Guide
How to track spare parts in a service centre
Spare parts are the largest cost a repair business carries and the easiest to lose track of. This guide covers four habits that keep stock honest, whether you use a register, a spreadsheet or software.
Record every purchase when the parts arrive
Stock starts when a part is received, not when it is first used. Record each purchase with the supplier, the date, the quantity and the cost price at the time of receipt. Without the purchase record you cannot tell what a repair really cost, and you cannot compare suppliers.
Tie every part used to a job
The single most useful habit is to book a part against the job it was fitted to. It does three things at once.
- Stock reduces at the moment the part is used, not at the end of the day
- The cost of the part lands on the job, so margin per repair is visible
- A part that was used and not recorded shows up later as a count mismatch
Count stock on a schedule
Even good records drift. Count the high-value parts weekly and the rest monthly, and correct any difference with a recorded stock adjustment rather than silently changing the number. Over a few months the adjustments tell you which parts leak, and from whom.
Hold stock per branch
If you run more than one counter, one combined stock figure hides the problem: a part may be plentiful at one branch and out at another. Keep stock separately per branch and record transfers between them, so each counter knows what it really has.
Make lookup quick
If the receptionist has to walk to the bench to learn whether a screen or board is in stock, the quote is delayed and the customer may go elsewhere. A part finder that answers from the stock record in a few seconds pays for itself in quotes won.
Doing this in software
Service+ records purchases with supplier and batch, uses parts straight from the job card so stock and job cost stay in step, supports stock adjustment and branch-to-branch transfers, and has a part finder for quick lookups. The profit summary and technician profit reports then show what each repair earned after parts.
See how Service+ handles this
Service+ keeps long-running TV and electronics repairs from slipping through the cracks: one job card from intake to delivery, parts costed against the job, and a customer who is told when the set is ready.
What it looks like
Real screens from Service+, running on our demo workshop.