Real profit

Put the cost on a repair

A screen you charged $180 for is not $180 of profit. If the repair carries no cost, every report will tell you the shop is doing better than it is — and you will find out at the end of the month, when the money is not there.

1. Hook the part from your inventory

   This is the way that never goes wrong. On the repair, pick the part you used from stock: the cost comes across on its own, and the piece leaves inventory at the same time. Two things right with one action.

2. No part in stock? Type the cost

   Sometimes you buy the part for that one job. Use Edit cost on the line and enter what you paid. The repair ends up with a real cost even though nothing came out of your shelf.

3. Add what it cost to get it there

   Courier, Uber, express shipping from the distributor. On a purchase order there is a shipping cost field that spreads across the parts in that order — because a $40 screen with $12 of shipping is a $52 screen.

4. Something extra showed up? Get it approved

   You open the device and the board is damaged too. Use Extra cost / Approval: document it with photos and send it to the customer over WhatsApp, and they accept or decline. The extra is on the repair and it was agreed to in writing.

5. The system warns you before you charge

   If a repair has a price but zero cost, a notice appears when you go to collect: "this repair has a price but NO part cost." If it really was software or a diagnosis, say so and carry on. If you forgot the part, that notice just saved your numbers.