Master Your Auto Repair Shop’s Financial Future

Your bank account just hit zero. What do you do in the next 24 hours? And if you're planning six months ahead instead, is a bank loan really your cheapest option?

Following up on last week's episode on cash reserve mistakes, Hunt Demarest, CPA, goes solo again to tackle the other side of that coin: how to actually get cash back into your shop, whether you need it today or you're planning ahead. He draws a hard line between "I need money right now" and "I need money eventually," and walks through the immediate, band-aid moves every shop owner should make the moment they run dry — leveraging credit cards, cutting the right expenses (and not the wrong ones), and diagnosing the real reason the cash dried up in the first place. From there, Hunt ranks every borrowing option available to shop owners, from real estate equity all the way down to credit card advance loans, and explains why "debt-free" can quietly become one of the most dangerous positions a shop can be in.

Whether you're staring down an empty operating account this week or mapping out a remodel a year from now, this episode is a practical roadmap for getting and keeping the cash your shop actually needs.

*What You'll Learn...*
00:00 Intro: last week's reserve mistakes come home to roost
03:29 Need cash now or need cash later? The question that changes everything
03:57 Already out of cash? Why it's too late for the "normal" fixes
05:51 Leveraging credit cards as your fastest lever
08:00 Cutting expenses without cutting your own throat
09:27 The real fix: understanding why you ran out of cash
15:05 How much should you borrow? More than you think
16:02 How long should you take to pay it back? Longer than you think
18:11 Real estate equity, the cheapest money you'll ever borrow
20:03 Business lines of credit and what banks actually want to see
21:33 FinCEN loans explained: Amex, PayPal, and Kabbage
23:16 Credit card advance loans, the last resort and its true cost

*Resources Mentioned*
Get the FREE 2026 Auto Shop Benchmark Report: https://hubs.ly/Q04j-grh0
Get Hunt's Book: Beyond the Bays, on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0iQ3UuOL


Got questions or feedback, connect with Hunt Demarest at:
Email: podcast@paarmelis.com
Website: https://www.paarmelis.com


*More Info on BBTN Sponsors:*
Promotive — To find and hire great techs, visit: https://info.gopromotive.com/hunt
WickedFile — Find missing profit in your paperwork, visit: https://www.wickedfile.com
Overdryve — Get AI powered marketing solutions, visit: https://www.overdryvemarketing.com
Maverick — Grow your shop with auto shop coaching, visit: https://www.maverickshopowners.com

Download the Automotive Repair Podcast Network App: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/

How much cash did your shop actually make last month — and how much of it is still sitting in the bank? If you paid off every dollar of debt tomorrow, would you have anything left to cover a bad month?
In this episode, Hunt Demarest, CPA, goes solo to tackle a topic he says trips up shop owners more than almost anything else: cash and reserves. He breaks down the simple rule of thumb for how much you should be keeping in the bank, then walks through four specific mistakes he sees shop owners make — from draining the business dry to (on the flip side) hoarding so much cash it becomes a legal liability, to the sneaky problem of debt payoff plans that leave owners debt-free and cash-poor at the same time. Hunt also shares the exact system he recommends clients use to set their own distributions so reserves never dip below where they need to be. Whether you're sitting on six figures in the checking account or wondering why you're always scrambling before payroll, this episode is a practical gut-check on the number that actually keeps a shop alive: cash.

*What You'll Learn*
00:00 Intro
02:01 Cash vs. profit — the two flows of money every owner confuses
02:55 The reserve rule of thumb — 3 to 6 months of overhead
04:02 Why your ideal reserve depends on your shop's cash flow pattern
06:55 Mistake #1 — Draining your business of its own cash
10:14 The fix — how to set your monthly distribution the right way
12:33 Mistake #2 — The "champagne problem" of keeping too much cash
14:18 The profit-hold account trick — protecting cash without spending it
15:09 Mistake #3 — Parking reserves where they earn zero interest
17:29 Mistake #4 — Paying off debt too aggressively
19:22 Cash and debt beats debt-free and broke — Hunt's rule

If you're ready to stop guessing how much cash your shop should be holding, start building a reserve strategy that actually fits your business, and finally understand why "debt-free" isn't always the win it sounds like — this episode is essential listening.

