How Winning Auto Repair Shops Stay on Top

Kris Turner

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May 11, 2026

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Read time: 3 min

Tekmetric just revealed two new tools to help shops win more customers and run a more efficient front desk. Get the full story. Watch the on-demand webinar now.

Generating new business in auto repair is hard. The industry is projected to grow just 2% over inflation annually over the next five years. The average American has 15 auto repair shops within 10 miles of their home, according to Tekmetric's internal data, meaning competition for every new customer is fierce. And across multiple industry surveys, roughly two-thirds of drivers say they don't fully trust their local repair shop — making it that much harder to win them over. The result: only one in 10 shops both grows and hits profit margins of 20% or higher. 

"We know the competition to win new customers is fierce,” said Lauren Langston, president and COO, Tekmetric. “That means we need the right strategies and the right tools in order to do it."

Tekmetric's data shows that winning shops consistently focus on four outcomes: car count, average repair order (ARO), driver experience, and cycle time. Two new Tekmetric products — Tekmetric Digital Ads and Tekmetric Phones — are built to move the needle on all four.

Tekmetric Digital Ads

Winning new customers starts with being found. Tekmetric Digital Ads is an AI-powered add on that helps your shop show up where high-intent drivers are already searching for auto repair on Google Maps and Apple Maps. Because it connects directly to Tekmetric, you can see exactly how your ad spend translates into real revenue, not just clicks.

"It's really hard to see what's working. One of the superpowers of this product is that it's connected directly with Tekmetric," said Jared Haleck, chief product officer, Tekmetric.

Tekmetric Digital Ads is in early access now and rolling out to selected customers.

Tekmetric Phones

Every missed moment at the front desk has a cost. Tekmetric Phones gives your service advisors the customer context they need — instantly, the moment the phone rings — so they can spend less time looking things up and more time taking care of customers.

"Service advisors especially are loving it,” Haleck said. “It just saves them so much time. It creates so much convenience for them.”

Tekmetric Phones is in beta, available for customers on RingCentral.

Watch the On-Demand Webinar

Langston and Haleck walked through all of it — the industry data, live product demos, and what's coming next — in their webinar, "Building for the Results-Driven Repair Shop."

The recording is available now. If you want to see exactly how these tools work and what they can do for your shop, this is the place to start.

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👉 Ready to grow your automotive business? [Book a personalized Tekmetric Demo Here]

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The Art of Knowing Where Everything Is

In auto repair, there are many moving parts to keep track of—both the literal parts your shop uses to repair vehicles, and the parts of your business that determine your shop’s efficiency, security, and ability to grow. If you want your shop to flourish, it’s crucial to devote part of your business to keeping track of the parts you order.

Many shops track parts in terms of cost of goods sold. The parts you need for the job are included on every repair order, so it’s easy to see what parts your customers are paying for as long as you have a solid process for building repair orders.

But what about in terms of accounts payable? How does your shop track how much you’re spending for parts from the supplier?

Why Match Parts from Repair Orders on Purchase Orders?

March 12, 2024

Read time: 3 min

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When you think about the most exciting aspects of being in the auto repair industry, it’s unlikely that the invoice and estimating process comes to mind. Drafting up invoices and getting approval on estimates can be a tedious process when all your team wants to do is get things rolling with the repair! And if you have a small team, it might be tough to find someone who can squeeze in the time to create an estimate and invoice for every single repair.

However, the auto repair invoice and estimating process is one of the most important parts of your business. By fine-tuning it, you can keep better track of repairs and sell more work, increasing your shop’s ARO.

Here are five main reasons why you should fine-tune your shop’s auto repair invoice and estimating process.

As an auto repair shop owner, you know how important accurate labor times are for locking in your profit margin on labor and growing your business. But how do you find a labor guide that you can trust and that works with your shop’s estimate process?

Switching to a newer labor guide can be tough for some shops. Many shop owners already trust their physical, paper labor guide; they’ve been using it for years! But that guide probably doesn’t include labor times for repairs on newer vehicles—not to mention it takes up a lot of space.

Digital auto repair labor guides are becoming standard across the industry because of how accessible they are and how they can be continuously updated with labor times for newer vehicles.

If you’re still using your old labor guide, or even a digital labor guide that isn’t working for you, it might be time to find a labor guide that will better meet the needs of your shop. Here are some key features to look for to narrow down your search.