How long does it take to identify the problem with your vehicle? How soon can they find a solution? How accurate is the suggested solution? How much do you need to pay for the service? Is it worth it? These are the questions every consumer should ask before taking their vehicles to the auto repair shop.
As you might already know, the use of an auto repair shop management software in auto repair shops isn’t surprising anymore. As our vehicles continue to improve, the repair shops where we bring our vehicles should improve, too. This pertains to the process involved in checking or repairing our car. But what difference do these software systems make?
What is an auto repair shop management software?
An auto repair shop management software is a system that automates the daily transactions in managing an auto repair shop. This software offers different features that can positively impact your relationship with your customers and increase your profit margin. It’s your best friend when it comes to increasing the number of cars your shop can serve as you spend less time working behind a desk.
Auto repair shop systems have two different categories: web-based or cloud-based software and on-premise software. What’s the difference between the two?
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Web-based or cloud-based software
Web-based auto repair shop management software requires internet/data connection for it to work. Most web-based software will charge you a monthly subscription cost. With this plan, you’ll be able to experience the benefits of having an auto repair software without having to download software onto every piece of work equipment or terminal. You also won’t have to pay for software updates for technical issues, interface improvements, and new features.
On-premise software
On-premise software allows you to have full ownership of the software, as long as you find it helpful. However, before you can own the software, you’ll need to pay for any software updates, or whenever you need technical support.
To download and install the software on your main devices like desktops, laptops, mobile devices, tablets, etc., there may be more set up involved. But in the end, you’ll be able to own the software. While the one-time fee can be expensive, you’ll realize that between the two software, on-premise is more cost-effective.
How does an auto repair shop management software work?
Here’s an overview of how an auto repair shop management software works:
Collecting information
To identify what the exact issue is, you need to collect as much information as you can. By using an auto repair shop software, you can do this easier. Here’s how the system works to collect information:
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- Collecting personal and vehicle information. When a customer goes to the shop to complain about a car problem, he enters his personal and vehicle information on a tablet. The system determines if this is a first-time customer or if the customer has already been to the shop before.
- Suggesting recommended services. After collecting the customer’s personal and vehicle information, the system suggests services depending on the current weather, along with the recommended services from the last time he had his vehicle serviced. This feature gives the customer the option to approve the services or not.
- Asking for specific details. The system then asks the customer to provide a brief summary of the issue. Once the customer goes over the issues he has with his vehicle, it will automatically update his contact information in the shop management software.
- Creating a new work order. Once the system updates the customer’s contact information, it creates a new work order, with notes provided by the customer. At this point, the technician discusses the issue with the customer.
Any additional information is used to update the system in real-time and automatically adds labor costs for the diagnostic.
- Sending the results via SMS. The customer receives an SMS with the results of the courtesy inspection.
Completing the inspection
Once the courtesy inspection is complete, the technician needs to thoroughly inspect the vehicle. This step involves the following:
- Identifying the real problem. This is where the technician identifies the issue and takes photos to show the customer exactly what’s wrong.
- Creating an inspection report. Using detailed descriptions that are already built-in, the technician creates an inspection report that is easy for the customer to follow. And as the inspection is updated, the recommendations in the shop management system is updated, too.
- Sending a notification to the service adviser. Once the technician is complete, the service adviser receives a notification so he can review the inspection and make sure that it’s ready to be sent off.
- Sending a notification to the customer. Once the service adviser is done, he sends an SMS to the customer to notify him that the inspection is complete. Here, the customer receives a link where he can view the detailed inspection results.
This sends an automatic notification to the service adviser to let him know that the customer has seen the detailed results.
- Calling the customer. The service adviser then calls the customer to go through the detailed inspection results, line by line.
- Sending an invoice. Once the customer approves the inspection results, the service adviser changes the order from an estimate to an invoice.
Notifying the customer that the car is ready for pickup
This is the last step of the process, where the customer can pick up his car. This involves the following:
- Sending a notification to the service adviser. The service adviser receives a notification that the car is ready for pickup.
- Sending a notification to the customer. Once the service adviser receives a notification, he then sends an SMS to the customer, using the message manager feature, to let him know that the car is ready for pickup.
These are the things an auto repair shop management software can do, that many repair shops already know. Using such software makes everything easier for both the technician and the customer. So, don’t miss out on this opportunity and use one for your repair shop now. You’ll be surprised how much you’ll make every day.
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