"Want to get paid? Document everything your auto body shop does."

In an article written by John Huetter earlier this month, the insurance adjuster commented: "If you don't do it, I don't pay for it." and "If its not documented you don't get paid." Currently, only 5% - 10% of all auto body and collision shops are providing insurance companies with proper documentation for their work. At the end of the day (and the end of the repair), it falls on the shoulders of the body shop to show insurers (and customers) every repair completed and make sure that all work completed on the vehicle is listed in the invoice and/or estimate. Take these steps to establish a legally defensible invoice for your shop for every single job and get reimbursed fairly for each repair.

• Document the labor and paint and material use for every repair.
• Take photos of each step of the repair process.
• Include all labor, paint and materials on every estimate and/or invoice.

Let PMCLogic help take the work out of documenting P&M's used for your shop by requesting your complimentary program evaluation of PMCLogic today. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON PMCLogic.

For more information on documenting your shop's repairs, continue reading the RDN article below:

Adjuster: Want to get paid? Document everything your auto body shop does

By John Huetter on January 5, 2018 in Repair Driven News

A staff appraiser for a small national insurer this week pushed collision repairers to document every element of a collision repair, describing it as “a little more work, to get paid a lot more.”

The adjuster, whom we’ve agreed to keep anonymous to protect his job, provided a fascinating look at the business from an insurer’s perspective in an interview with us. He strongly encouraged shops to follow the lead of Montana shop owner Matthew McDonnell and his message of “transparency.”

McDonnell, who owns the small MSO the McDonnell Group, in 2017 promoted the idea that documentation gets a shop paid in interviews with us, at a Collision Industry Conference and at SEMA. The Montana repairer has said he learned how to properly document a repair from Collision Advice CEO Mike Anderson and by asking two insurers to teach what they needed.

It’s paid off with what McDonnell said was a 90 percent accounts receivable success rate despite often having “200-line estimates.”

McDonnell teaches “show what you do, and get paid for what you do,” the adjuster said. Label parts, photograph every step of a repair, and provide the OEM information to support what you’re doing.

“You’re going to get paid if you do all of those things, without an argument,” the appraiser said. “… I’ll pay you. Just show me.”

Shops who provide a “half-done estimate with no photos, I’m not paying you,” he said.

The insurer agreed that “severity’s definitely higher” for his carrier when this happens, but as so few shops — he estimated 5 to 10 percent — show their work, “Are we really paying that much more?”

“I do not get dinged in no way shape or form,” the adjuster said of his higher severity. The company ceased to grade adjusters on severity. Instead, it cares about factors like “leakage” and how many claims a staffer is handling.

“If it’s required to be there … we will absolutely follow what the OEM standards say,” he said of his company.

“You could teach a 12-year-old to do our job,” he said: If it’s documented, it gets paid. If every shop in the country learned from McDonnell, “insurance companies aren’t gonna like it.”

Documentation protects insurer against ‘leakage’ audit

“Leakage” in this case involves the adjuster paying line items on an estimate without something to support the decision, according to the adjuster.

This reveals why documentation is crucial. You might be frustrated at having to prove your work or expert opinion over and over. But the adjuster will be audited on how much documentation he provides to back up what he paid you, and he needs that material to protect himself even if he knows you’re right.

“That’s exactly it,” he said.

The appraiser’s company always pays with the documentation, but even if it didn’t, a shop could give the proof of the repair and the OEM instructions supporting it to the customer and let them challenge the carrier for denying something that obviously needed to be done, he suggested.

“If it’s required, it needs to be paid,” the adjuster said.

Shops ‘lazy’ about documentation

The real reason many shops aren’t getting paid is “they’re lazy,” he said.

“They don’t want to show in-process photos,” he said.

Are you fixing marks left by a frame machine? Show pre- and post-repair photos. Welding a quarter panel? Do the same. “Show all the damage,” he said.

Is a trunk interior a different color than the exterior? “Show a picture.”  Want to get paid for a painter’s time cleaning their gun? Document it.

Nine out of 10 shops don’t bother showing pre- and post-measurements of frame straightening, so why pay for it?

Many shops, “they don’t show very many photos at all,” the appraiser said. He recalled a BMW X5 with $27,000 worth of damage — and the shop only took nine photos. “‘You know what, I’m not paying you,'” he said.”

“That’s the issue that a lot of shops have to insurance companies,” he said.

Asked why a professional opinion wouldn’t be enough, as seems to be the case with doctors, the appraiser recounted one example of a health insurer who had demanded a photo of a surgical procedure.

