Two customers, one brake bleed, two prices
A customer mentions to a friend what they paid for a brake bleed. The friend had the same job done last month and paid a different amount. Both were right. One bill was put through by the owner, who charged the menu price. The other was put through by a Saturday staff member, who added an extra labour charge for the second brake because the tag said 'both'.
It happens with small things all the time: whether fitting a tube is charged when a tyre is also being fitted, whether a gear adjustment during a service is included, whether a customer's own parts carry a fitting fee.
Bills are built at the till, from the tag
In most bike shops the bill is not built as the work is done. It is built at collection, by whoever is on the till, from the notes on the tag. They interpret the notes, remember the prices and decide what is included. Different people make different decisions.
- The service menu says what is included, but the till does not know it.
- Labour for extra jobs is keyed in as a free amount.
- Parts are named on the tag and looked up again at the till.
- Discounts for regulars are given without a record.
- Customers' own parts are charged inconsistently.
Why inconsistent bills matter
Customers talk to each other, especially in cycling clubs, and inconsistent prices look unfair even when every price is reasonable. Undercharging is the more common result, and it adds up unseen over a season. Staff also find it stressful to decide prices on the spot, which slows down collections.
Inconsistent charging also makes it hard to know whether the workshop pays its way. If the same job is billed three different ways, the figures in your EPOS do not tell you what each job really brings in, and decisions about adding a mechanic or changing the service menu are made on shaky numbers. Setting prices is your decision; knowing what you actually charged is where good decisions start.
A bill that is built as the job is done
We build pricing into the workshop process, working with your EPOS or workshop software.
- Your service menu is set up with what each level includes, so labour for included jobs is not charged again.
- Extra labour is picked from a list of your standard jobs, each with its price, instead of typed in.
- Parts are picked at the stand from your EPOS stock, so the price comes from one place.
- Rules you set are applied automatically, for example whether a fitting charge applies to customers' own parts.
- Discounts are chosen from reasons you define and recorded with who gave them.
- At collection the bill is already built, and the till just takes payment.
| Item | Built from memory | Built from the job |
|---|---|---|
| Full service | Price remembered | Menu price, inclusions known |
| Extra brake bleed | Free amount keyed | Standard job price |
| Chain | Looked up at the till | Picked from stock at the stand |
| Regular's discount | Given quietly | Recorded with reason |
Every customer pays the same for the same job
Bills are consistent whoever is on the till. Collections are quicker because the bill is ready. You can see what discounts are given and why. And when you change a price, it changes everywhere at once, not just in the head of whoever read the email.
The data also helps with setting prices in the first place, because you can see how often each job is done and what it really takes.
New or part-time staff benefit most. A Saturday assistant no longer needs to know every price and every rule about what is included, because the bill arrives at the till already built. That lowers the pressure on them at the busiest time of the week and means customers get the same answer whoever serves them.
Is your workshop pricing inconsistent?
- Customers have noticed different prices for the same job.
- Bills are worked out at collection from the tag.
- Saturday staff are unsure what to charge.
- Discounts are given without a record.
- You suspect jobs are undercharged but cannot prove it.