By
Jyoti Tejpal
Assists Automotive Repair and Tire Shops Work smarter Faster Checks part pricing Availability for 10 suppliers in 10 seconds Scheduling AP AR Inventory Control Marketing Multi-store solutions Mobile app connects owners with service writers Texting Digital inspections
Dedicated Auto Repair independent mechanics Help mechanics Business owners create Send electronic invoices to clients Elegant solution Help cut time & costs Help mechanics Inventory tracking Invoicing Service reminders VIN decoder Plate reader
Automotive repair tool provides desktop solution thru faster navigation & better search Help auto & mechanics repair shop owners to manage business with ease Auto diagnostics solution Offers data repair & technical assistance
Auto Repair Software assists repair shop owners handle large inventory, bill for various types of services, and records thousands of parts for every automobile. It streamlines the unorganized workflows and provides complete visibility into shop operations, have inventory, service operations, labour and job scheduling, & billing. It utilized by a variety of automobile shops like car paint, collision repair, and automobile retailers.
The software provides various features to schedule customer appointments, assign job orders, raise service tickets, bill customers, and also tracks service history. It keeps a check on the parts inventory ensuring items aren’t used without being invoiced/billed.
Advanced solutions even provide built-in CRM functionality for creating and managing a customer database and engaging with repetitive customers through promotions and service offers.
Enhance customer’s experience: Improving customers’ experience thru speeding up the service, from when they bring automobile until take it back. Informs of the approximate costs and waiting time in advance. The software will make it easy to serve a repeat customer, as it will store car details, personal information, service history, and details of possible problems. This assists mechanics repair automobiles faster and decrease turnaround time.
Tracking the shop’s performance: Manually managing while a small shop may be relatively easier, complication happens when it’s a large shop or multi-franchise. Auto repair software will assist keep track of operations and workflows in various locations. This saves time and cost, streamlines the flow of information between shops, and provides for owners to manage multiple stores from a single screen.
Quotes/Estimates: Accessing the database of labour and parts to estimate the final service cost, sending and receiving quotations for parts and services.
Billing and invoicing: Generating bills and invoices for the repairing job and services. Processing the payments received from customers.
Work order management: Creating and scheduling work orders, distributing work orders among mechanics, following-up with team, and bill customers while you complete a work order.
CRM: Creating in-house customer database for building cordial relationships with repeat, new and potential customers.
Service history tracking: Maintaining customer service records for looking up previous service details in the next visit.
Labor rates: Setting varying rates for various types of services and accordingly, charging customers for the service they choose.
Most products in the market are priced on a “per month” basis and can be divided into three pricing tiers based on their starting price. A premium product, which is priced higher, may include some additional features like multi-channel communications, management reporting, unlimited invoices, and third-party integrations.
Deployment options: Most auto repair solutions have provided as traditional on-premise software for a raw setup file is installed on local computers. The software’s functioning completely integrates with the end user’s IT infrastructure and equipment. New sellers have started to provide cloud-based solutions without huge IT investment. They just require an active Internet connection. Buyers must evaluate current IT setup to choose a deployment type to decide whether to host data on-premises or in the cloud.
Pricing: Auto repair software can be bought upfront or paid in monthly usage fees. While owning a small auto repair shop, try to opt for a monthly pricing model which fits the budget and avoid long-term software contracts. Do keep checking about hidden fees, like service fees, termination costs, customer support before making a purchase. Check free software in the market to meet small shop’s basic requirements.
More than 75% of the aftermarket auto repair jobs are performed by independent auto repair shops, while rest of the business lies with dealerships. Leading to a series of innovations in auto repair shops like the following:
Mobility in auto shops: Upcoming software sellers are also providing mobile apps in solutions. These apps can be downloaded on smartphones and tablets, allowing to walk around the shop for managing important tasks like engaging customers, executing payments, accepting work orders, and updating service records.
IoT improves car maintenance and repairs: IoT-integrated cars is a trend which is expecting to grow. There will be more than 90 millions interconnected cars across the globe by 2021. An IoT-enabled car makes repairs and services easy because it is full information about driving behaviors, faulty parts, oil changes etc. Some sellers are working on automotive repair and maintenance software which will automatically notify drivers of issues in the vehicle for necessary immediate servicing. The software will direct drivers to the next nearest service station.
