Guides for running a workshop · In the workshop
Stop parts leaking out of your workshop
In most workshops the stock count and the invoices never quite agree. The gap is rarely theft. It's an oil filter taken "for now", a bulb nobody wrote down, a returned part that went back on the shelf but not into the books. Small amounts, every day, add up to real money.
· 5 min read
Where parts go missing
- Taken for a job, never written on it. The technician grabs a part, fits it, and the card says "brake service" with no parts listed.
- Swapped, not returned. The wrong part comes back from the bay and ends up in a corner instead of on the shelf or back with the supplier.
- Received but not checked. The supplier sends nine boxes, the invoice says ten, and nobody counted.
- Damaged or expired stock that sits on the books at full value until the year-end count.
- Sold at the old price. The supplier's price went up three months ago and the counter still charges the old one.
Six habits that close the gap
1. No part leaves the shelf without a job
Every part taken is added to the job it's for, at the moment it's taken, by whoever takes it. If it isn't on a job, it doesn't leave. This one rule closes most of the gap.
2. One person owns the store
Per shift, one person hands out parts and takes them back. Technicians ask; they don't help themselves.
3. Receive against the purchase order
Count what arrived against what you ordered before you sign for it. Short deliveries and wrong items go back on the same day, with a return note, while the driver is still there if you can manage it.
4. Count a little, often
Instead of one painful count a year, count ten fast-moving items every week. Differences show up while people still remember why.
5. Write off what's damaged, with a reason
A cracked lens or an expired fluid is a cost. Record it as a write-off, with a reason and who approved it, so it shows in the numbers instead of hiding in the stock value.
6. Keep your sell prices in step with your costs
When the cost of a part goes up, check its sell price the same day. Watch for parts sold at zero or below cost: they're usually mistakes.
How WrenchDesk does this
Parts are added to the job from stock, so the shelf goes down as the job goes up. Purchase orders are received in full or in part against what was ordered, and returns to the supplier come with a credit note. Stock is kept per branch, at moving-average cost, with barcodes, reorder levels and a forecast from past jobs. Write-offs carry a reason, and the screen warns when a part is about to go out at no price. Import your parts list and try it.