Same audience. Different scope.
Steelie runs the whole PDR business. Estimating, lot walks, work orders, invoicing with signature capture, per-dealer statements, tech pay, role-based access, branded customer emails, native QuickBooks Online sync. Every pricing surface. Hail matrix, R&I guide, retail estimator, customer emails. Is yours to shape.
DentMate is a mobile estimating and invoicing app. It uses splat diagrams for panel selection and ships a customizable matrix with manual overrides. Useful for what it covers. Stops at the invoice.
The moment you hire a second tech, take on a wholesale dealership, or want clean accounting, you've outgrown DentMate. Steelie was built so you don't outgrow it. Start solo with one matrix and one R&I guide. Add presets per insurance carrier and per dealer as the work grows. Add team members. Connect QuickBooks. Same software, same data, same customizations.
Side-by-side
Steelie rows describe what's in the deployed product today. DentMate rows describe what's on their public site.
| Capability | Steelie | DentMate |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | The whole PDR business. Estimating, work orders, lot walks, invoicing, dealership statements, tech pay, and accounting. | Mobile estimating and invoicing. |
| R&I (Remove & Install) | Your parts, your rates, your surcharges. Master-rate apply hits every item at once. The same R&I guide is what your retail estimates, hail estimates, work orders, and invoices read from. | Pre-loaded common parts. Add your own custom parts and rates. |
| Hail matrix | Build a separate matrix per insurance carrier, per dealer, per storm. Switch presets in one tap. Edit any panel, any dent count range, any size. USD and CAD stored independently. | One customizable matrix. Override prices manually. |
| Retail estimating | Build retail presets the same way you build hail presets. Restorable defaults if you want to start over. | Built-in dent calculator with manual overrides. |
| Work orders | Pending, in-progress, completed, invoiced, paid. Assign techs. Track status per vehicle. | Estimates and invoices. No separate work-order pipeline. |
| Lot walks | Multi-vehicle inspections tied to a dealership. VIN scan, photos, status per vehicle, branded PDF report. | Walk the lot and build estimates as you go. |
| Dent capture | Per-panel tap-to-count. Big touch target, undo, manual override, separate counter for oversized dents, size selection per panel. | Splat diagrams for visual panel selection. |
| QuickBooks Online sync | Customers, invoices, and payments push automatically. No exports, no manual entry. | Not listed. |
| Dealership statements | Per-dealer statements branded with your logo. Built for shops with multiple wholesale accounts. | Not listed. |
| Tech pay | Tech pay sits on its own field per work order, separate from what the customer was billed. Per-tech, per-period reports. Excel export for payroll. | Tech management online; pay tracking not specified. |
| Reports | Revenue, tech performance, work-order pipeline, customer history, accounting summaries. | Search prior estimates. |
| Branded customer email | Editable email templates per company. Every customer touchpoint reads as your business. | Not listed. |
| Branded PDFs | Logo, terms, and contact details on every estimate, work order, invoice, and statement. | Logo on estimates. |
| USD + CAD | Each preset stores USD and CAD pricing independently. No conversion math. | Not specified. |
| Pricing | $29 USD / $39 CAD per month for Essentials. $69 USD / $89 CAD per month for Pro. Per-seat add-ons published. 7-day free Pro trial, no credit card. | Not published. |
Scope
Steelie
The whole PDR business. Estimating, work orders, lot walks, invoicing, dealership statements, tech pay, and accounting.DentMate
Mobile estimating and invoicing.R&I (Remove & Install)
Steelie
Your parts, your rates, your surcharges. Master-rate apply hits every item at once. The same R&I guide is what your retail estimates, hail estimates, work orders, and invoices read from.DentMate
Pre-loaded common parts. Add your own custom parts and rates.Hail matrix
Steelie
Build a separate matrix per insurance carrier, per dealer, per storm. Switch presets in one tap. Edit any panel, any dent count range, any size. USD and CAD stored independently.DentMate
One customizable matrix. Override prices manually.Retail estimating
Steelie
Build retail presets the same way you build hail presets. Restorable defaults if you want to start over.DentMate
Built-in dent calculator with manual overrides.Work orders
Steelie
Pending, in-progress, completed, invoiced, paid. Assign techs. Track status per vehicle.DentMate
Estimates and invoices. No separate work-order pipeline.Lot walks
Steelie
Multi-vehicle inspections tied to a dealership. VIN scan, photos, status per vehicle, branded PDF report.DentMate
Walk the lot and build estimates as you go.Dent capture
Steelie
Per-panel tap-to-count. Big touch target, undo, manual override, separate counter for oversized dents, size selection per panel.DentMate
Splat diagrams for visual panel selection.QuickBooks Online sync
Steelie
Customers, invoices, and payments push automatically. No exports, no manual entry.DentMate
Not listed.Dealership statements
Steelie
Per-dealer statements branded with your logo. Built for shops with multiple wholesale accounts.DentMate
Not listed.Tech pay
Steelie
Tech pay sits on its own field per work order, separate from what the customer was billed. Per-tech, per-period reports. Excel export for payroll.DentMate
Tech management online; pay tracking not specified.Reports
Steelie
Revenue, tech performance, work-order pipeline, customer history, accounting summaries.DentMate
Search prior estimates.Branded customer email
Steelie
Editable email templates per company. Every customer touchpoint reads as your business.DentMate
Not listed.Branded PDFs
Steelie
Logo, terms, and contact details on every estimate, work order, invoice, and statement.DentMate
Logo on estimates.USD + CAD
Steelie
Each preset stores USD and CAD pricing independently. No conversion math.DentMate
Not specified.Pricing
Steelie
$29 USD / $39 CAD per month for Essentials. $69 USD / $89 CAD per month for Pro. Per-seat add-ons published. 7-day free Pro trial, no credit card.DentMate
Not published.Why PDR shops pick Steelie
Customization that matches how you actually price
One matrix per insurance carrier. One per dealer program. One per storm. One for retail walk-in. Your R&I guide your way. Your retail pricing your way. Your branded emails and PDFs.
