Month: October 2019

10 Top Uses For Excel in an Auto Shop
Automotive Shop

10 Top Uses For Excel in an Auto Shop

- by Johnny Lewis

The world’s most-used spreadsheet shows up in such a wide variety of places that it’s sometimes easy to forget just how much it can impact a business. Far beyond just tracking the bottom line, even a relatively straightforward business like an auto shop can find several uses for Microsoft Excel.

Tracking the Bottom Line: Yes, it’s true! You can put Excel to use by giving it your income and your outgo and having it chart your profits over time.

Inventory and Ordering: With a little bit of wizardry, Excel can not only keep track of how much inventory you should have, but it can Email you an alert when you get too low on a particular product, making ordering a breeze.

Doing the Schedule: Of course, Excel can be used to graphically display what times any given employee will be on the clock and thus make it easy to ensure that all of the necessary coverage is there for you.

Customer Tracking: Few businesses need to track customers more accurately over a longer period of time than an auto shop; Excel offers you the power to do just that. By setting up an entry form that gathers the necessary information and then stores it deep in another sheet, you can easily keep records on hundreds of customers and their vehicles over months and years.

Receipts: Because of an auto shop’s specific needs when it comes to breaking down parts, labor, taxes, and other charges, Excel makes for an excellent receipt-making …

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Employees Coming in Late
Automotive Technician

Employees Coming in Late

- by Johnny Lewis

When you start to see a pattern in behavioral issues; such as an employee coming in late, here are the things you need to consider:  1) If you don’t nip it in the bud it will get worse. 2) Employees need to be responsible for their own behavior. 3) They need to know why you have a special policy. So, next time an employee starts developing bad behavior patterns, such as arriving late, calling them to the private environment and asking them why they are late. When they have given you their explanation, say something like this …

“Mike, I realize you’ve been late four times now this month, and let me tell you what concerns me. First of all, if you’re not here at 7:30 in the morning, the first thought that comes to mind is that you or someone in your family might be sick or injured, and you might need my help.my second thought was that your car might be damaged, or you might be in an accident, and I began to wonder if I should send Larry or Frank out to look for you. complicates matters even further, when you are not here on time, and I stand at the service counter, I don’t know what to tell customers who ask me if their car will be ready for the day, and then there’s one more thing, Mike. I just can’t expect anyone else here at Acme Auto Body to be here on time when you …

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