*Resources Mentioned*
Get the FREE 2026 Auto Shop Benchmark Report: https://hubs.ly/Q04j-grh0
Get Hunt's Book: Beyond the Bays, on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0iQ3UuOL


*Got questions or feedback, connect with Hunt Demarest at:*
Email: podcast@paarmelis.com
Website: https://www.paarmelis.com


*More Info on BBTN Sponsors:*
Promotive — To find and hire great techs, visit: https://info.gopromotive.com/hunt
WickedFile — Find missing profit in your paperwork, visit: https://www.wickedfile.com
Overdryve — Get AI powered marketing solutions, visit: https://www.overdryvemarketing.com
Maverick — Grow your shop with auto shop coaching, visit: https://www.maverickshopowners.com

Download the Automotive Repair Podcast Network App: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/

Do you actually know how much money your shop made last month? If 90% of new clients walking through Hunt's door don't, what are the odds you do?
In this episode, Hunt Demarest, CPA, goes solo to call out the four most common ways shop owners are unknowingly sabotaging their own profit and loss statements — and the pain points he sees over and over again with new clients. He opens with a timely PSA on a scam email making the rounds targeting EIDL loan holders, then dives into why 90% of the shops Paar Melis brings on board are working off P&Ls that are materially misstated. From overly complicated financials to sales tracked without their matching costs to the owner's own cash and parts habits quietly wrecking the numbers, Hunt breaks down exactly where things go wrong — and how to fix it. Whether you've got a two-bay shop or a twenty-bay operation, this episode is a gut-check on whether the numbers you're using to run your business are actually telling you the truth.
*What You'll Learn*
00:00 Intro
02:59) Why this episode — a follow-up to the summer webinar series on P&Ls
03:24 PSA — the EIDL loan forgiveness scam targeting shop owners' inboxes
06:45 Mistake #1 — Why your P&L is flat-out wrong, and the 90% stat that proves it
09:23 Mistake #2 — Your P&L is way too complicated
13:31 The one-page rule — collapsed P&L vs. the four-page mess
15:31 The subaccount fix, using utilities as the easy win
16:26 Mistake #3 — Tracking sales without tracking the cost behind it
18:18 The tire sales trap — how "improving" your P&L can wreck your margins
20:12 Mistake #4 — You're the reason your financials don't add up
22:31 The parts cost leak nobody's stealing — it's just untracked

If you've ever wondered whether your financials are actually telling you the truth, why a "good" P&L should fit on one page, and why tracking more sales categories can make your numbers worse instead of better — this episode is essential listening.
*Resources Mentioned*
*Summer Webinar Series:* Understanding Your Shop’s Numbers Webinar: Replay Link and Passcode: .#TWUc81

Get the FREE 2026 Auto Shop Benchmark Report: https://hubs.ly/Q04j-grh0
Get Hunt's Book: Beyond the Bays, on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0iQ3UuOL


Got questions or feedback, connect with Hunt Demarest at:
Email: podcast@paarmelis.com
Website: https://www.paarmelis.com


*More Info on BBTN Sponsors:*
Promotive — To find and hire great techs, visit: https://info.gopromotive.com/hunt
WickedFile — Find missing profit in your paperwork, visit: https://www.wickedfile.com
Overdryve — Get AI powered marketing solutions, visit: https://www.overdryvemarketing.com
Maverick — Grow your shop with auto shop coaching, visit: https://www.maverickshopowners.com

Download the Automotive Repair Podcast Network App: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/

