The short version
- Estimating platforms (CCC ONE, Mitchell) hold the data and do the math. Scoping tools such as Mobile Tech RX record the damage. None of them decide which operations the repair needs.
- Storm Rider Solutions is a service. I write the estimate or supplement in your own CCC ONE or Mitchell, under your shop name, with every operation line noted.
- Easy Shop is the shop software from the same company: production management and CRM. It imports CCC ONE and Mitchell estimates. It is not estimating software.
- The first file is free. After that it is $150 per file, or as low as $115 per file in a pack.
What hail estimating software does
CCC ONE, Mitchell and Mobile Tech RX are platforms. They do their job well. Their job is not writing the estimate for you.
An estimating platform holds the parts, labor and refinish data for the vehicle and adds it up. You pick the operations, and the software prices them and totals the file. A scoping tool records dent counts and sizes by panel so somebody can build the estimate from them.
What a platform does not do is decide which operations the repair requires. It does not tell you whether a panel converts to conventional repair, what has to come off to reach the damage, which single-use clips the job will use, or how a line should be noted so an appraiser can follow it. That is the estimator's work, and it is usually what a shop is short of when it starts looking for software.
Some lines are not in any database operation at all. They are only on the estimate because somebody wrote them there:
| Line | Oper | Description | Qty | Price $ | Labor | Paint |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 142 | VEHICLE DIAGNOSTICS | |||||
| 143 | Rpr | Pre-repair scan | 1.0 M | |||
| 144 | Rpr | Post-repair scan | 1.0 M | |||
| 145 | MISCELLANEOUS OPERATIONS | |||||
| 146 | Subl | Hazardous Waste Removal | 1 | 8.00 | ||
| 148 | Repl | E-Coat Application | 1 | 30.00 | 1.0 | |
| 152 | Refn | Corrosion Protect/Cavity Wax Repaired Panel (Per Panel) | 0.3 | |||
| 153 | Refn | Corrosion Protect/Cavity Wax Weld on Panel | 1.0 | |||
| 154 | Repl | Self Leveling Seam Sealer (1 Kit) | 1 | 83.68 | ||
| 155 | Repl | Panel Bond Adhesive (1 Kit) | 1 | 84.86 | ||
| 156 | Repl | NVH Damping Material (1 Kit) | 1 | 84.42 | ||
| 157 | Repl | Clean and Prep for Delivery | 1 | 85.00 | 1.0 | |
| Note: NOT INCLUDED IN ANY DATABASE OPERATION | ||||||
PDR estimating software and the insurance estimate
Paintless dent repair estimating software and the estimate a carrier reviews are often two different things.
Many PDR companies scope hail in Mobile Tech RX, or on a printed or handwritten hail matrix. The insurance estimate is then written in CCC ONE or Mitchell. If you scope in Mobile Tech RX, you export, and I write the insurance estimate from the export in your CCC ONE or Mitchell. There is no software integration. Mobile Tech RX is a trademark of its owner. Storm Rider Solutions is not affiliated with it.
Moving a scope into an insurance estimate is more than copying counts across. The estimate needs the dent count noted on each panel, the adjustments that apply to that panel, and the blends and access operations the repair brings with it. Here is one panel written that way:
| Line | Oper | Description | Qty | Price $ | Labor | Paint |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 111 | PDR | RT Quarter panel w/o hydrogen +25% | 1 | 218.75 | ||
| Note: PDR 9 quarter | ||||||
| Note: SAIL PANEL IS DOUBLE PANELED + 25% | ||||||
| 112 | Blnd | RT QUARTER PANEL | 1.5 | |||
| Note: BLEND AND CLEAR WRAP FOR ADJACENT PANEL REPAIR | ||||||
For more on this, see PDR estimate translation (Mobile Tech RX to CCC ONE or Mitchell), PDR estimate writing for PDR companies, and PDR estimating for collision shops.
Where Easy Shop fits
Easy Shop is shop software from the same company. It is not estimating software.
Easy Shop is production management and CRM for collision, hail and mechanical repair. It comes with seven modules (job board, customer check-in, leads, insurance work, estimate importing, wholesale accounts and reporting) and five more you can switch on (parts tracking, invoicing, sales, SMS updates and multi-shop administration).
