Registration lookup is the feature that matters
Autoflow, Garage Hive, Shopmonkey, Tekmetric and Workshop Software are the platforms test centres run. They differ in plenty of ways, but for a booking flow they converge on the one thing that decides whether a driver finishes: typing a plate instead of choosing a make, a model, a year and an engine size from four dropdowns.
That is the difference between three taps and eleven. Everything below assumes you are shortlisting on that basis and asking harder questions after.
Ask these on a trial, not in a demo
A demo shows you the happy path. A trial with your own lanes and your own test types shows you the day.
Can it hold a retest as its own thing?
A retest is not a fresh test. It has its own rules, often its own fee or none at all, and a window it has to happen inside. Check whether the system knows that — whether a retest can be booked against the original test, priced differently, and flagged when the window is closing. If it cannot, you are tracking retests on paper next to a system that cost you a subscription.
Does the diary understand lane capacity?
A test bay is a physical constraint. Two testers do not mean two of everything, and a class that needs a specific ramp cannot float to any slot. Check that capacity is modelled per lane rather than as a flat count of appointments per hour.
Do reminders actually go out branded?
Most of these platforms can send a reminder when the next test falls due. Most centres have it switched off, or sending from an address the customer does not recognise, which is close to the same thing. Check what the message looks like when it arrives, whether it carries your name, and whether it contains a link that rebooks in one tap rather than dumping the driver on a homepage.
Can a driver see the fee before the last step?
Drivers know roughly what a test should cost, and in many countries the maximum is regulated. A price that only appears at the final screen reads as a change, even when it is not. Check the fee can sit in the flow early, alongside any discount you run.
What happens to advisories and history?
An advisory today is a booking next spring. Check whether the system stores what was flagged, and whether that can trigger a follow-up rather than sitting in a PDF nobody opens. This is the least-demoed capability and the one with the clearest revenue attached.
What does the embed do to the page?
Test it on a phone, on mobile data, in a private window. Some booking embeds pull a large script and shove the page around as they land. Watch whether the layout jumps, and whether a plate can be typed one-handed at a kerbside — which is where a fair number of these bookings actually get made.
Keep it on one page
Whatever you choose, load the widget only where booking happens. A script running site-wide slows the fee page and the fails-and-retests page, and those are the two pages that answer the objection before the booking is attempted. A dedicated booking page, or a widget that loads on tap, keeps the rest fast.
Where this sits
Every test centre website we build embeds the platform you already run, at a fixed price. For what a build costs, see what an MOT test centre website costs.