Best Shop Management Software to Boost Auto Shop Profits
No auto repair shop owner goes to work every day hoping to lose money or just break even. You and your staff work too hard to not see that payoff at the end of the day. That’s why you want the best shop management software on the market.
Many shop owners struggle to reach the point where they can slow down and enjoy the money they have earned. Instead, they work long days then spend nights going over the books.
If you bought shop management software to make your shop more modern, you took a great first step. However, did you buy the one that will turn your shop into a more profitable one?
We lay out what makes your shop make more money: ease of use, efficiency and making your life better.
Best Shop Management Software for Ease of Use
No one wants clunky auto repair software that just copies the paper processes that held you back before. After all, you bought auto repair software to make your shop work better, not the same.
At the same time, you want a shop management system that staff can learn quickly for less down time.
When Caliber Auto Care signed on with Shop-Ware, its 32 locations went live within 8 weeks of signing their contract. They transferred all their data and kept their operations running smoothly during the switch.
Check out how shops who use Shop-Ware every day rank it on the review site G2 for auto shop software:
- 9.8 out of 10 for ease of use compared to an industry average of 8.4
- 9.8 for quality of support while others average 8.2
- 8.8 for ease of setup, exceeding the 8.3 ranking across the industry
As a result, shop owners rave about the auto shop software in their comments.
- “If you have any trouble just look into the support documentation,” says Tara Topel, co-owner of Topel’s Service and Towing. “Almost all your answers will be there. If you still have trouble, just contact support.”
- “The reporting, analytics, ease of use, constant improvement, and overall experience as a shop and for our clients are several reasons we love Shop-Ware!” adds Kurt L., a technician in a small shop.
- “Shop-Ware is VERY easy to learn and makes it very easy to communicate with customers,” says James D., a shop manager. “Great tech support makes creating ROs estimates a breeze.
Support is an email and phone call away, where you always get to talk to a real person.”
Best Shop Management Software for Efficiency
First, we all know that time is money. Second, you do your best work when your shop is productive, not just busy. But how do you find the right balance?
Car counts set the stage for all the other KPIs you’re aiming to reach so we’ll start there. You want to have a full day of repairs, however booking too many just leads to disarray. Ideally, you want to hit the right balance.
When you have the right tools, you can easily track productivity and make more money per hour and per RO. Let’s take a look at the two that lead the industry.
With the Capacity dashboard in , green dots represent each hour in your shop. Each tech has a certain number of hours, which show up on the screen like an egg carton. In short, you want each spot to fill up during the day.
With one look, a service advisor can see which tech is open for more work and who is booked solid. This frees you up from tracking multiple, manual processes that eat up time in your day. This Shop-Ware exclusive optimizes your workflow and your profitability for auto shop employee management seamlessly.
Next, you want the best auto parts pricing to make the most from every part you purchase. Therefore, the Parts GP Optimizer matches that need in the aftermarket.
For example, you may use a parts matrix to set your pricing. However, you can take that process to a new level of profit with the Optimizer’s algorithm.
It finds the perfect price to make sure you hit your targets like a bullseye every month. Just set it up with your goals and invest your brain power in growing your business in other ways.
Best Shop Management Software for Your Lifestyle
Once you start earning more profits, you want to get out of the shop to enjoy them. Yet, you may struggle to break the habit of working long hours even as your shop brings in more money.
First, you cannot get away unless you invest in automotive repair software that works off the cloud. It frees you up from in-shop servers so you can check in from home, the parking lot or the beach.
These tools make it easy for you to let go at the end of the day:
- Analytics – Seeing the numbers that drive your profits up or down guide your next steps. Therefore, having robust auto repair analytics clearly in front of you helps you get ahead of problems before they grow. They also tell you if it’s time to specialize or expand.
- End of Day Payments – Likewise, you can walk out of the shop stress free if you know that you balance. Shop-Ware’s EOD Payments on the automotive repair business software screen gives you that peace of mind with a simple yet complete summary.
- Multi-shop summaries – If you run more than one location, you’ll need automotive repair business software to stay on top of KPIs. Shop-Ware also outperforms its competitors on this front since it was built for the big guys too.
To sum up, the aftermarket has the tools you need to earn more profits from your auto repair shop. You just need to find the right shop management system that offers the full package.
Shop-Ware stays ahead of the curve by innovating to keep up with consumer needs and the shops that serve them.
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