A busy month that did not feel profitable
The shop was busy all month. The till shows healthy takings. But when you look at the bank balance after paying suppliers, it does not feel like a busy month. Some repairs must be costing more than you think. Perhaps a certain screen has gone up in price and nobody changed the selling price. Perhaps some models take much longer than you assumed. Perhaps a batch of batteries failed and was replaced for free.
You cannot tell, because nothing records the cost of each repair alongside what you charged for it.
Cost is spread across systems that do not meet
The selling price is on the ticket. The part cost is on the supplier invoice. The second part fitted when the first was faulty is not recorded at all. Bench time is in nobody's records. Putting those together means a spreadsheet exercise nobody has time for.
- Parts are not booked out against tickets, so their cost is not linked to the repair.
- Supplier price changes are not reflected in any repair-level view.
- Faulty parts and redos are not costed.
- Bench time is not recorded.
- Warranty repairs done at your cost are not counted.
Why this matters
Without cost per repair, you cannot tell which repairs pay and which quietly lose money. Prices stay the same while costs move. Busy months can hide repair types that cost more than they earn. We do not give financial or pricing advice, and your accountant is the right person for the business's overall figures. What we build shows the facts at the level of each repair, so your own decisions are better informed.
It also affects the quality choices you offer. If you do not know that an aftermarket screen for one model comes back under warranty far more often than the original-quality option, you may be offering customers a cheaper choice that ends up costing you a second repair. The cost of redos belongs to the repair type that caused them.
Costing built from what the bench already records
We build per-repair costing linked to your tickets and parts stock.
- Parts booked out against a ticket carry their actual purchase cost from the delivery they came in on.
- A second part fitted because the first was faulty is added to the same repair, and the faulty part's credit, if received from the supplier, is offset.
- Bench time is recorded from the ticket's start and finish, or from a simple timer the technician taps.
- Warranty repairs are linked to the original repair, so their cost is counted against it.
- A report shows, by model and repair type, what was charged, the parts cost, the bench time and the number of redos.
- Repairs where the parts cost has risen since the price was set are flagged for your review.
| Repair type | Charged | Parts cost | Bench time | Redos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phone screen, current model | From tickets | From stock | From tickets | Counted |
| Phone battery, older model | From tickets | From stock | From tickets | Counted |
| Laptop screen | From tickets | From stock | From tickets | Counted |
Decisions based on real numbers
You can see which repairs pay their way and which do not. Price reviews use current costs. Parts that cause redos stand out, so you can change supplier or quality tier. And bench time per repair type shows where training or tools would help. The numbers come from the work already being recorded, not from an extra spreadsheet.
The report can also be exported for your accountant if they find it useful, though it does not replace their work.
Do you know what each repair costs you?
- Busy months do not always feel profitable.
- You are not sure which repairs make or lose money.
- Supplier price changes are not reflected in your prices.
- Faulty parts and redos are not counted anywhere.
- Bench time per repair type is unknown.