The Automotive Parts and Service Business
Purchase the System, gain the knowledge.

We were in the Auto Service Business for over 20 years as an ASE Certified General Auto Mechanic.  That's how we developed our Applications and parallel work habits for the last 10 of those years.

The automotive and other parts and service type businesses, such as lawn and garden, small engine service, marina's and computer stores, are unique and tricky to manage with a computer because they are actually two or three different types of business in all rolled into one.  At times, you are dealing with just selling inventory over the counter or to be installed on the customers vehicle/mower/boat etc...   At other times, you are dealing with quotes or repairs on customer's vehicles (or equipment), open work orders, mechanics, etc....

KwikSaleSTM Applications have many special features and points that make them an excpetional series of programs in that regard. The following are some of the features and special points that would be used by an automotive parts and repair shop as well as some others.  All versions have most of the features outlined below and the Platinum Version has the most features.  This feature list is not intended to list 100% of the features as software is constantly being upgraded. 

Price Schedules w/Exceptions and Override

The inventory pricing can be setup to price the inventory on who the customer is.  The KwikSaleSTM Business Manager can handle a list price and up to 4 discount price schedules. Regular walk in traffic can be charged the standard list price. Your better (preferred) customers could get a small discount on schedule 1, Fleet customers could get a better discount on schedule 2, and if you are selling parts to other dealers, the dealer price could be setup as schedule 3.  By setting up these prices in advance, the customers can receive their special prices at all times, automatically.

The Application will also allow exceptions to the above pricing schedule.  A customer can be set to a price schedule for most of the items, but then be given a different price schedule for specific sub-categories, such as tires at the time of sale.

Price Protection

The KwikSaleSTM Management Application will normally calculate the list price based on a fixed list price or a markup percentage from your actual on-site cost.  If you are constantly being charged different prices for your parts, your selling price will automatically be adjusted to protect your margin and bottom line.

However, that means that if you get a special deal on some parts that your deal will automatically be passed onto your customers.   This is not always what you want, so by using the price protection Application, you can force the Application to base your selling (List) price on your standard cost price, not your actual cost price or override the price at sale time.  LIFO, FIFI, Average, and Standard pricing can also be used.

This also works well for companies importing foreign car parts and buying the inventory in a foreign currency. As the dollar fluctuates up and down, your onboard cost will also change.  For those companies that have a published price list, these small changes will cost them more in printing costs than the loss on the part, and may wish to lock the retail price in and change it manually when required.

Customer Vehicle Information

Not only can the KwikSaleSTM Business Manager track all the work done for a given customer, the actual vehicle can also be recorded on the invoice, allowing a complete repair history for one vehicle within a fleet of vehicles.

If the customer drives onto the lot and you can see the license number, you can even find the customer name by search for the license plate number if it's setup that way.

In addition to just tracking the vehicle, the Application will allow you to enter :

The License number The Serial number The make Model Year Mileage - Hour Meter And other information

When looking at the history, you will then be able to recall the exact mileages of each service.

Open Work Orders

The KwikSaleSTM Business Manager supports work orders, allowing you to start a work order when the customer first comes in the door (highly recommended).  You'll be able to add the customer's name, address, phone number,vehicle information, and then describe the problem or service required.  As the job progresses, the parts and labor can be added to the work order. When the job is completed, the work order can be turned into a final invoice and given to the customer.  This can be done over a network is desired.

As inventory items are placed on a work order, the inventory is removed from stock and is no longer available for sale to other customers.  However, the customer balance and the General Ledger accounts are not affected by a work order until it's turned into a final invoice and a post file is manually generated.

Estimates/Quotes

For simplicity, estimates/quotes are entered in exactly the same way as regular invoices and work orders.   This reduces the learning time for staff using the Application.  While an estimate looks very simliar to an invoice or work order, it will not affect inventory on hand, customer balances, or any General Ledger account.

Kits (Jobs/Menu Prices)

The KwikSaleSTM Business Manager supports many different types of kits, also known as bill of materials, assemblies, or jobs. You can create a minor tune-up kit that when placed on the invoice will "explode" to show the oil, oil filter, air filter, spark plugs, and mechanics labor, complete with a comment.

The use of assembly/kit/menu pricing is really up to your imagination, but the most common uses are things such as:

• Oil Change
• Minor Tune Up
• Inspection
• Tire Repair

Detailed Comments and Extended Descriptions on Invoice

There are several different types of comments, depending upon the usage. The most common type is attaching a comment to a labor sale, detailing to the customer the work that was done, or other problems found that should be addressed in the future.  One method is called an "extended description" for each line item on the form.

You can also attach a private comment to the invoice that will not print on the customer's copy, but will give you some additional information should the customer call back and complain (or complement) about the job, service, etc.

You can also make a dated memo/todo to remind yourself to call back or write the customer on a given date to remind them about their bad brakes or that it's time to return for an oil change.

Labor and Mechanics or Technicians

When labor is added to an invoice, you can specify the mechanic or technician that did the work, the number of hours worked, and the number of hours (or mins) billed.  Often, the time spent and the time billed might be different, and by gathering this information, you will be able to produce mechanic productivity reports etc. This can be useful to track what kinds of jobs the mechanic excells at, as well as those he doesn't.

When you setup the master file, you can define how you wish labor to be handled, and to what depth of detail you wish to enter. This can greatly reduce the number of keystrokes needed when adding labor to the work order, or invoice.

