Seventy Percent of Small to Mid-size Auto Body Shops do not Charge enough for their Services or Labor
Oldsmar, Florida. In a recent
survey of small to mid-size auto collision repair shops, auto body
shop owners shared that they do not charge all of the industry
accepted fees for their work. The survey was conducted by Web-Est,
LLC, a provider of auto collision repair estimating software, from
Dec 4th, 2009 to Dec 11th, 2009.
Results from the survey showed the majority of small to mid-size
body shops were not consistently charging for acceptable labor
related tasks as a direct result of not having their collision
estimating software fully configured. The most common error was in
not having their estimating software's "Pre-Set" charges turned on
and/or not set-up properly. Pre-Set fees are various repair charges
and can include items such as hazardous waste removal, car covering
for over-spray and flex additives. Many other common labor charges
and other common tasks or costs associated with most collision
repair jobs should be considered by shops and added to the estimate
as they generally reflect additional cost in repairing the
vehicle.
"The survey results demonstrated the need for body shop owners to
set aside more time to ensure their estimates include these real
expenses" commented Eric Seidel, CEO/President of Web-Est, LLC.
Seidel continued, "We know adding normal pre-set charges in their
estimating software can add thousands of dollars in revenue to an
auto body shop, when using collision repair estimating software.
This can be done very quickly and generally means estimating
software pays for itself and will make the shop owner a profit on
their software investment."
The survey participants provided insight to items they add to
their estimates, which can be seen below. The online survey was
sent to over 1,000 auto collision repair shops; nearly 80% of the
shops had identified themselves as having 3 or less employees.
Shops'
Recommended Items to Set as Charges:
Color, Sand and
Buff
Hazardous Waste Removal
Car Cover
AntiFreeze
Pin Striping
Front End Alignment
Mask Jambs
Clean & Re-tape emblems/mldgs
Seam Sealer
BAG FOR OVERSPRAY
Flex Additive
Corrosion Resistant Material
Chip Guardon
specials - promotions such as 'bumper day'
Protect undercoating
Tire Mount & Balance
Rack & Measure Frame
Towing
CLEAN VEHICLE FROM REPAIRS
Masking
Color Spray Out Card for Color Match
Used Part Clean-up
Broken Glass Clean-up
Wheel Alingment
refridgerent
Shop Materials
PDR Repairs
Let-Down Panel
Batteries
Adhesive Removal
Clips & Hardware
Prime & Block
Set Back Truck Bed
