5 Benefits of Auto Detailing Software with Online Booking

As the industry becomes more competitive, auto detailing businesses need to take advantage of every opportunity. Auto detailing software can help you manage and grow your business in a number of ways you might not have considered. 

Auto detailing software comes at a cost but can have extremely positive effects on the operation and growth of your business. It’s better, then, to think of it as an investment that will pay itself in the form of efficiencies, new business, and many other opportunities for growth.

Here are five benefits of auto detailing software. 

1. Gain Access to New Markets with Online Booking

The easier you can make your sales process, the better it is for your customers and your growth. Consider bundling your services into simple auto detailing packages that a customer can book online in advance. 

With online booking, you offer customers the ability to choose a time that’s best for them. Do you offer a housecall service where you meet your customers at their location? For most customers, a way to select a time that works for them will be a key difference-maker in helping them choose an auto detailer. 

If you offer online booking, the kinds of customers who value time and convenience are more likely to choose you. This one feature alone can help you win business that your competitors won’t have access to. If you’re not already offering online booking, you will gain access to a market that was previously not available to you. 

2. Save Admin Time and Costs with Online Scheduling and Digital Work Orders

When a job is booked onto your calendar online by your customer, your office staff don’t have to take time booking the call. The job appears on your calendar with no effort required by your team. This can make for some major cost savings, but it doesn’t stop there. 

Now that the job is booked, your whole team can see it and who is assigned to it, right on their mobile devices. Need to make a change to the booking? Any changes are updated in the entire system so the whole team is on the same page. 

Since your services are clearly outlined in the booking process, your work orders are clear and consistent. Any special notes that your team or your customer have added to the booking will be kept for posterity, for the current job as well as for future bookings. 

3. Eliminate No-Shows and Late Appointments with Customer Communications

When it’s almost time for a customer’s booking, your auto detailing software can notify them of the upcoming appointment. Your customers can choose whether they want to be reminded via email or text message of the upcoming booking. 

These automated reminders have proven to cause a massive reduction in no-shows and late appointments. The reminder ensures that your customers know where and when they need to meet your detailing team. 

Having a comprehensive record of your customers’ previous bookings and the communications you’ve sent is also valuable. The software helps you “remember” your repeat customers, their vehicles, and their service preferences. Demonstrating that you remember them and their vehicle makes for a superior level of service that they will appreciate. You can also schedule their next appointment or remind them of future offers or seasonal services; another operational boost that auto detailing software can help with. 

4. Get Paid Faster with Digital Invoices and Online Payments

When the job is done, you want to be paid promptly. Auto detailing software gives you the ability to generate a digital invoice when your tech marks the job as complete. Automatically sending invoices when the job is done is a convenient way to make sure that your records and bookkeeping are in order. 

What’s more, you can sync your auto detailing software with Quickbooks, if you use the popular software suite for your recordkeeping. 

Give your customers an online payment option makes things more convenient as well. Take payment on the spot when the job is complete and you won’t have to worry about cash flow or collecting. In the event that the customer is not present when the job is done, you can offer an online payment page they can access to complete their payment.

5. Learn and Improve by Tracking Key Business Metrics

Perhaps the most powerful feature of auto detailing software is that all of your records are in one place. Having accurate records of your company performance gives you the ability to analyze the key areas of business and find areas for improvement. 

For example, you can track how many vehicles each one of your techs are detailing per day and month. You can determine which of your services are the most popular, and most profitable. If you have sales reps, you measure their performance. You can determine how long it takes for a job to book from the first time a customer makes contact, and so much more. 

Having access to this kind of business intelligence will give you an advantage over your competitors. The key is to identify areas of growth opportunity and make operational changes that will help stimulate that growth. 

Auto Detailing Software: A Mini Case Study 

Challenge

Cleen Detailing wanted to establish a new model for auto-detailing. They were after a new kind of customer, one that is more concerned with convenience and quality than price. They wanted to eliminate the need for sales reps and phone calls, so they were looking for an online booking model that would work with their mobile service. 

“Most places don’t allow you to place online bookings. If you do manage to get an appointment, it takes hours. You either have to leave your vehicle and be shuttled home, or sip bad coffee for hours while your car gets cleaned,” says Sawyer Wildgen, Cleen Detailing’s Founder.

Solution

Cleen Detailing chose Vonigo’s auto detailing software with online booking. They use a flat fee structure that makes it easy for customers to choose their services. Customers choose the services they want, and Cleen meets them at their location to perform the service. “I don’t think it could have been nearly as successful without the backend of Vonigo,” says Sawyer. “We can add a new location on our backend in two minutes with Vonigo. A lot of companies can’t say the same thing. That was the biggest reason we turned to Vonigo. The idea of multi-location and the ability to change prices and tailor operations by location, that was an appeal to us.”

Results

“80% 0f our clients are booking online,” says Sawyer. “We want to move into an entirely online funnel. Our goal is to make it easy to buy, almost like from an e-commerce perspective. I feel like if you can make it that simple, there’s no reason you can’t go fully online. I definitely think that being super young, all these things come easily to me. Things like setting up Google Analytics, ‘Add to Cart’ tracking, and knowing who falls off. It just makes sense to do.” 

They’re now expanding their operations into more cities using a franchising model. Vonigo’s auto detailing software makes it easy. “Now it’s all about refining our franchise systems and figuring out how we can carve out more IP (intellectual property) for Cleen within the industry,” says Sawyer.

Learn More about Auto Detailing Software

Want to learn about how auto detailing software can help you manage and grow your business? Book a free, private demo of Vonigo.