A private AI that knows how your auto repair shop quotes labor, sources parts, and handles comebacks
Whether you bill book time or actual, which aftermarket pad line goes on a half-ton, who to call first for a wheel bearing, whether a six-month-old repair is a covered comeback — your service writers and techs ask you all day. Xandite holds those answers, grounded in your own shop documents, without any of it going to a public AI service.
What only you know about running a auto repair business
Labor rate and labor-guide policy
Your door rate, and the rule on when you bill book time versus actual — book on most jobs, actual on diagnostic and electrical — is the first thing a new writer needs. The scan or diagnostic fee applies to the repair when the customer approves the work. Shop supplies and hazmat bill as a percentage or a flat amount, usually with a cap. Common jobs are menu-priced, overlapping labor operations get combined time rather than each op billed in full, and fleet and wholesale accounts run at a discounted rate. There is also a policy on diag-fee waivers for long-time customers that you would rather not have every writer improvising. Xandite can hold all of it so a quote from a newer writer matches yours.
OEM versus aftermarket versus reman parts
OEM is required when the vehicle is under manufacturer powertrain warranty, when the part is safety- or ADAS-related, or when the customer asks for it. Otherwise you have preferred aftermarket brands by category — brakes, filters, suspension, electrical — reman is acceptable for things like alternators, starters, and calipers, and a short list of parts — water pumps, ignition coils, wheel bearings — never go aftermarket because the comeback rate is not worth it. On an older or low-value car the calculus shifts toward the economy line; on a customer's daily driver they plan to keep, it shifts the other way. Xandite can hold those calls so techs stop defaulting to whatever the counter suggests.
Preferred suppliers and ordering
First call by part type: the dealer for electrical and known-fitment parts, your primary aftermarket supplier for general parts, a second supplier for price or availability. Track delivery windows, core charges and the return deadline, your price-match policy, and your machine-shop partner for drums, rotors, and heads. Xandite can hold the first-call list and the core-return rules so parts do not sit on the bench past the credit window.
Comeback and warranty policy
Your parts-and-labor warranty runs a set number of months or miles. A comeback is the same failure on the same system you just serviced; a new problem on a different system is a new ticket. On a genuine comeback the shop covers labor and the part warranties through the supplier, and everything gets documented with photos and the original RO number. If you participate in a nationwide warranty program, note how out-of-town claims are handled. Xandite can hold the definition and the process so the counter is not negotiating it live.
Declined work follow-up
Declined items get logged on the RO and in the customer record, and you follow up at the next visit or on a set interval. Some items are a safety hold — you will not release the vehicle with, say, a failed ball joint or bad brakes — and that list matters. Re-quotes older than about a month get re-checked for price. Xandite can hold the hold list and the follow-up rule.
Fleet accounts
Each fleet has its own terms: a PO required over some threshold, net-30 billing, a set rate, and a list of services pre-authorized without a call. Some require you to use their national-account parts program or bill through a third-party maintenance platform; some want a driver vehicle inspection report attached to every invoice. Monthly statements go out on a fixed date, and there is a named contact at each fleet for anything over the threshold. Xandite can hold each account's approval threshold, billing route, and pre-authorized service list so a van gets worked on instead of waiting on a callback.
Questions your team would type instead of calling you
- “Customer wants the cheapest brake job — which aftermarket pads do we run on a half-ton, and what is the menu price?”
- “This alternator is covered under our warranty from eight months ago — do we cover the labor too?”
- “Do we bill book time or actual on a timing-chain job?”
- “Which supplier do we call first for a wheel bearing on this make, and what is the core charge?”
- “A fleet account just dropped off a van — what is pre-authorized without calling for a PO?”
- “Customer declined the control arm last visit — is that a safety hold or can we release it?”
Get your shop's judgment out of your head and onto the counter
Upload your labor-rate policy, your parts matrix, your supplier list, and your warranty terms once. Service writers and techs ask the questions above from the portal and get your answer with citations — and every file stays inside your private workspace.