Garage Hive alternative when you only needthe MOT reminders
Garage Hive is a full garage management system: job cards, invoicing, parts, stock and accounting, built on Dynamics 365 Business Central. Remindlo is not that. It is the reminder half on its own, for garages that are not replacing their whole system to stop losing MOT customers.
Why a garage would run Remindlo instead
Garage Hive is a good system and it does far more than Remindlo. The question is whether you need all of it to fix the one thing that is actually costing you money.
You are not replacing your job cards and invoicing
Moving the whole workshop onto a new system is a project. Adding reminders to the system you already run is an afternoon.
A tenth of the monthly cost
Garage Hive starts at around £145 a month. If reminders are the only gap, £19 a month buys the reminders without the rest of the platform.
Customers with no booking in the diary
The driver whose MOT expires in five weeks has not booked anything yet. That is exactly the person Remindlo texts, and a diary-driven reminder cannot.
MOT dates that roll forward on their own
Mark a vehicle as a 12 month cycle and Remindlo advances the next-due date after every test, so the reminder schedule never drifts.
Remindlo vs Garage Hive at a glance
One is a complete garage management system. The other is a reminder layer over the diary and customer list you already keep.
- Job cards, estimates and workshop schedulingRemindloNot includedGarage HiveCore product strength
- Invoicing, parts, stock and accountingRemindloNot includedGarage HiveCore product strength
- Vehicle history and technician notesRemindloNot includedGarage HiveCore product strength
- Works with your existing diaryRemindloGoogle Calendar, Outlook and any ICS feedGarage HiveThe diary lives in Garage Hive
- Automated MOT and service remindersRemindloYes, on 12 month cycles that roll forwardGarage HiveYes, MOT, service and timing belt reminders included
- RemindloYes, driven by the next-due dateGarage HiveTied to the vehicle record in the system
- RemindloBuilt in, fires a set number of days after the last visitGarage HiveBulk SMS and email, sent manually
- Entry costRemindloFree plan, then £19 a monthGarage HiveFrom around £145 a month
- Setup effortRemindloConnect a calendar or import a CSV, minutesGarage HiveFull system migration and onboarding
- RemindloYes, free and public, connected to DVLA dataGarage HiveMOT data inside the system
- RemindloBoth includedGarage HiveBusiness Central extensibility, no MCP server
Comparison last reviewed 2026-08-31. Garage Hive pricing and features change over time, so check Garage Hive for the latest details.
When Garage Hive is the better answer
We would rather point you at the right tool than sell you the wrong one.
Choose Garage Hive if the workshop needs a system
Job cards, technician scheduling, parts ordering, invoicing and accounting in one place, with reminders included. If that is the gap, Remindlo does not fill it.
Choose Remindlo if the workshop already runs fine
If the diary, the invoicing and the parts side all work, and the only leak is customers who forget where they had their last MOT, reminders are the part worth buying.
Run both if it suits you
Remindlo reads a calendar feed and can hold its own list of vehicles and due dates, so it sits alongside a management system rather than competing with it.
Hi Anna, the MOT on AB12 CDE is due on Tue 14 Apr.
Book your slot at citygarage.co.uk or call 0121 496 0183.
City Garage
Automotive businesses on annual service cycles
Every one of these has a predictable, legally fixed reason for the customer to come back.
Adding Remindlo alongside your current system
There is no migration, because you are not replacing anything.
- 1
Connect the diary or import the list
Google Calendar and Outlook directly, any ICS feed, or a CSV of customers with their registration and MOT expiry date.
- 2
Set the cycle
Mark vehicles as recurring on a 12 month interval. Remindlo advances the next-due date after every test so the schedule stays accurate on its own.
- 3
Switch on the reminder timings
Reminders go out 35, 14 and 3 days before the MOT is due, then a thank you afterwards and a win-back for anyone who never came back.
Works with your calendar
Connect Remindlo to the tools you already use and turn scheduled appointments into automatic SMS reminders.
Works with Google Calendar
Already use Google Calendar for bookings? Connect it to Remindlo and every appointment with a phone number triggers an SMS reminder automatically. No extra steps.
See how Google Calendar integration works →Or any other calendar
Don't use Google? Connect Outlook, Microsoft 365, Apple iCloud, Fastmail, Yahoo, Proton, or any webmail/hosting calendar by pasting its public ICS URL.
Calendar SMS reminders setup guide →
Reminders without the management system
A free plan with 10 SMS a month, Starter at £19 with 75 SMS, Standard at £49 with 250 SMS, and £0.18 per SMS beyond the allowance.
Free Plan
- 10 SMS/month
- Templates for your industry
- AI contact scanner
- No credit card required
Starter Plan
- 75 SMS/month
- Unlimited emails
- Calendar integrations
- Contact import
Standard Plan
- 250 SMS/month
- Everything in Starter
- Lower price per SMS
- Priority support
GBP, USD, EUR and many more currencies supported.
Frequently asked questions
Stop losing MOT customers without replacing your system
Try Remindlo free, keep the software the workshop already runs on, and get the reminders going out this week.
Start for free