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Moto Shop Management Details Key Points

We Love this Business !

Many of us became involved in the marine industry because we love being out on the water, telling customers how good our products are, or just rolling our sleeves up and making a dead engine come to life again. We suspect there are very few of you who became involved because you like structure and performing the endless detail work necessary to profitably operate a marine dealership successfully.

The simple truth is that when boat sales are good we all can overlook the details that maximize the profitability of our dealership and still make a good living for ourselves. The problem is that when boat sales are not so good you absolutely need your "back-end" operations to operate at peak efficiency to just survive. A good rule of thumb should be that your "back-end" operations (part & service sales) should cover your monthly fixed operating expenses. If your parts and service operation isn't performing to this standard it might be time to look at how you can improve those aspects of your business.

To achieve this goal we believe that your dealership requires superior business processes and technology solutions that allow you to easily monitor and manage daily operations. Category 5 Solutions is equipped to provide you with assistance in both aspects of your business operation.

While many of us are "technology resistant" it is difficult if not impossible to effectively manage your business today without information that allows you to make informed and intelligent decisions.

Mr. Moto is a robust technology solution that creates an environment where good business process can flourish. It's easy to use, affordable to acquire and will provide you with all the tools you need to maximize the productivity of your employees and the profitability of your business.

Mr. Moto has been created by business process and software engineers who have many years of experience working with marine retailers just like you. We understand your problems, we understand your staff, we understand your suppliers, and most importantly we understand that you need products that deliver.

