Driven by Family: The Northrich Automotive Evolution

In late 2020, Jim Kellas bought TL Auto Repair, in Union City, California. The location was strong, but the shop’s systems were holding it back—outdated software, lack of key integrations, and inefficient processes all contributed to a poor customer experience. 

Determined to find a solution, Jim explored various shop management systems before switching to Tekmetric. After making the switch, the impact was transformative for TL Auto Repair.

“Stop looking at the other ones. You're done searching.”  

Challenge

Before switching systems, TL Auto Repair faced:

• Frequent software downtime disrupting operations
• Lack of integrations with key tools, creating manual work
• Limited visibility into performance metrics

Solution

After exploring several options, Jim chose Tekmetric for its seamless integrations, reliable performance, and features that made it easier to connect with customers. With Tekmetric, TL Auto Repair streamlined operations, improved communication, and set the foundation for future growth.

Results

Streamlined Operations That Drive Revenue

Integrations with tools like Affirm through Tekmetric’s Payments and adding Marketing solutions helped TL Auto Repair simplify workflows and boost sales. Offering financing made higher-ticket repairs more accessible for customers, leading to over $2 million in revenue.

“I was able to integrate with so many other programs. I'm able to know revenue-wise it's been a boom because I'm able to tie everything together.”

‍More Efficiency, Less Overhead

Running on a reliable, browser-based system saved time and cut hardware costs. Staff work faster, from anywhere, using devices like Chromebooks. 

"The time savings have been substantial, allowing for increased efficiency"

‍A Better Experience for Every Customer

Text message updates, digital vehicle inspections, and contactless invoicing and payments create a more transparent and convenient experience for their customers. This has earned them trust, repeat business, and a 4.7-star rating on Google. 

"Customers love getting text message updates, online inspection reports, and the option for contactless service - it keeps them coming back." 

What’s Next

With a proven model and the right technology support in place, Jim plans to expand and is in the process of acquiring new shops. He is applying the same focus on operational efficiency and customer experience that turned TL Auto Repair into a thriving business.

In 2020, Jeremy and Holly Hansen purchased Mission Auto KC, an old-school shop with no desire to grow or adapt to new customers. From day one, they faced operational challenges—outdated systems, manual processes and a lack of visibility into key business metrics. Most importantly, they struggled to deliver the level of customer service they envisioned. 

Determined to find a solution, Holly researched various shop management systems and after careful evaluation, made the switch to Tekmetric in July 2021. The impact was immediate and transformative.

Challenge

Before Tekmetric, Mission Auto KC relied on outdated methods—pen-and-paper invoicing, limited reporting, and inefficient customer communication. This led to:

• Slow invoicing and difficulty tracking finances
• Inconsistent customer updates, causing frustration and lost business
• Limited reporting capabilities, making it hard to identify areas for growth
• Revenue stagnation, with monthly sales hovering around $40,000 to $50,000

Solution 

After evaluating multiple options, Holly chose Tekmetric because it provided real-time shop insights, streamlined operations, and better customer engagement. With Tekmetric, Mission Auto KC automated processes, improved financial tracking, and provided customers with a transparent repair experience—all essential to driving growth.

Results

Revenue Growth: Doubling Monthly Sales

With Tekmetric optimizing operations, Mission Auto KC experienced a dramatic financial transformation, doubling its monthly revenue from $40,000–$50,000 to $90,000. By streamlining workflows, improving job tracking, and enabling faster repair approvals, the shop significantly increased productivity, allowing them to complete more jobs per day. These improvements not only boosted revenue but also led to a 20% increase in gross profit, as better pricing accuracy and operational efficiency maximized profitability.

“Our typical [revenue before Tekmetric] was $40,000 to $50,000. Then $90,000 became our norm right away. So the top number did double.”

Data-Driven Financial Management

With automated reporting and real-time financial tracking, Holly gained complete visibility into the shop’s performance, allowing for daily revenue tracking, expense management, and more accurate accounting.‍

“QuickBooks is what I use for our accounting, and it’s up to date every day because I come in the following morning, enter my end-of-day report, enter all my expenses, and I know where I'm at.”

Faster Turnaround and Improved Customer Experience

Tekmetric’s text and photo-sharing features allowed for faster, clearer communication with customers, improving trust and increasing repeat business. Customers could see photos of repairs in progress, eliminating doubts and streamlining approvals.‍

“Customers love it. They love transparency. I'm not just saying your filter is dirty—you see a picture of your filter.”

