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Run a Better Workshop.
Build a Better Life.
Free tools, guides, and practical insights to help you become more profitable, more organised, and less stressed.
Five Pillars of a Thriving Workshop
Practical education across the areas that make the biggest difference to independent workshop owners.
Profitability
Understand your margins, fix profit leaks, and price your work with confidence.
Learn More →Productivity
Get more done in less time by improving workflow, capacity, and technician output.
Learn More →Management
Take control of your business with better systems, KPIs, and team management.
Learn More →Customer Experience
Build trust, improve approval rates, and turn customers into advocates.
Learn More →Calculate Your Workshop’s Performance
Three free calculators to find out exactly where your numbers stand – and what to do about it.
Labour Gross Profit Calculator
Find out your labour gross profit percentage and see the difference small rate changes can make to your bottom line.
Open Calculator →Effective Labour Rate Calculator
Discover your true effective labour rate and identify how much revenue is quietly leaking from your workshop each week.
Open Calculator →Technician Efficiency Calculator
Measure how efficiently your technicians are working and see what a 10% improvement could mean for your annual profit.
Open Calculator →How Healthy Is Your Workshop?
Take our free 2-minute Workshop Health Score to find out where your business stands – and where you can improve.
- 15 quick questions across 5 key areas
- Score out of 100 with category breakdown
- Personalised insights and recommendations
- Free PDF report emailed to you
The 5 Numbers Every Repairer Must Know
The average workshop runs about 6% net profit. A well run one runs 15 to 20%. Same building, same hoists, same postcode, same customers walking through the same door. These five numbers are most of the difference. Find where you sit.
Sources: Technician efficiency bands and the cost of underperformance, Workshop University. Average repair order study of 215 stores and approximately 600,000 invoices, AutoServe1 / Protractor (vendor published, USD). Net profit, parts margin and parts-to-labour benchmarks, QBO Cleanups Auto Repair KPI Benchmarks 2026 (US data, USD, directional). Effective labour rate figures are a worked example, not a survey benchmark. Currency neutral: the arithmetic holds at any charge-out rate.
Workshop University Guide
The 5 Numbers Every Repairer Must Know
Know your numbers. Grow your workshop.
Know Your Numbers.
Grow Your Workshop.
Most workshop owners work incredibly hard – but don’t know the five numbers that determine whether that hard work is actually paying off. This free guide covers the KPIs that separate thriving workshops from struggling ones.
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Latest from Workshop University
Practical insights to help you run a more profitable, organised workshop.
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Being busy does not mean being profitable. Here is how to understand your numbers and keep more of what you earn.
Read Article →From Whiteboard to Digital: Modernising Your Job Management
Still running jobs off a whiteboard or paper diary? Here is how to make the switch to digital without disrupting your workshop.
Read Article →How to Build an SOP That Your Team Actually Follows
Most SOPs gather dust. Here is how to write simple, practical processes your team will stick to every day.
Read Article →How to Hire and Keep Good Technicians
Automotive vacancies average 4.5 applicants against 22.6 economy wide. How to win good technicians and keep them.
Read Article →How to Write a Job Ad That Actually Attracts Technicians
Lead with pay, describe the work not the duties, and cut the six lines every workshop ad contains.
Read Article →What an Unfilled Technician Role Really Costs You
One empty bay can cost around $4,800 in gross profit a week. Here is how to work out your number.
Read Article →“Since getting organised with proper systems, I’ve gone from 12-hour days to finishing by 5:30. My wife noticed the difference before I did.”– Workshop owner, Western Sydney
