StretchLearn Course

Run an Auto Repair Shop That Actually Profits

The labor-rate math, parts margins, service-advisor process, and trust systems behind a profitable independent shop.

Beginner9 hr 30 minSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

This course takes a beginner from a bay full of work and no real margin to running an auto repair shop on numbers it can defend. You will learn how flat-rate labor and the labor guide (Mitchell 1, ALLDATA, Motor) turn into an effective labor rate, how a parts matrix protects gross profit, and how a service advisor moves an approved car from a $180 oil-change ticket to a justified $640 ticket without burning trust. Every module is built around real KPIs, named shop-management systems like Tekmetric and Shop-Ware, and the actual math an owner needs to set prices, read a P&L, and grow.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Calculate your door rate, effective labor rate, and technician productivity using flat-rate hours

Build a parts margin matrix that protects a 50 to 55 percent parts gross profit

Run a digital vehicle inspection and service-advisor process that sells declined work honestly

Read a repair-shop P&L and hit benchmark gross profit, payroll, and net targets

Set up shop-management software, scheduling, and car count systems that show true profitability

Build customer trust and retention through warranty, follow-up, and online reputation

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: How an Auto Repair Shop Makes Money

Understand the three profit centers, the difference between your posted door rate and your effective labor rate, and the car-count math behind a full schedule.

3 lessons

The Three Profit Centers: Labor, Parts, and SubletContent · 45 min

Preview Enabled

Door Rate vs. Effective Labor RateContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Car Count, Average Repair Order, and CapacityContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: Flat-Rate Labor and Parts Margin

Master the labor guide, technician pay and productivity, and the parts margin matrix that protects gross profit on every repair order.

3 lessons

The Labor Guide and Flat-Rate BillingContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Technician Pay and ProductivityContent · 50 min

LMS Access

The Parts Margin MatrixContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: The Service Advisor and the Sale

Build the digital inspection, estimate, and presentation process that lets a service advisor sell declined work honestly and lift average repair order.

3 lessons

The Digital Vehicle InspectionContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Building and Presenting the EstimateContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Scheduling, Workflow, and the Tech-Advisor HandoffContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: Profitability, Systems, and Customer Trust

Read the shop P&L against benchmarks, choose and set up the right systems, and build the warranty, follow-up, and reputation engine that keeps customers for life.

3 lessons

Reading the Shop P&L and Hitting BenchmarksContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Choosing and Setting Up Shop SystemsContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Warranty, Follow-Up, and Building TrustContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

auto repair shopflat rate laboreffective labor rateparts matrixservice advisorautomotive managementshop profitabilitycustomer retention