Coming from Smog Advantage?
Bring your customers with you. Send us your customer list and we do the import for you.
What comes with you
Your old work orders and invoices stay in Smog Advantage. Keep a copy for your records.
Your customers
Names, phone numbers, emails and addresses.
Their cars
Plate, VIN, year, make and model, each on the right customer.
Each car’s last smog date
So you can see who is coming due again.
How the switch works
Save your customer list
Save it from Smog Advantage as an Excel or CSV file. If you can't find where, email us.
Send it to us
Email it to support@smogapp.com and we bring it in for you. You can also do it yourself under Customers, then Import. You see every customer before anything is saved, and the same file twice never makes doubles.
Scan your next car
Start with one car. Keep Smog Advantage as long as you like while you get used to it.
What is different
Where it runs
- Smog Advantage
- In a web browser, on a computer, tablet or kiosk
- SmogScanner
- A phone app for Android and iPhone (iPhone in early access), plus any computer’s web browser
Reading the car
- Smog Advantage
- Plate to VIN in all 50 states. A 2D barcode scanner reads the license and DMV registration
- SmogScanner
- Your phone’s camera reads the VIN, free. Type a plate: 10 a day on the free plan. On Pro the iPhone camera reads plates
Which smog test
- Smog Advantage
- Not advertised
- SmogScanner
- On the scan: whether the car needs a smog check, and which test (OIS, ASM or two-speed idle)
BAR analyzer
- Smog Advantage
- Doesn’t connect. It prints a DMV barcode the technician scans into the analyzer
- SmogScanner
- Doesn’t connect. You run the test on your analyzer as before
Invoices
- Smog Advantage
- BAR Write It Right invoices with e-signature
- SmogScanner
- The customer signs the estimate. The invoice has the $8.25 certificate fee on it. Text or print it
Reminders
- Smog Advantage
- 22-month reminders, and mailing lists for postcards
- SmogScanner
- A Due for smog list, and reminder texts when you link SmogCheckDeals. No postcards
Price
- Smog Advantage
- $19 a month for 50 work orders, $39 for 250, $49 at most. Add-ons $2 to $10
- SmogScanner
- Scanning a VIN is free. $19, $39 or $49 a month, by features
Last reviewed October 26, 2026. Their sites were checked June 2026; prices and features can change. We make SmogScanner.
Source: smogadvantage.com
If something here has changed, tell us and we will fix it.
Where Smog Advantage is ahead
- Postcard mailing lists for reminders. SmogScanner doesn’t do postcards.
- Plate to VIN in all 50 states. SmogScanner looks up typed plates, 10 a day on the free plan.
- A 2D barcode scanner reads the driver’s license and the DMV registration, and it prints a DMV barcode to scan into the analyzer.
- Kiosk and tablet screens for check-in.
- A 30-day trial, and 3 months free for new shops.
Where SmogScanner is ahead
- A phone app: scan the VIN with your phone. No barcode scanner to buy, no 17 characters to type.
- The answer on the scan: whether the car needs a smog check, and which test. You know before it reaches the bay.
- Scanning a VIN is free, with no paid plan.
- English and Spanish, on the phone and on the computer.
- The counter computer shows every car you scanned: where each one is, and today’s totals.
Plans and prices
Free
$0
Scan any VIN and see the test it needs. Type in up to 10 plates a day.
Starter
$19a month
Work orders, invoices and payments for one station.
Pro
$39a month
Everything in Starter, plus reports, reading plates with the iPhone camera, and the live view for a TV in your office.
Multi-station
$49a month
Everything in Pro, for up to five stations.
You see the price again before you pay, and you can change or cancel your plan any time on the Billing page.