannot add another Manager or Admin. A Garage Owner can add all roles up to Garage Admin. In the Team & Access panel, there is a collapsible "Role Permissions" guide that shows exactly what each role can and cannot do. Expand it whenever you are unsure about what access level to give someone.

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Adding Team Members

Adding a Technician

1. Go to your Technicians page (or Settings > Team & Access).
2. Click the green Add Technician button in the top-right corner.
3. Fill in the form:
   • Email address (required) -- this is how they will log in
   • First name (optional but recommended)
   • Last name (optional but recommended)
4. Click Add Technician.

What you will see

A dialog box appears with two sections. The top section has a field for the email address, and the bottom section has fields for first name and last name. If this is a brand-new technician (not editing an existing one), you will also see a blue information box at the bottom explaining the account creation process.

What happens after you add them

• An invitation email is sent to the technician's email address.
• They will receive instructions to set up their account and create a password.
• Once they log in, they will immediately see their technician dashboard with any assigned jobs.

Good to know: If no technicians have been added yet, autoGMS will automatically open the "Add Technician" dialog when you first visit the Technicians page. This helps you get started right away.

Adding a Receptionist

1. Go to Settings > Team & Access.
2. Click Add Team Member.
3. Select the Receptionist role.
4. Enter their email, first name, and last name.
5. Click to confirm.

The same invitation email process applies -- they will receive a link to set up their account.

Adding a Manager or Garage Admin

1. Go to Settings > Team & Access.
2. Click Add Team Member.
3. Select the appropriate role (Manager or Garage Admin).
4. Enter their email and details.
5. Click to confirm.

Good to know: The roles available for you to add depend on your own role. You can only create accounts for people with a role equal to or below your own in the hierarchy.

Editing a Team Member

1. Find the team member in the Technicians page or Team & Access panel.
2. Click the Edit button next to their name.
3. Update their first name or last name as needed.
4. Save changes.

Note: email addresses cannot be changed after a team member has been added. If someone needs a new email, you will need to remove them and add them again with the new address.

Removing a Team Member

1. Find the team member in the list.
2. Click the Remove button (or the trash icon on mobile).
3. A confirmation dialog will appear asking you to confirm.
4. Click Remove to proceed.

Good to know: Removing a team member does not delete their historical data. Any bookings they worked on, jobs they completed, and performance records are preserved for your records.

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Managing Technician Skills

Skills help you track what each technician is good at and make smarter job assignments. autoGMS lets you define service categories, set proficiency levels, manage workload capacity, and record vehicle type preferences for each technician.

Opening the Skills Editor

1. Go to the Technicians page.
2. Find the technician you want to update.
3. Click the Skills button next to their name (on desktop) or tap Skills on mobile.

What you will see

A dialog with three sections: Workload Capacity at the top, Service Skills in the middle, and Vehicle Preferences at the bottom.

Setting Workload Capacity

At the top of the Skills Editor, you will find the Workload Capacity section:

1. Use the dropdown to set the Maximum Concurrent Jobs (from 1 to 10).
2. This tells autoGMS how many jobs this technician can handle at once.

For example, if a technician is great at quick oil changes, you might set their capacity to 5. For a body repair specialist who works on one car at a time, you might set it to 1 or 2.

Adding Service Skills

Service skills tell autoGMS what types of work a technician can perform and how skilled they are in each area.

Available service categories:

• Maintenance -- oil changes, filter replacements, fluid top-ups
• Repair -- mechanical and electrical repairs
• Inspection -- vehicle inspections and diagnostics
• Modification -- performance upgrades and alterations
• Customization -- aesthetic modifications and custom work
• Detailing -- interior and exterior cleaning and polishing
• Emergency -- breakdown response and urgent repairs
• Other -- anything that does not fit the categories above

Proficiency levels:

• Basic -- Can handle straightforward work in this category with some oversight
• Intermediate -- Experienced and can work independently on most jobs
• Expert -- Highly skilled; go-to person for complex or difficult work

To add a skill:

1. In the Skills section, select a Service Category from the first dropdown.
2. Select a Proficiency Level from the second dropdown.
3. Click the Add button.

Each skill appears as a row showing the category name and a proficiency badge. You can remove a skill by clicking the X button next to it.

