Bookkeeping for auto repair shops and service centers
Parts inventory costed correctly, core charges tracked as liabilities, flat-rate tech payroll done right under FLSA, warranty claim receivables reconciled, and a live dashboard showing labor margin vs. parts margin — so you know which side of the bay is making you money.
We work with auto repair shops — from independent one-bay operations to multi-bay service centers — on parts inventory, flat-rate payroll, core charge tracking, and books that show you labor margin and parts margin separately every month. We coordinate with your CPA on tax filings.
QuickBooks Online · Gusto · Ramp — professional liability insured — month-to-month, 30-day notice
Pick a time right here — no prep required.
Auto shops run on parts margin and labor efficiency — not bank balance. Core charges, flat-rate pay compliance, warranty receivables, and inventory costing are where your books either help you manage or leave you guessing. Most bookkeepers have never seen any of it.
What changes with TurnkeyCFO
Every service below is built for how auto repair shops actually operate — bays, technicians, parts, cores, and warranty claims.
Accurate categorization of parts cost, labor, sublet repairs, overhead, and all operating expenses. Full monthly close with P&L, balance sheet, and commentary — so you know where the money went and whether labor or parts is driving margin this month.
Parts inventory tracked as a current asset and costed using FIFO or average cost. Cost of parts sold recorded separately from labor revenue so you can see parts margin on its own — and know whether your markup is holding against supplier price increases.
Core charges collected from customers are a liability — you owe the money back when the core comes in. We record every core charge as a current liability at collection, reduce it when the core is returned to the supplier, and reconcile the balance monthly so your books are never overstating revenue on cores.
Flat-rate pay under FLSA requires that weekly total compensation divided by actual hours never drops below minimum wage. We track flat-rate units earned, actual hours, and guaranteed minimums — and catch any pay period where the effective rate falls below the floor before it becomes a Department of Labor issue.
Manufacturer and extended-warranty claims create receivables — reimbursement at their rate for parts and labor, often weeks after the repair. We set up each claim as a receivable, track aging, and reconcile payments when they arrive. Claims aging past the manufacturer's processing window get flagged for follow-up.
Revenue and cost of sales split between labor and parts — so you see two distinct margin lines every month. Know whether a drop in overall gross margin is a parts pricing problem, a labor efficiency problem, or both. Actionable data, not just totals.
Labor margin %, parts margin %, outstanding warranty receivables, cash flow forecast, and payroll summary — updated monthly so you're managing the shop with real numbers, not the gut feeling you get walking the bays.
Tax filings and legal matters — coordinated with your CPA or attorney. TurnkeyCFO does not provide tax or legal advice; we keep your books filing-ready and support the process end-to-end.
The day-to-day realities most bookkeepers have never touched. We have.
Parts are inventory — not an expense the day you buy them.
When you receive a parts shipment, that's an asset on your balance sheet. Cost of parts sold moves to the income statement only when the part leaves on a repair order. FIFO costing means your cost of goods reflects the actual acquisition cost of the specific units sold — important when supplier prices fluctuate month to month.
Cores collected are liabilities. Revenue is earned on the repair — not the deposit.
Core charges are refundable deposits — you collect them, hold them as a liability, and return them when the old part comes back. Booking cores as revenue overstates your income every time a customer doesn't bring back the core promptly. We track the liability balance monthly and reconcile it against credits from your parts supplier.
Flat-rate technicians must clear minimum wage on actual hours worked — every week.
FLSA requires that flat-rate technicians' total pay divided by actual hours worked never falls below the federal (or state, if higher) minimum wage. Many shops assume flat-rate automatically clears the bar — it doesn't during slow weeks. We track it weekly, flag shortfalls, and document the guaranteed-minimum payments so your payroll records are clean if FLSA ever comes up.
Manufacturer and extended-warranty reimbursements can take 30–60 days to arrive.
Warranty claims are accounts receivable — the manufacturer owes you money for approved repairs. We set up each claim by VIN and repair date, track it against the manufacturer's typical processing window, and flag claims aging past 45 days for follow-up. Uncollected warranty claims are one of the most common sources of cash flow surprises in repair shops.
Your repair orders live in Tekmetric, Mitchell 1, or Shop-Ware — your books shouldn't require re-keying them.
We reconcile your shop management system to QuickBooks so revenue, parts cost, and customer balances export cleanly. No double entry. No month-end data marathon. Revenue by service category (oil changes, diagnostics, engine work, tires) flows into QuickBooks correctly so your income statement is actually useful.
Sublet work you send out is a cost — not a reduction in revenue.
When you sublet a repair (alignment, glass, transmission rebuild), you pay a vendor and charge your customer a markup. The vendor invoice is a cost of sales item, and the customer charge is revenue — not a net. We record both sides so your sublet margin is visible and your revenue is never understated by netting out sublet costs.
Simple, fast, and designed to work around your service schedule.
We learn your shop management software, tech count, warranty relationships, parts suppliers, and where the books are currently breaking down.
Parts inventory account, core charge liability, warranty receivables, labor vs. parts revenue split, and sublet repair accounts — all built before we touch a transaction.
Full close every month with labor margin, parts margin, warranty receivables aging, and cash flow forecast — so you're running the shop on real data.
No — we work alongside your CPA. We keep books clean and filing-ready year-round so your CPA can file without a month of cleanup. If you need a CPA who understands auto service businesses, we can refer one.
Core charges are a liability — a deposit you collect and must return when the old part comes back. We record them as a current liability, not revenue, and reduce the liability when the core is returned. This keeps your revenue clean and your P&L accurate.
Yes. Flat-rate pay under FLSA requires that a technician's total weekly pay divided by actual hours worked never falls below minimum wage. We track flat-rate units billed, actual hours worked, and guaranteed minimums — and flag any week where the effective rate drops below the floor.
Warranty claims create a receivable — the manufacturer owes you reimbursement for parts and labor at their rate. We track each open claim as a receivable, reconcile payments against claims, and flag anything aging past the manufacturer's typical processing window.
Yes. We reconcile your shop management software to QuickBooks so revenue, parts costs, and customer balances sync correctly — no double entry, no month-end data re-entry.
We track parts inventory using FIFO or average cost depending on your shop's volume and mix. We reconcile parts purchases to inventory, track cost of parts sold separately from labor, and give you a monthly parts margin report so you know if your markup is holding.
Everything lives in QuickBooks Online, Gusto, and Ramp — enterprise-grade platforms with role-scoped access. Credentials are never shared by email and we maintain professional liability insurance.
Month-to-month, 30-day notice. No multi-year contracts. We keep clients because the work is good, not because the paperwork traps them.
Get your instant estimate, then book a 15-minute call to talk through fit and scope. No pressure, no sales pitch.