“It’s pretty much the same thing as us in this field,” the appraiser said.  “… They’re asking for photos as well.”

Asked if he paid a shop for the time they spent collecting such exhaustive documentation, he wrote in an email, “I have never paid for administrative time, I feel that is part of getting paid. If it’s not documented you don’t get paid.”

This adjuster requires documentation to educate himself, survive an audit, and encourage the car to be fixed properly by sending shops to the OEM repair procedures. However, there’s also a cost-containment element as well, he acknowledged.

“If you don’t do it, I don’t pay for it,” he said.

Scanning

This adjuster pays for his own training into auto body repair. It’s not provided by his company, nor do his colleagues seem to be pursuing it on their own, he said. This training has taught him the importance of certain procedures like scanning, but the knowledge also can be used to suit his needs as a carrier.

For example, the adjuster says he knows he will always pay for scanning; he knows it’s necessary. However, if a shop doesn’t ask for scanning, he doesn’t include it on an estimate.

If the shop is savvy enough to do so, he will approve that line item but zero it out ($0). Once documentation is provided proving the scan — for example, an output showing the codes and the VIN of the car — he automatically pays the shop’s bill.

“I will absolutely pay for it,” he said. “… I don’t question scanning at all.”

This has been convenient for shops who know him — they can go ahead and scan the car, as he won’t fight them on it as long as they ultimately support it with documentation.

The company formally authorized appraisers to pay for scanning in October 2017, but “I’ve been paying it since Day One” without issue, he said.

He said he’s even used his familiarity with OEM repair procedures to nudge a couple of shops eager to learn in the right direction and improve both the repair quality and his own knowledge. If they add a procedure, he’ll ask if it’s what the OEM states.

“I now know if they’ve pulled them or not,” he said. The customer ideally gets a better repair, the claim file has its documentation, and he gets a chance to read repair procedures.

When insurer knows correct repair, shop doesn’t

Trying to grow one’s expertise through training can produce situations where the adjuster knows a necessary repair procedure being done. He said his shops who show an interest in learning will get a nudge in the right direction. But he’s not going to include the item for just any shop unless the shop asks for and documents it.

“I know it needs to be done, and they’re not doing it,” he said, calling that a difficult thing.

But at the end of the day, “the shop repairs the car,” he said — he won’t add items that should be done to an estimate just so the repairer will do them. “I don’t say, ‘Why isn’t it on there?'” he said.

“I know it should be on there,” he said, but he said he also knows who pays his salary.

He said he encounters a dilemma “every single day” regarding shop choice; he can’t tell the customer to take it somewhere else if he doesn’t think the shop is correct. He won’t always nudge the customer to ask for the correct repair either,; however, if the policyholder asks the right questions, “I will not lie to them.”

Article Link: http://www.repairerdrivennews.com/2018/01/05/adjuster-want-to-get-paid-document-everything-your-auto-body-shop-does/

Five Ways to Get the Most Out of Your P&M Calculator

FENDER BENDER MAGAZINE - July 1, 2016 - Anna Zeck 

Rising paint and materials costs have been an issue for years, as insurance reimbursement rates have remained largely flat. According to data from Mitchell, paint and materials made up 10.5 percent of the average appraisal value during Q1 2016, representing a 0.5 increase from Q4 2015. The average paint and materials rate was $33.51 per refinish hour in Q1 2016, compared to $32.91 in Q1 2015.

Repairers commonly report underpayment or no payment for various materials used during repairs. Meanwhile, shops’ costs for those products have increased dramatically over the past decade, causing P&M profit margins to dwindle by the year, says Rick Palmer, president of ComputerLogic.

One way to combat this is by using a paint and materials calculator, such as Mitchell’s RMC, PMCLogic or PaintEx, which allow shops to implement diligent documentation practices and improve insurance negotiation strategies. These software programs help take the guesswork out of P&M accounting, allowing shops to easily document and itemize all materials—from sandpaper to car wash soap to razor blades—to come up with a true cost for refinishing and an itemized invoice of the paint and materials used in a particular repair.

What’s more, systems like PMCLogic integrate with established estimating and paint systems, making generating an accurate P&M estimate easy and quick to do. Estimates for a specific vehicle type, Palmer says, include the amount of paint and materials that are expected to be used based on all of the panels, plus other items repaired or replaced. That system also factors into the equation other special conditions or requirements for each particular job. The result is a price generated from a database of industry information and current prices for the products used.

Ted Williams, manager of business consulting services at Sherwin-Williams, and Rick Palmer, president of ComputerLogic, discuss the top five ways shops should use P&M calculators in the shop.