What you will see

Skills are displayed with colour-coded badges throughout the system:

• Blue badges for Basic proficiency
• Amber/yellow badges for Intermediate proficiency
• Green badges for Expert proficiency

Setting Vehicle Preferences

At the bottom of the Skills Editor, you can select which vehicle types a technician prefers or specialises in:

• Sedan
• SUV
• Truck
• Sports car
• Van
• Bus
• Motorcycle
• Other

Click on each vehicle type to toggle it on or off. Selected types appear highlighted with a checkmark. If no preferences are set, the technician is considered available for all vehicle types.

Saving Skills

After making your changes, click Save at the bottom of the dialog. A success message will confirm the update, and the technician's profile will refresh to show their updated skills.

Good to know: Skills show up directly on the Technicians page. Each technician's row displays their top skills as small colour-coded badges. Hover over the "+N" badge to see additional skills in a tooltip. You can also expand a technician's row to see their full skills matrix with proficiency dots (one dot for Basic, two for Intermediate, three for Expert).

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The Technicians Dashboard (Admin and Manager View)

When you open the Technicians page as a garage owner, admin, or manager, you get a complete overview of your technical team.

Stats Cards

At the top of the page, four summary cards give you an instant snapshot:

• Total Technicians -- How many technicians are on your team
• Active -- How many are currently working on at least one job
• Available -- How many have no active jobs right now
• Jobs Completed -- The total number of jobs completed by all technicians combined

The Technician Table

Below the stats cards, you will see a searchable table listing all your technicians. Each row shows:

• Name and email -- The technician's full name and email address
• Skills -- Colour-coded badges showing their service categories and proficiency levels
• Status -- Whether they are currently active (with a count like "2/3 active") or available
• Completed Jobs -- Total number of jobs this technician has finished

What you can do from the table:

• Search -- Use the search bar to quickly find a technician by name or email
• View Jobs -- Click the blue Jobs button to see all bookings assigned to a technician
• Edit Skills -- Click the amber Skills button to open the Skills Editor
• Edit Details -- Click the grey Edit button to update their name
• View Analytics -- Click the Analytics button in the toolbar to jump to detailed technician performance analytics

Expanding a Technician Row

Click on any technician's row to expand it and see detailed information:

• Capacity visualisation -- Small coloured blocks showing how many of their job slots are filled (for example, 2 out of 3 filled)
• Vehicle preferences -- Which vehicle types they prefer working on
• Skills matrix -- A full list of their skills with proficiency dots (one dot for Basic, two for Intermediate, three for Expert)

If skills have not been configured yet, you will see a prompt to "Configure Skills" which links directly to the Skills Editor.

Viewing a Technician's Job History

1. Click the Jobs button next to any technician.
2. A dialog opens showing:
   • Summary stats at the top -- active jobs, completed jobs, and total jobs at a glance
   • Active bookings -- currently in-progress jobs with customer name, service type, vehicle, and status badge (highlighted in blue)
   • All bookings -- a scrollable list of every booking ever assigned to this technician, each showing customer name, service, vehicle, date, and status
3. Click on any booking in the list to go directly to that booking's detail page.

Mobile View

On mobile devices, each technician appears as a card instead of a table row. The card shows:

• Technician name, email, and initials avatar
• Active or Available status badge
• Active jobs count and completed jobs count
• Skill badges (up to three visible, with a "+N" indicator for more)
• Quick action buttons for Skills and View Jobs
• A three-dot menu for Edit and Remove actions

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The Technician Dashboard (Technician's Own View)

When a technician logs into autoGMS, they see a streamlined dashboard focused entirely on their work, whether they are using desktop or mobile browser.

My Assigned Jobs

What you will see: A page titled "My Assigned Jobs" with a wrench icon, showing a list of all bookings currently assigned to you.

Each job in the list shows:

• Vehicle -- make and model (for example, "Toyota Camry")
• Registration -- the vehicle's registration or licence plate number
• Service -- what service is being performed
• Date -- when the booking is scheduled
• Status -- current status (Confirmed, In-Service, and so on)

Click on any job to open the full Job Detail page.

