Use a consistent period and completion basis to compare total losses with delivered repairs. Then check payment records and unresolved balances separately. Keep open storage visible without adding it to completed-file revenue, and review relevant costs before drawing conclusions about profitability.
Define the comparison
Start with the question the report should answer: how much revenue came from completed total-loss files compared with delivered repairs during this review period? Write down the dates, included shop locations, and completion basis. Keep those choices consistent when comparing periods or locations.
An open total-loss file and a delivered repair are at different points in their workflows. Combining every active file with completed work can make a busy storage lot look like a stronger month. Review open work alongside the completed results, with a separate label and follow-up purpose.
File counts add context. A higher total-loss revenue figure could reflect more completed files, different charges, or a few unusually long stays. Check the underlying files before attributing the change to better billing or stronger collection performance.
Separate the figures
| Figure | What to check |
|---|---|
| Completed-file revenue | Which completed total-loss files and charges are included in the selected period? |
| Collections | Which payments were actually received and correctly applied, and when? |
| Open storage accrual | What is accumulating on files that remain open, subject to the file’s documented terms and unresolved issues? |
| Profitability | What relevant costs accompany the revenue, beyond the amount shown on an invoice? |
An invoice records an amount billed. It does not establish that the money was collected. A payment received this month may settle a file completed in an earlier month, while this month’s completed files may still have unpaid balances. Preserve the payment dates and file references when explaining the difference.
Revenue also is not profit. Towing or outside services, handling work, and other relevant costs affect the contribution from a file. A revenue comparison can identify work to examine, but it cannot establish margin without a consistent cost basis.
Read a simple example
Consider a fictional weekly review with $12,000 of revenue from completed total-loss files and $108,000 from delivered repairs. On that defined basis, total losses account for 10% of the $120,000 combined revenue. If $4,000 of the total-loss revenue is storage, storage represents one-third of the total-loss figure.
Now suppose $9,000 has been collected against those completed total-loss files, leaving $3,000 unpaid. A further $5,000 of storage is accumulating on files still open. Neither the unpaid $3,000 nor the open $5,000 is additional collected cash. Keep the open amount outside the $120,000 completed-work comparison.
These figures describe different aspects of the same workload. They do not establish a healthy collection rate, a profit figure, or an expected outcome for another shop. The useful next step is to inspect the unpaid completed files and the open files that need decisions.
Explain the differences
Use the payment record to explain what happened after billing. Check insurer payments, other applied payments, refunds, write-offs, and remaining balances against the file history. A reduced balance may reflect an adjustment rather than a payment; record the reason so the next reviewer can follow it.
Investigate exceptions at the file level. An unpaid amount might need supporting documents, correction of a payment allocation, or a response from the responsible contact. Give each unresolved item an owner and next review date. Avoid treating all outstanding balances as the same collection problem.
When the underlying charge needs explanation, return to the billing documentation guide and storage documentation guide. A report points to the question; the file should hold the supporting record.
Keep a review rhythm
During the weekly review, explain changes in completed revenue, storage contribution, and unpaid balances. Review open storage separately for stalled decisions and pickup follow-up. At month end, use the same definitions and note any corrections that affect the comparison with earlier periods.
Use the closeout checklist to check what is still unresolved after departure, and the decision follow-up guide when an open file lacks a clear next step. Fit both into your existing shop reporting routine.
Review it in AutoHound
AutoHound’s Total Loss vs Repair report compares revenue from completed total-loss files with delivered repairs, including storage’s contribution. Open storage is shown separately. Those distinctions help keep the completed-work comparison clear.
Use the total-loss workflow for file context and payment records to review balances, insurer payments, refunds, and write-offs. Bring those records together for the review; the revenue report alone should not be read as a collections or profitability analysis.
Shop checklist
- Record the review dates, included locations, and completion basis.
- Compare completed total-loss files with delivered repairs.
- Explain material changes in file counts and storage contribution.
- Keep open storage separate from completed-file revenue.
- Match received payments and adjustments to the correct files.
- Review unpaid balances, refunds, and write-offs with their reasons.
- Review relevant costs before drawing a profitability conclusion.
- Assign an owner and review date to each unresolved item.
This guide covers shop recordkeeping and workflow, not legal or accounting advice. Confirm applicable requirements with qualified local advisers. Any worked examples are illustrative, not customer results or industry benchmarks.