For small business owners, operating multiple auto repair shops is a complex endeavor that requires a great deal of coordination and attention to detail. With the right software, however, it’s possible to streamline operations across multiple locations and maintain high efficiency without sacrificing the quality of your customer service.
Whether you’re already a vehicle repair multi-shop owner (MSO) or are thinking about expanding, the right software can support you on the road to success. Here are just a few ways modern tools can help.
For multi-shop owners, one of the primary benefits of auto repair software is the ability to standardize processes across all locations. By using the same software in every shop, you can ensure that all technicians — regardless of location — use the same methodologies and documentation procedures.
For example, setting up smart, efficient workflows and guided digital vehicle inspections ensures that all technicians at every location follow the same steps before, during, and after a multi-point inspection checklist. The workflow guides your team through each item, ensuring a consistent, comprehensive customer experience every time.
Standardizing operations in this manner also streamlines the process of training new technicians. Rather than learning operational models that are tied to one location, a trainee can learn techniques that will function across the board, which can also help employees or managers move from one location to another.
Another benefit of this standardization is the ease with which it allows you to scale. Naturally, there’s a lot of logistical legwork when opening a new location, from choosing real estate to fitting it with equipment and staff.
While there’s no getting around those parts of the setup, you’ll already have the software part figured out. Canned jobs, guided inspection workflows, and lines of digital communication are just a few areas where you’ll already have systems in place from your existing shop locations. As a complete shop success solution, AutoVitals can even help with digital scheduling and marketing tools to help your new location get up and running in no time.
By using a centralized platform for auto repairs, you can manage all of your shops from a single dashboard, monitor KPIs and performance, and keep track of inventory. You can also easily set up roles, giving permissions to employees as needed.
For vehicle repair MSOs, a frequent pain point is an inability to be everywhere at once. With auto repair software, owners can get a better view of their shops and how they’re performing by tracking order progress, labor hours, and customer metrics in one central place.
In fact, with auto repair software, owners may not necessarily need to be in the shop at all. The software provides a digital platform that can be accessed from any place with an internet connection.
Depending on the number of shops you own and their locations, customers may end up visiting multiple shops. In most cases, this would present several difficulties — most importantly, the ability for technicians from Shop B to have vehicle information obtained by Shop A. Auto repair software eliminates this issue through the use of customer profiles.
By creating individualized profiles of each customer and their vehicles, auto repair software allows multiple shops to create, share, and access customer data for more efficient service. Over time, the software builds up extensive data on each customer’s vehicle and service history, like a medical record for a car. This allows technicians to make appropriate recommendations (ex: new brakes, transmission flushes, or other routine maintenance) based on shared data.
Additionally, auto repair software can also allow customers to schedule services online at whichever location is most convenient, get service reminders via text or email, and help ensure that your bays are full.
Data from one shop is great, but the ability to gather even more data across all your locations is even better.
With auto repair software, you can access more advanced analytics and reporting features. This allows you to gain deeper insights into your business and make more informed decisions on how to move forward. You can track key performance indicators, analyze trends, and identify potential issues before they become problems. Step back to view a consolidated, big-picture snapshot of your entire chain, or drill into shop-by-shop specifics.
A benefit of having multiple shops is that each location provides a direct comparison to gauge success. For example, if one shop consistently has a higher average repair order, you can delve deeper into the causes of this trend to increase the ARO of your other locations.
When it comes to auto repair software for multi-shop owners, AutoVitals provides a unique combination of customer satisfaction features with business tracking metrics that streamline the backend processes of owning more than one location.
Central to AutoVitals is its Business Control Panel. From here, vehicle repair MSOs can monitor vehicle inspections, workflow management, and KPIs like inspection rates and times.
As well as managing your workflow, AutoVitals can engage your customers with customized loyalty programs and online booking capabilities — both of which help build relationships with clients old and new.
No matter where you are in your digital journey, AutoVitals has a solution for you: one platform for inspections, workflow, marketing, and customer engagement. Reach out today to schedule a demo and get started.