Bookkeeping and Profit Strategy for auto repair shops
Auto Repair Shop Bookkeeping: The bays are full. Why isn't the bank account?
We keep your books clean, your parts and labor numbers clear, and your real profit in front of you every month. You fix cars. We'll fix the numbers.
Bookkeeping built around how shops actually make money: labor, parts, and everything in between.
Shop owners are the only people who can diagnose a misfire by sound and still can't tell you where last month's profit went.
Here's the math nobody shows you: you post a $150 labor rate. But if your tech bills 5 hours out of the 8 you pay them for, your real rate is closer to $94.
Add parts priced off the cuff, a few comebacks done for free, and inventory collecting dust on the shelf, and a packed shop can run on fumes. Busy bays don't mean a healthy business. Your numbers do.
Let's fix that.
Sound familiar?
Every bay is busy, and somehow cash is still tight.
You're not sure your labor rate actually covers what it costs to run the shop.
Parts get marked up, but the margin never seems to show up in the bank.
Comebacks cost you time and money, and nobody's tracking how much.
Your techs are great. You're not sure they're profitable.
The equation, and where your shop leaks
Every shop runs on the same math: Money Made − Money Spent = Money Kept. Profit leaks out in the same five places. Here's what they look like in a shop:
Getting customers: ads and coupons with no idea which ones bring in cars.
Bringing them in: estimates not approved before work starts, and work done that never got signed off.
Doing the work: low effective labor rate, unbilled time, comebacks, and parts sitting on the shelf.
What happens after: no service reminders, no reviews, no reason for customers to come back.
Tax time: surprise bills, sales tax on parts handled wrong, and no plan for big equipment purchases.
Your variables: the numbers we watch for your shop
The numbers we watch for you, every month:
Effective labor rate (what you actually collect per hour)
Parts margin
Technician efficiency (hours billed vs hours paid)
Average repair order
Comebacks, in dollars
What you actually pay yourself
How we fix it: auto repair shop bookkeeping and Profit Strategy
Foundation: Clean books. Catch-up bookkeeping if you're behind, monthly bookkeeping, parts and labor tracking, payroll for your techs, sales tax, and income tax.
You stop guessing. Your accountant stops sighing.
Framework: Profit Strategy. We build your shop's financial Framework with you: pricing that covers your real costs, tech pay that makes sense, and a plan for the next lift, hire, or location.
Flywheel: Run the shop. We keep your Framework running with you through monthly reviews and quarterly planning, so big purchases are decisions, not gambles.
You Stop Asking
Did that parts invoice get paid twice?
Why is cash tight when we're slammed?
What do I owe in taxes?
Where did the money go?
You Start Asking
Is my labor rate high enough?
Can I afford another tech, and when?
Should I buy that equipment or lease it?
How do I plug the profit leaks for good?
Real owners. Real numbers. Real "why didn't I do this sooner?"
'My books were an absolute mess and I was terrified to show them to anyone. I had been losing sleep for weeks, and I was dreading the conversation. After our meeting, I finally got 7 hours of solid sleep for the first time in weeks. You cannot put a price on that kind of peace of mind.'
- Alexis Litle
'I'm not so much of an avoidant CFO in my own company anymore. This program does a great job of motivating people and de-stigmatizing the fear around it. If you're on the fence about it, I don't think any law firm owner would regret doing this.'
- Catherine Medina
'Before working with CSG, I had a vast amount of reports and meaningless data. PK allowed me to fully understand what story my numbers are telling me - and make better decisions because of it.'
- Jay McAllister
'It's not enough for her to just do the work and provide the reports. She wants to help you understand the financial engine that powers your firm.'
- Emery Wagner
This is for you if...
You own an independent shop, you're busy but not sure you're profitable, and you want numbers you can actually use to price, hire, and grow.
This is NOT for you if...
You want the cheapest option in town, or you'd rather never look at a report. We can organize the numbers. We can't do an oil change. (Trust us, you don't want us to.)
Auto repair bookkeeping questions
Will auto repair shop bookkeeping work with my shop management software?
We work alongside the systems you already use and pull what we need to keep the books right. We'll confirm the details on the call.
Do you handle sales tax on parts?
Yes, we keep sales tax tracked and reconciled so it doesn't turn into a surprise.
My shop's books are a mess. Is that a problem?
No. Catch-up bookkeeping gets you current first. We've seen engines in better shape than most people's books.