What you actually sell.
WHAT FORMS EXIST
General repair workshops
Specialist repair: electrical, transmission, bodywork, air conditioning
Servicing and maintenance centres Tyre and battery outlets Parts retail and distribution Diagnostics Vehicle inspection and valuation
WHAT THE BUSINESS ACTUALLY SELLS
Labour, parts and diagnosis.
WHY DIAGNOSIS DESERVES SEPARATE MENTION
It is the most valuable skill and the one most often given away free.
WHAT DETERMINES PROFITABILITY
Labour utilisation: how much of paid time is chargeable
Parts margin Accuracy of estimates Rework Getting paid
WHAT UTILISATION MEANS
The proportion of a technician's paid hours actually billed to jobs.
WHY IT DOMINATES
You pay for all their hours and only bill some of them.
WHAT CONSUMES UNBILLED HOURS
Waiting for parts Waiting for customer decisions Rework Diagnosis not charged for Moving vehicles and tidying
WHAT MOST WORKSHOPS DO NOT MEASURE
Utilisation, or profit per job.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH FIRST
Your labour rate, calculated from costs rather than copied from others.
WHY
A rate below cost loses money on every hour worked.
WHAT TO TREAT THIS CATEGORY AS
Business guidance, with technical procedures from manufacturer specifications.
