In the technologically fast-paced world we live in today, everything around us is going digital—from grocery shopping to the way we interact with our friends and family. People are constantly on the go and with our everyday reliance on smartphones, we all have grown used to having things available right at our fingertips.
And when it comes to this digital expectation, the automotive industry is not far behind! With a rise in electric vehicles and predictive maintenance, managing an auto repair shop is growing more complex by the day. However, there is a solution to help you keep pace, save time, and automate your most mundane tasks—investing in Shop Management Software!
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What is shop management software?
Auto repair shop management software is an all-in-one, cloud-based solution designed to help auto repair shops efficiently run their daily operations, grow their business, and build customer trust. Simply put—this invaluable tool makes your life a lot easier. Plus, it can provide a great boost to your profits—a research by Hobson & Company found that customers who used an auto repair software solution saw a 1300% return on investment (ROI) within one year!
Software designed to manage your shop can positively affect almost every aspect of your business, helping you become more efficient and expanding your growth potential. It also enables you to create more proactive two-way communication with your customers, leading to more transparency!
Additionally, one of the key markets for auto repair shops to tap into is the Gen Y (people born between 1980–1996) demographic! With their high purchasing power, this generation is more likely to spend on repairs and even splurge on upgrading their vehicles!
Since this demographic is also more tech-savvy, it’s vital to future proof your auto repair shop. With Gen Y more attuned to easily accessing information on their smartphones, you will need to proactively use this software to send them reminders, approve up-sell services, and keep these customers updated about their repair work. That constant communication will benefit you in many ways, helping you build strong relationships with your Gen Y customers.
So what software features really matter?
With the rapidly growing tech space around us, there are a ton of software options out there to consider. Before deciding on your shop’s software of the future, it’s important to understand the features that will make a true difference for the business’s bottom line.
1. Estimate & invoice generation
Perhaps one of the most painstakingly slow tasks any shop goes through is putting together estimates, invoices, and work orders. Nobody wants to risk messing up the figures. But on the flipside, it’s not fun assembling all the paperwork involved.Â
However, your team can easily automate manual tasks like these to reduce the time your technicians spend. A research by Hobson & Company found the time spent on invoices was reduced by 60%! An integral tool that any repair shop management software you choose needs to have is the ability to efficiently generate estimates and invoices within a few minutes. Some software selections also go a step further, allowing you to immediately send the PDFs over to your customer’s email or number.
2. Operational workflow solutions
As your business grows, it isn’t easy to keep track of every car coming in and the numerous technicians at your shop. However, with the right auto shop management software, you will be able to maintain an organized calendar and view any upcoming appointments. You can also easily assign jobs to mechanics with full insight into their current schedule. This helps you get the best of your auto repair labor times, reduces labor costs, and enables you to effectively run the daily operations of your shop!
3. Marketing capabilities
With the fast-paced world we live in, so much of our day-to-day life has now gone digital. The average adult now spends up to 95 minutes a day on social media and over an hour on email platforms! So one of the best ways to market to your customers now is through mobile. The customer records you have can help contribute to building repeat orders, it’s just about figuring out how to make it work.
For this reason, your shop’s all-in-one solution should incorporate a certain degree of marketing capabilities. The software should have the ability to send out emails with your shop’s seasonal offers. It should also give you the tools to send automated text messages reminding your customers of upcoming maintenance check-ups for their vehicles.
In addition, this technology should integrate Google reviews to help boost your online presence. The customer impact of those reviews is significant, as approximately 89% of consumers often read reviews online before making any purchase decision. So having a strong base of reviews will help build trust and improve conversion rates for your shop.
4. Digital vehicle inspections (DVI)
When it comes to the automotive industry, your technicians are the experts. At times, they may notice issues with a vehicle that most of us just can’t see. But how can they effectively communicate those issues to customers in a transparent way to help them understand and build trust? Simple—digital vehicle inspections!
DVIs provides your technicians with an inspection checklist where they can go through different parts of the customer vehicle and attach any images, comments, or videos to any issues they spot. This information can then be sent over to customers, helping them understand the details of what is going on with their car supported by useful visuals. This tool is particularly helpful when you’re offering additional services to customers, as it can help boost your job’s revenue.
5. Reporting and accounting capabilities
As a garage owner, it’s integral for you to accurately assess the overall performance of your store. From technician productivity to the revenue your business earns, having the right reporting tools and automation helps you develop a deeper understanding of your business’s current capacity.
Most advanced software tools usually support an integration with QuickBooks, an easy invoicing software that will help you maintain payment records and keep a firm grip on your shop’s accounts.
