How do you choose a tuning file portal?

A feature list will not tell you much, because they all look alike. The questions below are the ones we wish every buyer would ask. Ask them of any portal, including ours, and ask to be shown rather than told.

What should you ask about files?

1. Which tools can my customers use? The answer should be any. What happens with locked files should be explained in plain words: who can open them, on whose account.
2. Does it read the ECU and the numbers from the file, or does the customer type them?
3. Can I find a file from two years ago by its software number, in seconds?
4. What happens to a wrong file? Corrections should stay on the same job.

What should you ask about money?

5. Where does the customer's money go? Straight to your own payment account is what you want, and not through the supplier. 6. Can I require payment before a tuner opens the file, by card or from credits? 7. Who issues the invoices, and with what VAT? It should be in your name, with the right treatment per country, without typing them. 8. How will the portal charge me as I grow? Flat fee, per file or a percentage all behave differently. Work it out at double your current volume. See flat or per file.

What should you ask about your name?

9. Whose name will my customers see? Check every screen, email, invoice and download. There is a full list in what white label should cover. 10. Can I have dealers on portals of their own, and what can I control for each one?

What should you ask about leaving and staying?

11. Can I leave with my data? Your customers, jobs and files should be yours to take with you, and this should be in writing. 12. How is it kept running, and who answers when it stops? Ask who does the updates, how fast support answers, and what happens on a Saturday.

Ask to be shown, not told. Then try the same thing as a customer.

How do you test a portal properly?

Use a demo, and do the things that go wrong. Upload a strange file. Abandon a payment. Ask for a correction. Open it on a phone beside a car, because that is where your customers are. Then sign in as a customer and look for anybody's name but yours.

How do these questions apply to TunerEngine?

We would rather you checked than took our word for it. You can build a portal and see its price line by line or book a demo, and the features page lists what a portal does today. The compare page sets out how the different pricing models work.