Audatex Estimating Cost
Yolette Langevin
NBRA is disappointed at the scale of the Audatex 9.9% price increase announcement which is another unplanned inflationary cost for repairers to absorb. Although the market is changing with competition emerging, repairers are somewhat of a captive market when it comes to estimates so have little option but to accept the increase or upset stakeholder relationships. Inevitably this will open Audatex up to criticism as it will be hard to justify.
Two notable insurers at some point look to have pondered these questions and decided to pay the estimated fees for processing their claims. A move that puts clarity on benefits created for all parties and possibly secures a favourable negotiating position with added integration strategies. The cost of estimating is controlled.
Repairing a vehicle correctly requires a fully costed blueprint. It is time for insurers for work providers to pay the correct fees associated with this requirement with index-linked increases once and for all.
If you write less Than 10 estimates a week, Do you have enough business to pay for estimating software? What about the months when business does get slow? Will choosing a certain estimating system guarantee that you will get more work? These are questions that only you can answer. If you are in doubt, you should select the lowest priced software as shown below.
Now, if you average more than 10 estimates a week, then you should consider the number of estimates you write each month verses the monthly cost of software. Too many shops have signed a contract for expensive estimating software without giving it much thought. Often they anticipate that it will increase their business only to find out later that the software is much more than what they actually needed and now they're strapped with monthly payments. However, if you have enough shop volume, then having a fully automated estimating system will save you time in the office, then you should go for it.
If you don't write that many estimates or if you're just starting a business - and price is a factor then this is the one. The Auto Body Estimator 35 is the lowest priced estimating system available at $420 per year. This is ideal for small shops who do not write a lot of estimates or for shops who are starting a business and want to keep their expenses low.The ABF Auto Body Estimator produces great looking estimates to impress your customers and adjusters. Labor, refinish and PDR data are included in the ABF database. As a bonus, you can add additional labor when required. What's more, the program also provides users with the latest part prices from the web by using the ABF part price links.In addition, the software allows users to display their custom logo on printed estimates and also on PDF files. And best of all, it keeps your estimate files safe on your computer.
Audatex was the first computerized estimating system available in North America. First introduced the mid 1970s, they offer a very technically advanced system. They offer powerful parts graphics and intelligent database for estimating. This product is used by many shops and insurance companies throughout the United States and Canada.
CCC Estimating is one of the leading body shop estimating software companies for collision repairs estimates. The program conects more insurers with collision repairers in comparison to any other network. It also offers a responsive interface and seamless navigation helping users create accurate and faster estimates. This is the most popular with body shops and insurance companies.
Michell is one of the oldest data providers of collision estimating data in North America that dates back 75 years with printed estimating manuals that shops and insurance companies relied on. Today with Mitchell Cloud Estimating (formerly known as UltraMate) provides the industry with modern and up-to-date estimating software and the parts-labor database for more accurate appraisals. Widely used by both shops and insurance companies. Their new cloud-estimating system has been given high marks from both insurance companies and collision repair shops.
Audatex became the second of the Big 3 estimating system providers to say it will offer users more flexibility in establishing or adjusting refinish blend times within the system, according to an announcement made at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) held in Indianapolis this summer.
Like the other two systems, Audatex currently defaults to a labor time for the blend panel equal to 50% of the full refinish time---though the Audatex system does allow a user to adjust the automated blend hours on estimates. In a change to be implemented in the coming months, the system will still default to 50%, and the user will continue to be able to adjust it on a per-estimate basis, but the Audatex system also will allow a user to set a blend formula at the profile level to any percentage between 50% and 150% of full refinish time for the blend panel.
If the estimate is written at whatever percentage the user has specified at the profile level---whether 50% or as much as 150%---no asterisk will appear next to the labor time; an asterisk will appear if the percentage has been manually adjusted from the percentage set in the profile. A new note also will appear at the bottom of all Audatex estimates showing the blend refinish labor percentage used on that estimate.
The change is expected to appear in the Autatex Database Reference Manual this fall, and then be implemented within the Audatex system by the end of the year. It comes following a Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) study last year the association believes demonstrated blending takes more time than a full panel refinish, rather than the 50% less time allocated in the three major estimating systems.
CCC Intelligent Solutions this past spring announced it too would give users an option to input their own refinish blend time or set their own default blend value beginning this fall.
Frank Terlep, chairman of the CIC, kicked off the quarterly meeting by walking through what he sees the increased time for shops to get supplements approved is costing multiple segments of the industry.
For the sake of overall throughput, cost reduction, customer service, and compliance with DRP agreements, creating accurate estimates the first time has emerged as a key issue that can be addressed through a combination of best practices (like adopting a blueprinting approach) and technology.
"If you want to go in and have a one-and-done scenario, that makes having an accurate estimate up front even more critical," says Rick Tuuri, vice president of industry relations at Audatex. "Everyone is being asked to do more with less in this economy, and you can't afford to have supplement after supplement to get something right."
Tuuri and Neal Lowell, Audatex senior director of product management, recently sat down with ABRN to discuss how estimating technology is improving repair shops' ability to create more accurate estimates while reducing operational costs. Those benefits can also extend to customers and insurers.
On the insurer side, accurate estimates eliminate costs associated with extra approvals and desk reviews, ensuring warranties on supplements. More accurate estimates also cut waste out of the system, and improve customer service by facilitating faster and more accurate repairs.
According to Tuuri, specific functionality introduced in Audatex Estimating has helped the company boost estimate accuracy significantly. First, 3D Intelligent Graphics help repairers isolate, select, and order the correct part, while color coding of substrate materials ensures proper repair procedures are identified. AudaVIN, on the other hand, uses individual vehicle VINs to identify complete vehicle information, including all options, to guide correct part selection.
Audatex has leveraged VIN technology to pull vehicle data and options-driven details directly from OEMs to ensure that the right parts and assemblies are ordered the first time around. "If you select a radiator support panel, and that is the only thing you select, you can get all the labor needed to get into and to replace that panel," Tuuri says. "There are no extra queries to get to the part you want. The only thing that stopped us from providing that functionality before was the inability to identify certain options. AudaVIN takes care of that. You get the build sheet from the manufacturer for that VIN. There's no manual intervention.
"The OEMs are getting more aware of the industry's needs for information on things like substrates through industry initiatives like the OEM Roundtable and CIC," Tuuri adds. "The OEMs are getting better at providing that information."
More accurate estimates also reduce part returns. "Returns just seem to be accepted by a lot of people in the industry," Lowell says. "They accept that 10 to 15 percent of parts will be returned. That's just how the business works. But if you look at it from a lean processing perspective, that's waste in the system. We want to see that cut down to less than 5 percent."
Having these capabilities can also provide other customer service benefits. According to Tuuri and Lowell, repair shops have used the 3D Intelligent Graphics to guide the vehicle owner through the repair process.
Finally, better information also helps reduce friction in insurer negotiations. If you eliminate manual intervention and guesswork, the shop is in a much better position to be reimbursed with less argument from the insurer.
"You don't have to worry about identifying the vehicle, getting the options right, or making sure the parts are right," Lowell says. "Everything is identified from the beginning, all of the included operations, and all the labor. That helps facilitate communication and build trust, so there's less time wasted on emotional communication."
There are still some areas where Lowell says the company hopes to make further improvements in the estimating process. "One final subjectivity point out there is repair time," Lowell says. "When you're repairing a panel, depending on the repair size and location, that time is manually entered by the user based on their experience and how the repair is done."
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