MYTH 1: YOU’LL HAVE TO PURCHASE BRAND NEW HARDWARE
It’s understandable to be worried about having to get new hardware to go alongside a new auto repair software program. After all, new hardware is expensive and will also need space that your office just might not have.
THE REAL DEAL: RUN YOUR SHOP ON YOUR TERMS
If you opt for the right cloud-based automotive repair software program, you won’t have to worry about buying new hardware because you won’t be tied down to just one device.
Once your software is activated, you can work from whichever device and whichever location you prefer (as long as you have an internet connection), whether it’s the trusty desktop in your home office or the laptop you take with you to trainings across the country.
Cloud-based software gives you the flexibility to run your shop on your terms.
TEK-TIP: EASY-TO-USE, CLOUD-BASED AUTO REPAIR SHOP SOFTWARE
Tekmetric’s cloud-based automotive repair software program is easy to learn and use. Your shop’s data will securely live on the cloud, so you can access it anytime, anywhere you have an internet connection. You don’t have to be physically tethered to your shop to run it efficiently. You can stay in-the-know from afar, whether you’re on a Hawaiian island or at your child’s doctor’s office.
And, unlike with an on-location solution, you’ll have more peace of mind. Because your data will live on the cloud, you won’t have to worry about losing years and years of important shop history due to a drink spilling on your hard-drive or your hard-drive becoming corrupted (hard-drives don’t have long lives—on average, they last between three to five years).
MYTH 2: YOU’LL HAVE TO LOCK YOURSELF INTO A LONG-TERM CONTRACT
Contracts can make anyone nervous. After all, by signing a contract, you’re basically locking yourself into using the automotive repair software program for a certain amount of time. What if you end up not liking it? What if your team finds it difficult to use?
If problems arise, you’ll have to stick out the contract. Meanwhile, you and your team may become increasingly unhappy, and productivity might start to take a hit.
THE REAL DEAL: LONG-TERM CONTRACTS AREN’T A GIVEN
Thankfully, long-term contracts aren’t a given! With some research, you can find an automotive repair software program that won’t require you to sign a long-term contract. In fact, you can even find an automotive repair software program that won’t require you to sign any contract!
As obvious as it sounds, when you don’t have to sign a contract, you simply have more freedom. If you or your team end up not liking the software, you can switch at any time. The ability to switch whenever you want gives you more control over how you run your shop. You’ll have peace of mind that you and your team won’t be stuck for what feels like an eternity using a solution you dislike.
TEK-TIP: NO CONTRACTS OF ANY KIND REQUIRED
At Tekmetric, we pride ourselves on the quality and ease-of-use of our software. We know, we know. We sound like braggarts right now. But we’re confident that shop owners will love our software, and if they don’t, no hard feelings! We don’t lock our users into contracts because we value freedom and don’t want people to stay if they genuinely don’t want to.
If you sign up for Tekmetric, you won’t have to sign a contract locking you into using our software for any length of time. You’ll be free to cancel your service at any time, without hassles.
MYTH 3: SWITCHING AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR SOFTWARE PROGRAMS IS EXPENSIVE
You might already be using one of the many automotive repair software programs on the market. Whatever your reasons are for wanting to switch—maybe you want a solution that isn’t on-location or want one that offers different features—you might be worried that switching automotive repair software programs will be an expensive ordeal.
THE REAL DEAL: SWITCHING CAN BE COST-EFFECTIVE
An automotive repair software program doesn’t have to cost you big time to switch. With some automotive repair software programs, you can consolidate many of your daily activities, so you don’t have to worry about getting various solutions for different functionalities.
Additionally, the automotive repair software program you’re considering might have tiered pricing, meaning you can pick and choose a plan that falls within your budget and that has the specific features you want. Later, if you decide you do want to start using those features, you can upgrade your plan. This flexibility is helpful because as your business evolves, your technological needs will evolve, too.
Or, as distressing as it is to think about, sometimes things in business don’t go as planned. If your area is hit by a natural disaster and you must close your shop for several months, for instance, you can take some solace in the fact that you can cancel your automotive repair software program subscription for the time being and re-subscribe once the situation improves.
And if you go with a cloud-based automotive repair software program, you’ll likely have low startup costs. Data migrations might be the only things for which you’ll have startup fees.
TEK-TIP: SWITCH WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK
Tekmetric offers tiered pricing that makes it easy for shop owners to switch over. All three of our plans offer access to some of the most essential capabilities for shops, including:
- Digital vehicle inspections
- Calendars and appointments
- Unlimited repair orders
- Unlimited users and devices per shop
Tekmetric doesn’t make users sign contracts, either, so you can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel your plan whenever you wish.
For setting up, you won’t have to purchase expensive hardware, since our solution is cloud-based. If you wish, you can pay an additional fee and import your data from your old system. Paying for a data migration is not mandatory by any means, but it will make getting up and running even easier.
MYTH 4: YOU’LL HAVE TO PAY MORE FOR THE SOFTWARE WHEN YOU HIRE NEW EMPLOYEES
One of the main reasons you may be looking to roll out an automotive repair software program is to scale your business more efficiently. As your business grows, chances are you’ll have to hire additional employees to keep things running seamlessly. Those new employees will need to access the automotive repair software program to successfully do their jobs, and you’ll have to pay more for those new users, right? Not necessarily.
