The life of a small shop owner is anything but calm, and for Jason Posey of CJ’s Auto Repair in Wynne, Ark., that couldn’t be truer. After spending nearly 25 years in a dealership, working his way from technician to parts and service manager, Jason decided it was time to open his own shop. Today, he handles everything from parts ordering to wrenching. The shop co-owner is none other than his wife Carla. She manages the paperwork, keeps things organized, and keeps customers informed, so Jason can stay focused on the repairs.

However, with 30 cars rolling through the shop weekly, any time that can be saved in the two-person team’s workday can quickly add up to substantial time savings throughout the month. For Jason, this came to a head when building estimates for customers and placing parts orders when approved.

Previously, he would build out an estimate using an online parts site then use a calculator to add margins, before everything would be applied to the estimate and printed off for a customer to see. That was until Jason started using ALLDATA Estimator located inside ALLDATA Repair.

“Previously, I had to go pull up the parts catalog online, grab a calculator, add my margins, and then plug it all into the estimate,” said Jason. “Since I’ve been using the ALLDATA Estimator, I like how it’s laid out and how easy it is to use; but, more importantly, it automatically adds shop supplies, hazmat fees, and things like that.”

While Estimator allows shops to quickly create compliant estimates, add parts and labor costs directly from ALLDATA Repair or Collision, store customer and vehicle data, and order AutoZone parts directly from the catalog, Jason shared that his favorite feature is the ability to quickly order parts with pre-saved margins already in place.

“I save roughly 4-5 minutes per estimate,” said Jason. A little quick math reveals those time savings add up to 2-3 hours each week on a 30-car rotation – or nearly half a workday every month.

“My advantage is that I worked at a dealership for 25 years, serving as a technician and later as a parts and service manager. I know how to run things more efficiently than a typical independent shop.”
 

As a shop owner, saving time is one of the most valuable advantages any product or tool can offer. For Jason, it means having a few extra moments to focus on his personal project, a stroked Gen-3 Hemi paired with a Hellcat supercharger that’s destined for the engine bay of a classic 1970 Nova.