Running a successful tire shop requires staying on top of your business by tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) that give you insight into operations, revenue, and profitability. With the right metrics, you can make informed decisions that will lead to higher customer satisfaction, more substantial margins, and scalable growth.

Whether you’re running a single-location shop or managing a multi-location operation, here are five essential auto repair metrics every tire shop owner should monitor weekly to track shop performance and drive success.

• Average Repair Order (ARO)
• Car Count
• Technician Efficiency
• Gross Profit Margin
• Parts-to-Labor Ratio
• Action Starts With Insight

1. Average Repair Order (ARO)

What It Measures
ARO tells you the average dollar amount of each completed transaction. It’s calculated by dividing total sales revenue by the number of repair orders.

Why It Matters
A rising ARO indicates your team is effectively communicating the value of additional services, such as alignments or TPMS sensor replacements, during inspections and recommendations. It’s a direct reflection of your team’s ability to build trust and sell necessary services.

How to Track It
Most point-of-sale (POS) systems automatically calculate ARO by dividing total sales by the number of completed repair orders. To go beyond the topline number, use your POS to segment ARO data for deeper insights and more informed decision-making:

• ARO by Technician 
• ARO by Service Advisor 
• ARO - First Visit 
• ARO - Returning Customer 
• ARO - Loyalty Program Participants 

By filtering your ARO data this way, you’ll pinpoint what’s working, where to adjust, and how to drive higher average revenue per visit across different customer types and roles in your shop.

2. Car Count

What It Measures
Car count is the number of vehicles serviced within a given period of time.

Why It Matters
While car count doesn’t indicate profitability, it helps you assess shop traffic and staffing needs. A dip could mean marketing efforts aren’t working or that customers aren’t returning. 

When tracked alongside ARO, car count becomes a valuable planning tool. For example, if you've already met your ARO goal, the next step is to increase car count while maintaining that average to grow revenue.

How to Track It
Your POS and CRM should provide this data. Track car count against promotions, weather conditions, seasons, and more to identify patterns. BayIQ helps by automating marketing follow-ups and loyalty rewards to bring customers back more often.

3. Technician Efficiency

What It Measures
Efficiency is calculated by dividing billed hours by actual hours worked. It reflects how much time your technicians spend on billable repairs versus downtime and how well your shop utilizes its labor capacity.

Why It Matters
A high-efficiency rate means your techs are working on cars—not waiting around for parts or approvals. If efficiency drops, it’s time to look at your workflow processes or training.

How to Track It
Workflow management software gives you full visibility into technician efficiency, with live tracking of billed hours, flagged bottlenecks, and daily performance dashboards. With this visibility, you can assign jobs more strategically and reduce unproductive time.

4. Gross Profit Margin

What It Measures
Gross profit margin is your shop’s revenue minus the cost of goods sold (COGS), divided by total revenue. It’s expressed as a percentage and reflects how much money you’re making before operating expenses.

Why It Matters
Margins help you determine whether your pricing is appropriate and whether you’re sourcing parts at a sustainable cost. For tire shops, balancing parts and labor profitability is crucial—especially with high-volume, low-margin tire sales.

How to Track It
Your accounting software should calculate this weekly. Many shop management systems offer profit margin breakdowns by job or service type, helping you adjust your pricing strategy or renegotiate vendor pricing.

5. Parts-to-Labor Ratio

What It Measures
This ratio compares the cost of parts sold to labor charges on repair orders. A healthy parts‑to‑labor ratio depends on your shop’s service mix, but a commonly recommended benchmark is $0.80 to $1.00 in parts for every $1.00 of labor.

Why It Matters
Tracking this split gives insight into where your revenue is coming from and whether you’re over or undercharging for either parts or labor. It can also indicate if technicians are over-relying on parts-heavy solutions.

How to Track It
Use a reporting platform that breaks down parts and labor on every repair order. BayIQ integrations can help you review trends and optimize pricing to protect profit margins.

Action Starts With Insight

Tracking KPIs weekly will help you find answers to tough questions. Are certain services consistently underperforming? Adjust your pricing or technician training. Are your car counts low midweek? Run a targeted promotion using BayIQ’s SMS campaigns to boost traffic.

The right data, delivered at the right time, turns everyday decisions into strategic moves. With tools like BayIQ, tire shops can act faster, operate smarter, and drive higher profitability.