Suggested Order Reports

For your stocking items, you can specify the minimum and maximum quantities that should be on hand for each inventory item.  When running the Suggested Order report, it will list which items have less in stock than the required minimum, and will print the number to order to bring you up to your maximum.  A Purchase Order managing module is also available.  

To save you time, you can have the Application automatically create the purchase order as this report is created. You will still be able to edit the purchase order, taking items off, or adding additional items, before the purchase order is printed and sent to the supplier.

As you build history in the Application, the KwikSaleSTM Business Manager will know how the sales levels for each inventory item on a periodic (monthly/weekly etc...) basis. 

Remember, these options are for your stocking items. Many automotive repair shops now order many of the repair parts on a job by job basis and have the parts delivered with minutes or hours and the parts are never actually in stock. These kinds of parts are treated as non-stocking. parts, not stocked parts by the Application.

Misc and Special Order Items

If you regularily special order repair parts for jobs, the KwikSaleSTM Business Manager has a non-stocking part Application that is specifically designed for this.  Instead of selling a stocking part, you can sell a non-stocked part, and then enter the part number, description, cost price, list price, and suggested retail.   If you have sold this part number before, you will only need to enter the part number, unless the cost price as changed. This will allow you to quickly enter the parts and cost the invoice when the items arrive.

If you're operating a small, one man type of shop, you can optionally add the supplier's bill into accounts payable module at the same time as adding the inventory to the work orders at the Point-Of-Sale counter while everything is fresh in your mind.  This will save you from performing a second step later or possibly forgetting to even do it.  In larger shops the clerks in the parts department or accounts payable department will check, approve, and enter the bills, taking that responsiblity and work off the countermen.

History Reports

The KwikSaleSTM Application can be set up to maintain a detailed history, not just for each customer, but for each vehicle owned. This is especially important for commercial customers that have fleets of vehicles.

In addition, you can make dated comments/todo's about either the customer or to the vehicle that will pop up on a given date to remind you to phone them to come in for service, write a letter, or whatever. This will allow you to enter comments and reminders for other "things" that don't appear on the invoice, but are important just the same. (Platinum Version only.)

Environment Taxes

In several States and Provinces, the government now levies additional flat taxes for tires and/or batteries.   Instead of having to remember to "sell" a tax item, the items can be flagged as tire taxable, or battery taxable, and these environment taxes will appear on a separate line below the sub total on the invoice and be included in the grand total.

Adding Customers on the Fly

When creating a work order for a brand new customer, you can easily add that customer on the fly without having to leave the invoice and go into a different section.  While this is a standard feature in the KwikSaleSTM Business Manager, it is lacking from many Applications currently on the market.

In addition, while entering an invoice, you can easily jump into the customer's record to view previous purchases and history, or change the address or phone number.

In fact, you can call up and edit any customer in the Application, not just the current customer that you are selling.  If, for example, you receive a phone call from a customer that wants to write a check and pay their balance, you can quickly get at that information, even if you are busy entering a costing another customer's invoice.

Adding Vehicles on the Fly

You can add a vehicle to a customer while creating the invoice, without having to jump out into another section of the program to setup this information. This is especially important for large corporate customers that have fleets of vehicles, and you never know which vehicle is coming in for service until it arrives.

Of course, while adding a vehicle to an invoice, you can enter the current mileage. If you don't know the mileage at the start of the invoice, you can go back and enter that information later after the mechanic as checked it and written it on the work order.

Maintaining Inventory on the Fly

You can jump into the inventory maintenance section from the middle of an invoice, without having to jump all the way out and going into a different section. This will allow you to easily check on the status of an inventory level, or even adding a new part, if required, with the minimum of fuss.

Tire Descriptions and Sizes
(Not in current version)

The KwikSaleSTM Business Manager has a special type of inventory item designed especially for tires. It will allow you to enter the Tire Size, Aspect Ratio, and Rim Size into separate fields on the inventory record, and then also be able to search on those parameters. For example, you can quickly bring up a list of all summer tires with 13 inch rims.  This feature is not currently in the Platinum Version, however there is an extended description field that prints immediately after the line item which can be used for this purpose. 

Loading Supplier's Parts Lists
(Not in current version - there are too many of them to consider so call for availability of getting it for your need)

If the supplier or manufacturer has given you a disk with a list of part numbers, descriptions, cost prices and suggested list price, this information can be added into our auxillary database and be available for you to search at all times.

If you are searching for a part and it's not in your stock, but is found in the auxillary database, you can quickly "drag" it over or "cut and paste" and add it to your Application without having to retype all the information, including part number, description, cost, and list price.

The great advantage of this Application is that you won't have to clutter your inventory Application with hundreds of thousands of parts and prices you don't use or need, but you will still have quick and easy access to them.

Optional Foreign Currency
(Available by special order only)

Many shops, especially those dealing with foriegn imports, buy their inventory out of the country. If you purchase inventory from Japan, Italy, France or Germany, you can enter the standard cost price in Yen, Lire, Franks, or Marks. The Application will then use the currency exchange rate and display the current price in Dollars based on today's rates.

You can change the standard currency exchange rate in the Configuration module either daily, or each time the rate changes.

Note that the exchange rate will not change the price of inventory already received. The inventory is costed on a first in, first out basis, based on the price actually paid in dollars at the time of purchase.

Summary

There are many special features of the KwikSaleSTM Business Manager designed especially for automotive parts and repair shops, from work orders, mechanic and labor tracking, to vehicle tracking and other information. The Application and it's control files can be tweaked to perform well in either a small, one man shop, or in a large repair shop with many people and mechanics such as lawn and garden, small engine, computer store etc....