Investing in an cloud-based auto repair shop management system is one of the best ways to refine your shop’s processes and get things under control. However, the decision to invest in a shop management system is a big one.
Before you begin researching different options on the market, you should ask yourself two key questions:
- Am I at the stage where I need a new shop management system?
- What do I want from a shop management system?
As you search for a suitable shop management system through automotive repair shop software reviews, it’s important that you diligently research any system you’re considering.
Is It Time to Upgrade Your Shop Management System?
If you roll out a new shop management system when your shop doesn’t yet have a use case for it, you risk sinking your money into a tool that your team might leave idle for a while. But if you wait until you’re 100% sure you need a shop management system, you can start benefiting from your investment immediately.
Here are some scenarios in which you might decide you need a new shop management system:
- Your current system is crashing
- You want your shop to grow
- You feel tied to your shop
- You want to get a better grasp of your shop’s metrics
Of course, these aren’t the only reasons why you might decide your shop is ready for a new shop management system.
After all, each shop is unique, and your reasons for getting a new solution might be different from that of the shop owner across the street.
What’s Important For Your Shop?
If you’ve decided that it’s time for your shop to get a new shop management system, assess what’s important to you in a solution, so you can conduct your research with those needs in mind.
Again, remember that your shop and your team are unique. Just because a fellow shop owner might deem that something is important to have in a shop management system doesn’t mean that it will carry the same weight for you.
Here are the top things shop owners want from a shop management system:
- Achieve higher shop profitability
- Simplify their shop operations and management
- Work from anywhere they have an internet connection
- Clarity into shop performance and financials
- Modernize their shop experience to keep customer happy
- Receive excellent customer support from their shop management solution provider
Ideally, you want a shop management system that covers all of your needs. It’s a major investment, and you don’t want a situation where you feel like something is missing in your software solution.
Narrow Down Your Auto Repair Shop Software Options
Once you’ve listed what you want to accomplish with a shop management system, you’re now ready to narrow down the solutions you want to look into when reading automotive repair shop software reviews.
First, build a list of all the solutions you’re considering.
| Priority | What To Look For |
| Achieve higher shop profitability | - Detailed reports of shop metrics
|
| Simplify their shop operations and management | - Management dashboards for service advisors and technicians
- Integrations within the software
|
| Work from anywhere they have an internet connection | |
| Clarity into shop performance and financials | - Automatic reporting tools
|
| Modernize their shop experience to keep customer happy | - Digital vehicle inspections and estimates
- Text-to-pay
|
| Receive excellent customer support from their shop management solution provider | - Company culture centered on service and support
|
These could be solutions you’ve heard your peers in the industry use, solutions you’ve seen ads for, or solutions you’ve read about online. From there, you can begin the process of eliminating any solution that does not help with your priorities.
Prioritize Your Shop's Needs
As you go through your list, cross out the solutions that don’t have the features you need to accomplish your goals. For example, if your top priority is being able to work from anywhere, and one of the solutions you’re considering is not cloud-based, that makes that solution a no-go for your shop.
No matter what, you want everyone on your team to be happy with the shop management solution you roll out. When everyone benefits from your shop management solution, you maximize your chances of leveling up.
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