Scheduling and cash counts for auto repair shops with 2–5 locations
A US general automotive repair shop averages 4.6 employees per location (396,342 employees ÷ 85,889 locations, BLS QCEW 2024), so one technician off can take a job type offline at that shop. Assistlify schedules technicians and front-counter staff across 2–5 auto repair shops, takes time-off requests from the phone, records clock-in and clock-out with breaks, and logs a cash-drawer count per shop. It does not write repair orders, track flat-rate flagged hours or run payroll.
Auto repair staffing in numbers
BLS counted 704,640 automotive service technicians and mechanics on US payrolls in May 2025, with a median wage of $24.34 an hour. Inside automotive repair and maintenance (NAICS 811100):
| Occupation (811100, May 2025) | Employed | Median hourly wage |
|---|---|---|
| Automotive service technicians and mechanics | 251,720 | $23.26 |
| Automotive body and related repairers | 109,400 | $26.30 |
| Customer service representatives | 15,880 | $19.73 |
| Parts salespersons | 8,000 | $23.35 |
The industry had 1,039,270 employees in May 2025. BLS QCEW counted 85,889 private general automotive repair locations (NAICS 811111) with 396,342 employees in 2024. Example: 396,342 ÷ 85,889 = 4.6 employees per shop.
Four problems specific to multi-shop auto repair
1. Flat-rate pay still runs on clock hours for overtime
DOL Fact Sheet #23 says that when pay is set by piece rate, commission or another basis, overtime is computed on the average hourly rate: total pay for the workweek divided by the total hours actually worked.
Example: a technician earns $1,100 in flat-rate pay in a week with 44 clock hours. Regular rate = $1,100 ÷ 44 = $25.00 an hour, and 4 hours are over 40. The $1,100 already pays straight time for all 44 hours, so, by the method of Fact Sheet #23's own salary example (one-half the regular rate for each overtime hour), the overtime due is 4 × ($25.00 ÷ 2) = 4 × $12.50 = $50.00, for $1,150.00 that week. Flagged hours do not replace clock hours in that division, so the clock record has to be complete.
2. One technician, two shops
Fact Sheet #23 counts hours per workweek and bars averaging across weeks. If both shops are one employer, 30 hours at one shop plus 14 at the other is 44 hours. A technician lent to the second shop for a transmission job needs those hours on the same weekly total.
3. Specialist coverage
With 4–5 people per shop, one technician on vacation can take a whole job type offline at that location. Before approving the time off, check whether the other shop's specialist is free that week. In Assistlify, staff are assigned to one or more locations, and time-off approval flags overlapping shifts.
4. Counter cash at each shop
DOL Fact Sheet #16 lists requiring a minimum wage cashier to reimburse a drawer shortage as an illegal deduction. Record the count and variance per shop instead.
Example: $100 float, $735.00 counted, $640.00 expected cash payments. Expected = $100 + $640 = $740.00, so the drawer is $5.00 short. The cash drawer count calculator runs this per denomination.
What Assistlify covers for auto repair shops
| Job | What Assistlify does |
|---|---|
| Weekly schedule | Build it by hand or generate it from staff availability and approved time off, then publish it to the team |
| Staff at more than one location | Assign each person to one or more locations |
| Time off | Staff request it from their phone; approval flags shifts that overlap the request |
| Hours | Clock in and out with breaks; export attendance as CSV |
| Cash and stock | Cash-drawer counts and stock counts recorded per location |
| Getting staff on | Invite by link or QR code; runs in the browser on iPhone, Android and desktop, and can be added to the home screen |
| Price and setup | One flat monthly price per business, not per location or per user; we load your current schedule and staff for you |
Assistlify is in early access. You can try every feature above in the preview workspace before handing over any staff data.
What it does not cover for auto repair yet
- Repair orders, estimates, bay scheduling or customer appointments.
- Flat-rate flagged-hour tracking or technician efficiency reports.
- Shop management system integrations.
- Shift swaps between employees, and automatic sick-call cover or replacement finding.
- SMS or push notifications.
- Payroll, GPS location checks, and monthly auto-scheduling.
- POS integrations: sales from Square, Toast, Clover or any other register system do not flow in.
- Full data export (the attendance CSV export is the export that exists today).
If your shop management system already schedules technicians and you run one shop, it is the simpler choice. For staff schedules across shops, see multi-location scheduling.
This is general information, not legal advice. Check your state labor department for current rules.
Questions
Does Assistlify track flat-rate hours?
No. It records clock-in and clock-out with breaks; flagged hours stay in your shop management system.
How is overtime figured for a flat-rate technician?
DOL Fact Sheet #23 says divide total weekly pay by total hours actually worked to get the regular rate, then compute overtime for hours over 40.
We only need scheduling, not cash counts. Does that change the price?
No. Assistlify is one flat monthly price per business, not per location or per user, whichever features you use.
Can I export technician hours for payroll?
Yes. Attendance exports as a CSV file; Assistlify does not run payroll itself.
Sources
- BLS OEWS, national estimates, May 2025 (checked 2026-11-12)
- BLS OEWS, Automotive Repair and Maintenance (811100), May 2025 (checked 2026-11-12)
- BLS QCEW 2024 annual averages, NAICS 811111 General automotive repair (checked 2026-11-12)
- US DOL Fact Sheet #23: Overtime Pay Requirements of the FLSA (revised October 2019) (checked 2026-11-12)
- US DOL Fact Sheet #16: Deductions From Wages (revised July 2009) (checked 2026-11-12)