Why does the IRS really pick a tax return to audit? And if a CPA who does this for a living can still get dragged through a three-year fight, what chance does the rest of us have?
In this episode, Hunt Demarest, CPA, steps out from behind the desk to tell his own story — a three-year audit of his 2023 tax return that started with a suspiciously timed refund and ended with a win built entirely on paperwork. Hunt breaks down what gets a return flagged in the first place, the one habit that separates audits you win from ones you lose, and why "innocent" and "victorious" aren't always the same outcome — proven by a client who did everything right and still wrote a $25,000 check to the IRS.
Hunt also pulls back the curtain on what his firm's audit protection covers, why informational requests aren't the same as a real audit, and why a single missing signature nearly cost him a case tax law was already on his side of. Whether you're worried about a deduction on your own return or want to know what triggers an IRS letter, this episode is a real-time look at how audits actually play out — not the version you hear secondhand.
*What You'll Learn*
00:00 Intro
02:51 Hunt's own audit story begins — three years, one 2023 tax return
03:58 Why the audit really happened — a refund, then a red flag a month later
04:41 Getting flagged, part 1 — why large credits are an open invitation to audit
08:24 Getting flagged, part 2 — the oversized expense line the IRS can't ignore
09:48 Inside the process — what an IRS "information request" audit actually looks like
15:06 The rule that wins audits — documentation, documentation, documentation
19:15 Audits take time, and time is money — even when you win
19:40 100+ hours, one frivolous case, and the real cost of defending yourself
22:28 The hardest truth — being innocent doesn't guarantee you'll win
23:12 The $25,000 loss — when the IRS agent simply won't listen
24:24 The call every shop owner dreads — when paying up beats fighting on

If you've ever wondered what actually happens after that letter shows up, why documentation is the difference between a two-month resolution and a three-year fight, and why sometimes the smartest move is knowing when to stop — this episode is essential listening.

*Resources Mentioned*
Get the FREE 2026 Auto Shop Benchmark Report: https://hubs.ly/Q04j-grh0
Get Hunt's Book: Beyond the Bays, on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0iQ3UuOL


Got questions or feedback, connect with Hunt Demarest at:
Email: podcast@paarmelis.com
Website: https://www.paarmelis.com


*More Info on BBTN Sponsors:*
Promotive — To find and hire great techs, visit: https://info.gopromotive.com/hunt
WickedFile — Find missing profit in your paperwork, visit: https://www.wickedfile.com
Overdryve — Get AI powered marketing solutions, visit: https://www.overdryvemarketing.com
Maverick — Grow your shop with auto shop coaching, visit: https://www.maverickshopowners.com

Download the Automotive Repair Podcast Network App: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/

Why is a shop charging $300 an hour in Texas still taking home less profit than a shop in Maine charging $30 less? Does where you're located actually decide how much money ends up in your pocket — or is something else driving the gap?
In the final installment of a three-part dive into the 2026 Auto Shop Benchmark Report, Hunt Demarest, CPA, breaks down the regional, size, and vehicle-type trends separating the most profitable shops in the country from everyone else. From the Southeast's 17% margins to the Southwest's labor-rate paradox, Hunt unpacks why charging more doesn't always mean keeping more — and why "your shop is no different" is only half true.
Hunt also dives into the numbers behind general repair, diesel, and European shops, explains why bigger isn't always better, and closes with a sobering look at the technician shortage now threatening the entire industry. Whether you're running a one-bay diesel shop in the Midwest or a multi-bay European specialty shop in the Northeast, this episode is your roadmap to benchmarking against the right peers — not just the averages.
*What You'll Learn*
00:00 Intro
03:34 Kicking off Part 3 of the 2026 Benchmark Report series — this week, regional trends
05:40 Why productivity — not location — is the real leading indicator of profit
07:34 Where the top shops actually are (hint: the South didn't make the list)
08:36 The Southwest's labor-rate paradox — highest rates, lowest profit
12:40 "Your shop is no different" — the half-truth every owner needs to hear
14:28 The $1.4M myth — why bigger shops aren't necessarily more profitable
19:23 General repair vs. diesel vs. European — which type actually pays best
22:06 Parts margin vs. labor margin — where each vehicle type wins and loses
24:27 Percentages vs. dollars — why a diesel shop can out-earn a general shop
28:06 The 37,000-tech shortfall, and why 67% of techs quit before year one
30:00 Aging fleets, deferred maintenance, and the hybrid boom shops can't ignore
If you're ready to stop benchmarking against the wrong shops, start understanding which numbers actually predict profit, and finally see where your region, size, and specialty really stack up — this episode is essential listening.

