Are you looking for a comprehensive guide to auto repair software? You’ve come to the right place!
In this blog post, we will discuss everything related to using auto repair software. We’ll cover the features, benefits, pricing and much more about auto repair software. If you’re considering purchasing this type of software for your business, then you need to read this post!
Auto Repair Software: What is it?
As a mechanic, you’ve probably come across the term auto repair software. A lot of shops in the auto repair industry use it. But what exactly is this software?
Simply put, auto repair shop software is a workflow management program. It’s not some magical tool that fixes cars for you. Believe me, some people did think that.
When you have a few customers, it’s kind of easy to manage everything on spreadsheets. But as your repair shop garners more customers, it becomes a bit hard to keep track of everything. This usually leads to chaos that you definitely DON’T want in your business.
Picture this: Your repair business is growing well. It’s April, one of the craziest and busiest months for auto repair businesses. It’s called the opportunity season for a reason.
Do you want customers lined up at your shop, only to find out that they are far too many to handle for you? Running an auto repair shop is not easy and it becomes even more difficult in these months.
This is where auto repair programs come in. It has all the tools you need to manage your repair shop’s workflow efficiently.
In a nutshell, auto repair management software helps you:
- Manage your appointment calendar
- Do digital vehicle inspections
- Create estimates/quotes quickly
- Track and manage repair jobs
- Generate accurate invoices
- Collect payments easily
There’s a lot more to it that we will delve into later, but this is the gist of what a system like this can do for you.
Why Do You Need Auto Repair Management Software?
You need a few tools when starting an auto repair business. Some of the common ones are a lift, toolbox, wrenches, sockets, OBD scanners and a few others. Auto repair software is just another tool in your kit.
However, while other tools help you make repairs to your cars, shop management software helps you stay updated on everything happening at your repair shop.
When running a repair business, you know that staying on top of your paperwork is essential. From tracking inventory to keeping records of customer visits, there’s a lot to keep track of.
That’s where the software comes in. It helps you manage your business more efficiently and keep track of everything from appointments to parts orders. Here’s a look at how auto repair software can help you run your business more smoothly.
Seamless Appointment Scheduling
With the right software, you can easily see who has an appointment and when, and you can even reschedule appointments if necessary. This can help you keep your customers happy and coming back to your shop.
Track Your Inventory
Auto repair software can also help you track your inventory. This is especially important if you need to order parts on a regular basis.
With the right software, you can easily see what parts you have in stock and what needs to be ordered. This can save you a lot of time and hassle, and it can help you keep your shop running smoothly.
Accounting and Finances
Auto repair software can also help you manage your finances. This can be a huge help if you’re trying to keep track of expenses and income. With the right software, you can easily see where your money is going and where it’s coming from. This can help you make sure that your repair business is profitable and that you’re not overspending.
Get Fast Estimate Approvals
A lot of people who want to get their cars repaired request an estimate, sometimes even before visiting a repair shop. People usually do this to compare repair shop estimates with insurance estimates.
If you’re on the phone with a customer, you need to be able to give an estimate as quickly as possible. If you are too slow in coming up with a ballpark figure for an estimate, your potential customer might look elsewhere to get their vehicle fixed. Estimates include things like labor cost, time needed and part prices.
Estimating software for auto repair shops helps you create estimates quickly and efficiently. We’ll go over how the software actually helps you generate estimates in more detail later in this blog post!
Flexible Payment Options
Let’s go over your favorite part of running a repair garage: getting paid. In 2024, a lot of people have shifted to digital or contactless payments. You should try to offer as many payment methods as possible in your repair shop.
The most commonly used payment methods are:
- Good old cash
- Credit/Debit Cards (VISA, Mastercard, AMEX, JBL etc)
- Contactless Payments (Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay)
Customers are everything for your business so you should try to accommodate them as much as possible. A lot of people don’t carry cash. A lot of people don’t like using credit cards. Some don’t even know how contactless payments work.
Offering more payment methods is a surefire way to let more people use the services of your auto repair garage. Fortunately, shop management software for the auto repair industry are compatible with multiple payment solutions.
These are a few of the ways in which auto repair shop software helps you run an auto repair shop in an easier way.
Read More: 5 Reasons Why Garage Owners Love Auto Repair Software
Scheduling Appointments
Auto repair software is an amazing tool that can help you with creating and scheduling appointments. It makes the process much easier and helps to ensure that everything goes smoothly. Here are some of the ways in which auto repair software can help you out:
Scheduling appointments can be a huge pain, especially if you have a lot of them. Auto repair software can help you by keeping track of all your appointments from one calendar and making sure that they are all in one place. This way, you can easily see when your next appointment is and make any changes that need to be made.
How Does Auto Repair Software Help You With Estimates
Auto repair scheduling software helps you manage those chaotic appointment calendars easily. Not only can you create multiple appointments easily, you can track them straight from the dashboard. On top of that, you can easily convert an appointment into a Repair Order at the click of a button! Scheduling programs provide a plethora of benefits for auto repair shops!
