The verdict in three sentences
A group of 5 body shops in Marseille, approved by 4 insurers and handling 6,000 claims a year, loses margin in scheduling gaps, forgotten assessor follow-ups and poorly allocated courtesy cars. Off-the-shelf garage software costs 150 to 350 EUR per site per month, but is built for a single workshop, not a multi-site group. A custom layer at 30,000 to 60,000 EUR excl. VAT plugged into your existing tools targets vehicle downtime cut from 9 to 6 days and 12% higher profitability per paint booth.
Where a multi-site group loses time and money
With several workshops in and around Marseille (for example La Valentine, Plan-de-Campagne, Aubagne, Vitrolles, Prado), each site has its own schedule, courtesy fleet and assessor exchanges. Insurer approval agreements require turnaround times and satisfaction rates that the owner only sees after the fact.
| Friction point | Typical situation without group tool | With the custom layer |
|---|---|---|
| Body and paint scheduling | Whiteboard or per-site schedule, booths underused | Consolidated schedule, booth load visible across 5 sites |
| Assessor follow-ups | Manual calls and emails, 2 to 4 days lost per file | Automatic reminders at D+1 and D+3, alert to workshop lead |
| Courtesy cars | Fixed fleet per site, shortage here, idle cars there | Cross-site booking, occupancy rate tracked |
| Parts on order | Status known by phone | Order tracking linked to the file, delay alerts |
| Customer updates | Customers call to ask about their car | Automatic SMS at each step, tracking link |
| Group management | Excel tables consolidated at month end | Real-time dashboard by site, insurer and booth |
Estimating stays in the insurer-approved estimating tool. The custom layer does not replace it: it pulls the file data and orchestrates everything else.
What each option costs in 2026
| Option | Upfront cost | Annual cost (5 sites) | Multi-site coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard garage software only | 0 to 2,000 EUR excl. VAT (setup) | 9,000 to 21,000 EUR excl. VAT (150 to 350 EUR per site per month) | Low: one database per site, manual consolidation |
| Garage software + vendor group module | 5,000 to 15,000 EUR excl. VAT | 18,000 to 36,000 EUR excl. VAT | Medium: reporting, little workflow automation |
| Kolonell custom layer on existing tools | 30,000 to 60,000 EUR excl. VAT | 4,800 to 9,600 EUR excl. VAT (maintenance 400 to 800 EUR per month) | Full: scheduling, courtesy cars, reminders, SMS, dashboard |
| Go-live timeline | 3 to 5 months | n/a | Phase 1 (scheduling + reminders) in 10 weeks |
| 3-year cost, custom layer + standard software | about 72,000 to 152,000 EUR excl. VAT | n/a | Code owned by the group |
The garage software stays in place for invoicing and estimating. The real extra cost of custom work is therefore weighed against downtime and booth profitability gains.
Measurable gains to expect
| Indicator | Before | After 12 months (estimate) |
|---|---|---|
| Average vehicle downtime | 9 days | 6 days |
| Profitability per paint booth | baseline 100 | 112 |
| Average time to assessor visit | 4 days | 2 days |
| Courtesy cars needed | 60 | 45 |
| Customer calls about progress | 30 a day across the group | 8 a day |
| Insurer satisfaction score | 7.6 out of 10 | 8.5 out of 10 |
Mini case study
Stéphane runs a group of 5 body shops in Marseille. By cutting downtime from 9 to 6 days, he shrinks his courtesy fleet from 60 to 45 vehicles: 15 fewer long-term leases at 350 EUR excl. VAT per month, or 63,000 EUR a year. His 5 booths each generate about 110,000 EUR of annual margin; +12% adds 66,000 EUR. Even counting only half of these gains (64,500 EUR), a custom layer at 48,000 EUR excl. VAT plus 7,200 EUR yearly maintenance pays back in under 11 months.
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FAQ
Does the custom layer replace our garage software?
No. It connects to your garage software and estimating tool via API or export. You keep invoicing and estimating and gain multi-site management, for 30,000 to 60,000 EUR excl. VAT instead of a full migration.
How long to go live across 5 sites?
The first phase (consolidated scheduling and assessor reminders) is deployed in about 10 weeks. Courtesy cars, customer SMS and the full dashboard follow in 6 to 8 weeks.
Are customer SMS messages GDPR compliant?
Yes, the messages are transactional and tied to the repair file, with hosting in France or the EU. Cost is about 0.05 to 0.08 EUR excl. VAT per SMS.
Can we track each insurer agreement's commitments?
Yes, the dashboard shows average turnaround, on-time return rate and satisfaction per insurer. You prepare approval reviews in 15 minutes instead of 2 days.
What does the 400 to 800 EUR monthly maintenance include?
Hosting, backups, fixes, connector monitoring and support. New modules, such as a corporate fleet portal, are quoted separately.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your number of sites, booths, approved insurers and current software: we will price a multi-site layer between 30,000 and 60,000 EUR excl. VAT with a first phase in 10 weeks. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
