Practical how-tos.

Tire pricing without the spreadsheet

Tire pricing by hand drifts out of date the moment a supplier list changes. Price by rule instead, and let the rules do the updating.

Vehicle registration lookup

Vehicle registration lookup removes the biggest drop-off in online tire sales: the moment you ask a customer for a size they do not know.

The EU tire label on your storefront

The EU tire label is an obligation and a sales tool. Here is what a shop has to display, where the data comes from, and how to use it to trade up.

Mobile vs auto shop fitting

Mobile vs auto shop fitting are different products with different costs. Price and schedule them separately or one quietly subsidises the other.

Starting a mobile tire installation business

Starting a mobile tire installation business is mostly about routing, stock and pricing the travel. The van is the easy part.

Repair shop scheduling that works

Repair shop scheduling fails in predictable ways: optimistic durations, no buffer, and jobs that grow. Here is how to build a day that survives contact.

Getting more repair shop customers

Most auto shops chase new repair shop customers while quietly losing the ones they have. Here is where the work really comes from, cheapest first.

Tire stock control

Tire stock control is a trade between cash tied up and jobs lost. Here is how to hold the right lines and stop guessing at the rest.

Repair shop quotes that convert

Most repair shop quotes lose on speed and clarity rather than price. Here is what to include, how fast is fast enough, and how to follow up.

Tire supplier ordering

Tire supplier ordering eats hours a week in calls and portals. Here is how to cut it down without losing the relationships that get you stock.

Setting a coverage area

A mobile installation coverage area set by ambition loses money. Set it from routing and job value instead, and say no clearly at the edge.

Numbers worth tracking

Most reporting measures what is easy rather than what decides anything. Here are the auto shop numbers that actually change how you run the place.

Setting your labor rate

Most auto shops set a labor rate by looking at the repair shop down the road. Work it out from your own costs and sold hours instead.

Reducing no-shows

No-shows cost a bay hour you can never resell. Most are forgetfulness rather than bad faith, and the fixes are cheaper than a fee.

Hiring and keeping technicians

Hiring technicians is hard everywhere. Most auto shops would gain more from keeping the ones they have, and the reasons people leave are predictable.

Switching repair shop software

Switching repair shop software is mostly a data and timing problem. Here is what to extract before you commit, and when in the year to move.

Digital vehicle inspections

Digital vehicle inspections turn advisories from a verbal mention into evidence a customer can see, which is why they convert so much better.

Working with fleet customers

Fleet customers bring predictable volume and their own demands: agreed rates, authorization limits and reporting most auto shops are not set up for.

Comebacks and warranty work

Comeback work is the most expensive job in the auto shop because nobody pays for it. Most of it traces to a handful of avoidable causes.

Opening a second site

Opening a second auto shop exposes everything the first one ran on memory. Here is what breaks, in the order it usually breaks.

Handling complaints

Handling customer complaints badly costs more than the refund. Most escalate over how they were received rather than over what went wrong.

Tire bay equipment

Tire bay equipment is where new shops overspend. Here is the order that matters, and where buying cheap costs more than it saves.

Getting ready for EVs

Preparing a repair shop for electric vehicles is mostly about training and what work disappears, not about buying charging equipment.

Courtesy cars and collection

Courtesy cars and collection win work a price cut cannot. They also cost more than most auto shops account for, so price them deliberately.

Taking payments on the job

Taking payments on the job is the difference between finished and outstanding. Here is what works on a driveway and what quietly costs you.

Repair shop cash flow

Repair shop cash flow problems are rarely profitability problems. Stock, terms and timing explain most of them, and all three are adjustable.

Reviews and reputation

Repair shop reviews decide who calls you before anyone speaks to you. Most auto shops have far fewer than their work deserves, for one fixable reason.

Charging for diagnostics

Charging for diagnostics feels like a barrier and giving it away is worse. Free diagnosis creates pressure to guess, and guessing produces rework.

Repair shop insurance

Repair shop insurance is bought once and rarely reread. Here are the covers that get claimed, and the gaps that surprise auto shops at the worst moment.

Setting up the van

A mobile installation van setup decides how fast every job goes. Weight, layout and power matter more than the equipment list.

Specialist or general?

A specialist repair shop earns better rates on narrower demand. A general one is safer and competes on price. Here is how to tell which suits your area.

Valuing and selling a repair shop

Selling a repair shop is decided years earlier by how well it runs without you. Here is what buyers pay for and what they discount.

Tire disposal and waste

Tire disposal is a charge on every job and a legal responsibility that stays with you after collection. Here is what to check and record.

Buying an existing repair shop

Buying an existing repair shop buys customers and reputation, and whatever else came with them. Here is what to verify before the price is agreed.

Parts pricing and margin

Parts pricing carries more of a auto shop than most owners realize. Here is how to band it, and what to do about customer-supplied parts.

Auto shop security

Auto shop security fails at predictable points: keys, vans left loaded, and the gap between what the policy requires and what actually happens.

Becoming a mobile mechanic

Becoming a mobile mechanic is mostly about job selection. Some work is better on a driveway than in a bay, and some should never be attempted there.

Auto shop layout

Auto shop layout decides how much of each job is walking. Most bays are arranged by what installed rather than by how work moves through them.

Training apprentices

Training apprentices costs before it pays, and most auto shops lose them in year one. The reasons are consistent and mostly about supervision.

Customer data and privacy

A auto shop holds more customer data than most owners realize. Here is what that means for keeping it, using it for marketing, and deleting it.

Auto shop energy costs

Auto shop energy costs are dominated by a few things nobody thinks about: compressed air leaks, heating an uninsulated space, and lighting left on.

Warranty and insurance work

Warranty work fills bays and pays late at agreed rates. Here is what to check before taking it on, and how to keep it profitable.

Vans and light commercials

Servicing vans is not car work on a bigger vehicle. The customer values uptime over price, and that changes scheduling, parts and how you quote.

Air conditioning servicing

Air conditioning servicing is seasonal, high margin and easy to sell alongside other work. The barriers are equipment, refrigerant handling and habit.

Adding wheel alignment

Wheel alignment is a big equipment decision. Here is the volume that justifies it, what the machine does not solve, and how to sell it honestly.

Surviving a quiet period

A quiet period tempts every expensive reflex at once. Here is what to do first, and which responses cost more than the quiet two weeks did.

Missed calls

Missed calls cost more than any marketing spend saves, because the caller simply rings the next auto shop. Most of them are fixable without hiring.

Using an AI agent

An AI agent is good at repetitive rule-driven work and poor at judgement. Here is what to hand over first, and what should stay with a person.

Opening a tire shop

Opening a tire shop fails on site and cash more often than on skill. Here is the order that keeps the first year survivable.

Customer experience

Repair shop customer experience is decided at four moments, none of which are the repair. Getting them right costs almost nothing.