*Resources Mentioned*
Get the FREE 2026 Auto Shop Benchmark Report: https://hubs.ly/Q04j-grh0
Get Hunt's Book: Beyond the Bays, on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0iQ3UuOL


*Got questions or feedback, connect with Hunt Demarest at:*
Email: podcast@paarmelis.com
Website: https://www.paarmelis.com


*More Info on BBTN Sponsors:*
Promotive — To find and hire great techs, visit: https://info.gopromotive.com/hunt
WickedFile — Find missing profit in your paperwork, visit: https://www.wickedfile.com
Overdryve — Get AI powered marketing solutions, visit: https://www.overdryvemarketing.com
Maverick — Grow your shop with auto shop coaching, visit: https://www.maverickshopowners.com

Download the Automotive Repair Podcast Network App: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/

Is your shop growing in revenue but shrinking in profit? Are you convinced that raising your labor rate is the fastest path to the bottom line — only to discover that your highest-charging competitors are losing money? And what if the real difference between a shop that keeps 35 cents of every dollar and one that loses money has nothing to do with location, specialty, or size?
In this solo deep-dive, Hunt Demarest, CPA at Paar Melis & Associates, walks through the 2026 Auto Shop Benchmark Report — specifically, what separates the top 10% of shops from the bottom 10%. It's about the metrics that actually matter: how much of every sales dollar ends up in the owner's pocket, why overhead is silently eating 42 cents on every dollar in struggling shops, and why the shops doing the most are almost always doing it with the fewest people. Hunt strips the report down to what you need to know — and what to do about it.
Whether you're a two-bay shop trying to crack profitability or a multi-location owner wondering why growth keeps outrunning your margins — this episode is essential listening.

*What You'll Learn*
00:00 Intro
00:01 Why Part 2 shifts from industry trends to what separates winners from losers
04:01 How Paar Melis defines a "top shop" — and why net profit alone doesn't tell the whole story
07:37 The sales volume surprise — why bigger isn't always better, and smaller isn't always a disadvantage
10:56 The metric top shops don't even know they're winning — gross profit per square foot
14:56 Why the Midwest lost all its top shops this year — and who's to blame
19:31 The labor rate myth, debunked — bottom shops charge more per hour and still lose
23:16 The 12-point overhead gap that explains almost every difference in profitability
26:18 Service advisor output — the $18,000-per-month performance gap you probably aren't measuring
26:18 The one fix that moves shops from the bottom 10% to the top — and most already know what it is

If you're ready to stop chasing sales volume as a substitute for profit, understand why the shop charging less per hour is likely the one making more money, and finally see the 12-point overhead gap that separates top shops from everyone else — this episode is essential listening.

*Resources Mentioned*
Get the FREE 2026 Auto Shop Benchmark Report: https://hubs.ly/Q04j-grh0
Get Hunt's Book: Beyond the Bays, on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0iQ3UuOL


Got questions or feedback, connect with Hunt Demarest at:
Email: podcast@paarmelis.com
Website: https://www.paarmelis.com


*More Info on BBTN Sponsors:*
Promotive — To find and hire great techs, visit: https://info.gopromotive.com/hunt
WickedFile — Find missing profit in your paperwork, visit: https://www.wickedfile.com
Overdryve — Get AI powered marketing solutions, visit: https://www.overdryvemarketing.com
Maverick — Grow your shop with auto shop coaching, visit: https://www.maverickshopowners.com

Download the Automotive Repair Podcast Network App: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/

Your technicians got more productive in 2025. Your labor rate went up. Your parts margins improved. So why is the average shop owner keeping almost exactly the same percentage of every dollar as they did the year before?

