Without doubt, the greatest single shop operating expense you have is TIME. It's the time it takes to do things - the time you hire, the time you pay for and the time you charge for.

The familiar flat rate system serves as a guide, suggesting the fractions and/or number of hours ordinarily expected to complete a given job or jobs profitably - the number of hours (at your own labor rate) which can be justified and charged to the owner for the work performed. He's your customer and as such entitled to a fair charge - fair to you and fair to him.

Now, if the hours required to do the job or jobs consistently add up in excess of the rate suggested in the Flat Rate System, it's time to give the shop a look-see. You can't continue to charge less hours for the job than actually indicated on the shop ticket and expect to be around for long - service wise. Nor, can you repeatedly charge more