Intake at the boat
Photos of the ID plate and any damage, what's left aboard, the customer's signature and a "call me before" amount. A QR tag goes on the motor; the customer gets a receipt.
For small marine repair shops
Run the shop from your phone, from drop-off to pickup.
Check a motor in at the dock in two minutes. Keep the customer posted with a private link. Get the estimate approved before you turn a wrench, and invoice when it's done.
Free during early access. Built in a working outboard shop in Utah.
Made for outboards, not oil changes
Auto-shop software doesn't know a HIN from a VIN, or engine hours from miles. Telltale keeps what a marine shop actually checks: serial numbers off the ID plate, compression on every cylinder, lower-unit pressure tests, gear oil, tell-tale, idle and wide-open RPM, kept with the motor from one visit to the next.
What it does
A link instead of phone tag
Customers follow the job from a private link: status, the notes and photos you choose to share, what you found, and their estimate. No app or account for them.
Approval before the work
Line-by-line estimates they approve online. Phone approvals are logged with who, when and the number. Invoices won't go out past what the customer agreed to.
Diagnostics that stay with the motor
A checklist you can make your own, readings kept across visits, and spec cards from your manuals that flag anything out of spec, on your screen and in the customer's findings.
Your manuals at the right page
Upload your service manuals and parts catalogs. Open them from the job at a saved bookmark, even a 500 MB scan, on a phone.
Parts, stock and donor motors
A parts board from needed to installed, stock that counts itself down when a part goes in, and parts pulled from donor motors with where they came from.
Invoices and the paperwork
Itemized labor and parts with new, used and rebuilt marked, storage charges, payments, and a lien timeline if a motor sits too long. Every change is in the history.
Time and the numbers
A timer per job or line, billed in your increments. Reports for revenue, hours billed against hours worked, parts margin and turnaround.
Why "Telltale"?
The telltale is the little stream of water that tells you the pump is working. One glance and you know. Telltale does the same for the shop: one look at the board tells you where every motor stands.
Get early access
Telltale is free while it's in early access. It runs a small shop in Utah today and is opening to a few more. Tell us about yours and we'll be in touch.