The answer is hiding in your effective labor rate — and most shop owners haven't looked at it once.

In this episode, Hunt Demarest breaks down the headline findings from Paar Melis & Associates' 2026 Auto Shop Benchmark Report — the largest study of its kind, built from more than 200 real shop locations across the country. From average repair order trends to technician productivity, overhead creep, benefits adoption, pay structure breakdowns, shop management software rankings, and the labor rate shame list nobody wants to be on, this is the financial state-of-the-industry episode you didn't know you needed. And it's only Part One.


*What You’ll Learn*

(00:00) Intro — the 2026 Benchmark Report is live and how to get your free copy
(03:16) Who made this report possible — methodology, participation, and what Paar Melis clients get that nobody else does
(05:30) How to read benchmark numbers without misleading yourself — context, outliers, and the ARO trap
(13:15) Sales are up 10-11% — but how much of that is real production vs. a labor rate increase you already gave yourself?
(16:20) Productivity jumped from 47% to 55% — so why didn't net profit follow?
(18:30) Effective labor rate: the silent margin killer hiding in plain sight in 2025
(27:30) Benefits adoption hits an all-time high: 73% of shops now offer health insurance
(29:30) Retirement plans, tool reimbursement, Trump Accounts, and the fringe benefits arms race
(30:45) Four-day work weeks and non-cash comp — how shops are winning the talent war without raising base pay
(34:30) Good management makes money, not good pay plans
(36:30) 83% of shops are doing digital vehicle inspections — Hunt thought it would be closer to 100%
(37:30) Shop management software rankings: Tekmetric at 56%, Mitchell likely on the way out, Shopware and Protractor tied for third
(40:30) The labor rate shame list — 11% of shops haven't raised their rate in 18 months or more


If you're ready to stop guessing where your numbers stand, start benchmarking against 200+ real shops across the country, and finally understand why doing more work doesn't always mean making more money — this episode is essential listening.


Get the FREE 2026 Auto Shop Benchmark Report: https://hubs.ly/Q04j-grh0


Get Hunt's Book: Beyond the Bays, on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0iQ3UuOL


Got questions or feedback, connect with Hunt Demarest at:
Email: podcast@paarmelis.com
Website: https://www.paarmelis.com


More Info on BBTN Sponsors:
Promotive — To find and hire great techs, visit: https://info.gopromotive.com/hunt
WickedFile — Find missing profit in your paperwork, visit: https://www.wickedfile.com
Overdryve — Get AI powered marketing solutions, visit: https://www.overdryvemarketing.com
Maverick — Grow your shop with auto shop coaching, visit: https://www.maverickshopowners.com

Download the Automotive Repair Podcast Network App: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/

What if the government — and a few well-known billionaires — were offering to deposit cash directly into an account for your child or grandchild, no strings attached, starting July 4th? Would you sign up?
In this solo episode, Hunt Demarest, CPA at Paar Melis & Associates, breaks down everything currently known about the newly announced Trump Accounts — officially called 530A plans — before they go live. Hunt cuts through the political noise to answer the only question that matters for shop owners and their families: is this worth your time, and how do you get your share of the free money on the table?
From the $1,000 Treasury Department seed deposit for children born between 2025 and 2028, to the $250 Dell family contribution available in qualifying zip codes, to how self-employed shop owners can structure employer contributions for a legitimate tax deduction — Hunt walks through what we know, what's still uncertain, and how these accounts stack up against the 529 plans and Roth IRAs you're probably already using.
Whether you're a shop owner with young kids, a grandparent looking for a smarter savings vehicle, or a business owner thinking about a new fringe benefit for your team — this episode is essential listening.

