Discover the interface

Splash screen

When Mekaplus opens, the logo shows for a brief moment (2 seconds at most) before the requested screen. You can turn it off in the account menu (see Appearance and language).

Dashboard

The Dashboard, in the Analysis section of the menu, sums up the garage’s day: see Dashboard.

The left menu always stays on screen: when a list is long, only the page content scrolls. Each new screen opens at the top of the page. On a computer, a thin bar at the top of the page carries only the notification bell, on the right, on every screen; the garage and the account menu are in the sidebar, and each screen carries its own buttons (for example New client on the client list).

On a computer, the sidebar on the left lists the screens. The current page is highlighted. Entries are grouped in sections, each with its title above:

AI, at the top, when the AI assistant feature is turned on: Agent (when your role allows using the assistant, see The Agent page) and AI usage (when your role allows viewing it, see AI usage);
Workshop: Schedule, Work orders, Counter and Cash register (when the cash register is turned on);
Parts and stock: Catalog, Stock, Orders, Suppliers and Prices to review;
Customers: Clients, Vehicles and Messages and notifications (the log of emails sent);
Analysis: Dashboard, Time spent (when time tracking is turned on) and Committed purchases;
Settings, then, just below, Help: the home page of this documentation, in a new tab, for everyone.

A section with no entry your role allows does not appear. Only one entry is highlighted at a time: the one for the open screen (for example Stock on the stock counts page, Orders on an order). The catalog, stock and purchasing pages keep a common tab bar at the top (see The catalog).

To get more room, the button next to the logo at the top of the sidebar collapses the menu into a narrow column of icons (hover over an icon to see its name); the same button expands it again. Mekaplus remembers this choice on your browser. With the menu collapsed, the garage switcher is not shown: expand the menu to change garage.

With the menu collapsed, section titles are replaced by a simple separator.

What is a screen for? With the menu expanded, a small ? icon appears to the right of each entry when you hover over it (on a phone, it is always visible). Its tooltip says in one sentence what the screen is for; a click opens its page of this documentation in a new tab.

At the very bottom of the menu, a single row shows your account (your initials, your name and a chevron); a click opens the account menu, which holds the preferences, Documentation (the home page of this help, in your language, in a new tab), Sign out and, in small text, the version of Mekaplus in service. With the menu collapsed, only your initials remain, with the same menu.

In a demo garage, the Demo garage label (Demo when the menu is collapsed) is shown right below the logo, on every screen: see Garage profile.

The settings (garage, members, roles, workers) only appear if your role grants the permission. This hiding is a display convenience: Mekaplus checks your rights on every action.

On tablets and phones, the sidebar becomes a drawer: a bar at the top of the screen carries the menu button (on the left), the garage name, the Demo badge of a demo garage and the bell (on the right). Tap the menu button to open the drawer, then choose a screen (it closes by itself); your account row is at the bottom of the drawer. All navigation remains usable with the keyboard.

Settings

The left menu has a single Settings entry, in the last section: it opens a hub of tiles in five themes: The garage (Garage identity, Hours and schedule, Resources, Features), Sales and documents (Documents, Payments, Client sources), Team (Members, Roles, Workers), Accounting and compliance, and Account and service (Preferences, Support access). Only the tiles your role allows appear. Suppliers are in the Parts and stock section instead, and AI usage in the AI section.

The New button

On the dashboard, the New button directly opens the creation of a vehicle reception, a quote, a repair order, an appointment, a client or a vehicle (and, depending on the garage’s settings, a counter sale or a gift card). Only the entries your role allows appear. On the other screens, use the page’s own creation button (for example New job on the job list). The version of Mekaplus in service is shown at the bottom of the account menu.

Lists and pages

Lists that can hold many rows (clients, vehicles, work orders, stock, cash, counter, sends, compliance log…) are read in pages of 25. The pagination bar, under the list, shows the range displayed (“51 to 75 of 287”), then Previous, the page numbers (first, last and neighbours of the current page, separated by ellipses) and Next. On a phone it becomes “‹ Page 3 of 12 ›”. It disappears when everything fits on one page; some lists keep the total count (catalog, counter).

Every list has the same bar: the search (it applies as you type, with no button), one set of buttons for the everyday filter, the Filters menu (with the number of active filters) for the rest, and the total on the right. Active filters appear as chips under the bar, each removable, with Clear all; the default value (for example “Active”) makes none. Click a row to open its record; at most one action is visible on the row, the others are in its ⋯ menu. Dates are entered as dd/mm/yyyy (years from 1900 to 2100), and a period whose start follows its end is refused.

The page shown is kept in the address: a reload, a bookmark or a link sent to a colleague reopens the same page. Changing a filter, the search, the sort or the tab goes back to page 1. The lists inside a page (a client’s work orders and issued documents, a vehicle’s work orders and history) each have their own page.

A few screens keep their own limit: CSV exports always contain everything the filters keep, the inventory picker asks you to refine the search (50 results at most), the Move to another invoice panel offers the first 200 items by due date (a message says so beyond that), and Take payment for the selection applies to the page shown.

Switch garage

If you are a member of several garages, the garage name, below the logo in the sidebar (at the top of the screen on phones), opens a menu: choose another garage to make it the active one. With a single garage, its name is shown without a menu.

Real-time updates

Open screens update by themselves when another member of the garage changes something: there is no need to reload the page. If the connection is cut, Mekaplus reconnects by itself and reads the data again.

If you open many Mekaplus tabs at the same time, the last ones opened may stop receiving these updates: close the tabs you do not need.

The notification bell, at the top right of the page (in the top bar on phones), tells each member about what happens without them: see The notification center.

Theme and language

The account menu (your row at the bottom of the sidebar; at the bottom of the drawer on phones) lets you choose:

the theme: light, dark or system;
the language: French or English;
the splash screen on start: shown or not.

These choices are remembered (see Appearance and language).

The same menu contains About: the data sources (vehicle catalogue, addresses) and their licences. See The vehicle catalogue and sources.

Fields with suggestions

Some fields offer suggestions as you type (address, client, vehicle, make, part…). Pick one by touch, with the mouse, or with the arrow keys then Enter; Escape closes the list without erasing what you typed; Tab moves to the next field without choosing anything. Suggestions come from your garage’s data, the vehicle catalogue or the address services; you can always type a value that is not in the list when the field allows it.

Install the app

Mekaplus can be installed on a tablet or a computer, and warns you when the connection is lost: see Install the app.

Sign out

Open the account menu (your name, at the bottom of the left menu), then click Sign out. You return to the sign-in screen.

Need help

The Help link on each screen opens the matching documentation page in a new tab, sometimes right at the relevant section (vehicle reception form, remote signature…). Sheets and record sections (quote, invoice, documents, assistant) have their own too. To browse the whole help, use Help, below Settings in the left menu, or Documentation in the account menu.