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3 bay Touchless Car Wash Purchase

Just following up on this one. I ended up not purchasing the original one listed...

1) The revenues continued to decline this winter (though only about 3-4% this year) - but the weather was significantly worse this year in the area and a small drop in revenue likely means a large drop in a more mild winter.
2) I tried to renegotiate the purchase price, but the seller was not willing to come down much

In the interim, I did get under contract for a much smaller car wash (1 bay Petit) from the same seller for just under $400k... T12 revenues on that one is ~$165k (this includes sales tax of 7%). Much better real estate along a busy street in a wealthy suburb with great demos - this should be closing in the next few weeks

This is also much closer to where I live so should be much easier to manage.

Couple of questions for anyone that's willing to help here...
1) Which bookkeeping software do people use? I'm assuming most just use quickbooks, but seeing if there are any other options here.
2) How do you run customer support - my thought was to use a Google Voice number (they can transcribe voicemails / give the ability to send texts), etc. and use an email address as well for support. Any other thoughts on this?
 
1. a simple excel is sufficient for most car washes. these are simple businesses in terms of book keeping.
2. that works and is simple to setup and use.
 
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i use the wave app for bookkeeping. quickbooks got too expensive over time.

i just post my cell phone # for customer service. i don't get too many calls, probably because we are staffed regularly at our detail shop and used car lot.
 
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We use Quick Books Online Essentials. Post your phone number anywhere someone may need assistance. We also have a doorbell camera on the pay station that customers can push the button on for assistance. We have another one that we are going to install on the vending machine.
 
Just following up on this one. I ended up not purchasing the original one listed...

1) The revenues continued to decline this winter (though only about 3-4% this year) - but the weather was significantly worse this year in the area and a small drop in revenue likely means a large drop in a more mild winter.
2) I tried to renegotiate the purchase price, but the seller was not willing to come down much

In the interim, I did get under contract for a much smaller car wash (1 bay Petit) from the same seller for just under $400k... T12 revenues on that one is ~$165k (this includes sales tax of 7%). Much better real estate along a busy street in a wealthy suburb with great demos - this should be closing in the next few weeks

This is also much closer to where I live so should be much easier to manage.

Couple of questions for anyone that's willing to help here...
1) Which bookkeeping software do people use? I'm assuming most just use quickbooks, but seeing if there are any other options here.
2) How do you run customer support - my thought was to use a Google Voice number (they can transcribe voicemails / give the ability to send texts), etc. and use an email address as well for support. Any other thoughts on this?
You bought a petit wash with real estate for under 400K in a wealthy suburb? If thats true and the location is what you say thats a great deal. Congrats. Got any pics?
 
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SecondLine which is now called conversations by Go Daddy. You can port a number over or they can assign you a phone number. Used to be a great deal at $5/month but now $15/mo so at that price is is worth looking at the various options.

Alt is to get a Google Voice number and forward to your cell. Customers can call at any hour so we set the business hours in our app and auto replay to all missed calls that we will return their call shortly but that texting info to our number can help us respond quicker. The nice thing about a separate number and an associated app is that it tracks all calls forever so you can quickly figure out if a caller has any history or past calls. Congrats on the purchase as it sounds like a very good deal.
 
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