It imports CCC ONE and Mitchell estimates, including parts, labor hours, claim number, adjuster and date of loss, so nobody types them in again. Text messaging and emails work from the same system. I opened my own repair shop in 2022 and it runs on Easy Shop.
Easy Shop does not write or price estimates. The estimate is written in CCC ONE or Mitchell, by your estimator or by me, and then imported.
Estimating software, a service, and shop software side by side
What each one is, so you can tell which one your shop is short of.
| Estimating platform | CCC ONE, Mitchell. Holds the parts, labor and refinish data and does the arithmetic. Your estimator picks the operations. This is where the insurance estimate is written. |
|---|---|
| Scoping tool | For example Mobile Tech RX, or a paper hail matrix. Records dent counts and sizes by panel. The insurance estimate is still written in CCC ONE or Mitchell. |
| Remote estimating service | Storm Rider Solutions. A working estimator writes the estimate, supplement or audit in your own CCC ONE or Mitchell, under your shop name, with every operation line noted. Nothing to install. 24-hour turnaround from a complete set of photographs and documentation. |
| Shop software | Easy Shop. Production management and CRM. Imports CCC ONE and Mitchell estimates, sends text messages and emails, and runs the job board. Not estimating software. |
What a written estimate costs
Per file, never a percentage of the estimate. Credits never expire and there are no monthly minimums.
- First fileFreeOne vehicle, no card required, no contract.
- À la carte$150One credit, one estimate or supplement.
- 10 pack$1,400$140 per file, save 7%. Most shops start here.
- 25 pack$3,300$132 per file, save 12%.
- 50 pack$6,250$125 per file, save 17%.
- 100 pack$11,500$115 per file, save 23%.
- Estimate audit$120Per file. For an audit-only pack, contact us and we build one for you.
See the full table on the pricing section of the homepage. Related: remote auto estimating services, CCC ONE estimates, estimate audits and hail claim management.
Questions about hail and PDR estimating software
What is the best PDR estimating software?
There is no single answer, and Storm Rider Solutions does not rank products it does not sell. Look at four things: whether the carriers you work with will review the output as it is, or whether the file has to be written again in CCC ONE or Mitchell; whether it records dent counts and sizes panel by panel; whether it exports cleanly so someone else can work from it; and what it costs per user.
Software records what you enter and totals it. A written estimate is the document a carrier reviews line by line, and every operation on it needs to be there with a note explaining why.
What is hail estimating software?
Hail estimating software is a platform where a hail or collision estimate is built. CCC ONE and Mitchell hold the parts, labor and refinish data and do the arithmetic. Many PDR companies scope hail in a separate tool, such as Mobile Tech RX, or on a paper hail matrix. The software does not decide which operations the repair needs. The estimator does.
Is Storm Rider Solutions estimating software?
No. Storm Rider Solutions is a remote estimating service. The shop sends photographs and documentation, and Christopher Johnson writes the estimate or supplement inside the shop's own CCC ONE or Mitchell account, under the shop's name, with every operation line noted. There is nothing to install and no seat to license.
Is Easy Shop estimating software?
No. Easy Shop is production management and CRM software for collision, hail and mechanical repair, from the same company as Storm Rider Solutions. It imports CCC ONE and Mitchell estimates, including parts, labor hours, claim number, adjuster and date of loss, and it handles text messages and emails. It does not write estimates.
Does Storm Rider Solutions integrate with Mobile Tech RX?
No. There is no software integration. The shop exports from Mobile Tech RX, and Christopher Johnson writes the insurance estimate from the export in CCC ONE or Mitchell. Mobile Tech RX is a trademark of its owner. Storm Rider Solutions is not affiliated with it.
Do I need CCC ONE or Mitchell to use Storm Rider Solutions?
It is strongly preferred. A file written under your own CCC ONE or Mitchell login belongs to your shop and matches your profiles, rates and carrier agreements. If your shop has no estimating software, the file is written in Storm Rider's own CCC ONE and delivered complete.
Send one vehicle. I write it in your CCC ONE or Mitchell, under your shop name, with every operation line noted.