What’s Next

Fueled by their commitment to exceptional service and operational excellence, Mission Auto KC is setting ambitious goals for the future. As demand continues to grow, they plan to expand their team, increase efficiency, and strengthen customer relationships to reach $2 million in annual revenue. By prioritizing transparency, quality work, and trust, they are building a loyal customer base that keeps coming back. What started as a struggling shop has now become a thriving, data-driven business, poised for long-term success and continued expansion.

Business picked up over the years, and Karl was able to assemble a small team and build his own on-premise shop management system. In 2010, he decided to move Ultimate Auto Repair to a larger space two miles from his house. He was able to employ more people but eventually hit a growth cap.

After switching to Tekmetric, Karl was able to accelerate over the hump and more than double his business. Today, they’re still growing every month.

Ripping the Band-Aid Off

With my old system, I was stuck. Each technician would have five or six clipboards, and they'd have to shuffle and figure out what was authorized and what wasn't. To find out anything, I had to do it manually. It's no fun at the end of the month trying to count how many cars and work orders we did.

There was no way that we were going to make it any further without a lot of changes.

I was afraid to make the change. I thought, "Tekmetric has a lot of good stuff going, but I'm not sure". And then everything came to a head. My laptop crashed. I couldn't get into the old program. We had been talking about making the change, so I grabbed my service writer and said, "We're making the change right now". It was like ripping off the band-aid.

By day three, I said to my team "Hey guys. I'm sorry about the stress". And they said, "Stress? Are you kidding me? This is way better! We don't have to look for a work order on the wall!" They took to it right away.

The immediate result was that everybody could instantly see with a click what everyone else was talking about. The technician could put his notes in there: what he saw and what he didn't see. It's so nice for the service writer to be able to see the customer's notes and the technician’s notes. The customer came in with this complaint. We addressed it. This is the problem. The technician also found this. And everybody can see that live, instantly.

Ticket to Freedom

I was welded to the place without Tekmetric. If I wasn't there, nobody knew what to do. Now, they know.

You can't run a million dollar shop off of one guy having to be there. At the end of the day, the world runs on math. If you don't know what the math is, you don't know what you're doing; you have no clue whether you made money or you lost money. You're just throwing quotes out there and hoping things are there.

But with Tekmetric, I can see in realtime what my markup is, what it's going to be, and what it should be. I can give my service writers a bottom dollar: what they need to sell it for. I can tell them how much they need to discount for, and they can quickly see all that right in Tekmetric. I can set up matrices, even labor matrixes now, which is crazy to me!

I call it their 'guard rail'. They know how high they can go and how low they can go to make a sale. At some point, if you don't have a technician working, and that's their job for the day, and if you don't sell that job, they’re not going to be working. That service writer needs to know how low they can go to make that sale.

Tekmetric gives me the freedom to leave for days at a time and everything keeps running. It has basically allowed me to duplicate myself, to show the guys: this is the system, and these are the steps you need to take. I can show the guys what to do, and they can replicate it.

Before, vacations were almost impossible. Now, I can leave, and I know the shop will keep running. With Tekmetric, it's all right there. My team has everything they need.

Realizing the Potential

As a business owner, Tekmetric helps me make quick decisions, which is what it's all about. I have to be able to know where I’m at and where I’m going to project it. And then we need to be able to operate with consistency, too. Because when the customer comes back the second time, we need to be able to quote it the same. There's so much background information in there that I don't know how I'd run anything over $500,000 without Tekmetric.

We're moving into commercial diesel. In Jackson, there are a lot of general contractors, plumbers, and electricians. I'm cleaning out the spare building on my property and putting in four bays, so we can concentrate on commercial diesel customers over there and get their trucks in and out quickly. It's awesome because I can set that up in Tekmetric as its own repair shop. I can track the efficiency of service writers and technicians in each building.

Growing my business allows me to get people good jobs - jobs that weren't necessarily available to me. The possibilities are limitless.

Making the Dean's List

My daughters have been helping around the shop, too. My 21-year-old comes in after hours and spends three to five hours a week cleaning the shop and does interior details. She started her own cleaning business, and she cleans houses.

My youngest is our Quality Control. She QCs all the cars when we're done. And she wants to be a service writer, so we're training her to be a service writer. She works with me every day. It's pretty awesome. She likes accounting, and she actually does our end-of-day reporting, so she loves Tekmetric. She can jump in there and go through and close out all the cars and make sure they're all paid for. She gives me the final count.

I'm happy that I can teach her a trade where she can make some money, whether she’s working at Ultimate Auto Repair or another shop.

And both kids made the dean’s list this semester! So I’m proud of that, too.

For more information about Ultimate Auto Repair, visit ultimateautorepairmi.com

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