The Motion alternative built for locksmiths
Motion works for plenty of teams — but if you run a locksmiths business and it isn't fitting, here's the honest comparison against Deskwise, the AI employee built to run your front desk end-to-end.
Service operators who want a customer-facing AI receptionist that books jobs and takes deposits 24/7.
Individuals and teams who want AI to auto-plan their tasks, projects, and calendar for personal productivity.
| Feature | Deskwise | Motion |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Customer-facing AI front desk | AI calendar + task/project manager |
| Who it serves | Your customers (answer/book/collect) | You + your team (plan/focus) |
| AI auto-schedules your tasks | No — out of scope | Yes — core strength |
| Project + task management | No | Yes — kanban, projects, deadlines |
| AI answers calls + texts 24/7 | Built-in (50-scenario catalog) | No — internal productivity |
| Books customer appointments | First-party booking engine | Personal meeting scheduler add-on |
| Takes deposits + no-show fees | Stripe Connect to your bank | No payments |
| Dormant-client winback | 60/90-day automated outreach | No |
| Vertical-specific front desk | 73 verticals, one engine | Horizontal productivity |
| Done-for-you migration | $200 white-glove setup | Self-serve |
| Monthly base price | Solo $99 · Business $30,000 · Enterprise scoped with our team | ~$19–$34/user/mo |
Motion is excellent at what it's built for — using AI to plan your own time and keep a team's projects moving. If personal/team productivity is the goal, it's a strong pick. Deskwise solves the opposite side of the desk: it's the AI receptionist your customers reach, that books the job and takes the deposit. Many operators happily run both.
What this means for a locksmiths business
Locked out at midnight, dispatched in minutes. Pure emergency demand — an unanswered ring is a lost job, every time. For locksmiths operators specifically, Deskwise ships as a trades & projects system out of the box — estimate → schedule → execute → invoice. That means the comparison above isn't abstract: the booking flows, reminders, and follow-ups referenced in the table arrive pre-configured for how a locksmiths business actually runs.
- Emergency vs scheduled call triage
- Voice-first answering (Vapi)
- Service call → diagnosis → quote flow
- On-call routing after hours
- Photo-attached estimates
- Parts-required deferral with restock alerts
- After-hours rate auto-applied
- Invoice + balance collection post-job
Switching from Motion: what actually changes
What you gain
- AI answers calls + texts 24/7: Built-in (50-scenario catalog)
- Books customer appointments: First-party booking engine
- Takes deposits + no-show fees: Stripe Connect to your bank
- Dormant-client winback: 60/90-day automated outreach
- Vertical-specific front desk: 73 verticals, one engine
What you give up (honestly)
- AI auto-schedules your tasks: Yes — core strength
- Project + task management: Yes — kanban, projects, deadlines
- Monthly base price: ~$19–$34/user/mo
Your first week
- 1Sign up and pick "Locksmiths" — booking flows, reminders, and follow-ups arrive pre-configured as a trades & projects system (estimate → schedule → execute → invoice.)
- 2Add your services, prices, hours, and policies — your AI employee answers from them on every channel from minute one
- 3Connect the apps you already use (calendar, email, payments) so it works inside your stack, not beside it
- 4Keep Motion running in parallel for a week if you like — nothing to migrate up front, and you can export your client list into Deskwise whenever you're ready
Hire an AI employee for your locksmiths business.
Answers every call and text 24/7, books, takes payment, and follows up — from $99/mo. Live in minutes, cancel anytime.