1) Use the reports as a guide.

After inputting the information into the P&M calculator system, Williams suggests using the report as a guide throughout the repair process. He says that shops he works with will even print out a copy and put it on the window of the car.

“When a technician looks at it, they can use it as a guide,” Williams says. “‘Based on the repair that we’ve got, they’re saying we should use three sheets of this grit sandpaper.’ They can guide themselves. If they use five sheets, they know they used too much. They know what to shoot for as far as the amount of materials.”

Some shops even create job packs of product to put on the repair cart at the beginning of the repair based on that printout. For example, if the invoice says the repair should use three sheets of 180 grit sandpaper, the shop will get three sheets of 180 grit and store it on the cart. Williams says this ensures that technicians don’t use too much, and if they need more, they can easily record this in the system and can note the reason for needing more.

2) Negotiate more effectively with insurance companies.

Williams says that above all, the benefit of a P&M calculator is that it is a tool for negotiating with insurers regarding reimbursement, which is something that Williams says many shops struggle with.

“They have to go into it with the right mindset,” he says. “They have to have the data and they have to talk about the data in a way to negotiate to get more materials.”

Williams says that the P&M calculator acts as documentation and should be used to prove to insurance companies everything that was needed to provide a quality repair for their policyholders.

“These systems clearly put materials usage in black and white,” he says. “The documentation details all of the expenses and provides logical explanations of the costs. And that’s what helps shops get reimbursed from insurance companies.”

One reason is because it provides adjusters with an argument to use when speaking with their supervisors. They’re able to explain why certain items were needed, and why they allowed the shop to exceed the P&M cap, Williams says.

“Insurers tend to side with shops more often when repairers can provide this type of documentation,” Williams says. “It doesn’t guarantee proper reimbursement, but it certainly helps you and will get you a lot more than not using it.”

Before negotiating, Williams suggests being as accurate as you can with the documentation and deciding beforehand what your minimum is.

“You can sit here and do the material calculator and it will tell you that you have $900 worth of materials and the material cap was $450. At what point are you going to be satisfied?” he says. “Are you going to fight for the full $900 or are you going to be satisfied with the negotiation if the insurance company decides to give you $700? You’ve still dramatically increased your material margin.”

3) Involve your jobber to speed up restocking orders.

One of the benefits of P&M calculators is that they interface with multiple systems, such as paint, estimating and vendor systems. This makes it easier to integrate multiple processes in the system, as well as get your jobber involved in the process. Palmer says that by allowing jobbers access to the system, they can rely on the information for reordering and purchasing.

“The jobber doesn’t have to go to the shop every week and count inventory,” he says. “They only have to go out twice a month. Either the shop can generate the purchase order for restocking from the system or the jobber can do it himself. They have their own login and can create a purchase order for the shop.” Palmer says allowing jobbers access to the P&M system ensures that they are ordering the correct amount of materials for the shop based on prior usage, meaning the shop doesn’t end up with an excess of inventory or too little with frequent restocking.

4) Bring the painters and technicians up front during the damage analysis.

Williams says that the key to using P&M calculators effectively is being accurate from the very beginning. One way to do that, he says, is by getting your experienced body technicians and painters involved in the damage analysis.

“They can tell you, based on experience, here’s how many tubes of adhesive and different things you’re going to need for that repair,” he says. “You can add to the initial invoice at the very beginning. I find even with the best shops, they’re not doing this and bringing the painter up to the front.”

Williams says to have the painter and technician review the estimate for estimate accuracy, verify the actual color, get the color match up front and have the technician map out any repair panels.

“What I’ve found is that typically by bringing the paint tech up there, we’re going to get more accurate estimates right out the gate as far as the right amount of hours, we capture materials that we probably aren’t getting paid for right now and we can do it at the beginning of the repair process,” he says.

5) Use the data as KPI reports to reduce waste.

Palmer says that in his experience, when shops embark on using paint and material calculators, they explore details of their materials costs that may have been overlooked before. And while the biggest gains in P&M profitability generally come from stronger sales and capturing all needed processes and procedures, there are gains to be made by measuring and managing your costs. That means that the shop is better able to track its P&M usage and reduce waste.

“How many sheets of sandpaper should they be using? For the last 90 days, according to what was used on that car, you should’ve used 5.5 boxes of sandpaper. You bought 10 boxes. I need to look into that,” he says. “They’ll say, ‘I got paid X dollars for paint and materials.’ We’d say, based on your actual cost factors, this is what you should have gotten back.”

