Lift calendar
Each haul-out and launch sits on the travel lift calendar, with the operator's sign-off attached.
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Boat Repair Shop Management App for Yard, Lift and Parts
A boat repair shop management app shows the general manager the yard, the travel lift calendar, parts delays and estimates waiting on owners, all live. SIZ Group builds it for both iPhone and Android, with a live view that opens on any phone.
01
How work flows through a boat repair shop and where it stalls today
A boat repair shop juggles a travel lift, a set of stands, a few mechanics and a parts desk. A haul-out is booked by phone, the stand number goes onto a whiteboard and a mechanic is pulled off a job when a lift opens up. The general manager usually hears about the mess at the end of the day, when the lift operator mentions an empty cradle.
The stalls cluster around the lift. A boat waits for a part, a stand stays occupied after the work is done, and an estimate sits unanswered because the owner was out on the water. Each delay blocks the next haul-out, which is why one late part can ripple through a whole week. Yard stand occupancy is the number that shows the stalls most clearly.
02
Fitting in with the yard software and tools boat repair shops already run on
Most boat repair shops already use a yard or marina management program for stands, work orders and invoices. The manager app should read those records rather than create a parallel list. Where that program has no API, a scheduled export can feed the dashboard until a direct link is in place.
Parts orders can be tracked through the supplier's portal or the parts desk spreadsheet, whichever the shop uses. Yards that bill through QuickBooks can sync accounting entries automatically. The dashboard needs only the status and dates from each source, not the full records behind them.
03
Rules, privacy, safety and environmental duties that shape this build
Bottom paint dust and wash water are regulated in many coastal areas, because the biocides in antifouling paint can reach the water. Where a state or local rule requires a disposal log or a record of wash water handling, the app should hold that record with the work order so it is easy to produce on request.
Lift operations carry real safety stakes. Sign-off on each lift, the strap check and the wind reading should be recorded with the operator's name and time. Owner details and registration numbers stay visible only to roles that need them, and the audit trail stays on for estimates and approvals.
- Lift sign-off recorded with operator name, time and wind reading
- Wash water and bottom paint records kept with the work order
- Owner details visible only to the roles that need them
- Audit trail on for estimates, approvals and stand changes
What you get
Key features
Stand occupancy
Every stand shows the boat on it, the stage of work and how many days it has been there.
Parts delays
Late parts are linked to the boat they hold up, with the date the supplier promised.
Estimate follow-up
Estimates waiting on owners sit in one list, with a note of how long each has been open.
04
Seasonal swings in boat repair and how the manager view should respond
Boat repair follows the season. Commissioning in spring fills the lift for weeks, autumn haul-outs bring the winter work, and storm season along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts can empty a yard overnight. The manager needs to see the lift calendar and the stand load together, so a change in one shows up in the other.
Build the dashboard to show the next two weeks of lift bookings against the stands free to take them. When a storm forecast clears the lift calendar, the manager should see which boats move and which owners need a message, without rebuilding the schedule by hand.
05
Mistakes that keep a boat repair shop management app off the office desk
The first mistake is building reports before the lift board works. A manager who cannot see the next haul-out and the stand that will be free for it will not trust anything below that line. Put the lift calendar and stand occupancy at the top of the screen.
The second is alert overload. Each small delay that pings a manager's phone wears down attention fast. Set limits for lift delays and parts that matter, and send the rest to the office lead for a daily review.
- Lift calendar and stand occupancy on the first screen
- Alerts only past the thresholds set for lift, parts and estimates
- A daily review list for the office lead
- Reports added after the core board is trusted
06
How to measure lift hours and whether the app is paying off
Track travel lift utilization, meaning the share of available lift hours actually used, and the number of days a boat sits on a stand between the end of work and the owner's pickup. Those two figures show whether the yard is moving work through.
Watch boat repair estimate follow-up, meaning the average time from an estimate being sent to it being approved, and the number of parts delay alerts resolved before a boat missed its lift slot. If those improve, the app is working. Check the figures every month against the same month a year earlier.
Will a boat repair shop management app make our yard software redundant?+
No. The yard software remains the record of stands and invoices. The manager app reads from it and adds the live picture on top, which is what the general manager reviews during the day.
Can the manager see the lift and every stand together?+
Yes. The lift calendar and the stand board share one screen, so a delay on the lift is visible against the stands it affects. Yards with more than one hard can add each area as its own view.
How are travel lift hours counted?+
The app records each lift as it runs, using the start time and the operator's sign-off. Hours are summed by day and week, so utilization matches what the lift actually did rather than what was scheduled.
How does the manager handle a storm that clears the lift calendar?+
Affected bookings are flagged on the lift calendar, and the manager can move them in one action. Owners receive a notice with the new window, and each change is logged against the boat.
Which people in the yard need their own view?+
The general manager sees the whole yard, and the lift operator sees only the lift calendar. The parts desk sees the parts delays it owns. Access is set once per role and kept on file.
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Let's make it happen
See the lift, the stands and the parts on one screen
Share a typical week in the yard with us, and we will show you a first view built around the lift and the stands.