feature

description

Referral/Claims Handling

Records comprehensive claim information. A search function allows claims to be located quickly by any field giving fast and efficient response to customer inquiries.

Estimating

Estimates can be seamlessly integrated into Advance to improve efficiency and reduce manual keying errors. Advance provides links to all the major estimating packages in the UK. The use of Advance as a hub for all external estimating systems means that the job card automatically reflects your unique repair process no matter which estimating system is used. These features have been proven to enhance labour efficiencies in UK bodyshops.

Activities

A contact management system ensures all customer contact, including SMS and email contact, is recorded against a claim. This can lead to an improvement in customer service levels, evidence to prove compliance with work providers’ service level agreements, a negotiating tool with work providers and a mechanism for monitoring complaints (suitable for ISO9002)

dynamic action lists

Advance's Dynamic Action Lists focus all staff on what they should be working on and alert them to any issues that may impact profitability ot customer service.  This proactive workflow system is linked directly to Advance's powerful communications features so alerts and escalations can be sent automatically via on-screen prompts, emails and even SMS messages.

Prompts, Tasks and To Do Lists

As each stage in the repair cycle is completed, the system proactively alerts departments or individuals to carry out the next task, populating their “To Do” list. The system can flag up and report on when repairs or customer service tasks are behind schedule and why. This helps drive the repair through the shop, thereby improving cycle time, and allows controllers to constantly monitor progress and identify potential delays before they arise.

Work Provider Schemes

Work Provider contract terms can be set up so that they are automatically pulled through with the claim ensuring correct calculation at invoice time. This ensures that the correct terms are always used and that invoices are not rejected due to non-conformity. All work provider schemes can be monitored by post code, allowing accurate reporting on job generation by area, and allowing the operator to either flag up or block jobs which fall outside agreed post codes.

Scheduling/Booking Diary

A built-in diary enables workshop capacity to be monitored and managed effectively, allowing the bodyshop to maximise its booking potential and plan delivery schedules. When this is combined with the Courtesy Car module it is possible to view the availability of courtesy vehicles. This module can also be used to produce transport planners for collection and delivery drivers, linking to MS Autoroute.

Postcode Allocation

Advance links to optional postcode software to allow instant address lookup based on the postcode entered.

Parts Management

Advance generates parts lists automatically from estimates. Advance generates purchase orders, receipts, returns and credit notes for suppliers. This means full tracking and control of parts ordering and performance monitoring of suppliers (e.g. delivery times and margin analysis). Advance can link to the purchase ledger of most popular accounting packages to give seamless integration and a significant reduction in administrative resource.

Production/Team Diary

Staff attendance is made clear as holiday, sick or training time can be recorded and available resources can be determined at a glance. What staff are currently working on, their booked work, their productivity and total time sold can all be measured when Bodyshop is used in conjunction with other Advance modules.

CAPACITY MANAGER

Capacity Manager constantly monitors all vehicles in progress on the shop floor and prioritises them according the likelyhood of meeting the estimated completion date.  This means that the technicians on the shop floor always know the next vehicle to work on and your production staff are notified immediately a vehicle may not meet it's expected completion date - even if the vehicle hasn't been stripped yet!.

T - Cards

The electronic T-card system can provide instant information on productivity and throughput and where a given car is in the process. Real-time printable reports allow re-prioritisation of work.

Invoicing

Invoices can be automatically generated for all parties including the insured and work provider. Invoices are checked by the system before generation to ensure that they are correct: that all items and parts are included, that specific provider terms have been met, that all critical information is included (e.g. claim numbers). These checks can also include warning if profit aspirations are not being met. Advance can be linked to accounting packages to give seamless integration and a significant reduction in administration and potential rekeying.

Reporting / Management Information

Advance management reports are exhaustive and provide information about all aspects of the bodyshop and every stage of the process. The reports give you control over your bodyshop, allowing identification of areas for change and monitoring of the success of improvement measures. Advance will also allow you to set budgets for key performance indicators and then automatically track progress against these. The Powerstation module enables you to produce these reports graphically and drill down further into the information at the click of a mouse button.