How to launch a mobile application for a gas station

954 11-02-24 Read Time: 7 min

Petrol station business is very dynamic and multitasking, so it requires clear organization of work, accounting of orders and customers, and monitoring of efficiency. Automation of these processes can be realized in a mobile application for Android and iOS. The service station application has separate interfaces for the administrator and the client, thanks to which it is possible not only to optimize the work of the team, but also to ensure the quality of customer service. If the service station already has a CRM system, a website, a warehouse accounting program, these platforms can be fully or partially synchronized with the mobile application.

Why is a car service and gas station app good for business?

A mobile application solves two global tasks – business management and customer feedback. While various software tools can be used to organize business processes, only an application can be used to actively communicate with the audience and be as close as possible to the customer. The mobile platform unites the company and the target audience, creating a strong connection between them – this plays a key role in the development, promotion and popularization of the service. Benefits and advantages that a service station will receive after launching the application:

• Instant interaction with customers, the ability to provide them with any advertising, marketing and promotional information;
• Increasing the efficiency of receiving, processing, and tracking the status of orders;
• Automation of routine manual work, minimization of data processing errors;
• Possibility of synchronization with CRM, website, other company software;
• Getting feedback from customers, quickly solving problems online;
• Effective implementation of loyalty programs;
• Creation of a base of regular customers, support of interest, return of former users;
• Additional opportunities for business promotion and implementation of marketing strategies;
• Personalization of services for each client;
• easy reporting, statistics, analysis of data on the work of the car service center.

Functionality of the mobile application for service stations

Automated Order Processing

The application serves as a tool for automating the receipt and processing of orders. The following functions are used for this purpose:

• Registration of incoming customer requests;
• Automated support of calendar relevance;
• Analyze the workload of masters and subdivisions;
• Distribution of requests among employees;
• Work schedule planning;
• Recording of order processing stages – from request to completion.

The administrator has information about each order – he can see the stage of work, payment status, planned and actual deadlines. The administrator can quickly find urgent, overdue and delayed orders, get details from the responsible manager, control the process – thanks to this it is possible to maintain smooth work of departments and avoid deadlines. Automated processing of requests prevents from duplication, confusion and mistakes, allows you to distribute work time evenly, avoid downtime or, on the contrary, irrational workload of managers. Convenient design and intuitive structure of the calendar speeds up and simplifies the work of service station administrators.

Create a customer base

Customers from all areas of the automotive service center are collected in a single database with contacts, vehicle data, order history, payments, repairs. The information can be filtered, sorted, sampled, used for analysis and statistical reports. The system analyzes user preferences and needs, records technical data and service history, and uses this information to create individualized promotional offers.

Push notifications about discounts, promotions, and news increase audience engagement, help bring back former customers, and build user loyalty. The effect is enhanced by high quality personalization of offers. You can set up import of customers from other corporate platforms or export the base to the website, CRM, etc. When developing a mobile application for a car service center, full security of storing confidential user data is ensured.

Maintenance and repair history

The mobile application contains all necessary data on the vehicle’s condition, performed and planned work, technical indicators, replacement of spare parts and consumables. The built-in VIN scanner is used to obtain additional information about the vehicle. The application automatically calculates the recommended maintenance dates and sends the owner relevant notifications, explanations and advice. The information about the current condition of the vehicle is used for diagnostics, maintenance and repair of the vehicle.

Document creation and printing

In the application you can create a document and send it to the printer – car acceptance certificate, work performed certificate, purchase order, warranty card, diagnostic sheet, invoice for payment and others. Documents are automatically generated based on data stored in the application database, which minimizes the amount of manual operations.

Statistics, Monitoring, Audit

In the application you can track the performance indicators of the service station for a selected period, generate reports on various indicators, create graphs and charts to analyze the data. The reporting format is individually adapted to the needs of the business by the administrator, taking into account the peculiarities of a particular service station, the list of services, the target audience, the company’s goals and plans, the promotion and development strategy. The administrator customizes the report forms, the manager receives statistics with one click.

Loyalty Program Tools

The mobile app is the best tool to implement a loyalty program. Available features:

• Determine the amount of discounts for services;
• Launching promotions for the entire base or individual categories of clients;
• Creation of personalized offers based on users’ interests;
• Accumulation of bonuses, their accumulation in the client’s personal cabinet;
• Notification about return of former clients;
• Reminders – about unfinished orders, future maintenance, follow-up visits;
• Information about new services and news of the car service center.

Automated parts selection

Efficient operation of a service station is impossible without fast and high-quality selection of spare parts. The mobile application can be integrated with existing software solutions used by the company for accounting, sales, spare parts selection. Integration options:

• Import supplier catalogs and price lists with search and filtering by price and delivery time;
• Synchronization with the online store for fast ordering of spare parts directly in the application with online payment;
• Integration with the inventory management program to search and select spare parts in stock.

Inventory accounting in a mobile application

In the application for petrol stations it is possible to implement a full spare parts accounting functionality for quick search of items, assortment planning, estimation of remainders, maintenance of analogues database. The accounting functionality includes

• Spare parts catalog – tabular data, images, barcodes, prices;
• Administrator interface with the ability to add, edit, delete items;
• Search, filtering of spare parts by various parameters (name, number, manufacturer, price, etc.);
• Automatic balance control for timely stock replenishment;
• History of receipt, movement, sale, installation, replacement of each item;
• Notification of new arrivals, balance depletion and other events;
• Warehouse analytics for planning and maintaining assortment relevance, assessing the prospects of certain groups of goods, creating attractive promotional offers, determining in-demand items;
• Reporting, automatic document generation.

Online support for car service customers

A mobile application helps car repair shop owners and managers to be closer to their customers. Any customer’s question can be solved in a few minutes, thanks to the application’s functionality – video communication, chat with sending photos, videos and documents. The history of correspondence, received recommendations, questions and answers are stored in the user’s personal cabinet, so that at any time you can return to the dialog and restore the details. There is a separate button for an emergency call for a tow truck or roadside assistance, which sends a quick signal to the responsible employee of the company.

Client Interface

The client receives a separate interface with useful functions that simplify interaction with the car service, allow to solve tasks more efficiently and quickly, as well as receive pleasant bonuses within the loyalty program. The functions are available to the user:

• Registration and personal profile. The user registers in the application, creates his personal profile, in which basic information about the car, history of performed works, payment data, personal settings are stored.
• Recording car repairs. The client has access to the booking button and the calendar – here you can choose a convenient time to visit the service. The list of past and future appointments is stored in the personal locker.
• Calculator. An online calculator is used to estimate the cost of the service.
• Push notifications. The application reminds of important events – next visit, repair completion, promotional offers, bonus accrual, order status change, etc.
• Order status tracking. The customer receives up-to-the-minute information about the status of the order – what stage of the repair, when the work will be completed, whether everything will be done on time.
• Spare parts ordering. In the application you can select and place an order for delivery of parts, materials, components for repair work.
• Online payment. Ordered services and goods are paid for in the application via integrated secure online payment services.

The concept of our application can be applied to various businesses in the car service industry – tire service stations, day care centers, car washes. If you have a request for such a product, contact KitApp mobile development studio – we will create an effective application for your business.