Digital Vehicle Inspections
Inspecting a vehicle shouldn’t take very long. To help you do inspections quickly, digital vehicle inspection software has you covered!
Digital inspections help you fill a checklist while you’re inspecting a vehicle. Instead of noting everything down on paper, your technicians can add notes and pictures against every part. Not only does this help keep you and your customer on the same page, but it also helps in transparency. This is because your customer can actually see the damaged parts before choosing to get them repaired.
The biggest benefit of digital vehicle inspections is time savings. Want to do a quick inspection of a vehicle? Go for a general inspection. Do you want to dive deeper and do a multi-point inspection in detail? Choose detailed inspections. Furthermore, you can even create custom checklists for individual services or vehicles to save even more time.
How Does Auto Repair Software Help You With Inspections
Simple, you get a checklist that your techs can use on their iPads during an inspection. Headlights broken? Just take a picture, add notes, set the repair priority and you’re done! You can also go back and edit your checklist in case you have new findings during the inspection.
Also, if you’re using an OBD or OBD2 scanner, just put the error codes into the software and it will automatically log the problem into the system!
Estimates
There are many reasons why estimates are important in auto repair shops. One of the most obvious is that they provide a starting point for negotiations when you need to get your car fixed. If the customer likes your
Another reason is that estimates help prevent unneeded repairs from occurring by giving you an idea of what may be wrong before any work takes place, so if there’s no real problem, then time and money won’t have been wasted on unnecessary service work.
Estimates also give customers peace of mind – knowing how much their vehicle will cost them before any work has even taken place helps people feel less anxious about the situation, and more likely to use the shop again in the future.
How Does Auto Repair Software Help You With Estimates
The word “estimate” has a lot of weight in the auto repair business. A good estimate can make or break a company, and it is vital for any shop to be able to produce accurate and cost-effective estimates as quickly as possible.
This is where auto repair estimating software comes into play. Creating estimates with it is very easy. If you’ve already done a digital inspection, all you need to do is convert customer concerns and technician recommendations into repair jobs.
Once you’ve created the relevant jobs, you need to add parts and labor. The integrated labor guides automatically help you add the needed labor cost and time.
You can add parts from the internal catalog. If you don’t have the parts needed on hand, integrations like Nexpart help you order parts directly from the software. Now that’s convenience!
And you’re all done creating an estimate. How long did it take? Probably two minutes!
Job Board
Job tracking boards in auto repair software help with workflow management by allowing you to see the status of each job and the mechanics assigned to it.
This allows for better coordination between workers and helps ensure that jobs are completed on time. Additionally, job boards can help you identify potential bottlenecks in the workflow and make adjustments accordingly. By streamlining the workflow, auto repair management software can help you improve the overall efficiency of your business.
When you create a repair job, it is displayed as a card that displays all the essential information about the job. You can drag and drop the cards around freely. This gives you a bird’s eye view of all the pending, active and completed jobs in your shop.
Looking for an Auto Repair Software in 2024?
If you’re in the market for a free automotive repair software program in 2024, here are five things to keep in mind.
Type of Business
The first thing you should do when selecting a new program is figuring out what type of auto shop your business is and how many employees will be using it. This will help narrow down the available options and make it easier to find something that fits your needs.
Not all management software are created equal. Some are tailored specifically for different industries. You can find all-in-one auto repair software, truck repair software, RV repair software etc.
For example, if you run an auto detailing and wrapping shop, you might want to look at auto detailing software.
Cloud-Based or Downloadable Software
Once you’ve narrowed down your search by category, take into account any system requirements such as computer speed, internet connectivity etc needed to run the software comfortably; this may eliminate some programs from consideration right off the bat due to lack of compatibility with your current setup.
For example, some people prefer cloud-based software because you can access those from anywhere. On the flip side, others prefer downloadable software on their computers.
Customer Service
You also want to consider customer service features like availability 24/7 or extended hours on weekends, as well as language support if you have a multi-lingual staff
Integrations
In terms of actual software features, look for programs that allow for online bookings and payments, GPS tracking for service vehicles, and integrations with other business software you may already be using such as Nexpart, CARFAX, Quickbooks, Stripe etc
Pricing Model and Contracts
The majority of auto repair shop software out there have subscription-based business models. With a subscription-based auto repair program, you’ll have access to the latest and greatest software versions as soon as they’re released. You won’t have to worry about manually downloading and installing updates or new versions – the software will do it for you automatically.
While this payment model has a lot of benefits, make sure you choose a program that does not lock you into contracts. The last thing you want to do is be stuck with a mediocre software for 2 years or more.
Wrapping It Up
Auto repair software is a surefire way to grow your repair business. It offers a whole world of convenience that can help you focus on improving the weak areas of your business rather than getting bogged down in a myriad of operational tasks.
Do you use an auto repair management software for your repair garage? Let us know in the comments below!
