--- title: Auto Repair Shop Metrics that Drive Profitability description: Discover actionable insights for your auto repair shop's profitability by tracking metrics like ARO, declined jobs and first-time customer return rates. image: https://blog.autovitals.com/hubfs/Business%20Graph.jpeg --- (866) 949-2848 support@autovitalsinc.com - - - - [mailto:support@autovitalsinc.com](mailto:support@autovitalsinc.com) - [tel:866-949-2848](tel:866-949-2848) [![Autovitals](https://blog.autovitals.com/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/AutoVitals_May2020/images/AV_Monotone_Black_Full_Lockup.png?width=500&height=300&name=AV_Monotone_Black_Full_Lockup.png "Autovitals")](https://www.autovitals.com/) × - [The Digital Shop®](https://www.autovitals.com/the-digital-shop/) - [Solutions](https://www.autovitals.com/solutions/) - [Find My Solution](https://www.autovitals.com/solutions/) - [Sell More Work Per Inspection](https://www.autovitals.com/solutions/digital-vehicle-inspections/) - [Run at Peak Efficiency](https://www.autovitals.com/workflow/) - [Your Shop in the Digital Age](https://www.autovitals.com/the-digital-shop/) - [Best Practices](https://www.autovitals.com/best-practices-2/) - [Best Practices Library](https://www.autovitals.com/best-practices-2/) - [The Digital Shop® Talk Facebook Forum](https://www.facebook.com/groups/AutoVitalsPartners/) - [The Digital Shop® Conference](https://www.autovitals.com/conference/) - [The Digital Shop® Talk Radio](https://www.autovitals.com/radio/) - [The Digital Shop® Online Summit](https://www.autovitals.com/onlinesummit/) - [Support](https://www.autovitals.com/contact/) - [FAQs](https://www.autovitals.com/faq/) - [Contact Us](https://www.autovitals.com/contact/) - [About Us](https://www.autovitals.com/about/) - [Our Team](https://www.autovitals.com/about/) - [Press](https://www.autovitals.com/press/) - [Careers](https://www.autovitals.com/careers/) - [Schedule a Demo](https://www.autovitals.com/schedule-a-demonstration/) ## The Digital Shop® Blog # Auto Repair Shop Metrics that Drive Profitability [AutoVitals](https://blog.autovitals.com/author/autovitals) Aug 27, 2024, 9:00:00 AM As a top automotive repair shop owner, you are familiar with your topline metrics like Average Repair Order (ARO), weekly revenue, and profit. These metrics provide a snapshot of your shop's performance, but they don't tell the whole story. This blog will explore influential [key performance indicators](https://blog.autovitals.com/auto-repair-shop-metrics-kpis-to-track) (KPIs) that move the needle on revenue.  # **Influential Auto Repair Shop Metrics to Track** ## **Average Recommended Jobs per Inspection** This metric measures how effectively your technicians identify potential areas of concern during vehicle inspections. It is helpful to compare this metric to the amount of mileage on the vehicle to ensure that technicians are not over or under-recommending services. For instance, if the average age of vehicles in your shop is over 100,000 miles, technicians should be recommending more jobs per inspection than if the average age of your vehicle is under 50,000. Tracking this metric can help you understand the thoroughness of your inspections and the potential revenue opportunities you might be missing.  ## **Average Declined Jobs per Repair Order** Averaged declined jobs per repair order measures the effectiveness of your service advisors at presenting your technician’s recommendations to the customer. A high number of declined jobs might indicate a disconnect between your advisors and customers. Enhance this metric by providing your service advisor with the training and tools, like [digital vehicle inspections](https://www.autovitals.com/solutions/digital-vehicle-inspections/), needed to better explain important jobs.  ## **Billed Hours Sold per Day by Service Advisor** This measures the effectiveness of your service advisor in selling necessary work to the customer. It reflects their ability to convert recommended jobs into billed hours. Monitoring this KPI allows you to identify top-performing advisors and replicate their strategies across your team. It also highlights areas where additional training or support might be needed. ## **First Time Customer Return Rate** The first-time customer return rate measures the effectiveness of your shop’s customer retention marketing efforts. High return rates suggest that your [marketing strategies](https://blog.autovitals.com/5-marketing-strategies-to-bring-in-more-customers-to-your-auto-repair-shop) and customer service bring customers back. Retaining customers is often more cost-effective than acquiring new ones so consider investing in [customer retention management](https://www.autovitals.com/crm/).  ## **Exit Scheduling Rate** Exit scheduling is a great way to increase your first-time customer return rate and ensure your customer’s vehicles are routinely serviced. This measures how many appointments your service advisors schedule at vehicle pick-up. A high exit scheduling rate indicates that your advisors are effectively encouraging customers to book their next service appointment before they leave the shop. Make exit scheduling simple with [scheduling software](https://blog.autovitals.com/auto-service-scheduling-with-autovitals) to help maintain a steady workflow in your shop. ## **Pictures per Inspection** If your shop is performing digital vehicle inspections, you should include a minimum of 10 pictures on every inspection. Pictures provide visual evidence of the issues identified, making it easier for customers to understand and approve necessary repairs. Track the number of pictures per inspection to ensure that your technicians are consistently providing visual documentation.  ## **Customer Research Time** For shops that utilize digital vehicle inspections, like [AutoVitals DVI](https://www.autovitals.com/solutions/digital-vehicle-inspections/), customer research time measures how long your customers view their digital inspection results. There is a direct correlation between increased customer research time and increased ARO. The more time customers spend reviewing their inspection reports, the more likely they are to approve recommended services. # **Conclusion** Tracking these influential metrics will provide insights into your shop’s performance, uncover areas for improvement, and identify growth opportunities. However, manually tracking and analyzing these KPIs is time-consuming and prone to errors. AutoVitals automates the tracking of these and over 50 other critical auto repair shop KPIs, providing you with real-time data and actionable insights. With AutoVitals, you can focus on what you do best—providing top-notch automotive repair services—while confidently making data-driven decisions to drive your business forward. [Invest in AutoVitals](https://www.autovitals.com/schedule-a-demonstration/) to use these metrics effectively and drive sustainable success in your auto repair shop.  ## Read On ### [What's Included in the Best Auto Repair Software In today's rapidly evolving automotive industry, the right auto repair software is key to the...](https://blog.autovitals.com/the-best-auto-repair-software) ### [How Digital Inspections Can Help Recruit Great Automotive Technicians In auto repair, the demand for skilled automotive technicians in the United States has reached a...](https://blog.autovitals.com/recruit-great-automotive-technicians-dvi) ### [Digital Vehicle Inspection Best Practices Today’s automotive industry is technology-driven and simply purchasing a digital vehicle inspection...](https://blog.autovitals.com/digital-vehicle-inspection-best-practices) ### Posts by Topic - [Digital Shop (47)](https://blog.autovitals.com/tag/digital-shop) - [auto repair shop (44)](https://blog.autovitals.com/tag/auto-repair-shop) - 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