Cars are expensive, complicated machinery that most of us happen to rely on every day. And while we've probably spent a larger portion of our lives driving than we want to realize, the inner workings of their vehicle remain unintuitive to most of us.
That's exactly why your shop exists! To help your customers take care of the costly, sometimes difficult repairs so they can get back to their lives, whether that’s bringing the kids to soccer practice or getting to work on time!
Independent auto repair shops can overcome that skepticism from customers. After all, anything is possible with the right tools for the job. When that comes to customer service, independent auto repair shops can start using those tools with a modern shop-management system.
One that makes the often painful, expensive process, of getting their car fixed as simple, easy, and painless as possible.
More specifically, with Tekmetric, shops can show customers what's wrong with Digital Vehicle Inspections, and even help them cover the unexpected cost of a necessary repair with checkout options like Buy Now, Pay Later.
Customers can see photos and videos of exactly what’s wrong with their vehicles, see the urgency of each proposed repair, and approve or decline jobs directly from their smartphones.
DVIs simplify the entire process from both ends, enabling your team to offer amazing customer service most of us don't expect from an independent auto repair shop.
Technicians can build inspections on their smartphones or tablets, and take pictures or record videos to clearly illustrate what parts need to be repaired or replaced. This lets the customer see and hear the problem with their own eyes and ears.
Why DVIs are the Right Tool for the Job
Telling a customer their wheel bearing is going bad on a paper printout will have a different effect than showing them a video of your technician rotating that wheel bearing, recreating that awful howling noise the customer hears every time they drive.
Customers expect digital experiences. We have our receipts emailed to us instead of printed, we can order groceries online, and we get pictures when our deliveries are dropped off. Almost everything we purchase has a digital component, and your shop should be no different.
Auto repair shops can easily provide a modern customer experience with digital vehicle inspections by emailing or texting the results directly to the customer, including those pictures or videos technicians include in their inspection findings.
And you can stop wasting time on phone calls and tracking down your guests for the green light on repairs. Tekmetric lets customers review repair orders directly in those digital inspection findings your shop sent them.
Within a matter of seconds, at their convenience, customers can approve the work so your shop can get started, and get their vehicle back on the road as quickly as possible.
Buy Now, Pay Later Options Bring Your Shop into 2023
Here’s where the tricky part comes in: the customer hesitates to approve the repair order.
The sticker shock of a big repair they weren’t expecting can generally lead to customers picking and choosing what they want to repair so it fits their budget. In some cases, this means sometimes putting off important repairs that could end up dangerous if ignored.
That's exactly where buy now, pay later comes in.
Why Buy Now, Pay Later Options are the Right Tool for the Job
With our industry-first offering of buy now, pay later via Affirm or Klarna, we make it easy for shops to get those expensive repairs approved by providing customers with the option to pay for the repair over time, while you get paid the same day.
And you’ll still see a host of new benefits, like:
Get paid on time by allowing your customers to pay over time
Make more money by increasing your Average Repair Order value
Keep everything simple with one single trusted payment partner
Tekmerchant is all about consolidating your payment processing into one platform, simplifying the hassle of seeing all of your payments right in your shop management system.
And with buy now, pay later shops can see a huge boost to their average repair order by meeting customers where they are and giving them the option to pay at a schedule that fits their needs exactly.
Visualize Repairs with MotoVisuals
Building a trusted relationship with your customers starts with transparency.
Tekmetric now seamlessly integrates with MotoVisuals to elevate the customer experience, streamline shop processes, and empower automotive businesses like never before.
MotoVisuals offers a wide array of simple-to-follow animation videos for service advisors to leverage with their guests, simplifying vehicle education and repair explanations.
Why MotoVisuals is the Right Tool for the Job
While DVIs can help your shop show customers what needs to be repaired or replaced, they still might have questions about your shop’s labor rate. It’s one thing to see a broken part and another thing to know what it takes to replace it.
That’s where your service advisors come in – they help translate the technobabble of auto repairs to the customer. So why not equip them with the best tools for the job?
In fact, Advance Professionals reported a 90% increase in close rates from hesitant customers when shops incorporated MotoVisuals into their digital vehicle inspections.