If there are discrepancies in that data, Palmer says that you need to take a closer look and figure out where the shop is experiencing significant waste and the reasons for that. He says that common reasons include employees taking a can or two of materials for personal use, painters mixing too much paint, or simply incorrect cost accounting.

https://www.fenderbender.com/articles/6248-five-ways-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-p-amp-m-calculator

Disruptive Technology in the Collision Industry

Disruptive Technology

Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen coined the term ”disruptive technology” in his 1997 best-selling book, "The Innovator's Dilemma.“

A disruptive technology is one that:
1) displaces an established technology and shakes up the industry, or 

2) is a ground-breaking product that creates a completely new industry.

                             Here are some examples of ‘disruptive technology’

PC - Personal computer displaced the typewriter. It forever changed the way we work.

Email - Transformed the way we communicate.  It largely displacing letter-writing and disrupted the postal and greeting card industries.

Cell Phone - Made it possible for people to call us anywhere, and disrupted the telecom industry.

Laptop and mobile computing - made a mobile workforce possible.

Cloud computing - has been a hugely disruptive technology in the business world.  It is displacing many resources that previously were located in-house.

__________________________________________

 Why is PMCLogic a disruptive technology?

                                                       

Because it changes the way repairers get paid for P&M’s!

Currently repairers are pay for paint and materials on an arbitrarily and flawed methodology based on ‘refinish labor hours’ times a fixed dollar “allowance amount”.  This method of calculating what is due for each and every unique repair is universally recognized as being outdated, inaccurate and totally inequitable.

Why does this flawed methodology continue to be used?  Because until now it has been virtually impossible for a shop to accurately account of the exact amount of paint and materials used on a specific/unique repair.

What has changed?  New technology developed by ComputerLogic, and delivered via their PMCLogic™ Paint and Materials Management System, automatically generates an extremely accurate predictive estimate of the list and quantities of all P&M items that will be needed for each unique repair.  In addition, it interfaces with paint mixing systems to validate how much paint was ultimately used on each repair to insure that the final invoice accurately reflects an honest account of what P&M’s were used for a each specific repair.

Keys to success for ‘Disruptive Technology’:

It solves a problem or satisfies a need better, faster, easier and/or cheaper.

PMCLogic meets all of these criteria.

PMCLogic is better because it generates an extremely accurate predictive estimate of exactly what P&M’s will be used on each unique repair.

It is better because a repairer can easy turn that predictive estimate into a final accurate invoice.  This is because PMCLogic interfaces with numerous other applications that account for or measure the actual volume of paint and materials used for that specific job.

It is better because it automatically notifies the estimator of the P&M items that can be entered as a manual line item on the original vehicle estimate and shown as a ‘parts item’ for supplement payment.

It is better because it captures a ton of information for reporting purposes, such as, job costing, gross profit margin for all jobs paid by a specific insurance company, detailed material usage by SKU, lost opportunity, KPI’s, and more…

It is fast and easy to because it interfaces with all of the estimating systems (Audatex, CCC, Mitchell, Comp-Est and Web-Est) which eliminates the need to re-enter data.

It is cheaper because it pays for itself on just one job per month.  All other money generated and/or saved by using PMCLogic is additional net profit to the shop.

For more information on PMCLogic™ and request a ‘Free Trial’

CLICK HERE

An industry challenge for the New Year

January 1, 2016

A NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION

An industry challenge for the New Year

By:  Michael Giarrizzo

The new year is exciting for me because it really motivates me to reflect, evaluate and establish a refreshed and reinvigorated resolve in my daily routine (which has become anything but routine).

As I look at the collision repair industry—an industry to which I've devoted my entire career—I'm discovering that what I'm doing every day can't really be called a "job." For me it has become a very personal way of life. And because of this everyday personal relationship I have with the industry, I find myself constantly evaluating the industry's ongoing progress and the many outside resources that help to create an improved customer experience that enhances the overall perception of our business.

Part of that evaluation involves cleaning up "standard procedure" facets of the business that have been around forever but, today, don't seem to make too much sense.

One of those facets is paint and material (P&M) invoicing, which has been a thorn in the industry's side seemingly since the beginning of time. We've forever relied on a "best-guess" number that is derived from a fixed dollar amount multiplied by the refinish labor hours to determine P&M costs, simply because we've had no better way of tracking specific materials to the specific vehicle that was being invoiced.

I'm sure you'll agree with me that P&M invoicing using this method has always been a "You win some, you lose some" notion that (we hope) will even out in the long run. Hear me when I tell you that this archaic costing measure is a "lose-lose-lose" proposition! It's not fair to the customer, it's not fair to the insurer and it's definitely not fair to your bottom line.

