Comparison · TechMan alternative

Torqueflow vs TechMan.

Considering a switch? Torqueflow imports your TechMan data directly – customers, vehicles, history, invoices.

TechMan is one of the longest-established UK garage management systems. If you’re on TechMan today, switching feels like a big call – years of customer history, settled team workflows, the “good enough” trap.

This page is for garage owners thinking about that move. We’ve tried to be straight about where TechMan still does well, where Torqueflow has moved ahead, and what the migration looks like in practice.

Built-in TechMan import · runs overnight

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Torqueflow Torqueflow
AI-first garage management

Phones answered, supplier invoices scanned, Xero in sync. AI takes admin off you.

£249/month,or £2,490 a year
All features · all hygiene tasks included · free trial
Voice AI receptionist
AI invoice scanning
DVLA & MOT lookups – included
SMS reminders & mailshots – included
AI takes admin off your plate
Credits used only for AI compute, never for basics
VS
TechMan
Established all-in-one GMS

A long-running UK GMS with install-base scale and a tiered pricing model.

Tiered pricing · check TechMan’s current pricing on their website
Starter / Lite / Advanced / Pro · Partner or Flexi contract
No Voice AI receptionist
No AI invoice scanning
DVLA & MOT lookups cost credits
SMS & mailshots cost credits
Long-established, with a large user community
Real install-base scale and community

At a glance

Feature-by-feature, side by side.

TFTorqueflow TMTechMan
Core positioning AI-first garage management Established all-in-one GMS
Voice AI receptionist Yes – built in No
AI invoice scanning Yes – email / upload / camera No
AI auto-response on portal / WhatsApp / SMS Yes Limited
Xero integration Two-way live, sub-minute Via export
AutoData / Haynes Pro integrations Haynes Pro built in (repair times, service schedules, part categories) Yes – prominent
Customer portal Yes – magic-link, mobile-first Yes
Polish language UI Yes – staff and portal English only
Install base New in 2026, growing Long-established, large user base
Direct TechMan import Yes – built-in tool N/A
Setup time Couple of hours Longer migration
Pricing – subscription £249/monthevery feature included, any number of bays TieredStarter / Lite / Advanced / Pro · Partner or Flexi contract
Upfront / setup fees None None on Partner Plan; an upfront fee on Flexi Plan, varying by tier
Pricing – hygiene tasks (DVLA, mailshots, SMS) Included Credits required on top of subscription
Pricing – AI features 700 AI credits a month included, plus your phone number. Usage beyond that is metered n/a (no AI)
Best for Garages tired of typing supplier invoices and answering “is my car ready?” calls Garages prioritising deep technical-data integrations and the established install base
Check TechMan’s current pricing on their website. The credits-for-hygiene pattern is consistent with Capterra UK reviews and the “*conditions apply” markers on TechMan’s pricing page.

The credit problem: paying for the basics.

It’s a TechMan complaint that comes up again and again in public reviews, and it’s worth its own section. DVLA lookups, MOT data refresh, mailshots, SMS reminders – the routine hygiene tasks every UK garage runs daily – are billed through a separate credit system on top of the subscription. Capterra and other reviewers consistently flag this as a friction point.

TM

TechMan’s model

Subscription plus credits for routine tasks.

Four tiers (Starter, Lite, Advanced, Pro) under two contract structures: Partner Plan (longer commitment, no upfront fee) and Flexi Plan (30-day rolling, with an upfront fee plus a higher monthly rate). On the surface, all tiers include “unlimited users” and the headline feature set. In practice, the basics cost extra – and Capterra reviewers consistently flag this as a friction point.

Torqueflow’s model

Credits only for AI compute. Everything else included.

Credits exist, and we use them too, but only for work with a real per-use cost behind it: the AI features, Haynes Pro vehicle lookups and the Xero connection. Hygiene operations are included. Look up a vehicle, send a text reminder, run a mailshot, refresh MOT data – all part of the subscription, unlimited.

