TYRE, BATTERY AND LUBRICANT DEALERS
Running a Tyre and Battery Shop: Stock, Schemes and Credit
A fleet owner is at your counter wanting six tyres and a battery today, on credit. Behind the counter a tyre size that last sold in March sits beside a brand scheme sheet asking for a bigger purchase this quarter. The shelf is full, the cash is thin, and the scheme looks attractive.
We help dealers read stock by age, size and brand, weigh schemes against what the extra stock costs to hold, price fitment and service work, and keep credit customers within limits. We do not advise on brand warranty terms, product safety or technical claims about products. Those rest with the brand and your supplier.
Book a first callCOMMON CHALLENGES
What goes wrong in
tyre, battery and lubricant dealers.
- 01Stock is valued at cost in one number. Without ageing by size and brand, slow sizes hide behind fast ones, and cash sits on a shelf for months.
- 02Brand schemes are judged by the target figure on the sheet. Nobody works out what the extra stock costs to hold, or whether the added sizes will sell before the next scheme arrives.
- 03Fitting, balancing, alignment and battery installation are given free to keep the sale or priced by mood. The share of sales that carry a service is not counted.
- 04Credit goes to garages, taxi owners and fleets on the strength of the relationship. Dues are not aged by customer, and a long-standing buyer's old balance is not questioned.
- 05Warranty claims on tyres and batteries take staff time, shelf space and phone calls to the brand. The cost of chasing credit or replacements is never counted against the product.
NUMBERS TO TRACK
Count these
every week.
Stock older than 180 days
Value of stock with no sale for 180 days, divided by total stock value, by brand and category.
Scheme gain against carrying cost
Scheme payout, less the holding cost of the extra pieces. Holding cost is extra pieces times monthly cost per piece times months they sit.
Fitment and service attach
Sales invoices carrying a fitting, balancing or installation line, divided by tyre and battery invoices.
Credit outstanding in days of credit sales
Total credit dues divided by average credit sales per day. Split by customer type.
Timing and seasons: Tyre buying picks up ahead of the monsoon and before long festival drives, and battery calls bunch in the hottest weeks. Set stock levels from your own invoices for the same months last year.
WORKED SAMPLE (ILLUSTRATIVE, NOT CLIENT DATA)
Stock ageing by line, in rupees
| Line | Stock value | 0 to 90 days | 91 to 180 days | Over 180 days | Over 180 as share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres, brand A | ₹4,80,000 | ₹3,20,000 | ₹1,00,000 | ₹60,000 | 12.5% |
| Tyres, brand B | ₹3,00,000 | ₹1,20,000 | ₹90,000 | ₹90,000 | 30% |
| Batteries | ₹2,50,000 | ₹1,50,000 | ₹70,000 | ₹30,000 | 12% |
| Lubricants | ₹1,20,000 | ₹90,000 | ₹20,000 | ₹10,000 | 8% |
| Total | ₹11,50,000 | ₹6,80,000 | ₹2,80,000 | ₹1,90,000 | 17% |
Brand B holds the most old stock in proportion to its size, and an offer on brand B would add to a shelf that already moves slowly. Shares are rounded.
COMMON MISTAKES
What owners often
get wrong first.
- 01Taking a scheme for its payout without setting it against stock older than 180 days and the cost of holding the extra pieces.
- 02Giving fitting and alignment free, so the attach rate looks good while the service earns nothing.
- 03Letting credit grow with trusted customers, so credit outstanding in days rises with no one asking why.
OUR FOCUS AREAS
Where the work
usually starts.
- 01A stock ageing sheet by brand, size and category, with value in 0 to 90, 91 to 180 and over 180 days.
- 02A scheme worksheet comparing scheme gain with the carrying cost of the extra stock and the sell-through pace.
- 03A fitment and service attach count: services billed per tyre or battery sale.
- 04A credit register with limit, ageing and last payment for each customer.
- 05A reorder routine by size using actual monthly sales, not the last supplier visit.
- 06A warranty claim log with product, date raised, date settled and value pending.
- 07A weekly owner review of stock, credit and cash.
START THIS WEEK
Things you can do
before you call anyone.
- List your tyre sizes and note the date of the last sale for each. Mark any size not sold in the last 180 days and add up what it cost.
- Hypothetical example: a brand scheme pays ₹20,000 on 100 tyres bought in the quarter, which is 40 more than you would normally buy. Holding a tyre costs about ₹60 a month in interest and lost use. Say the extra 40 sell in 2 months: carrying costs 40 x ₹60 x 2 = ₹4,800, and the scheme clearly pays. Now say they are slow sizes sitting for 8 months. Carrying costs ₹19,200, and only ₹800 of the ₹20,000 is left.
- Count how many tyre and battery invoices last month carried a fitting or service line.
- Make a list of credit customers with the oldest unpaid invoice date against each.
WHAT YOU GET
Start with the priorities
that matter most.
Your first sheet: a stock ageing sheet by brand and size, split by 90, 180 and over 180 days since the last sale, showing how much cash sits on shelves that do not move
- A stock ageing sheet by brand and size with an action list for slow stock
- A scheme evaluation sheet to use before accepting any brand target
- A fitment and service price list with attach rate tracking
- A credit register with limits, ageing and a weekly collection routine
Not the right fit when: Wait on this if your main issue is a product complaint or a warranty dispute that needs the brand or a technical opinion. For a shop that repairs vehicles as well, see /industries/automotive/auto-repair-shops.
HOW THE WORK RUNS
What happens after
you book.
- First call: you describe the business and the numbers you already track.
- Your first sheet: the one described under What you get, built from your own books.
- The rhythm: a regular review of stock older than 180 days, scheme gain against carrying cost, fitment and service attach, credit outstanding in days of credit sales.
- What you hold at the end: a written sheet and a named owner for each number.
WHICH SERVICE FITS
Where we usually start
for this trade.
Financial Health Audit
A management-level review of margin by product, the cash cycle, receivables and costs, ending in indicators you track monthly. Not a statutory audit.
Business Audit
Financial Health Audit is part of Business Audit. See the full service if the problem is wider than one piece.
PROBLEMS THIS SHOWS UP AS
How owners in this trade
describe it.
Cash is always tight, even when sales look good
Full order book but an empty account? See how collections, stock, credit terms and timing gaps drain cash, and how a 13-week forecast eases the squeeze.
Our revenue is growing, but our profit is not
Sales are up but the money left over is not. Find where margin leaks in pricing, discounts, rework and overheads, and what to check this week.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Before you
get in touch.
HOW THIS DIFFERS
Close trades,
different work.
How this differs from Auto parts and accessories dealers
A parts dealer carries thousands of low-value items for garages and watches fill rate; a tyre and battery dealer carries fewer, costlier lines and watches ageing by size and scheme decisions.
How this differs from Auto repair shops
A repair shop earns from labour and parts on a job card; a tyre dealer earns mainly on product sales and treats fitting as an add-on that needs its own price.
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