Thankfully, today we have a much more sophisticated and accurate method of determining these costs in the variety of material calculators available that allows us to identify those line-item materials that are specific to each repair.

And these material calculators couldn't have been developed at a better time, since the vast amount of job-specific materials are increasing at an incredible rate.

Material calculators provide a detailed list of what was used to repair the vehicle, which leads to a more accurate invoice, which improves the customer perception of your work, while ultimately helping to reduce waste in the shop.

So if this technology tool is so great, then why isn't every shop in the universe using it? That question is so intriguing; I'm going to follow it up with a few more thought-provoking queries that hopefully challenges your thinking for the coming year:

Can we continue to operate as a viable industry knowing that we're overcharging and/or undercharging for P&M, hoping it will somehow work out over the long haul?

Don’t our customers deserve to be accurately invoiced for materials being applied to their vehicle?

Aren’t loss costs supposed to be directly associated with that specific vehicle's loss?
Is there a mistrust or suspicion of the validity of material calculators that I'm not aware of? Or is it just that we really don't understand them (or just don't believe them)?

How in the world can we as industry still be so committed to the status quo and archaic methodology when technology enables us to identify, calculate and invoice the material specific to the job?

Materials are specific and unique to each and every job. As professionals, we must invoice with the intention of accuracy and integrity. My "type-A" personality, for one, can't comprehend it any other way.

In this new year we need to resolve to find the collective courage to seek out better ways to do our job, serve our customers and create change. If you have any ideas on the answers to the questions I've posed above, or want to boast about how P&M material calculators have affected the way you do business, feel free to let me know. 

Michael Giarrizzo, Jr.
President & CEO

Michael Giarrizzo Jr. is president and CEO of DCR Systems, which develops on-site accident repair facilities for auto dealers nationwide seeking to outsource this function as an additional fixed operation while preserving financial and customer benefits. Giarrizzo was formally vice president and chief operating officer of Sterling Auto Body Centers, where he led operations of more than 1,300 people across 10 states. Giarrizzo was instrumental in growing the company to 65 stores, developing 5 greenfield locations and transitioning 39 existing stores from traditional one-technician, multiple-car thinking to a true process flow environment, directing focus to cycle time, quality and market competitiveness. Prior to assuming the COO role with Sterling, Michael served as regional director in charge of the Cleveland and Akron markets. Before that, Giarrizzo helped to grow his family’s Cleveland-based JSI Collision Centers from a single location to a four-store chain in Northeastern Ohio with annual sales of $12 million. JSI was twice recognized by the industry as “Collision Business of the Year” for its customer service and standardized operating procedures and was acquired in 1999 by Sterling Autobody Centers. Giarrizzo holds a business administration degree in marketing from St. Bonaventure University.

*Article originally published in ABRN on Jan. 1st, 2016.  Direct link to article published in ABRN is HERE. 

PMCLogic Checklist

Did you know?

PMCLogic has a printable 'Checklist'?  

Our customers say it helps in several ways.  This is the workflow.  They write their estimate in CCC, Mitchell, Audatex or CompEst and export it into PMCLogic.  Then print out the 'checklist' from PMCLogic, and right away that goes in the job jacket.   This does several things:

1) You now have a very detailed list of what was actually used to repair that vehicle to pre-accident condition.  You now have credibility to show what is on that invoice.

2) Helps make the invoice that much more accurate and easily updates to exact usage of materials.

3)Helps reduce waste, now repairers have a list of how much they should be using on repairs.  

Why Does The Collision Industry Still Use Dollars Time Hours To Calculate P&M Cost?

If virtually everyone in the collision repair industry agrees that the prevailing method for paying for paint and materials (P&M’s), based on a fixed dollar amount times the refinish hours, is not “fair” to at least one of the two parties involved; why does this practice continue?

We’ll look at the three most frequently mentioned reasons why the industry has not already moved to a more equitable payment system, such as INVOICING; and examine why these constraints are no longer valid.

1. It’s not easy for shops to document what P&M’s were actually used for a specific vehicle repair.  This is the first reason usually given.  That premise may have been valid many years ago, but is not true today.

 Almost all shops today mix their paint and other liquids on a paint system smart-scale.  These systems provide a cost and sell report for each mix, based on the unique vehicle color.  With this information a shop is already half way home towards creating a very accurate final invoice for their P&M’s.