QuickBooks Online sync, included
Customers, invoices, and payments push automatically. No exports. No manual entry. No reconciling at month-end.
Built for wholesale work
Per-dealer pricing presets. Branded dealer statements. Role-based access for managers, bookkeepers, and techs. The wholesale workflow is the whole point, not an afterthought.
Tech pay that matches reality
You pay your techs based on production, not on what the customer was billed. Steelie's tech pay sits on its own field per work order. Per-tech reports, Excel export, ready for payroll.
Tap-to-count dent capture
Big touch target, one tap per dent, undo, manual override, oversized counter, size selection per panel. Built for one hand on the vehicle and one hand on the phone.
Pricing you can read
$29 USD / $39 CAD a month for Essentials. $69 USD / $89 CAD a month for Pro. Per-seat add-ons published. 7-day free Pro trial. No card. No quote. No sales call.
No credit card. Full Pro access.
Replacing DentMate with Steelie
Most shops fully migrate inside the trial. Here's how a typical week looks.
- Day 1 morning: Start the 7-day Pro trial. Build your first hail matrix to mirror what you priced in DentMate. Add a second preset for whichever insurance carrier sends you the most work.
- Day 1 afternoon: Set up your R&I Guide with your current parts and rates. Apply a master rate to bulk-update if needed.
- Day 2: Drop your logo on the invoice and statement PDFs, edit your customer email templates, connect QuickBooks Online.
- Days 3 through 7: Run all new estimates, work orders, and invoices through Steelie. Add team members and set their roles.
- Day 7: Cancel DentMate. Export old estimates as PDFs for your records.
Common questions
Why do PDR shops switch from DentMate to Steelie?
Because DentMate stops at the invoice. Steelie keeps going. Work orders, dealership statements, tech pay, QuickBooks sync, branded customer comms. The moment a shop hires a second tech or lands a wholesale account, the work spreads out across spreadsheets. Steelie pulls it all back into one place.
Does Steelie support R&I?
Yes, and it goes deeper. Set your own parts, rates, and surcharges in your R&I Guide. Apply a master rate across every item in one action. The same R&I guide is what your retail estimates, hail estimates, work orders, and invoices use. No copy-pasting between documents.
How is Steelie's hail matrix different from DentMate's?
DentMate gives you one customizable matrix. Steelie gives you as many as you need. Build separate presets for State Farm, Allstate, your favorite dealer, this season's storm tour, retail walk-in. Switch between them with one tap when you start an estimate. USD and CAD stored independently per preset.
Does Steelie have splat diagrams?
No. Steelie uses a fixed 14-panel set with a tap-to-count interface. If you're a tech, you already know what a quarter panel is. You don't need a cartoon car to find it. List-first selection is faster on a phone, especially with one hand on the vehicle.
How does Steelie handle invoicing compared to DentMate?
DentMate sends estimates and invoices and prints over AirPrint. Steelie sends estimates and invoices, captures customer signatures in person, generates per-dealer statements, and pushes everything to QuickBooks Online automatically. Your branded PDFs and email templates are editable per company.
Can I switch from DentMate to Steelie without losing my pricing?
Yes. Start the 7-day free Pro trial, build presets to mirror your DentMate pricing (or improve on it. Steelie supports unlimited where DentMate is one), set up your R&I guide, and run real jobs through Steelie for a week. Cancel DentMate at the end of the trial. No card to start.