6. Parts ordering
Another time-consuming task for any technician is finding the right parts. From comparing prices among various vendors to ensuring quality and checking that a part is the right type for the vehicle—it’s no easy feat.
However, efficient software will provide you with an easy one-stop solution that allows you to navigate through and compare multiple vendors and their prices. This technology also helps your technicians make the right decision when ordering specific parts, while saving them the hassle of jumping between multiple websites and calls!
Finding the right software for your shop
At the end of the day, these five features are some of the most vital considerations for your auto repair shop. It is true that you’ll come across multiple software vendors each offering their own set of features at varying prices. But what really matters is your shop’s specific needs. This is why it’s important to assess your business and work towards finding the right software for you!
Below, we break down the process of selecting the right software in five easy steps:
- Assess: Before jumping into any major changes, it’s important to take a step back and first assess your shop. What are the major pain points you’re facing? What bottlenecks currently impact your efficiency? List down the key issues or value-adds you want so you can prioritize which features are the most important for your shop.
- Research: It can be a bit overwhelming to undertake such a major change to your shop’s management, so it’s important to thoroughly research. Get familiar with the terminologies and start making a list of all the options available to you. Include essential information such as cost and key features.
- Reviews: Reviews are a great option for finding out more about a business! Most shop owners would have gone through a similar journey as yours and any software can make a great sales pitch. But a lot of software’s true value boils down to the customer support services they offer to you post purchase. Reviews will help provide insight into how smoothly the software operates, the responsiveness of the company’s team in resolving any problems, and the impact of switching over to their shop management software.
- Shortlist: At this point, you have the knowledge, information, and social proof from other shop owners on various software options available. Your decision now comes down to creating a shortlist of top choices. Go back to the pain points you identified in step one and compare these notes to the features offered by each software. Finally, shortlist the ones that seem the best suited and most reliable for your business!
- Demos: This is the most essential step before you make your final decision, as demos are the perfect opportunity for you to see the software live, discuss your concerns with a person from the team, and assess how user-friendly the software is. After all, you want to invest in a tool that will boost efficiency but is also easy for your team to use.
There you have it! After these five steps, you should be able to decide which auto repair software solution suits your business the best. From there, you can get started on revamping your auto repair shop management.
How will shop management software benefit you?
While you look forward to reaping numerous benefits once you’ve set your new software up, it’s important for you to have a clear idea of what to expect. You also will need to set up Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) accordingly. As a business owner, you need to be sure this decision provides the best value for your shop and you will enjoy a strong return on your investment! So here’s a list of benefits to ensure you’re on the right track:
- Improved customer experience: Now that customers have easy access to all information, reduced waiting time for estimates and work orders, and increased transparency—you can expect happier customer responses as they leave your shop! You may notice this boost in the form of positive feedback, higher rates of customer retention, and new referrals among friends and family.
- Improved digital presence: With the right digital marketing capabilities integrated into your shop management software, you can expect your rankings on Google and general presence on digital platforms to significantly improve. Shops such as Cartronics tripled their Google reviewst in less than one year! Â
- Higher revenue: With the ability to send customers follow ups and reminders for maintenance checks, as well as the ability to upsell more services through DVIs—your store can now increase its average order value for each job and boost its revenue in the process. Volksmasters reported a 42% increase in profitability after they began using AutoLeap!Â
- Improved efficiency: With a significant amount of time saved on completing repetitive tasks, your technicians can now focus more on completing jobs. This productivity boost will result in more billable hours and improved mechanic efficiency! All of this will improve your shop’s capacity in terms of the number of jobs you can take on.
- Reduced no-shows: One of the biggest challenges a more effective calendar and automated reminders overcomes is customer no-shows. Your technicians no longer need to waste time waiting around for an appointment. Volksmasters reported an overall decrease in no-shows by 80% after they began using auto repair management software!Â
- Customer loyalty: Improved transparency and effective communication ultimately paves the way for customer loyalty. This leads to customers coming back to your shop. Research by IndoorMedia in 2017 found that over 66% of Americans would return and spend more with companies they were loyal to.
»Do you want to unlock the full potential of your shop? Discover how our AutoLeap can help.
Closing Thoughts
It’s a changing world and ultimately, each of us must adapt and grow along with it! All in all, relying on shop management software to automate and improve operational and managerial challenges for your shop will provide you with various benefits, along with a significant ROI. So get ready to evolve your business by jumping right into finding the perfect software for your repair shop!
