Auto Repair Shop HQ

Start here: how this workspace runs

Customers

Drivers and fleets, what they have spent and what they still owe.

Repair orders

Every repair order from estimate to pickup, who is working it, cost and margin.

Parts stock

Shelf stock for common jobs, with cost, count and reorder level.

Invoices

What has been billed, what is paid and what is overdue.

Vehicles

Every vehicle that comes through the bays, with mileage, VIN and when its next oil change is due.

What lives where

A repair order from counter to pickup

Your rhythm

Making it yours

Rename work types to the jobs you do most, add your parts suppliers, and delete the sample customers once a dozen of your own are in. Type in any cell or drag cards between columns; every total updates by itself.

An invoice can be higher than the first estimate when the customer approves extra work at the counter; keep the estimate as written so the margin compares what you sold with what it cost.

Overdue repair orders

My repair orders

Overdue invoices

Awaiting payment (sent and overdue)

Waiting for approval

Comebacks

At the counter

Diagnose before you estimate

Building the estimate

Enter the estimate, parts cost, labor cost and hours. Under 20 percent margin shows as Thin; on parts-heavy jobs check your markup first.

Getting approval

Call or text the estimate with photos. When the customer says yes, tick Customer approved and write who approved it and when. Anything they put off goes in Declined work; it is the first thing the advisor brings up next visit.

Example

A 2012 wagon comes in with a flashing check-engine light. The diagnostic finds a misfire on cylinder 3; swapping coils moves the misfire, so the coil is bad. The advisor texts a photo and the estimate: coil and plugs now, the valve cover gasket seep can wait. The customer approves the coil and plugs. Next time the car is in, the advisor opens the order and sees the gasket on the declined list.

Never do this

What to keep on the shelf

Everything else comes from the parts store, usually within an hour.

Ordering for a repair order

Cores and returns

The weekly count

On Friday the shop manager counts the shelf and types the real count into On hand. Anything showing Reorder goes on Monday's stock order. Look at the Stock value column once a quarter: slow parts on the shelf are cash you cannot spend.

Warranty on parts

Keep failed parts that are under warranty, tagged with the vehicle, mileage and date. Parts stores will not credit a warranty claim without the old part.

Example

On Thursday a delivery fleet's van needs front pads and rotors. The rotors on the shelf do not match the VIN's brake package, so the advisor orders the right ones by VIN for a 2 pm delivery. The wrong pair stays on the shelf for the next van of that model. The old rotors go in the scrap bin, and the caliper core goes back with Friday's run.

Before you call the customer

Explaining the invoice

Walk the customer through the work in plain words: what was wrong, what you did, and what you saw that they should plan for. Point at the declined work you wrote down. Never pressure: "this can wait until spring" builds more trust than a scare.

Closing the order

Comebacks

A car that returns within 90 days for the same problem is a comeback. Open a new repair order, tick Comeback, and give it to the technician who did the work, with the shop manager looking over it. Comebacks show on the Dashboard; review them every month. Most come from a missed second cause (two bad coils, not one), a part from a weak brand, or a test that was skipped.

Example

A customer picks up her pickup after a new battery. The advisor shows her the test printout from the old battery, mentions that the serpentine belt is cracked and can wait a month, and books her in for it. Two weeks later she calls to move the appointment up, because she trusts the shop's timing.

Thank-you and follow-up

The day after pickup, send a short text: "Thanks for coming in. Anything we should know about the car?" It catches problems while they are small and earns the review.