Garage Owner Guides
Practical, no-nonsense guides for running an independent garage in the UK, from job cards and labour rates to filling the diary and choosing the right software. Free templates included.
Running the workshop
Job cards, the numbers to watch and how to set up or grow a garage.
- Guide
Garage job card: what to include, with a free template
A good job card tells the technician exactly what to do, records what the customer agreed to and leaves a history you can rely on later. Here is every field worth including, plus a free A4 template to print.
- Guide
Garage KPIs to track every week
Ten numbers that tell you how your garage is really doing: what each one means, a simple formula to work it out, what moves it and how often to look. No made-up targets, just a method you can run every week.
- Guide
How to start or grow an independent garage in the UK
The official steps for setting up a garage business, from registering and VAT to employers' liability insurance, MOT testing station approval and hazardous waste, plus the practical decisions on premises, suppliers, staff, systems and growth.
Getting more customers
Filling the diary and keeping customers coming back.
- Guide
How to get more customers for your garage
Where new garage customers come from and how to keep the ones you already have: your Google listing, reviews, a website people can book from, reminders, follow-ups, trade accounts and word of mouth.
- Guide
How to fill empty bays: MOT and service reminders that work
Reminders are the cheapest way to fill your diary with work you already know is coming. This guide covers when to send MOT, service, advisory and booking reminders, what to say, and how to tell whether they are working.
MOTs & VHCs
Health checks customers approve, and getting cars ready for the MOT.
- Guide
How to do a vehicle health check customers approve
A good vehicle health check is consistent, measured, photographed, priced and easy for the customer to say yes to. This guide walks through each step, from the ramp to the approval and the follow-up on declined work.
- Also useful
MOT preparation checklist
The common MOT failure points, with a section on sending the checklist to your customers.
Money & admin
Pricing your labour and invoicing the way the rules require.
- Guide
How to set your garage labour rate
Your labour rate should come from your own costs and the hours you actually sell, not from what the garage down the road charges. Here is a step-by-step method, with a worked example you can copy.
- Guide
Garage invoices: what UK rules require, with a free template
What GOV.UK and HMRC say a garage invoice must include, how to set out labour, parts and MOT lines, and how to correct a mistake with a credit note. Includes a free printable A4 invoice template.
Choosing software
What a garage management system does, how to compare them and how to switch.
- Guide
What is a garage management system?
A garage management system runs the office side of your workshop from one place: the diary, job cards, estimates, health checks, invoices and reminders. Here is what it does, what it replaces and how to choose one.
- Guide
Switching to garage management software from paper or spreadsheets
A practical plan for moving a garage off a paper diary or spreadsheet: what to set up first, how to move your bookings across in the first week, and what your first month should look like.
- Also useful
How to choose garage management software
What every garage system should have, and the questions to ask any provider.
- Also useful
Best garage management software UK: 11 compared
Eleven UK systems compared on published price, users, contract and free trial.
- Also useful
Compare AutoChain side by side
AutoChain against other UK garage systems, from each company's own website.
Run your garage smarter from today
Join 100+ UK garages, from single-bay workshops to multi-site groups, already streamlining jobs, customers, MOTs and online bookings with AutoChain from £69.99/mo + VAT.
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