As the owner of an auto repair shop, or any other business for that matter, the main priority should always be to increase productivity as this will in turn help boost sales and revenue. While the basic methods of boosting productivity, such as managing time better, have remained the same throughout the years, modern technology has made it possible to accomplish these goals with new and improved methods and devices.

Challenge: Accessing Orders From Multiple Devices
One of the biggest challenges to an auto repair shop’s productivity is being able to access orders from multiple devices. You don’t want one of your technicians to have to walk over to the main office or call them just to confirm which repairs are required for a particular vehicle. This wastes valuable time, meaning that each repair takes longer. By opting for a cloud application that is multilocational, this concern is a thing of the past.

Whether your technicians each have access to a computer or another mobile device, that is all they will need to quickly confirm an order before getting started. Even the small amount of time this saves adds up when you factor in the number of jobs each technician does in a given week. Because the technicians can easily check work orders via the cloud, they will also always be aware of the tasks they should be completing in a given moment, preventing the need to ask a supervisor questions, another factor which would take time.

Challenge: Organizing Orders Quickly
Depending on the size of your auto repair shop, it can be difficult to stay organized, particularly when tracking invoices and learning how to know if the invoices have been viewed by a customer. The best cloud applications for managing your auto shop will not only be affordable, but also give you the ability to quickly and easily organize orders. You should look for categories such as customer name, the vehicle, invoice number, date and time, status, total, whether the invoice was sent and/or seen, and if the invoice has been paid. These features make it easy to see what jobs need to be done and what money must still be collected, both of which will increase productivity by saving time and ensuring all tasks are complete.

Challenge: Managing Time
The most effective way to increase your auto repair shop’s productivity is to manage time better and this includes both your time and that of your employees. The ability to organize orders and access them from all devices via the cloud helps with time management, making cloud applications for managing your business ideal. The best systems also have a feature that lets you estimate labor time, to help manage tasks much more easily, as you can plan the number of orders each technician can get through in a given day.

Challenge: Communicating Across Language Barriers
Bilingual abilities are becoming increasingly necessary in all industries, particularly the auto repair one. Since many workers speak Spanish natively, they may be more comfortable receiving information in this language. The best Smart Dashboards will work in at least English and Spanish, eliminating any possible language barriers and miscommunications due to them. Less time will be spent explaining tasks across a language barrier or working on the wrong task due to a miscommunication, improving the workplace’s overall productivity.