When a garage owner considers the inclusion or replacement of management software, he or she is often frightened by the cost he or she will incur. This leads him in some cases to search for free solutions online, and in other cases to suspend all decisions, continuing to work as he has always done. In reality, when choosing software to adopt on the shop floor, it is essential to evaluate the cost/benefit ratio, rather than just the expense. An apparent saving of money could in fact turn into a bad investment due to “hidden costs.”
Let’s see what are the main aspects you should consider when you are considering whether or not to invest in new management software for your workshop:
1. Extra charges to access specific features or additional services.
Very often so-called FREE packages allow the management of a very limited number of activities, proposing upgrading to a PAY version to access more comprehensive features. Even among commercially available management systems, low activation costs can be matched by a reduced set of included services.
2. Waste of time in transferring data and information.
Workshop management through software that does not cover all the activities performed leads to the use of different programs and consequently to the need to load information about the same vehicle or motorist onto each of them. Therefore, in order to get all the information each person needs to carry out his or her activities, a lot of time is lost between interruptions in one’s work, waiting times to receive answers from the busy colleague, as well as the multiplication of the risk of misunderstandings due to handwritten data or transmitted verbally in places that are certainly not quiet.
3. Loss of potential revenue opportunities.
Many commercially available or free programs do not allow you to leverage the database to generate new business opportunities at virtually no cost. Some examples? By detecting from the management system that a customer, in the workshop for a tire change, has not had a coupon for a long time, one can activate by proposing that it be carried out on the same day. Or you could send a text message to communicate a particular promotion to your customers who, depending on the data recorded in the management system, fall under a specific condition (after having collected on the management system the consent to the processing of personal data).
4. Lack of control over the progress of your workshop.
If the data and information are not all collected in one easily searchable “repository,” one loses sight of the overall performance of one’s business, with the risk of making wrong decisions about purchasing and more generally about investments. Knowing-for example-which tire brand we sold the most of could lead to better prices from the distributor. Or by analyzing the monthly workshop turnover provide special promotions to bring in more customers during “dead” periods.
How to choose the right management software for your workshop?
1. By comparing the list of services included in the activation cost
2. By making a list of “non-monetary” benefits related to management, trying to value them
3. By comparing the cost to be incurred with the benefits valued
Here is an example of how to thoroughly analyze two different management systems.
The quotation for the purchase of management system X is 2,000 euros, while for management system Y it is 1,200 euros.
Management system X, in the offer includes: management of mechanical interventions, complete billing and first-level accounting management, connection to the original and aftermarket spare parts database
Management system Y includes in the offer only the management of mechanical interventions. For accounting management, it is necessary to purchase a specific management software for 1,300 euros, of which you will probably use only some features, while to manage the sending of data to the accountant you will have to purchase another service, for an expense of 300 euros. Finally, a subscription worth 750 euros will be required to access the spare parts databases.
The real cost of management software X is 2,000 euros, the real cost of management software Y is 3,550 euros.
In addition to these considerations, it should be kept in mind that in the case of management software Y each employee will have to learn how to use more than one software, so he or she will need dedicated training and the same data will have to be transcribed several times, for example, at the acceptance stage and then at the invoicing stage.
Now that you understand what to pay attention to when evaluating a software DISCOVER YAP MMB, the management software that enables the complete and efficient management of your workshop by making you GAIN UP TO 2 HOURS PER DAY through the ADOPTION OF A DIGITAL WORKFLOW.