Mitchell Announces Availability of Version 7 of ABS
SAN DIEGO--Nov. 30, 2001--Mitchell International today announced nationwide availability of Version 7 of its ABS Body Shop Management System, the collision repair industry's leading solution for increasing profitability and efficiency by automating many shop management functions.
The release follows successful beta testing of the new version by 25 repair shops, including both consolidators and independent shops, across the country.
"The beta testing clearly showed that ABS Version 7's feature-rich offerings and new technological architecture provide shop owners even more ways to boost their bottom line, while also saving time and money," said Andrea Letzring, Mitchell's ABS product manager. "Plus, ABS has a proven track record and is the management system used by more body shops than any other."
With its many new features and easy integration with complementary software, ABS Version 7 can save collision repair shops up to 30 minutes per repair order, increase productivity and streamline business functions. It communicates openly with CIECA-standard EMS files and includes an Internet-standard XML data export for repair orders. This allows individual shops or chains to send management reports and other data, via the Internet, to a central location for analysis by shop owners. And the entire system, with its technologically advanced new 32-bit platform, will allow ABS Version 7 to easily accommodate product enhancements.
Shop owners using ABS Version 7 will be able to:
| -- | Import industry standard UDS and EMS estimates. |
| -- | More easily export data to the Internet. |
| -- | Save time -- as much as 30 minutes per repair order -- by offering complete supplement support for all CEICA compliant estimating systems. |
| -- | View a total of more than 100 available reports, including detailed breakouts of personnel, job functions and locations. |
| -- | Track estimating activities to increase sales performance. |
| -- | Simplify parts management with ABS' ordering, receiving and costing processes. |
| -- | Manage job costs by providing reports that highlight profits and losses generated at every step in the repair process. |
| -- | Maximize employee efficiency and productivity by assigning employees to jobs that capitalize on their skills and provide useful reports to detail their performance. |
| -- | Track marketing efforts so that money is spent on those that best generate sales. |
Jim Wensel, general manager of Riverdale Body Shop in Schereville, Ind., has been an ABS user for the past year and participated in ABS 7 beta testing. Among its many new features, he said he likes ABS' capability to import CIECA-compliant estimates and supplements from other estimating systems -- eliminating the need to reenter data from insurance partners. Wensel said he also likes the new payroll allocation screens that make it easier for him to figure commissions.
"It used to take me up to two hours to do the payroll, now I can take care of it in 30 minutes," he said.
Wensel said Riverdale also uses ABS at one other shop in Indiana and two in Illinois and will add the ABS 7 system to a new truck repair facility due to open soon in Markham, Ill. According to Robin Sutherland, owner of San Diego's SE Autobody, ABS' new 32-bit platform enables the product to perform better now, while preparing it to accommodate even more features in the future. An ABS user since 1996, he said Version 7 provides shop owners more of what they need to effectively manage their businesses than do competing products.
"I don't see how any body shop, except for the very smallest, could operate today without an electronic management system and no other system touches the new version of ABS," Sutherland said.
ABS 7 will also interface with QuickBooks, the best-selling small business accounting and financial management software from Mountain View, Calif.-based Intuit Corp.
"The interface will save users time and increase efficiency by eliminating hours of duplicate data entry and data errors," Letzring said. "Data from sales, parts invoices, and credits will be accurately transferred from ABS to QuickBooks."
By having their ABS data transferred to QuickBooks, users can produce financial statements, print invoice and customer statements, manage AR/AP, perform job-costing analysis and produce general ledgers among other things.
ABS already interfaces with Lawson or MAS90 accounting systems and BusinessWorks(TM) accounting software, which provides complete general ledger support, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and payroll service.
About Mitchell International
Mitchell International, founded in 1946 and with headquarters in San Diego, is The Source for information software and e-business solutions for the insurance and collision repair industries. Providing services that enhance productivity, profitability and customer satisfaction, Mitchell facilitates several million electronic transactions between more than 16,000 business partners each month. Mitchell's own parts and labor database, a critical connectivity point between shops and insurers, is trusted for its accuracy and respected as the industry standard. For more information on ABS 7 or Mitchell International, call Chris Andrews, director of marketing, at 858/578-6550, ext. 8321. Visit our Web sites at www.mitchell.com and www.emitchell.com.