Technician Sidebar Navigation

As a technician, your sidebar is kept simple and focused:

• Jobs -- your bay management view where you see and manage active jobs
• Inventory -- access to parts and inventory management (if enabled for your garage)

Mobile Access (Current Implementation)

Technicians can work from mobile today, but it is important to understand how it works:

• Technicians use the same autoGMS web application and login as desktop users.
• The technician experience is mobile-responsive (cards, touch-friendly actions, and simplified navigation).

Job Detail Page

When you click into a specific job, you get a detailed view with everything you need to do the work.

Job overview section:

• Customer information
• Vehicle details (make, model, year, licence plate)
• Service being performed
• Current job status

Pre-inspection (if enabled for your garage):

• If a pre-inspection is required, a prominent card appears at the top of the page prompting you to begin
• You can start and complete the inspection directly from this view
• Once completed, a summary card shows the inspection results

Attachments:

• Upload photos, documents, or other files related to the job
• View and delete existing attachments
• Useful for documenting vehicle condition, damage, or completed work

Service management:

• View the current service assigned to the booking
• Change the service if needed (for example, if additional work is discovered during inspection)

Vehicle editing:

• Update vehicle information directly from the job detail page
• Helpful when details need correcting after a vehicle arrives at the garage

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Assigning Technicians to Jobs and Bays

When a booking moves into service, it gets assigned to a service bay. At that point, you assign one or more technicians to work on it.

How Technician Assignment Works

1. Open a booking that is in Confirmed or In-Service status.
2. Assign it to an available service bay.
3. Select the technician or technicians who will work on this job.

Technician Roles on a Job

autoGMS supports assigning multiple technicians to a single job, each with a specific role:

• Primary -- The lead technician responsible for the job. Every assignment has one primary technician.
• Secondary -- A supporting technician who assists the primary on more complex jobs.
• Assistant -- A junior or apprentice technician who helps out and learns on the job.

This multi-technician system is especially useful for larger jobs that require teamwork, such as engine overhauls, full-vehicle inspections, or bodywork.

What Happens When a Technician Is Assigned

• The job appears on the technician's personal dashboard under "My Assigned Jobs".
• The technician's status on the Technicians page updates to "Active".
• Their active job count increases (for example, from "1/3 active" to "2/3 active").
• The workload capacity settings help ensure no one gets overloaded.

Good to know: When a booking is assigned to a bay, its status automatically transitions from "Confirmed" to "In-Service". This means the moment you drop a booking into a bay and assign a technician, the work is officially underway.

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Technician Compensation

For garage owners and admins, autoGMS provides tools to track technician compensation and connect it to your financial records.

Setting Up Compensation

1. Go to Settings > Team & Access.
2. Find the technician in the team list.
3. Click the Compensation button (the dollar/currency icon).
4. Enter the following details:
   • Monthly Salary -- the technician's monthly pay
   • Expected Hours per Month -- how many hours they are expected to work (the default is 208, which is a standard full-time month)
   • Link to Expense (optional) -- connect this salary to a labour expense record for accurate financial tracking
   • Notes -- any additional context (for example, "Raise effective March 2025")
5. Click Save.

What you will see

autoGMS automatically calculates an hourly cost rate based on the salary and expected hours. This rate is displayed prominently in a blue box so you can quickly see what each hour of this technician's time costs your business.

Good to know: Compensation history is tracked over time, so you have a record of salary changes. Linking a salary to an expense record ensures that your financial reports and profit-and-loss calculations include accurate labour costs.

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Technician Performance Analytics

autoGMS includes a dedicated analytics section for tracking technician performance over time.

Accessing Technician Analytics

1. Go to the Technicians page.
2. Click the Analytics button in the toolbar at the top.
3. You will be taken to the Analytics Dashboard with the Technicians tab selected.

What the Analytics Show

The technician analytics section includes three main areas:

Overview metrics:

• Total jobs completed across all technicians
• Total revenue generated by technician work
• Average revenue per technician
• Performance trends over time

Charts and visualisations:

• Visual breakdowns of technician workload distribution
• Comparative performance charts across your team
• Revenue contribution by individual technician

Detailed analysis:

• Individual technician performance breakdowns
• Efficiency scores and job completion rates
• Historical trends to spot improvements or identify issues

Good to know: Technician analytics are only available to roles with financial access -- typically Garage Owner, Garage Admin, and Organisation Owner. Technicians themselves cannot see these reports.

