Introduction to DetailByte
DetailByte is a complete operating system for a vehicle valeting or detailing business. It handles the entire journey: from a customer requesting a booking, through scheduling and doing the job, to delivering finished photos and keeping that customer coming back.
It supports both ways of working:
- Mobile: you travel to the customer's address.
- Drop-off: the customer brings the vehicle to one of your locations.
Every booking, message, photo and price is tracked in one place, with a polished admin panel for your team and a self-service portal for your customers.
What DetailByte does
Bookings & scheduling
- A public booking form customers can use to request a service.
- A full admin booking manager with a calendar view.
- A clear job lifecycle: Draft → Confirmed → In Progress → Completed → Closed (plus Cancelled).
- One-tap job actions: On my way, Start job, Finish job: each able to message the customer.
Services & pricing
- Unlimited services, each priced per vehicle size (Small, Medium, SUV, XL).
- Service bundles (e.g. interior deep clean + exterior protection).
- Add-ons (pet hair removal, seat shampoo, and so on).
- Per-service control over whether it is offered mobile, drop-off, or both.
Mobile & travel
- Distance-based travel fees using configurable mileage tiers.
- Automatic postcode look-up (via postcodes.io) to check you serve an area.
- Automatic drive-time ETAs using OpenStreetMap routing, so the On my way message carries a realistic arrival time.
Customers & vehicles
- A tidy customer database with vehicles, history, spend and notes.
- VIP status, applied manually or automatically by your own rules.
Customer portal
- Customers can create a free account to view bookings, vehicles, invoices, loyalty and photo galleries, and message you directly through support tickets.
Messaging & automation
- Fully editable email and SMS templates with live preview.
- Automations that send the right message at the right moment (confirmation, reminders, thank-you, review request, follow-up and more).
- Separate wording for mobile vs drop-off where it matters.
Job packages
- Build a beautiful before/after photo gallery for each completed job.
- Attach the invoice and care documents, add your watermark, and deliver it to the customer through their portal.
Loyalty, VIP & coupons
- A points-based loyalty programme with rewards and promotions.
- Coupon codes for discounts.
Marketing
- Broadcasts: send bulk email/SMS to customer segments (e.g. "no booking in 60 days", VIPs, or customers of a particular service).
Branding
- Make it yours: your logo, brand colours, company name, slogan and email header/footer.
Who DetailByte is for
DetailByte is built for owner-operators and small teams running a valeting or detailing business who want to look professional, save time on admin, and never lose track of a job or a customer.
Hosted for you
DetailByte is a hosted service. We run the server, apply updates and take the backups, so there is nothing for you to install, patch or configure at the hosting level. You get a web address, sign in, and start setting the system up for your business.
Email is sent for you, free, on every plan: there's no provider to sign up for. If you'd rather send from your own domain, you can connect your own email provider instead, entered in Settings and tested with one click. Text messages work the other way round by default: DetailByte sends through an SMS provider in your own name, so whatever they charge is what you pay, or switch to managed SMS and we handle that account instead, billed per message sent. See Communications & Broadcasts.
How this documentation is organised
Start with First-Run Setup to configure DetailByte for your business, then Admin Overview to learn your way around the panel. After that, each feature has its own guide: see the index.