Gathering accurate information on the materials used, however, takes a little more effort; but this too can be done quickly and easily.  There are several P&M estimating systems on the market today that provide a shop with a list of materials (sometimes called ‘dry goods’) that are predicted to be used for a specific job.

If the shop will print out that ‘materials check list’ and place it in the travel jacket that goes along with the vehicle throughout the repair process, when the repair is completed the tech who worked on that vehicle can take a couple of minutes to look over that list of line items for accuracy and note any necessary adjustments that need to be made.  Next, make any necessary changes (adds, edits, and deletes) on the P&M invoicing program and generate an accurate ‘final list’, or invoice, of all of the paint and materials used on a specific vehicle repair.  Then, present it to the vehicle owner (customer) and their insurer for payment.

2. The feeling that no matter what the shops do, the insurance companies will not change the way they pay for P&M’s.  This assumption is also false.  Henry Ford once said, “The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can't; are both usually right.” Which one are you?

Today, thousands of shops are regularly being paid off of paint and material INVOICES because they have taken the ‘high road’ and have done ‘the right thing’ for ‘the right reason’ and they are doing it ‘the ‘right way’.

Changing the way one has done business over many years is not an instant occurrence; it is a journey.  It takes patience and persistence to effectuate change.  In addition, it takes three key components to be successful; (1) willing people, (2) a plan of action and (3) the right tools.

Willing people are those who have a positive attitude, believe there is a need for change, and are disciplined enough to stay the course.  A plan of action outlines how one will get from where they are to where they what to go.  And, the proper tools should help make the task as easy as possible

3. People and companies have a built-in adversity to change.   This is true, but it does not make it right.  Everything is constantly changing; and those people or businesses that do not embrace change will not be around in the future.

 “Repairers must first change the way they do business, if they expect to change the way insurers do business with them.”  This truism covers all aspects of the collision repair industry and the repairer/insurer business relationship.  It is clearly applicable when it comes to changing the way repairer’s currently get paid for paint and materials (P&M’s).

Getting paid equitably for paint and materials is a four step process.

     First, shops need to know their true cost of P&M’s based on an accurate accounting of what was used to repair each and every vehicle that goes through their shop.

     Second, with correct information at their disposal, they can more accurately establish the selling price needed on each job to generate the expected gross profits they desire.

    Third, they need an easy way to document the items that are to be invoiced.

    Forth, they need to ask for the sale!

What our customers are saying about {Paint & Material Compensation}

I have been using PMCLogic for almost 2 years, it has made a huge difference in being paid correctly for paint and materials. It only takes about two minutes to create and print an accurate invoice. THANKS PMCLOGIC!!!

Matt Laney, Mitch Smith Chevrolet, Cullman, AL

PMCLogic has allowed us to get a better tracking of our material profitability and has helped us to get through the storm season. I cannot imagine not having PMCLogic in the our shops to help us maintain our paint profitability. PMC Logic has been a solution for us for the last two hail storms.

Chris Donnelly, Bodyworks Collision Centers, Oklahoma City, OK

I have been using PMCLogic for 10 years and it has proven  to be an important profit source in my shop.  I like the fact that I can set the templates to the way we make repairs and with the materials we use in repairs.  Now that we have networked PMCLogic with our paint mixing computer we can job cost every repair with exactly what we mix.

Thomas Rogers, Roy Rogers Body Shop, Laurel, MS

   I would like to take this opportunity to thank you guys for the development of such a monumental change for the Auto Body Repair industry. PMCLogic has finally allowed my shop to get paid for the items necessary to repair vehicles that have been neglected ,and have impacted our profits for so many years. We now get paid so much more mainly on medium to large jobs, in some cases as much as $15.00 per hour above our normal hourly rate for paint and materials .PMCLogic has been instrumental in our shop being profitable after twenty five years of just throwing a dollar figure at our refinish labor rates and praying that we make a small profit or at least break even enough to pay our bills.

   We now know how much money that we were losing on most jobs and, I can’t help but be sad that we left so much money on the table that rightfully belonged in our bank account. I will continue to sing the praises of PMCLogic to everyone in the auto repair industry and hope that they will also accept your free trial, and submit those itemized invoices to the insurers and see how easy it is to put more money in the bank.

 Mack Gunter,  Gunter Body Shop, Jasper AL

We were stuck in the old ways of "estimating" materials according to the paint hours.  After using PMC Logic, we can generate an accurate invoice of materials used to return a vehicle to pre-accident condition.  Now we get paid for what we actually use!  It's amazing to see how much we were letting go out the door just because we didn't have a way to invoice it.  And the best part is that it's so easy to use!

