Be it preventative or essential, maintenance is an indispensable part of every vehicle's life.

A vehicle is full of small parts, and as soon as your new car is on the road, it is guaranteed that sooner or later some of those parts are going to require maintenance.

And it is not inexpensive either. According to an estimate, maintenance typically costs about one-fourth of a vehicle's initial price over the course of its lifetime. Which in turn means a lot of business for auto repair shops.

For this reason, auto repair shops are popping up every day. Each one tries its best to be better than its competitor. And with so much competition, it is hard for an auto repair business owner to see how to keep the cash flow coming in.

If you are looking for ways to give your auto repair shop a boost, you would want to consider using auto repair invoice software to manage your invoices more efficiently.

What Is An Auto Repair Invoice Software

Let's be honest: the most important part of auto repair for your business is receiving payments from your customer. By using auto repair invoice software, you can make this process more lucid for your customer, which will in turn breed trust.

And you have to admit that positive public perception plays a huge role in increasing revenues.

So what is auto repair invoice software? It is a software that automatically produces invoicing for delivered services. It makes it easier to determine profits by keeping a record of all transactions and the total amount of labor done.

Benefits Of Auto Repair Invoice Software

So an auto repair invoice software essentially streamlines your payments. But I can hear you thinking, I use physical invoices, and they've never really let me down. Why on earth do I need to invest in software?

And you'd be right to think that. Every investment should be thought over carefully, especially if it's something this significant.

So here we suggest 15 reasons why you need to consider investing in invoice software for your auto repair business.

Efficiency

Using invoice software means once you're done working on a client's vehicle, all you need to do is enter the information of the client and the services you performed into your computer, and it'll print out a clean receipt with the total cost in a few seconds.

No more logging into invoice template websites or filling out spreadsheets.

And if it's an old client, you don't even need to enter their information: you just enter their name and the machine pulls up all their information. This not only expedites the whole billing procedure but also requires no additional training or specialized staff since the UI is intuitive and can be used by anyone.

Therefore, using invoicing software saves you a lot of time and helps you focus on the actual task which is the repair.

Cost Reductions

It is no secret that time is money. When the time that could be spent on examining and repairing vehicles is instead spent on making and handling paper transactions, your auto repair business loses money.

As a matter of fact, it is estimated that a single paper transaction costs a business about $4 to $20.

And if you do the math, it adds up to a loss of a whopping $2400 a year!

This is huge, and just by making an initial investment in auto shop management software, you can cut down costs over the lifetime of your business by a generous amount.

Round The Clock Access

If you use invoicing software, all your auto repair invoices are stored on the cloud for easy access. Which essentially means you can access them using a single application, anytime and anywhere.

So if going to your auto repair business is unfeasible someday, you have the liberty to send receipts to your clients and also forward them to your lawyer, should they need them, right from your home!

With paper receipts, you first have to be present in your auto repair shop, then you have to look for that particular client's file, then go through all their receipts searching for the one you need; it's a hassle.

Modernness

The first impression is the last impression.

All of us have heard it, and some of us believe it. But in the case of a business, the first impression you make on a customer in fact matters more than what you actually do for them.

If a customer enters your shop and looks at you relying on age-old tools (hint: paper receipts) and using ancient techniques, he's probably going to think again before paying you a second visit.

But if that customer enters and sees you using the latest invoicing software, and allocating your time to repairs rather than miscellaneous jobs (hint: managing paper receipts), he would think that you're a diligent fellow, and you'd definitely get a place in his good books.

Eco-friendly

Efficient invoice processing can actually save the environment.

It's true. Computerized invoicing is approximately four times more ecologically beneficial than paper invoicing.

Here's how.

You're eliminating the use of paper from your business and preserving trees (new tagline?). If you used to write 1000 paper invoices a year, now it's down to zero. Assuming all other factors remain constant, you've lessened your auto repair services' carbon footprint by about

• One flight to Argentina
• 5.3B joules of electricity
• 91 miles of driving

Realistically speaking, you probably process way more than 1000 transactions a year. And so by switching to an automotive software solution, your carbon footprint decreases proportionally.

Promotions And Extra Information

Who says digital auto repair invoices have to contain the billing info only? It is a product of your shop after all and since you're printing it, you have all the means and rights to customize it!

A great way to utilize the empty space on the back of your digital bills is to include any promotions that you might have going on. A client glances at the total bill, flips the invoice, and hello what's this? 10% off oil changes on Wednesdays! That sounds like a deal!