What it costs to do TMTechMan TFTorqueflow
Look up a vehicle on DVLA Credits required (per lookup) Included – unlimited
Pull MOT history from DVSA Credit-gated MOT data refresh Included – unlimited
Send an SMS reminder Credits required (per message) Included – unlimited
For staff-written messages; AI-replies use credits
Send a mailshot to your customer base Credits required Included
Run an MOT/service reminder campaign Credit-gated Included
Print/email a quote or invoice Included Included
Customer portal Available on Advanced tier+ Included on every plan
Telephone integration Pro tier only or extra cost Included via Voice AI
Online web booking Pro tier only or extra cost Included
AI voice receptionist answering a call n/a (TechMan doesn’t have one) Credits used (AI compute cost)
AI replying on WhatsApp / SMS / portal n/a (TechMan doesn’t have one) Credits used (AI compute cost)
AI extracting a supplier invoice n/a (TechMan doesn’t have one) Credits used (AI compute cost)
The principle

Garages should pay credits for things that actually have a real per-event cost behind them – which today means AI inference. They should not pay credits for looking up a registration number, sending a text reminder, or pulling MOT data, because those operations are essentially free at the platform level. Torqueflow’s credit model is built around that distinction. TechMan’s isn’t.

What this means for your bill

On TechMan, a 7-bay garage sending routine SMS reminders and looking up vehicles every day pays for that activity in credits, on top of the subscription. On Torqueflow, that same activity is included in the flat subscription. The subscription also includes 700 AI credits a month, plus your phone number, for the AI voice and AI messaging. Usage beyond that is metered, and you can choose not to use the AI at all if you don’t want it on your phone or messaging channels.

For more on how Torqueflow’s credits actually work, see What are AI credits? and How credits are consumed by feature.

Where TechMan still wins

And four places we’d pick TechMan.

TECHMAN advantages

A large, long-established user base.

Real install-base scale. There’s a community, there are forum answers to the niche questions, there’s a “lots of people use this so it must work” comfort. We’re not at that scale yet and we won’t pretend.

AutoData integration

TechMan partners with AutoData as well as Haynes Pro. Torqueflow has Haynes Pro built in (manufacturer repair times, service schedules, part categories) but no AutoData, which matters if AutoData is the reference your technicians reach for.

Familiarity for your existing team

Switching software has a real change-management cost. If your team is already trained on TechMan, that’s not zero. Torqueflow’s interface is intentionally simpler, but “simpler” still means “different”.

Established support and migration assistance

TechMan offers dedicated migration help. We do too – but their team is bigger.

The TechMan → Torqueflow migration

Switching is the hardest part of a software change.

Torqueflow is built around making this specific switch easy.

What transfers

Direct TechMan import. No CSV fiddling.

  • Customer records. Contact details, account details and each customer’s vehicles.
  • Vehicle records. Registration, make, model and next MOT date, linked to the right customer.
  • Work order history. Past jobs with their dates, notes and invoice lines.
  • Sales invoices and payments. Your historical invoices and what was paid against them, kept on record for HMRC retention.
  • Products, suppliers and labour. Your parts catalogue, supplier records and labour codes.

Every import can be rolled back if something looks wrong. Purchase invoices don’t come across.

What you redo (small)

A handful of light setup tasks – measured in minutes.

  • Workshop stages – Torqueflow’s kanban is configurable; you’ll likely want to redesign columns to match how you actually work, rather than copy TechMan’s defaults.
  • Voice AI persona – TechMan doesn’t have one, so this is genuinely new. 5 minutes to configure.
  • Customer portal branding – set up your subdomain, logo, and colours once.
  • Integrations – connect Xero (one click), Stripe (3 minutes), TakePayments if relevant.

Typical timeline

D0
Day 0

Sign up, run setup wizard (about 2 hours), import data overnight.

D1
Day 1

Review imported data, configure team and Voice AI, take first new bookings.

W1
Week 1

Run new bookings on Torqueflow, finish old bookings out on TechMan.

W2
Week 2

Switch over fully. Cancel TechMan at end of contract.

We don’t recommend running both systems in true parallel for more than a couple of weeks — the reconciliation overhead isn’t worth it.

Pricing

One flat price, vs tiers plus credits.