-Dave Stewart at Stewart’s Auto Repair, FL

Since we started using PMC Logic on almost every job ticket, we are now making a profit on materials. This system is user friendly and shows an accurate breakdown of all it takes to correctly repair a damaged vehicle. Great product and well worth our investment.

David Shaddix, Earl’s Body Shop, Cullman, AL

CLICK HERE TO START YOUR FREE TRIAL

PMCLogic Customer Survey

We recently, in the last few weeks, sent out a survey to all our PMCLogic customers.  The feedback we received was fantastic, and we gained a lot of valuable information.  We want to post some the responses to our survey with you. Here are a few of the results to the survey:

Results of the survey revealed that the top 5 insurance companies who pay off of PMCLogic invoices are:

1)  GEICO

2)  Allstate

3)  Progressive

4)  Farmers

5)  USAA

Other interesting information from the survey shows how much additional revenue shops are making on the average, per job, by using PMCLogic :

52% get paid an additional $51 to $150, per repair

38% get paid an additional $151 to $250, per repair

5% get paid an additional $250 or more, per repair

5% get paid  around $50, or less, per repair

We want you too to be one of our happy customers.  Contact us for a free PMCLogic trial.  

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E. L. Eversman on Antitrust

The collision repair industry is rife with comments about antitrust activities and what constitutes antitrust behaviors. Body shop owners receive notices from insurers constantly that assert that discussing prices with competitors is a violation of the antitrust laws and may render them liable for violations of those laws.


This is true in the cliché antitrust scenario in which a group of body shop owners meet in a dark room and secretly agree that each will charge $70 per hour for body labor and none will ever charge less than that amount. Shops, however, are often unnecessarily concerned that ordinary conversation with others in the industry can expose them to antitrust liability. Yet, as long as shops steer clear of agreeing to set uniform rates or limitations on productivity or provide “courtesy estimates,” they should feel comfortable attending trade association meetings and enjoying discussing the rigors of their industry with other participants.

What’s Actionable


In relation to the antitrust laws, collision repairers need to remember that they have an obligation to avoid artificially inflating the price of repair costs. On the other hand, business costs and inflation continue to rise, and repairers need to be able to charge a price that enables them to meet costs and make a profit. Unreasonable interference with those prices that drives collision repairers to substantially lower the quality of repairs provided and harm consumer safety, or which are designed to deliberately drive competitors from the marketplace, may well be actionable under the antitrust laws.   Read the entire article here from BodyShop Business

Sherwin-Williams Adds PMCLogic to Mixing System

Look who was in this weeks addition of Collision week! Mon, 6 Aug 2012 Sherwin-Williams Adds PMCLogic Paint Cost Calculator to Mixing System © CollisionWeek. All rights reserved. 201020385 No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means without permission in writing from the publisher.

Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes announced that paint and materials calculator, PMCLogic now works directly with its internet-based mixing system, Formula Express. The software program is supplied by Macon, Ga.-based ComputerLogic, which has a 32-year history of automotive industry software support. PMCLogic enables repairers to properly track and invoice all paint and materials used during the repair process. The program calculates the estimated costs of coatings and sundries consumed while replacing, repairing and/or refinishing each specific panel and/or structural section of the vehicle. This is based on the most current industry pricing from hundreds of paint and material suppliers. To reach these accurate estimates, details on items generally used for each affected panel have been benchmarked by ComputerLogic's group of collision industry experts and are continually updated as materials and processes change. In addition, paint pricing is color specific; which increases pricing accuracy. "There are pretty much only two ways in the collision repair business to increase profits; either reduce costs or increase sales," says Troy Neuerburg, Manager of Marketing Business Services at Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes. "A paint material calculator like the PMCLogic program is the perfect way for both repairers and insurers to quickly come to an agreement on fair and reasonable reimbursement for paint and materials on almost any specific vehicle repair." "In the past, body shops have been held responsible for the price difference between an estimate and the final cost," says Eric Meyer, owner of Lynbrook Collision Center in Waite Park, Minn., which has been the beta site for PMCLogic software. Lynbrook Collision is a member of the Key Choice group of collision repair shops in the Midwest. "Now, when Key Choice employees mix any product for a repair, an electronic scale tracks the actual use of each product and the PMCLogic software creates an automatic invoice. This customized invoice is then given to the insurance adjuster as proof of audited materials. The adjuster can then provide payment to body shops in line to actual costs, instead of inaccurate estimations.

