Manager Forum

Is there a way to ever edit the price of shop supplies or haz waste? I get in some situations where we have a lot of labor but don't use much material, so instead of charging full amount it'd be nice to adjust it accordingly on some jobs.

Also, what do most people charge on Shop Supplies and Hazard Waste? Do you do % of Labor or Labor and Parts?

I charge it just based on Labor and set max at 18.95, but have seen others in the area charging $20+.

We are 7% of our labour to a max of $25.00

KGA wrote:We are 7% of our labour to a max of $25.00

Lets say you do a lot of labor but don't use much for material/supplies do you still charge the 7%?

Yep because our shop supplies also includes the wear and tear on our equipment and tools. We have a notice in the front of our shop to explain what our shop supplies covers and we have never had a complaint or argument.

Can we see a copy of that notice or at least what it says?
Thanks, ARS

Hi ARS,

Here is the notice/ sign that we have in the waiting room for customers or anyone to see.

KGA wrote:Hi ARS,

Here is the notice/ sign that we have in the waiting room for customers or anyone to see.

That's a great idea, mind if i use that for something similar?

I dont think it would be a problem if you wanted to follow it as a template to make your own.

Thank you very much! ARS

We are a shop in California and cannot implement a shop supply fee. We were trying to figure out a way to apply hazardous waste fees to orders within reason, i.e we can't charge 15.00 additional on an oil change and wanted to see if anyone had some tips to get around this?

We have a work around that we are using- Because we do not charge shop supplies on tires (or as much)...
We made an inventory item called shop supplies. We click off shop supplies & then choose the Inventory item called shop supplies & charge 7% of the other parts.

HTH, ARS

We dont charge anything. We get many people in here looking for a quote, and then compare it to the "other shop". They can't figure out why "the other" shop is charging $10.00 to dispose of the parts. We wonder the same thing. It's an O2 sensor. I have yet to EVER hear POSITIVE feed back from a customer about fees or hazmat fees.

Shop spends $300.00 on advertising to get customers.

Shop charges $10.00 to make customer mad.

Ive never had anyone say anything about haz fees. But I do not charge them on things like changing wipers, or bulbs etc.

We have been charging for shop supplies for a long time--- when I first started here we would take them off for farmers & the like- but now we charge everyone- except for tires- (because of the federal & state fees already attached).
Because we live in the state of Illinois- where we can be fined for anything... we even add 50 cents of shop supplies to our internal vehicles.

My shop supply is based on a % of the parts used capping a $25. Any fluid change we do has a haz mat charge of $1.50 added to it. If I weren't able to add for Tire Disposal (2.50 up to a 16" tire and anywhere from 5.00 to 15.00 for truck) Hazardous Material or Shop Supply I would create a Canned Job to cover for it. The job would be non taxable and wouldn't be long in content. If I was worried about a job quote (I'm not) I may remove the items. I have a detailed two page posted list of what materials deemed shop supplies and in the ten years it's posted on in the waiting room, shop counter, both bathrooms and by the entry of the shop I've been questioned maybe 25 times. My feeling is if someone is going to scrutinize a legitimate surcharge like this he / she / they / them / all / etc may be to big of a pain to keep around. I assure you from that point on they are going to assume the charge is being buried in the order. The last few times I was questioned about it I answered it was to try to help compensate for my insurance coverage for any environmental issues tripling this year. This seems to be acceptable.

Most shops charge these fees. Like a tax, most customers are complacent with them. Only a few seem to have an issue with it. Of those few, I'm usually able to explain why we're charging them in a way similar to what is posted on the image above. Usually that's enough to quell the customer's concerns. If that's still not enough, we know our value for being honest, having integrity, and having 40+ years experience. So the next time that customer comes back--and they always do--we are either suddenly booked for appointments for three weeks out (usually not that far of a stretch) or, if we decide we want the work, our parts get a little more expensive to compensate for unchecking the shop supplies and hazmat box.

As stated above in California we can not charge for shop supplies without itemizing each one. I do charge Haz. Mat fees. Go to setup and you can set a percentage with a maximum per invoice. Remember practically everything we purchase has a haz. mat fee applied. Laundry, aerosols, cleaners, electronic waste besides oil oil filters and coolant.