Owning A More PROFITABLE Auto Repair Shop
Being an automotive business shop owner is not easy. Everything that is done for the business costs money. For example, fixed costs, and all the expenses that apply before you even open the doors:
- Rent/Mortgage
- Insurances
- Utilities
- Phone Lines
- Heating
- Lighting
- Lifts
- Tools
Variable costs:
- Employees – including all the Government fees
- Auto Parts
- Equipment For Your Shop (New/Used)
- Advertising/Marketing (Potential GIANT Black Hole)
The reality is that it can be kind of a gamble running an automotive repair business. Like any gamble if done properly, with preparation and education and with a little luck, your auto repair business will turn a big profits making it worth all that time and money you invest. If you are a new auto shop business owner you might be asking yourself, how do I make more profit for my auto repair shop?
Save Time Through Automation and Processes
Making more of a profit basically comes down to figuring out how to bring more money in compared to the amount of money that is going out. You must find a way to do things efficiently, quickly, and in a way that saves time. The old saying “Time is Money” is extremely relevant when trying to find a way to make more profit for your auto repair shop. This is where technology has grown significantly. Software and automation programs have been built to help you find “THE PROFIT”.
When thinking about improving your auto repair shop you need to think about how you can take daily tasks and streamline them in a way that saves you and/or your employees’ time. For example, something that every auto repair shop does daily is generate estimates.
Generating an estimate requires a technician to look over the vehicle to determine what needs to be fixed, a service writer to talk with the technician, get the cost of all the necessary parts and then determine how much time the labor will take. How long that process takes can of course vary depending on the extent of the damage/repair, but the process takes time and as we mentioned earlier “Time is Money”.
Digital Check-In
Rather than having to print out a checklist and hope you can read the technicians handwriting, use a digital check-in to record all the details, including photos. The service writer can access this as soon as it is finished, saving time on running around the shop to collect it and more time trying to decipher the chicken scratch.
Parts Ordering
If the service writer has to look up every single part and make calls to compare prices, and then figure out how long it will take the technicians to complete, it’s going to take a while to create an estimate. In order to make that process move along more quickly and improving your auto repair shop you should consider automotive shop management software that has integrated parts ordering. Your service writer can see which store has the required parts in stock and how much they will cost.
By using automotive shop software a business owner can help his or her employees take those daily tasks, like creating an estimate, and cut down on the time necessary to complete those tasks, dramatically. The automotive shop software allows the shop owner or the service writer to search quickly for the necessary parts. The auto shop software also does the comparison-shopping for you, allowing you to choose which car parts you want to use and how much you want to spend.
Technician Efficiency
Another way using automotive shop management software can help increase your business’s profit is by enhancing your technicians’ efficiency. Auto shop software allows the technicians to login, make their assessment of the necessary repairs, watch for client approval and get to work quickly once that approval has come through. Less time is wasted going back and forth between the offices and the bays.
As the shop owner you can run technician efficiency reports showing you how many actual hours, versus book hours, each job took. If your team is each doing 60 hours of bookable work in a 40-hour working week you are winning, if they are only doing 25 hours of bookable time in a 40-hour week then you need to review their work practices.
Technician efficiency really does affect the profitability of each and every auto repair shop.
Customer Contact
How many hours do we all spend every month playing phone tag with clients? If you use shop management software you will be able to email them an estimate, and send text messages. Your customer then has the estimate on hand when you call for approval.
Improving your auto repair shop is the best way to make more profit. Taking daily tasks that your service writers, technicians and other employees must complete, and finding a way, like using automotive shop management software, can greatly reduce the amount of time necessary to complete those daily tasks.
By reducing the amount of time spent on basic tasks, your employees are able to get more jobs completed. Moving more vehicles through your automotive repair shop will boost your profits.
By saving even 30 minutes a day your auto repair shop can bill 2.5 more hours a week of billable time. Previously your shop was losing those 2.5 hours to tasks that are non-billable.
Improving your auto repair shop by finding ways for your technicians and service writers to save time helps you make more profit. There is nothing wrong with wanting your business to thrive and be profitable. In reality, the only way your business can grow, evolve, employ more people, and allow you, the owner, to live the life you want, is if your auto repair shop makes a profit. Auto Shop Software helps make your business more profitable by improving all round efficiency and allowing you to see the numbers that matter at a glance.