Purpose-built for the way garages work
BOOKAR is garage management software from Vitara Commerce, a Manchester software company. It was built from the ground up around the day-to-day demands of a busy workshop — so garages can work smarter, respond faster, and stay in control of every job.
James Billington
Founder & Managing Director
James founded Vitara Commerce Ltd in 2013 to build software that solves real problems rather than repackaging existing ones. More than a decade of e-commerce, enterprise integration, and platform work followed — and with it, a clear view of how much the automotive sector stood to gain from software designed around the way garages actually operate.
BOOKAR is Vitara Commerce's answer to that. James leads the platform's development and direction, combining deep technical knowledge with direct insight into what garage owners need from their software — and what gets in their way.
A recognised voice in digital commerce, James was invited to speak at Magento Live UK in London on B2B strategy and platform architecture. That same rigour — proper architecture, clean integrations, software that holds up at scale — is what underpins BOOKAR.
Garages deserved better than software built for a different era
Most garage management systems were designed years ago and have had features bolted on ever since. Online booking sits in a separate tool. Customer communication is a spreadsheet and a phone. Staff learn to work around the software rather than with it.
We had spent a decade building e-commerce and integration platforms for other industries, and it was obvious that garages were being asked to accept far less. So we started fresh: modern architecture, a clean interface, and every workflow shaped by how a workshop actually runs from open to close.
The result is one system that handles the whole job — booking, workshop, customer, payment — the way garages operate today, and the way their customers now expect to be treated.
No legacy baggage
No old codebase to work around and no compromises made for backward compatibility. Every decision was made for how workshops run now.
One focused product
BOOKAR is a garage management system — not a module inside a generic business platform. It does one job and does it properly.
Grows with the business
Whether a garage runs one bay or manages multiple sites, the platform scales without changing how the team works.
Good design is not cosmetic. It is operational.
BOOKAR was built with a modern, clean interface — the kind your team actually wants to open in the morning. Fast, responsive, and visually sharp on every screen, from a workshop tablet to a front-desk monitor.
A well-designed system is a faster, more accurate system. When your team can find what they need without hunting for it, when common actions are two clicks away, when new starters get up to speed in hours rather than weeks — that is good design delivering real commercial value.
- Clean layouts that reduce errors under pressure
- Consistent UI patterns across every screen and workflow
- Designed for the workshop floor — fast navigation, large touch targets
- Progressive Web App — works on any device, no downloads needed
- Staff adoption improves because the tool is genuinely pleasant to use
Built for the garage owner. Felt by the customer.
A garage management system affects two sets of people: the team running the workshop, and the customers whose vehicles pass through it. BOOKAR was built with both in mind.
The pressures on a garage owner are familiar: jobs to manage, authorisations to chase, technicians to keep productive, and customers who want to know what is happening with their car. BOOKAR was designed around those exact pressures — and when the workshop runs smoothly, every customer who books in feels the difference.
Online booking, two-way messaging, digital authorisation requests, automated reminders, and text-to-pay are not add-ons. They are how BOOKAR ensures your customers feel looked after from the moment they book to the moment they collect their vehicle.
- Garages work smarter — customers experience the difference
- Every interaction logged, tracked, and accessible in seconds
- Trust built through transparency and consistent communication
Built by people who understand the industry
BOOKAR was built by a team with deep experience in automotive processes, enterprise systems, and the e-commerce and integration work that underpins modern platform software. That background shows in the details.
Automotive processes
Deep understanding of how garages operate — job workflows, technician management, parts, pricing, and customer communication.
Modern architecture
Built on a contemporary, scalable foundation — chosen for reliability, performance, and the ability to grow with your business without hitting a ceiling.
ERP & integrations
Years of enterprise integration work means BOOKAR connects cleanly with accounting software, tyre suppliers, and automotive data providers.
E-commerce depth
Online booking, payments, tyre sales, and customer-facing tools built with the same rigour as a full e-commerce platform.
What makes BOOKAR different
Every decision behind BOOKAR was made with one question in mind: does this genuinely help a garage run better?
01
One system, not a bundle of add-ons
Job management, online booking, CRM, vehicle health checks, and multi-site all live in the same platform, sharing the same data. No syncing, no double entry.
02
Modern by design
A Progressive Web App with real-time data and a clean, current interface. It runs in the browser on any device — nothing to install and nothing to keep updated.
03
Built around real workflows
Features exist because garage owners needed them. The platform reflects the reality of running a workshop, not a feature list.
04
Founder-led, long-term
The people who build BOOKAR are the people you deal with. Decisions are made for the years ahead, not the next release cycle.
Based in Manchester. Serving garages across the UK.
BOOKAR is a product of Vitara Commerce Ltd, headquartered in Manchester. We are a UK business building UK software — and we work with garages from the Highlands to the South Coast.
UK-built. UK-supported.
BOOKAR is built, maintained, and supported by a UK team. When you need help, you speak to someone who understands your market, your regulatory environment, and your customer.
See what a modern platform feels like
BOOKAR was built with one goal: to give garages a platform they're genuinely proud to use. Book a demo and judge for yourself.
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