Paint and Material Compensation and Cost Study

Executive Summary

The Paint and Material Compensation Cost Study is based on a peer-contributed panel of over 65 collision industry professionals. A cross-sample of representatives were interviewed to articulate their perspectives on the issues surrounding paint and material compensation from the viewpoint of their respective constituencies.

If requested, future topics will be discussed with the panel and feature a wide range of data, ideas and expertise. We anticipate the study will generate further discussion and introduce new evidence and ideas that

evolve in the collision repair industry.

Study Topic: Paint and Material Compensation Methodology

Innovative advances in paint and material technology have undoubtedly improved the quality of collision repairs in the United States. For some Repairers, receiving proper compensation for these advances have not presented a problem. For others, the lack of properly negotiated rates or alternative compensation methods have presented some serious challenges.

Although profitability on paint and materials may not be viewed as the most significant driver of a shop's success, it could be an inhibitor if not permitted to keep pace with future concerns.

On July 20th, 2011, in Salt Lake City, UT, the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) Refinish Committee, comprised of: Moderator, John Bosin, (Fix Auto), Doug Kelly, President, (CynCast), Aaron Marshall, CEO, (Marshall Auto Body), Joe Mattos, CEO, (Pro Finishes Plus) and Richard Palmer, CEO, (ComputerLogic), presented the topic: “Improving Paint Shop Efficiency in a Consolidating Market”. A segment of the presentation included the impact on the current methodology for paint and materials compensation in consideration of existing or potential new technology.

Due to time constraints, the panel had only a limited opportunity to fully discuss the topic during the scheduled session. To further explore the challenges related to this compensation methodology issue, panelist Richard Palmer commissioned this independent study.

In the interview process, key individuals and organizations have been identified to interact with the CIC Refinish Committee and continue the discussion.

Study Objectives

1. Consider the opinions of a representative cross-sample of constituencies to clarify the

profitability/performance dynamic of multiplying the number of refinish hours/units by a specified

dollar rate as a primary method of compensation for paint and material usage.

2. To identify the different methods of paint & materials compensation being used and estimate their

prevalence in the industry so that the CIC Refinish committee can recommend alternative solutions

based on the advantages and disadvantages of each method.

3. To identify the strengths and weaknesses of the different compensation methods relative to their

accuracy, fairness and ease of use.

4. To encourage suggestions from study respondents and consider factors important to the acceptance of

alternative compensation methods/systems by the insurance carriers.

5. Build an environment of collaboration by harnessing the power of the collective efforts of selected

individuals considered to be influential in future collision repair discussions. 4

Study Questions

1. What is your opinion of the current methodology used for paint and material compensation?

2. On a scale of 0 to 10 with 0 being “not important at all” and 10 being “extremely important”, where would you rate Paint & Material Compensation on the list of other issues that you're monitoring? Why would you rate that number to the issue?

3. What different methods of Paint & Materials Compensation are you aware of? What would you say

are the advantages and disadvantages of each method?

4. If it were up to you, what method would you use to address the P&M Compensation issue?

This report attempts to provide decision-makers with a third-party view of what a broad spectrum of industry stakeholders consider most important in the paint and material compensation discussion. It offers successfully proven alternative methods of compensation being used today and collaborative insight to add flexibility with fairness to insurers, repairers and suppliers in addressing the issue.

To see the full report, please click HERE

New PMCLogic version 6.4 released

ComputerLogic today announced its latest release, version 6.4, of the popular paint and materials management system, PMCLogic™.

PMCLogic users will immediately notice several significant enhancements surrounding cost and revenue analytics and receive updated paint and material price information. The new “Insurance Grouping Feature” aggregates insurer information for all vehicles repaired, along with other data imported from the 3 major estimation providers (Audatex, CCC and Mitchell), and provides informational reports that promote better communication within the insurance industry.
“These new features will add value to the repair process by providing a wealth of accurate data that will assist in the decision making process. Accurate data creates opportunities to reduce cost and increase revenue,” said Rick Palmer, CEO of ComputerLogic.

When generating reports, PMCLogic’s ability to segregate information by customer groups, allows PMCLogic users to identify trends and draw comparisons more easily. “The idea is to give repairers and insurers data which is actionable and provides them with the information they need to better manage their business,” added Palmer.

PMCLogic Version 6.4 also includes a new “Paint and Materials Sales and Cost Export Feature” which allows shops to export their actual paint and materials cost to a Body Shop Management System.

Rick Palmer concluded that “PMCLogic Version 6.4 is another major step forward in the evolution of PMCLogic and we invite all repairers and insurers to evaluate for themselves how P&M information, based on surface-area based calculations, improves the accuracy of data generated for paint and materials estimating.”