  TFTorqueflow TMTechMan
Pricing modelHow you’re charged One flat subscription Never per user, per bay or per site Per tierStarter / Lite / Advanced / Pro
Annual rateBilled annually £2,490/year (two months free) Partner Plan: price varies by tierLonger commitment, no upfront fee
Monthly rateRolling, no commit £249/month, rolling Flexi Plan: price varies by tier30-day rolling
Upfront / setup feesTo get started None Partner Plan: none
Flexi Plan: upfront fee, varying by tier
Hygiene-task costsDVLA, MOT data, SMS reminders, mailshots All included Credits required on top
Customer portalWhite-labelled access All plans Advanced tier or above
Telephone integration / web bookingInbound traffic Included via Voice AI Pro tier or extra cost
Free trialBefore you commit Full features Self-serve or demo-led Demo-only
ContractLock-in terms Monthly rolling or annual Partner Plan (longer commitment) or Flexi Plan (rolling + upfront fee)
Migration assistanceSwitching cost Built-in TechMan import, no extra cost Migration available, separate fees reported

Torqueflow is £249 a month plus VAT, or £2,490 a year, with no upfront fee. That’s the same figure at seven bays as at one. Hygiene tasks (DVLA, MOT data, SMS, mailshots) are included rather than metered, and the only part of the bill that moves is AI usage beyond the 700 credits a month that come with the subscription.

TechMan’s lower plans leave out the digital side. Tablets for technicians, digital check sheets, paperless job cards and the customer portal start at its Advanced plan, and online booking and telephone integration need Pro. Both of those plans cost more a month than Torqueflow. The cheaper rate on each needs a minimum-term contract, and the rolling version adds an upfront setup fee. A part-time front-desk person to cover the phone costs around £10,000-£12,000 a year.

When TechMan is still the right answer

We’re not going to suggest everyone should switch.

Some signals it’s worth staying.

You’re heavily dependent on AutoData specifically. Torqueflow has Haynes Pro built in, but no AutoData.

You have a large team trained on TechMan and the change-management cost is genuinely high.

You’re a multi-million-pound operation where established install-base scale matters more to your governance / risk side than AI features.

You’ve recently signed a fresh annual contract and are locked in.

You rely on TechMan’s reporting to see what each job made. Torqueflow keeps parts cost, sell price and labour apart, and logs technician time against the job, so the figures come out as an export instead of a retype. It has no job-profitability report.

Frequently asked

The questions garages ask before they switch.

Yes. The TechMan import brings across your customers, vehicles, work orders and their notes, products, suppliers, labour codes, invoices and payments, with next MOT dates on the vehicles. You see a preview before anything is committed, and any import can be rolled back. It was built and tested against a real UK garage’s TechMan export.

The import itself runs in hours, not days. You can start using Torqueflow on Day 1 with your customers, vehicles, jobs and invoices in place. Full team transition takes 1-2 weeks at a typical garage’s pace.

For 2-3 weeks if needed, yes. Beyond that the reconciliation overhead becomes a problem. Most garages cut over fully within a week or two.

On core garage workflow – yes (bookings, scheduling, work orders, parts, invoicing, customer portal, MOT, time tracking). Haynes Pro repair times and service schedules are built into Torqueflow; TechMan additionally integrates AutoData if that’s the reference you rely on. Torqueflow is ahead on AI features, Xero liveness, and Polish UI.

The AI persona is configurable – you set the name, voice, gender, and tone. Most garages find their customers respond positively because they get an answer, not a “let me take a message”. The Voice AI is also opt-in – you can keep your phone manual until you’re ready.

Maybe – depends on what TechMan is quoting you. The bigger savings tend to be in time: fewer phone interruptions, no supplier-invoice typing, less accountant reconciliation. Hard pound figures vary by garage.

Run the trial on your own jobs, and nothing is charged during it. If you decide not to carry on, tell us before the trial ends and nothing is charged at all. Your TechMan account is still running, so there’s no downside to having tested it.

Ready to test it?

Start a free trial. Import your TechMan data on Day 0. Decide based on a real two weeks of using it, not a sales pitch.

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