Garage Hive plays ‘big part’ in transforming loss-making workshop, garage owner explains

Midlands independent went from losing £45,000 to making more than £100,000

Garage Hive plays ‘big part’ in transforming loss-making workshop, garage owner explains

A Midlands based garages has spoke out about how it has made a recovery from loss and continues to progress with business efficiency improvements thanks to its implementation of garage management system, Garage Hive.

In 2016/2017, EAC Telford made a loss of £45,000.

This was the trigger point for garage owners Mark and Jayne to start looking into doing things differently.

An automotive business consultant advised Mark to look at business infrastructure and technician efficiency.

The software they were using was unable to provide the information Mark and Jayne were looking for without having to export it into Excel.

There were also several requirements Mark had to help EAC Telford run the way he wanted it to, and at the time, these requirements were not met until he was introduced to Garage Hive.

Mark said: “After the demo, I bought up a specific requirement of having the brake measurements both new and minimum within a vehicle card as at the time, we were doing a lot of fleet work, and this was a requirement on most of the jobs.

“Within 3-4 days, Garage Hive added this development to the system.”

It gave Mark the confidence that Garage Hive was keen to develop its software to meet his needs.

Mark added: “Previously at EAC Telford, we were using more than six different systems daily to function.

“Now with Garage Hive, this is all-in-one.

“Cost each month is irrelevant if it makes you money in the long run.

“The online documents feature in Garage Hive allows us to communicate with customers in real-time and receive quick feedback on jobs that need to be done.

“We create a report to share with customers via a system-generated link.

“The link is sent to the customer via email or SMS, and they can open it on whatever device they are using and authorise any additional work offered.”

Because of this, it allows staff to spend more time to price up required work and by having fewer jobs through the door each day maximising on the vehicles currently in the workshop.

Data from Garage Hive Reporting has allowed Mark and Jayne to occasionally be away from the garage.

However, it still gives them the ability to check how things are going on the hour, which provides them with a sense of control that they haven’t had before, as now they can check on the business anytime, they wish to.

Mark said: “We can now stop working long hours and start finishing earlier, giving us more time to enjoy life.”

EAC Telford’s team have found that Garage Hive helped provide a process from the initial booking to how the work is scheduled.

The workshop control/run the workshop, as it helps them plan their day, they can see what is left to come in, how a technician is getting on with their job, and if any customers have not turned up, that can be rescheduled.

“Garage Hive helps staff quote consistently for customers by adding fixed mark-ups for each of the item categories,” Mark explained.

“This makes sure we are achieving the profit margins for all parts we sell and ensures our staff can quote and build jobs quickly, without needing to be told sell out prices.”

Mark had a bonus report created with Garage Hive Reporting, which is displayed in his workshop for his technicians to see.

He finds that this gives them all the drive to increase month on month to achieve bonuses and, in turn, make a profit for the business.

His reports also show him his technician’s efficiencies and item margins, average invoice value/ profit, hours sold, and labours sales.

This can be viewed daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly.

Seeing all of this data has helped Mark decide to reduce the amount of fleet work they saw through the door.

Initially, he thought that fleet work would get him a guaranteed job; however, during Covid, he soon realised that he could manage retail work.

He has already reduced his fleet work/retail work ratio down from 60 per cent and 40 per cent and is hoping to get down to an 80 per cent and 20 per cent ratio by the end of 2021.

Garage Hive has seen EAC Telford increase its efficiencies by 40 per cent.

They business went from losing £45,000 to making over £100,000 in 2020/2021.

The average invoice labour value has increased from £98.46 to £133.73 – and this has been achieved from revenue generated from 1206 fewer vehicles in the workshop.

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