*What You'll Learn...*
00:00 Intro
02:26 What a Trump Account actually is — and why the 530A plan isn't as new as it sounds
05:44 The $1,000 government seed deposit — who qualifies and why Hunt says everyone eligible should sign up immediately
07:34 The Dell family's $250 zip code contribution — why Hunt says don't risk missing it, just sign up
09:57 Contribution limits, employer deductions, and the fringe benefit opportunity for your employees
11:41 Withdrawal rules — why the money is locked until the child turns 18, and what it can be spent on
13:06 Using a Trump Account to buy a first home or start a business — and the creative opportunities that creates
15:26 Trump Accounts vs. 529 plans — the key differences that actually matter for your family
19:26 Trump Accounts vs. Roth IRAs — the side-by-side comparison for shop owners who pay their kids through the business
23:11 Hunt's honest take on what he's actually doing for his own kids — and why the employer deduction changes everything
If you're ready to stop letting politics get in the way of free money, understand exactly how these new accounts fit alongside the strategies you're already running, and find out whether July 4th is a deadline you actually need to worry about — this episode is essential listening.

Got questions or feedback, connect with Hunt Demarest at:
Email: podcast@paarmelis.com
Website: https://www.paarmelis.com

Shop Growth Resources:
* Get Hunt's Book*, Beyond the Bays, on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0iQ3UuOL
* Get the FREE 2026 Auto Shop Benchmark Report*: https://hubs.ly/Q04j-grh0

More Info on BBTN Sponsors!...
* Promotive* — To find and hire great techs, visit: https://info.gopromotive.com/hunt
* WickedFile* — Find missing profit in your paperwork, visit: https://www.wickedfile.com
* Overdryve* — Get AI powered marketing solutions, visit: https://www.overdryvemarketing.com
* Maverick *— Grow your shop with auto shop coaching, visit: https://www.maverickshopowners.com
*Download the Aftermarket Radio Network app:*
https://aftermarketradionetwork.com

Is your shop management system telling you one number while QuickBooks says something else entirely? Are parts credits going unclaimed? And if someone were quietly skimming off the top, would your current process ever actually catch it?
In this episode, Hunt Demarest, CPA at Paar Melis & Associates, sits down with Alex from Wicked File — the AI-powered back office reconciliation platform built for auto repair shops. From the employee who snuck through ceiling tiles to steal cash, to the eight-location shop that cut back office workload by fifty percent overnight, Hunt and Alex break down what's leaking out of your business, why your team can't catch it manually, and how technology has made a once-unsolvable problem into a morning coffee routine.
Whether you're a single-location shop hemorrhaging credits you didn't know you were owed or a multi-location owner who's quietly accepted that being remote means accepting losses — this episode is essential listening.
*What You'll Learn*
00:00
03:01 What Wicked File actually does — and why the gap between your shop management system and your accounting software is exactly where the money disappears
06:02 The #1 cause of theft is confidence — why 100% of owners who've been stolen from said it would never happen to them
07:38 Theft stories from the field — Mission Impossible through the ceiling tiles and $2,000 a month in soda nobody ordered
11:58 From 200 invoices to 20 — how 80–90% of parts reconciliation gets automated and what your team can do with the time back
20:09 The 2–3% burn — at $1M in sales that's up to $30,000 walking out the door, and why most owners don't treat it that way
22:36 Why treating your financials as a final score is costing you — and what watching your business like game film actually looks like
28:19 Why the right employees will love this tool — and what resistance to it tells you about your culture
35:16 Bad data makes bad decisions — why it all starts with clean numbers at the invoice level

If you're ready to stop assuming your vendor credits are being processed, understand why the confidence that "it doesn't happen here" is exactly what makes it happen here, and finally know what's actually leaking out of your back office before it becomes a six-figure problem — this episode is essential listening.
*Resources Mentioned*
*Promotive* — Find your next great hire: gopromotive.com
*Wicked File* — Get your back office under control: wickedfile.com
*Hunt's Book* — Beyond the Bays: A Financial Playbook for Auto Repair Shop
*Text Hunt:* If you're reconciling parts invoices manually — or not reconciling them at all — do you actually know how much profit walked out the door last month?
*Text PAAR MELIS* at 301-307-5413 or email podcast@paarmelis.com
*Connect with Hunt:*
https://aftermarketradionetwork.com
https://paarmelis.com/