Site Administrator
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Site Administrator
AdministratorMay 10, 2018 at 4:53 am in reply to: What is your business spending to acquire a single customer?Sal, the answer to that is going to differ greatly from shop to shop. We’ve narrowed things for shop owners with these two directories which are specifically geared toward auto repair shops. Hope this helps. https://www.automotivemanagementnetwork.com/tools/shop-owner-resource-directory/#Marketing-&-Advertising-Providers and https://www.automotivemanagementnetwork.com/tools/shop-owner-resource-directory/#Website-Designers
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Site Administrator
AdministratorDecember 20, 2017 at 10:56 am in reply to: Installing Customer Parts: A Dialogue and DebateChubby, take the time to watch the video – Randy answers your question nicely.
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Jeff from the Old Volks Home sent this to us to be shared – see attached.
Thanks, Jeff!
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Site Administrator
AdministratorOctober 11, 2017 at 9:11 am in reply to: 9 Unlicensed Auto Repair Shops Closed by StateIt varies depending on state, county, city and township.
Here are some of the ones you may encounter (and there may be others not listed here):
Building codes
Business license
Fire department regulations
HAZMAT regulations
Zoning regulations
DNR/DEQ regulations
Mechanic license
Repair Facility license
Sales tax license
EPA regulationsFor specifics in your area, contact the trade association for auto service shops in your state or city. We’ve created a list of trade associations here:
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Site Administrator
AdministratorJuly 29, 2017 at 6:52 am in reply to: Feature #52 Spreadsheet Import and Export – Shop Management SoftwareWhile it varies greatly from one to another, we are not aware of any shop management software that has all of these features at this time.
We suggest that you check out our sponsors, spend some time in our software directory and software demo pages shopping and comparing to see which software works best for what you need at your shop.
Software Directory:
https://www.automotivemanagementnetwork.com/about/auto-shop-management-software/Software Demos:
https://www.automotivemanagementnetwork.com/demos/software-demos/ -
Some of what you want to know will be covered here:
#autorepairlaborgrossprofit
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Site Administrator
AdministratorJune 25, 2017 at 5:47 am in reply to: Follow Dealerships Lead On Generating BusinessPlease post the PDF.
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Site Administrator
AdministratorFebruary 24, 2017 at 12:50 pm in reply to: Alternative Auto Repair FinancingDan:
In case you have not yet been there, here is a page on this site that lists companies who specialize in financing for auto repairs for customers.
One company on the list is Blispay who advertises on our site from time to time.
Tom
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For anyone who is unaware, there is a lift manufacturer directory page here on the site.
This is one of 24 directories that we have created to prevent wasted time when you are looking for most anything related to shop management. A list of all directories can be found on the left side of the home page.#autoshoplifts -
Site Administrator
AdministratorSeptember 28, 2016 at 3:53 pm in reply to: MVP – MULTI VEHICLE KEY PROGRAMMERJohn, members need to know:
What kinds of cars?What kinds of repairs?It may be helpful to know where you are located, also. -
Site Administrator
AdministratorSeptember 21, 2016 at 6:56 pm in reply to: Key Numbers 101 Series – # 1 Payroll CostThere are a number of ways to look at auto shop finances.
This is the “4 quarters” approach to auto repair shop finance which goes like this – for each dollar the shop takes in, approximately:25¢ goes for parts25¢ goes for payroll25¢ goes for expenses25¢ goes to the ownerAs you can see it is extremely simple to remember. While there are often slight variations from the 25¢ for each area (parts are often a bit lower and expenses a bit higher), overall it is pretty close when looking at the numbers from most typical independent shops.The 25¢ for payroll is the most accurate when it includes gross pay only. Payroll taxes, benefits, and all other employee related expenses (which can vary greatly from shop to shop) are then included with other expenses. -
Site Administrator
AdministratorJuly 12, 2016 at 2:16 pm in reply to: Feature #31 – Automated Future Appointments – Shop Management SoftwareAs with many appointment statuses, the preferred way is with colors.
Advisor entered appointments are a certain color while system generated appointments are another.Once these future appointments are confirmed the color changes to match advisor entered appointments. -
Some of the results so far:
Electronic 42%Paper 42%Neither 16%Please go to the home page to view all of the results and take the current survey.#vehicleinspections -
Site Administrator
AdministratorJune 8, 2016 at 3:53 pm in reply to: Service Advisor Training – Links, Ratings and ReviewsIn addition to the information that you will find in this forum, make sure to check out the Classes – Webinars – Conventions Forum
For a current calendar of LIVE webinars, take a look at our Live Webinar Schedule
For lists of providers of training for everyone at your shop, check out these five training directories. You don’t have to search the net – we’ve already done that for you. Click on the directory title below to go to that page.
Service Advisor Online Training DirectoryService Advisor Training Directory
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Jeff, we have a list (with links) of more than 20 companies offering digital vehicle inspections.
To view them, click here.We are not familiar with the one that you mentioned.If you provide us a link we can add it to our list.Thanks, -
Site Administrator
AdministratorMay 9, 2016 at 10:47 am in reply to: One New Tech Coming in for Every 5 Leaving the IndustryGood points, Bobby.
