THE SHOP: 

Five Star Collision, a privately owned MSO, has had a presence in the Georgia area for roughly 30 years.

In the past few years, the MSO has experienced a rapid amount of growth. The overall company has almost tripled in size and the colli- sion business has grown from two to five locations in the past five years. Charel Lock, operations manager at the Snellville location, has been with the company to see the growth and credits part of that to a dedication to uniformed procedures. 

THE REVIEWER:

Scott Calhoon, manager of the Macon location, uses the EstimateScrubber. com Real-Time Sales Mix Analysis on a daily basis. Lock and Calhoon were made aware of the Real-Time Sales Mix Analysis by Mike Anderson, who is the facilitator of the 20 Group that Five Star attends.

HOW IT WORKS:

When Calhoon begins work on an esti- mate, he says he pulls up the Real-Time Sales Mix Analysis window on one of his work station’s two computer screens. On the other, he pulls up the original estimate. Calhoon then uploads the estimate into the analysis system, which uses artificial intelligence technology to scan and compare the estimate against a database of items and estimating rules. The program also offers a percentage of body, paint and materials makeup in the estimate. (Calhoon mentions that the goal is to be at 30 percent for body, 20 percent for paint and 10 percent for materials,) Five Star waits until the analysis is complete before locking the estimate and sending it to the insurer. 

THE REVIEW:

Calhoon says the Real-Time Sales Mix Analysis catches human error, identifies commonly forgotten labor charges and helps the shops get paid for their work. He started using the tool on a 30-day trial basis and eventually upgraded to a subscription based on his staff’s recommendation. 

THE RETURN:

After using it for a month, Lock and Calhoon say that it has paid for its $25-per-month subscription fee for the entire year already.

“If you forget a few things in an estimate, the Mix Analysis will pick up on that and point it out,” Calhoon says. “With one estimate it can pay for the entire month.”