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Tips & Best Practices

Start with skills. Before assigning jobs, take a few minutes to set up each technician's skills profile. This makes it much easier to match the right person to the right job.

Use workload capacity wisely. Setting realistic concurrent job limits prevents technicians from being overloaded. A rushed technician is more likely to make mistakes or miss details.

Review the team regularly. Check the Technicians page at least weekly to see who has been busy, who has capacity, and how job completion numbers are trending.

Take advantage of technician roles. For complex jobs, assign a Primary and a Secondary technician. This improves quality and helps less experienced staff learn from senior team members.

Keep compensation records up to date. When salaries change, update them in autoGMS right away. This keeps your financial reports accurate and helps you understand your true cost per job.

Encourage technicians to use their dashboard. The technician view is designed to be simple and focused. Make sure your team knows they can see their assigned jobs, upload photos, and complete inspections right from their own login.

Use the search feature. On the Technicians page, the search bar filters by both name and email. This is especially helpful when your team grows beyond a handful of people.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if a technician is available?

On the Technicians page, each technician's row shows their current status. If it says "Available" in a grey badge, they have no active jobs. If it says something like "2/3 active" in a green badge, they are working on 2 jobs out of a maximum of 3. Check the "Available" stat card at the top of the page for a quick count of all free technicians.

Can a technician be assigned to multiple jobs at the same time?

Yes. The "Maximum Concurrent Jobs" setting in their skills profile controls how many jobs they can handle simultaneously (anywhere from 1 to 10). autoGMS tracks their active count so you always know when someone is at capacity.

Can multiple technicians work on the same job?

Yes. When assigning technicians to a booking in a bay, you can add multiple people with different roles -- Primary (the lead), Secondary (support), and Assistant (helper). This is ideal for complex or time-sensitive jobs.

What happens when I remove a technician from the system?

They lose access to their account, but all their historical data is preserved. Job records, completed bookings, and performance data remain intact for your records and reports.

Can a technician see financial information?

No. Technicians can see their assigned jobs, manage bays, handle inventory, perform inspections, and view customer details. They cannot access revenue reports, financial analytics, invoices, or compensation information.

What is the difference between the Technicians page and the Team & Access panel?

The Technicians page is focused on daily operations -- viewing skills, monitoring active jobs, checking stats, and managing workload. The Team & Access panel (in Settings) is for administration -- adding or removing team members of any role, managing compensation, and reviewing permissions across your entire team.

How does a technician log in for the first time?

After you add them, they receive an invitation email with a link to set up their account and create a password. Once that is done, they can log in and immediately see their assigned jobs on the "My Assigned Jobs" page.

Can I change someone's role after adding them?

Role changes require administrative action. If you need to change someone's role (for example, promoting a technician to a manager), contact your system administrator or reach out to autoGMS support for guidance on the appropriate process.

What if I want a technician to only work on certain types of vehicles?

Use the Vehicle Preferences setting in the Skills Editor. Select the vehicle types they specialise in -- Sedan, SUV, Truck, Sports car, Van, Bus, Motorcycle, or Other. If no preferences are set, they are considered available for all vehicle types.

How is the hourly cost calculated for technicians?

autoGMS divides the monthly salary by the expected hours per month. For example, if a technician earns 5,000 AED per month and is expected to work 208 hours, their hourly cost is approximately 24 AED. This calculation updates automatically when you change either value in the compensation settings.

Does autoGMS send any notification to the technician when they are assigned a job?

When a booking is assigned to a bay with a technician, the job appears on the technician's "My Assigned Jobs" dashboard in real time. autoGMS uses real-time updates, so technicians see new assignments without needing to refresh the page.

Do technicians have a separate iOS or Android app?

Not at the moment. Technicians use the main autoGMS web app, which is optimized for mobile browsers. They can optionally add it to their home screen for app-like access, but there is no separate native technician app install.

How many technicians can I add to my garage?

The number of team members you can add depends on your autoGMS subscription plan. Check your plan details under your organisation settings, or contact autoGMS support for information about team size limits.