THE REAL DEAL: MORE USERS ≠ MORE EXPENSES!
While researching automotive repair software programs—or other types of software solutions—you might have stumbled upon some that charge more when you add additional users. This approach can create a lot of headaches for shop owners. Hiring a new employee is already expensive.
After all, you must pay them a salary or hourly rate, provide benefits like health insurance, and set them up with the tools they need to succeed. If you have tomust pay more money to get a new service advisor or technician set up on your automotive repair software program, that’s yet another expense that you’ll have to add to the list.
If you decide against setting up some of your team members with your automotive repair software program due to the expenses involved, you’ll probably run into major problems, like a disjointed environment where it’s hard for people to get into a state of “flow.” Some shop owners try to bypass this type of restriction by having employees share logins, but that can quickly take a turn for the worse. Specifically, tracking might become inaccurate, and you’ll have a tougher time determining who did what in the software.
However, there are automotive repair software programs out there that won’t charge you for additional users. In fact, programs like Tekmetric have an “unlimited users” approach for each shop location, meaning you won’t have to worry about your automotive repair software program bill climbing up each time you hire a new employee at your shop.
TEK-TIP: NO HIDDEN FEES FOR ADDING MORE USERS AND DEVICES PER LOCATION
Tekmetric gives you one less thing to worry about when you’re expanding your team. You can add unlimited users and devices within a single shop location—with zero hidden fees! Whether you hire five or fifteen new employees for your shop, the price you’ll pay for Tekmetric moving forward will remain the same.
If you decide to open an additional shop, you can easily purchase a new Tekmetric plan for that location and then add that new shop’s profile to your existing Tekmetric system.
MYTH 5: TRAINING IS ALWAYS TOUGH
Whenever you do something new—be it cooking that carbonara pasta dish you saw online, trying your hand at golf for the first time, or using that automotive repair software program you rolled out for your team—you have to learn the ropes.
How steep a learning curve is will often depend on your existing knowledge and skills, the complication or ease of the task at hand, and the resources available to you.
THE REAL DEAL: LEARN NEW SOFTWARE WITHOUT A STEEP LEARNING CURVE
When it comes to learning how to use a new automotive repair software program, how easy it will be will come down to two main things:
- How intuitive the software is
- How responsive the customer success team is at training your team and helping you solve challenges
If you go with an automotive repair software program that’s clunky and has a hands-off team that gives you a user manual and wishes you luck, we’re willing to bet that you and your team will have a steep learning curve. You might spend hours trying to figure out how to navigate the software, and that time ends up cutting into your team’s core tasks. Your frustrated team members start taking longer to finish repairs (because they’re dealing with trying to figure out the software), and your customers leave unhappy, possibly leaving a negative review for your shop on Google or Yelp.
But, if you go with an automotive repair software program that's easy and straightforward to use, and that’s backed by a responsive customer success team that offers users plenty of resources (like webinars and on-site training), that learning curve will be pretty smooth sailing. You and your team will be able to quickly get up to speed, learning all the essential tips and tricks for making the most out of the software.
TEK-TIP: TRAINING, SIMPLIFIED
Tekmetric is already intuitive and easy to use. Just check out what Tekmetric user Stephane Grabina of Excluservice has to say: “The system is very intuitive, so training wasn't that hard.”
Tekmetric offers shops multiple ways to get familiar with our software, including:
- Comprehensive YouTube videos
- An in-depth online Knowledge Base
- Webinar trainings
- Dedicated remote training sessions
- On-site, hands-on training sessions
With all these options at your disposal, you can decide how to get your team up to speed.
And what’s more, your training isn’t limited to the early stages of your subscription. Our responsive customer success team is here to answer your questions along the way as they come up, whether you need a refresher on a particular feature or need assistance setting up a new employee with an account.
AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR SOFTWARE PROGRAMS: FINDING THE RIGHT FIT
It’s important to think about your shop’s unique needs during the research phase. There are some capabilities in particular that will help you rapidly transform and grow your shop, such as robust reporting, integrations, and workflows. Keep your shop’s needs in mind as you research different options on the market, and don’t assume that every solution will have them. The last thing you want is a nasty surprise on day one of using your new software when you realize that the feature you really wantedd… isn’t there.
And remember that along with the software itself, it’s essential to consider the people behind the software.
Do you get along with them?
What’s your impression of them?
Are they approachable and helpful during the demo stage?
If you sign up for a solution that’s backed by people you don’t really get along with, you’re going to have a harder time with training and, down the road, with support.
On the other hand, if you choose a solution that’s backed by a team you love, you’ll feel at ease during training and comfortable asking questions along the way. You’ll actually enjoy interacting with them—and that makes a world of difference.
Additionally, you should consider your team members’ preferences and opinions. They’re the people who will be using the software to complete repairs, and it’s important that they have a say in the software they’ll be using each day. Try to have members of your team attend demo sessions with you so they can get a feel for the software and ask their questions.
Ultimately, by not believing the myths above, doing your due diligence during the research phase, and involving your team in the decision-making process, you’ll be well on your way to implementing the automotive repair software program that’s just right for you and your team.
So, while there’s lots of shop problems automotive repair software can’t fix (your shop’s bad coffee, for example), you may be surprised on all it can do and how easy it is to get up and running.
