What should the labour rate actually be?
Market-rate signals for your postcode, parts-margin recovery, recommended rate band.
GarageSnap is the free UK decision-support app for independent garages and MOT testing stations. Set the right labour rate, model MOT margin, surface the workshop-loading patterns that are bleeding profit, and stay compliant with DVSA changes, built for owner-managed garages of 1-12 bays.
Selling a second-hand vehicle bought from a private seller? GarageSnap shows VAT under the Margin Scheme versus standard VAT, so you see what you keep. Instant, in your browser.
VAT Margin Scheme (HMRC Notice 718): VAT is charged only on the margin at 1/6 (20%), and is nil if you sell at a loss. Eligible for second-hand vehicles bought from a non-VAT-registered seller; you cannot reclaim input VAT and must keep a stock book. Estimate, not advice.
Every Snap is scoped to one operator decision. GarageSnap answers three sub-questions that, together, give you the call you needed to make on garage · mot · auto repair this week.
Market-rate signals for your postcode, parts-margin recovery, recommended rate band.
Real margin per MOT after consumables, technician time, retest economics.
Loading patterns, hold-overs, parts-wait wastage.
Owner-managed UK independent garages, MOT stations (Class IV / VII), and mobile mechanics who set their own labour rate and absorb consumable + technician costs themselves.
Bay count, MOT class, technician headcount, postcode.
Market labour rates, MOT class economics, parts-margin recovery, workshop loading.
Labour-rate recommendation, MOT P&L by class, top 3 leak fixes.
Inline rate-change templates; escalation pack for franchised-network owners.
Garage Hive is a paid per-user platform (on Microsoft Business Central) you run the workshop on. GarageSnap is the pricing, EV and approval read before that.
Set the rate, check VAT margin and EV-readiness free, before you adopt a per-user workshop platform.
GarageSnap is one of 22 free Snap apps. If your sector is not on the list, we will build one, scoped, shipped, supervised, in 4 to 8 weeks. Same engineering core, same source-freshness CI, your decision priced against the outcome it produces.