It is worth nothing that the current survey on the home page asks members what are the biggest issues they face today. We offered them 11 choices.Over 70% selected finding good employees. No other issues made 50%.The way this is headed, finding professional car repair and getting it done promptly is going to become very difficult – which also means very expensive. -
Site Administrator
AdministratorApril 11, 2016 at 3:18 pm in reply to: ARO, ELR, GP and other Key NumbersJeff, that would certainly be welcome. We have made some additions which should help with what you mentioned.
1: We created 5 additional calculators:
Marketing Cost Percent of Total Sales
Oil Changes Performed Percentage
Parts Cost Percent of Total SalesPayroll Cost Percent of Total SalesTotal Gross Profit2: We added goal ranges to the calculators where the result is a percentage. Percentages are generally similar regardless of where your shop is located. (We did not add goals to the calculators where the result is a dollar amount because that can vary so much from one geographical area to another.)Note: Regarding the goal ranges, these are not just someone’s suggestions or theoretical numbers. The goal ranges were determined by monitoring a number of profitable typical independent shops – both small and large – over a period of time, then coming up with an average, then allowing for some leeway both up and down. -
Site Administrator
AdministratorOctober 27, 2015 at 3:40 pm in reply to: Feature # 18 – Automatic Service History Search – Shop Management SoftwareBecause many features like this are somewhat subjective, it is nearly impossible to say who does / doesn’t have it.
When you are shopping make sure you ask for a real world demo to see it in action. That is the only way to be sure you are getting what you are expecting. -
We’ve been adding some directories to help with this kind of thing – they can be accessed from the home page. One of them is for Online service advisor training.
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We have put together a list with links of the all the major tire equipment companies
Also, one of our sponsors offers tire equipment, Greg Smith Equipment -
Site Administrator
AdministratorJune 26, 2015 at 11:30 am in reply to: Feature #4 – Service History from OTHER Shops – Shop Management SoftwareI tried to make your image larger with no luck, but here is an excerpt from one of those reports
10/10/2013 229,245 Alignment checked 08/20/2013 227,978 Oil and filter changed 07/08/2013 227,562 Drive belt(s) replaced -
Site Administrator
AdministratorJune 25, 2015 at 5:04 pm in reply to: Feature #4 – Service History from OTHER Shops – Shop Management SoftwareAny CarFax shop can view service history from any other CarFax shop (or dealer) *IF* that feature is built into their management software.
If your license / VIN decoding is tied into CarFax through your management software there is a good chance that all the service that you do is reported to them and is available to shops that have the software.The information includes the service, the miles and the date performed. No personal customer information is available.You can get this information no charge on your own vehicles by going to MyCarFax.com -
We put together a page with links to over 20 companies that offer vehicle inspection software.
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Site Administrator
AdministratorFebruary 9, 2015 at 4:41 pm in reply to: Website Designers – Links, Ratings and ReviewsKukui has now been added – thanks
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Site Administrator
AdministratorFebruary 2, 2015 at 3:27 pm in reply to: Competition – 42% Dealer, 41% Quick Lube, 9% Indie, 8% FranchiseAndy, we have a small box (oil filter size) next to the oil sticker printer.
The techs put all removed stickers in there and once a month we empty it and enter them on a spread sheet – takes maybe 15 minutes once a month.The results have been quite a bit different than what I would have guessed. Now I know who I am up against instead of making assumptions. -
Site Administrator
AdministratorJanuary 27, 2015 at 1:03 pm in reply to: Looking for Management/Sales TrainingOn this site, use these search words and you will get results:
for ATI use “institute” (Automotive Training Institute)for MS use “success”for APM use “masters” (Auto Profit Masters)for Elite use “elite”Also, use this link: Service Advisor Trainers -
Site Administrator
AdministratorJanuary 6, 2015 at 7:14 am in reply to: 100 MUST HAVE Features for your Automotive Shop Management SoftwareSome information about the list:
Our goal was to:
#1: Create a specific list that shop owners could use when shopping for new software.
#2: Create a system where shop owners could rate their own software and see whether or not it may be time to upgrade. This could be changing software, or looking into which features could be added to their current software.We found everything on the list, with just a few exceptions, offered as a current feature of one or more shop management software companies.
We came up with a small number of items that we would like to see. We do not believe any of these are unrealistic considering the features we found that already exist.
While we could find no one company that had it all, there are companies out there offering a large majority of the features.
We ask that you tell us which software you currently use and tell us how many of the features on the list your software offers.
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Site Administrator
AdministratorDecember 30, 2014 at 8:53 pm in reply to: Looking to make the switch from Mitchell!!! -
Site Administrator
AdministratorNovember 11, 2014 at 9:41 pm in reply to: slow day procedure form where is it located?It can be found in the Service Advisor and Writer section under Checklists, Forms, Procedures and Policies (Premium Member access required).
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Site Administrator
AdministratorAugust 30, 2014 at 9:12 am in reply to: Auto Vitals paperless shopflow softwareSome of our shop management software sponsors have inspections integrated into their systems, paperless capability, and tablet capability.
Please click on the links below for more information.