Fixed operations have always been the financial backbone of dealerships. In 2026, that role has become even more critical. New vehicle profit margins are tighter than ever. Customer expectations are rising. Technician availability is strained. Every part of your service and parts department needs to be operating at full efficiency and full transparency.

The problem is that most dealers are still running their fixed ops departments like it’s 2015. They are waiting until the end of the month to review performance. They are pulling reports from multiple systems. And they are relying on spreadsheets and emails to track down answers.

In this environment, that just does not cut it anymore.

The New Standard: Speed and Accuracy

Today’s fixed ops leaders are managing more complexity than ever. You have customer pay, internal work, warranty claims, sublet repairs, menu services, retail parts, wholesale parts, and a growing list of margin pressures. And while the responsibilities have increased, the time to manage all of this has not.

What dealers need now is clarity at speed.

That means having the ability to look at your service department’s performance every morning and immediately know what happened the day before. That means seeing where your labor rates are slipping. That means spotting exceptions like mis-priced labor, uncollected shop supplies, discounts, parts sold below cost, and one-line repair orders that should have been flagged and addressed.

That level of visibility used to be impossible. Today, it is available.

Turning Data Into Insight

Technology now exists to turn fixed ops performance from something you measure monthly to something you manage daily. And in doing research for this article, I spoke with Bill Holm, the Fixed Operations Director for Northtown Auto Group. Bill oversees 14 rooftops and more than 700 repair orders a day.

Here is what he told me:

“I can review exceptions from all 14 of our rooftops in 20 to 30 minutes a day. That is over 700 ROs, and I know exactly where the gross is being lost. The system shows me line-level detail, tells me if an advisor is not sticking to retail pricing, and flags every labor or parts variance or missed charge. I do not have to run CDK statements or dig through reports. It is just there.”

In one example, Bill identified a $208 loss in labor from just four repair orders. That insight was surfaced immediately through daily exception reporting, and he was able to drill directly into each RO to verify what went wrong and who needed coaching. No waiting for a report. No combing through spreadsheets. No guesswork.

A Better Way to Manage Across Rooftops

For single-store operators, tools like this are game changers. For dealer groups with multiple locations, they are essential.

Instead of pulling multiple DMS reports, converting data, and trying to align metrics across rooftops, modern reporting platforms allow leadership teams to see everything in one consolidated view. You can sort by store, advisor, technician, or date. You can immediately identify which location is underperforming in gross per RO, which advisor is giving away too many discounts, or which tech is generating labor time but not corresponding revenue.

This is about saving time, but more importantly, it is about using time wisely. Managers do not need to spend hours gathering data. They need to spend those hours using data to coach, lead, and improve performance.

What Technology Should Deliver in 2026

Fixed ops tools today should do more than just report. They should bring clarity, reduce noise, and highlight the exceptions that cost you money. They should help you:

• Catch profit leaks in labor, parts, supplies, and discounts
• Track effective labor rates and margins in real time
• Monitor technician output and advisor upsell behavior
• Review declined services and upsells after MPI
• Drill into open and voided ROs without pulling reports
• Compare actual performance to targets every single day

One of the tools providing that level of control is ProfitKeeperPro. It has been built with the needs of modern dealership operations in mind. It does not require custom statements. It does not need complex integrations. It just works. It allows fixed ops managers to see what happened yesterday and take action today.

The Bottom Line

Fixed operations are no longer just a profit center. It is your dealership’s foundation. And like any good foundation, it needs constant attention and maintenance.

In 2026, you have the opportunity to manage smarter. Technology exists that gives you speed, accuracy, and insight. It helps you focus on leadership instead of reporting. It helps you build a culture of accountability and consistency.

And most importantly, it helps you protect the profits you are already earning.

If you are not already managing fixed ops with this level of clarity, it is time to take a closer look at what is available. The numbers are too important to leave to chance.