The Right Tools for the Job Meet Modern Customer Expectations
Because they don't feel pressured to cover the cost upfront, customers are more likely to make those larger repairs with less hesitance.
Your shop will become a trusted advisor for your customers: one they can rely on for support, helping them make the right decisions for their vehicle and their wallet.
Please note: This blog post does not constitute legal or financial advice. This blog post is merely a guide on how shop management software works with accounting software. Additionally, there is a difference between bookkeeping services and accounting services. If you’re seeking professional accounting services, contact Paar, Melis, & Associates.
For many shop owners, the accounting side of business can be overwhelming. After all, there’s probably a good reason why you decided to start an auto repair business and not an accounting firm—you enjoy fixing cars and helping people, not staring at numbers all day. That's where reporting features from Tekmetric come in, making it easier to see all your finances in one place.
But when you’re in the shop owner’s seat, it’s vital for you to have a firm grasp on your books. If you want your business to succeed over the long haul, your financial statements need to be complete, consistent, and comparable.
Have you submitted your taxes yet, or are you struggling to get your records in order and submit everything on time? Wherever you are in your tax prep process, you need to pull together a plan and act fast or you may have to pay penalties.
Sometimes, even hearing the word taxes can be scary, but unfortunately, taxes are one fear we don’t get to avoid indefinitely. Auto repair shop Tax Day is the same day as everyone else’s Tax Day, and things just get more complicated if you don’t file on time. The clock is running out on your time to file without an extension this year, and even filing for an extension comes with its own deadline.
But if you tackle the process with knowledge and empowerment, doing business taxes and sales tax on car repairs at the shop doesn’t have to be difficult.
Here are five tips that can help you have a better auto repair shop tax season.
Disclosure: the information in this article is not to be taken as formal tax or legal advice. Individual business circumstances vary, and you should always consult with a CPA and tax attorney.
Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Tekmetric Sunil Patel joined Editor Chris Jones on Ratchet+Wrench Radio to talk about how shop management software suites are changing the landscape of the auto repair industry, especially when it comes to building relationships and communicating effectively.
Sunil also touched on the history of some of Tekmetric’s relationships and how Tekmetric makes sure the voices of shop owners are heard.
Listen here, or catch some of the highlights below.
Note: some of the following answers have been condensed for clarity and brevity.
Relationship-Building 101: Laying Down a Solid Foundation
Jones: The last time we saw each other was at WorldPac STX in Orlando. And that’s where you guys announced a partnership with Advance Auto Parts. I know a lot of our readers have seen it, but can you share a little bit about the details with our audience, just from your own words and perspective?
Patel: So we’ve had a great relationship with Advance Auto Parts for a very long time. And we wanted to leverage the relationship to try to get more shops to use Tekmetric, and it just happened to be the right place, right time.
Side note: For those that don’t know, Advance Auto Parts actually owns WorldPac and Sunil Patel’s relationship with both goes way back. Before co-founding Tekmetric, Patel owned an auto repair shop that was one of the highest purchasers of parts from WorldPac in Houston for almost a decade.
Jones: That’s kind of cool to see how the relationship evolved over the years.
Patel: It’s a big company. It’s not like turning a speedboat, it’s like turning a steamship. Sometimes it just takes time to let some of these relationships play out. It affects so many people. We have to be absolutely sure of how this is going to play out, and how it’s going to work.
Using Shop Management Software to Get Everyone on the Same Page
Jones: So let’s talk about shop ownership a little bit. You were once a shop owner kind of in the Dark Ages before we had these robust shop management software suites. What was it like for you to operate on these limited tools?
Patel: You know, it was tough. Customers didn't always respond back, and we would always have to follow up with a phone call. There was always a disconnect.
We were probably ahead of our time 12 years ago trying to get some of this stuff out. Tekmetric used a combination of manual processes and text messaging. Text messaging was pretty popular back then, but MMS or multimedia messaging or picture messaging was not so popular.
So adding that in the mix with communications and whatnot into one platform has been very paramount to the success of our company because it closes the loop between the vehicle owner, the shop owner, the technician, and the service writer.
It keeps everybody on the same platform and communications thread. That way everybody has full visibility into what's going on with the repair of that vehicle to ensure a timely repair—ultimately making the customer happy.
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