Feature	What will this do for me?
Appointment Scheduling	Moto includes a full-featured appointment scheduling module that allows you to book appointments for the current day or any day in the future. It additionally allows you to indicate when you promised work completion and what service operations are to be performed.
Work Order Creation	Moto will create and print a Work Order document that details all of the relevant customer, vessel, engine, and trailer information. Each task on the Work Order can have an estimated labor time and labor rate associated with it.
Work Authorization	Moto will, at your command, print a Work Authorization Document for the customer's signature. This document contains industry standard language limiting your liability and creating an automatic mechanic's lien.
Multiple Customer Service Items	Each customer in your Moto database can have an unlimited number of "assets" (boats, motors, trailers, etc.) associated with them. Two engines, three engines, Moto will accommodate any number of customer owned assets. During Work Order creation Moto will ask you to identify which of the customer's assets you will be servicing. Service operations are performed to each of these individual discrete components.
Service Code Database	Moto allows you to create a custom database of service operations with labor times and rates that you feel are applicable. When you create a new Work Order you may select from this list of pre-defined labor operations or select a "Write In" service item that allows you to define a non-standard labor operation.
Flat Rate or Time & Materials Labor	Your Moto database allows you to create Flat Rate or Time & Materials labor operations. Each operation will be recalled with your "standard" labor method and rate for that job. This feature prevents employees from offering their friends "special" labor rates that are lower than your usual and customary fees. Moto's Clock On / Clock Off module will automatically keep track of all mechanic time used on each job.
Multiple Labor Rates	Moto allows you to create a database of "standard" labor rates. These rates may be changed by authorized personnel at any point prior to invoicing. This feature is very useful when performing warranty and trade labor which will be charged at a rate lower than your normal retail labor rate.
Job Prioritization	Each job on a Work Order can be given a priority code that will be used by Moto when presenting a mechanic with his/her daily work schedule. Priorities range from Urgent to When Possible and provide you with a wide range of job prioritization.
Multiple Charge Types	Moto allows you to associate a charge type (who will be paying for the work) with each individual job on the Work Order. You may charge a job to Customer Pay, Warranty, Good Will, or Come Back.
Warranty Claim Tracking	If you have identified a job on the Work Order as a Warranty Claim item Moto will ask you to identify who is providing the warranty coverage. Moto will then automatically track this warranty claim item until it is paid by the manufacturer. All parts identified as warranty parts are charged at dealer cost.
Mechanic Assignments	Each job on a Work Order is at some point assigned to a specific mechanic. This assignment may be performed when the Work Order is created or during your normal Dispatch process. Once you assign a job to a specific mechanic the job will appear on the mechanic's Assignment Board.
Dispatch Board	Moto's Dispatch Board is similar to a flight arrival board at the airport. Authorized personal will be presented with a prioritized listing of all work to be performed during that day's business. Moto will also display any "carry-over" work which was not completed on prior days. Moto's Dispatch Board will show you the job description, the time allowed for the labor operation, the labor rate, which mechanic is assigned to the job, the job status, and the current mechanic clock time. Once all jobs on a Work Order have been completed Moto will remove that Work Order and its associated jobs from the Dispatch Board. By the end of each day's business your Dispatch Board should be blank.
Mechanic Assignment Board	Each mechanic who logs into Moto will be presented with his/her unique Mechanic Assignment Board. The board shows the mechanic all of the work assigned to him/her for the current day. The jobs are prioritized in the order that you (the dispatcher) would like the work performed. The mechanic simply picks the first item on his/her board and performs the required work. Once the mechanic has completed the work the job will disappear and the next most important job will assume the top position.
Clock Time Tracking	As mechanics begin work on a specific job they will be required to Clock On and Off the job. Moto will track all time spent by the mechanic on each job he/she works on. Cumulative times are measured against the estimated times and mechanics are given color coded messages to let them know if they are ahead or behind the expected job time.
Internal & External Notes	Moto provides you with the ability to make External (seen by the customer and printed on the customer's copy of the invoice) and Internal (only seen by your employees) notes. These notes are very handy for conveying information to your customer about labor operations. Internal notes can be used to make comments regarding potential neglect or customer attitude.
Inventory Interface	Moto is interfaced to Category 5's Solomon Inventory Control Solution. Each part that is used on a Work Order is automatically deducted from your parts inventory and priced at the appropriate price. Each individual part may be charged to Customer Pay, Warranty, Good Will, or Come Back payment methods.
Customer E-Mail Notification	Once all jobs on a Work Order have been completed the Work Order will appear on Moto's Invoice Board. You may optionally send customers who have valid e-mail addresses in your database an automatic e-mail notification informing them that their work has been completed. Moto will also send a copy of the Work Order Invoice to the customer for their review.
Invoice Preparation	Moto will invoice all Work Orders at the touch of a button. Your invoice will display all relevant customer, vessel, scope of work, labor operations, and parts used. Moto will also allow your staff to accept payment for the Invoice and allows for multiple payment methods such as cash, check, credit card, store credit, and customer account.
Work Order History	Moto will make available a complete Work Order history for each customer in your database. Simply recall the customer from your database and view every work order performed for this client. You may drill down (view) the work performed on each Work Order presented on your screen.
Serial Number History	Repair history may be recalled on any product by simply entering the serial number of the item in question. All work performed on that serial number will be presented on your monitor. You may drill down to each specific Work Order with the click of a mouse.
Mechanic Productivity Report	Moto will prepare reports for you showing the productivity of each individual mechanic as well as the overall efficiency of your entire shop operation. These reports are particularly useful when measuring performance against pre-established performance goals.
Robust System Security	Solomon maintains profiles for each of your staff members. Each staff member can be granted or denied privileges to specific system resources. Want your mechanics to be able to look-up parts but not see the cost? Want your counter person to be able to invoice but not void an invoice. Each profile allows or denies more than a dozen specific rights.
User Activity Tracking	Moto keeps track of what each user does in your system. Tired of the "I didn't do that" defense from your employees? Simply enter Moto's audit log and review what each employee has done as well as when it was done. Moto also allows you to view attempts that employees make to enter restricted areas. You now have the ability to see it all with the touch of a button.
Internal Message Center	Tired of little sticky notes all over your desk or computer monitor? Tired of running all over your property trying to find an employee to give them a message? Moto's Message Center allows you to send to and receive messages from any employee who has been granted rights to your system. You can even send reminder messages to yourself. Kiss those sticky notes and scraps of paper on your desk goodbye.
Online Support	When your computer system is down or acting up your business can often come to a complete stop. Category 5 Solutions provides online support for our customers with mission critical applications. If you have a problem we cannot solve by simply pointing you in the right direction we will "dial" into your system and quickly determine what the problem is and quickly resolve your problem.