But you don't have to include just promotions. You can also include information about stuff like car maintenance. That way your clients will know that you care about them!

Convenience

Using professional auto repair invoices has this huge advantage that you can customize them to include as much (or as little!) information as you want. Through this, you can cut down time spent writing each service offered or declined, recommendations about the vehicle, which spare parts were used, etc.

There are a lot of professional auto repair invoice softwares available, and all of them allow you to try different invoice templates until you find one you think is ideal for your auto repair shop.

Improved Customer Relationships

Getting to interact with customers is undoubtedly one of the best parts of owning auto repair businesses. And it is small things that improve those relations and leave an everlasting impact on your customer's mind.

Using auto repair software, automotive repair shops can look modern, have error-free invoices and their whole brand can enjoy positive reinforcement. All this makes a customer want more and more of your automotive business.

You could play around with customization on your digital invoices, and write your customers notes that are specific to their vehicle. This can increase word-of-referrals and consequently result in more loyal customers.

Reduces Instances Of Dishonesty

When your workers know that every service they perform and every spare part they use is going to be recorded and reviewed at the end of the month, it automatically decreases their incentives to indulge in dishonest behavior.

When a customer comes to your shop, they expect the utmost professionalism and impeccable work ethic from your workers. If you are away, and your workers are lackluster in providing services, it can produce difficulties for your business.

Cultivating a proficient work environment revolves around accountability. Your workers should have instruments to measure their performance.

Using auto repair software ensures you can monitor all your service data. It guarantees that your workers adhere to safety rules and perform repairs on time. It can also be used to arrange regular car repairs. It can handle client data, and even prepare reports for you.

Your mechanic's job will be made much simpler with such an upgrade. As a result, they will do their utmost to demonstrate their abilities with competence. It will enable your clients to get the best maintenance services.

Automation

Automation is probably the most significant benefit of electronic billing.

This enables you to set up regular payouts for frequent customers. And for impending and previous invoices, the accounting software sends out regular notifications and automatic payment reminders.

You will save a lot of time and money by automating these processes, and therefore will be able to focus more on expanding your business.

No more hiring people to conduct your administrative responsibilities! It also removes the stress of having to track down these payments.

Easy Auditing

When all your business data is organized and stored on a secure system, it reduces the time spent on auditing by at least one-half.

This is because auto repair software doesn't just hold invoices. It also contains your estimates, expenditure details, service history reports, and all other relevant documents in one place.

So when tax season comes and your accountant enters your auto repair shop, looking already weary and expecting an evening of dreary work, you can surprise him with all your invoices and financial data already organized in your inventory management software, and he'll be sure to thank you!

Transparency

A common issue faced by auto repair shops is that people who come to get their vehicles fixed are always under the impression that one way or another they are going to get conned. And they are right to worry about that: it doesn't take a genius to further damage a car while 'repairing' it and adding to the customer's auto repair bill.

But by using simple accounting software, you tell the customer exactly what services they're getting, and the cost associated with them.

It is yet another factor that breeds trust and makes the same clients return for more repair orders.

Increased Security

You might be using paper invoices for years and feel no need to upgrade since you are very comfortable with them. And it is understandable.

But a lot of shop owners nowadays are shifting to auto repair software because it offers the best solution to their security concerns. Having all your financial data and invoices in physical form can be risky for your business because anyone could get a hold of them and use them for mean purposes. But with a cloud-based auto repair software, you're the only one who can access your data and it warns you if anyone else tries to do it.

Even if you don't have the best software with advanced features, all invoicing software, in general, is secure because all of them must adhere to PCI Security Standards. As it is hard to get a PCI Security Standards approval, they are guaranteed to protect your business's sensitive data against malicious attacks.

Reduces Mistakes

Using paper invoices requires humans to do calculations and make estimates. And since all humans are prone to making errors, at times a repair order will be made out to the wrong customer, or unpaid invoices will get forgotten.

But auto repair shops that use software to send invoices and bill customers will have to deal with fewer of these errors, and if one does slip in, it'll take merely a second or two to rectify.

Managing Inventory

An auto repair shop is usually bustling with activity. There is lots of work to do, and little time to do it.

But being careful in keeping track of your spare parts and other vehicle accessories is important as it helps you avoid financial losses. Using auto invoicing software, you can know exactly what you have in your inventory at any time, and can also automatically order more parts if you're close to running out. How about that!