Five free practice questions on pricing, invoicing and payments: block E of the Red Seal 240P Parts Technician exam, about 16 of its 120 questions. They are in the exam's format: four options, one correct answer. Answer each one before opening the explanation. No account, no email.
01The questions
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A customer brings his car's old alternator to the counter, says he thinks it is bad, and asks to buy a remanufactured one. The store has an alternator bench tester. What does the parts technician offer first?
- To sell the reman unit and credit the old one as a core.
- To bench-test his old alternator before he buys.
- To sell the reman unit and take it back if it does not help.
- To refer him to a repair shop to have the car checked.
Show the answer
B. Correct. Testing a customer's used component before the purchase confirms whether it is defective, so he does not pay for a part he may not need. If it fails, the sale goes ahead and the old unit becomes the core; if it passes, he keeps his money and has the result.
Why not the others
A. Taking the old alternator as a core is the right step once a replacement is sold, but it skips the test that tells the customer whether he needs one. The store offers the bench test first.
C. Many stores do not accept installed electrical parts back, and a 'try it and bring it back' promise invites a dispute. Testing the old unit first answers the question before money changes hands.
D. Sending him away loses the sale and ignores a service the store offers. Why the car failed is not the parts technician's question, but testing the unit he brought in is a counter service.
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An import order of 24 bearings costs $18.40 each. Duty is 6.5 % of the goods value, and the shipment carries $46.80 freight and a $35.00 customs brokerage fee. What is the landed cost per bearing, to the nearest cent?
- $19.60
- $21.05
- $21.81
- $23.00
Show the answer
D. Correct. Goods 24 × $18.40 = $441.60; duty 6.5 % × $441.60 = $28.70. Landed cost = $441.60 + $28.70 + $46.80 + $35.00 = $552.10, and $552.10 ÷ 24 = $23.00 per bearing. Every cost of getting the part to the shelf is spread over the units.
Why not the others
A. $19.60 is ($441.60 + $28.70) ÷ 24: the goods and duty only. Freight and brokerage are costs of bringing the bearings in, so they are part of landed cost: $552.10 ÷ 24 = $23.00.
B. $21.05 leaves out the freight: ($441.60 + $28.70 + $35.00) ÷ 24 = $505.30 ÷ 24. Adding the $46.80 freight gives $552.10 ÷ 24 = $23.00.
C. $21.81 leaves out the duty: ($441.60 + $46.80 + $35.00) ÷ 24 = $523.40 ÷ 24. Duty of 6.5 % on $441.60 adds $28.70, for $552.10 ÷ 24 = $23.00.
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A discontinued fuel cap with no replacement shows no price in the system, though two are on the shelf with an old $41.95 label. Company policy prices such stock at last landed cost plus a 35 % markup, entered with a supervisor's approval. Last landed cost was $23.40. What price is entered?
- $31.59
- $36.00
- $41.95
- $56.63
Show the answer
A. Correct. $23.40 × 1.35 = $31.59. The discontinued-item formula replaces the missing price, and the supervisor's approval verifies the override; the old label is no longer the price of record.
Why not the others
B. $36.00 treats the 35 % as a margin: $23.40 ÷ 0.65. The policy calls for a 35 % markup on last landed cost, $23.40 × 1.35 = $31.59.
C. $41.95 is the old label price, which the policy replaces with its formula for discontinued stock. Last landed cost plus a 35 % markup is $31.59.
D. $56.63 adds the 35 % to the old label price: $41.95 × 1.35. The markup is applied to last landed cost, $23.40 × 1.35 = $31.59.
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A customer pays a $1 140.00 invoice by e-transfer and shows a screenshot of the sent transfer on his phone. When does the parts technician release the parts?
- Once he emails the screenshot to the store.
- Once he shows the screenshot of the transfer.
- Once the deposit shows in the store's account.
- Once he reads out the transfer's reference number.
Show the answer
C. Correct. A transfer counts as payment when the funds reach the store's account. Until the deposit shows, a sent transfer may still be cancelled or misdirected, so the parts go out on the deposit, which is then matched to the invoice.
Why not the others
A. Emailing the screenshot makes a record of the claim but is still not the money. The test is the deposit in the store's account.
B. A screenshot shows that a transfer was sent, not that the store received it, and it can be edited. The parts are released when the deposit appears in the store's account.
D. A reference number helps trace a transfer, but reading one out does not prove the funds arrived. The parts go out once the deposit shows in the account.
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At day end the drawer started with a $200.00 float. The point-of-sale report shows $1 246.35 in cash sales, a $150.00 cash payment received on account and a $45.00 cash refund paid out. The drawer counts $1 531.35. What is the cash variance?
- $20.00 short
- $65.00 short
- $130.00 over
- $180.00 over
Show the answer
A. Correct. Expected cash = $200.00 float + $1 246.35 sales + $150.00 received on account − $45.00 refund = $1 551.35. The count of $1 531.35 is $20.00 less, so the drawer is $20.00 short.
Why not the others
B. $65.00 short forgets that the $45.00 refund left the drawer: $200.00 + $1 246.35 + $150.00 = $1 596.35 expected. Taking out the refund gives $1 551.35, so the drawer is $20.00 short.
C. $130.00 over leaves out the $150.00 received on account: expected $200.00 + $1 246.35 − $45.00 = $1 401.35. The cash received on account is in the drawer, so expected is $1 551.35 and the drawer is $20.00 short.
D. $180.00 over leaves out the $200.00 float: expected $1 246.35 + $150.00 − $45.00 = $1 351.35. The float is in the drawer too, so expected is $1 551.35 and the count is $20.00 short.
02Answer key
| Question | Answer | Sub-task |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | B | Recommends services to customer |
| Q2 | D | Calculates additional costs |
| Q3 | A | Overrides price |
| Q4 | C | Accepts payments |
| Q5 | A | Processes day-end reports |
03What block E covers
The counter's business side: displays, digital marketing and recommending parts and services, landed cost, markup and margin, price overrides, invoicing accounts and cash sales, taking payments, customer returns and day-end reports. The pricing has to be worked from the figures in each question: the trade's Red Seal exam information page lists only an acronym list as the reference handed out at the sitting, and the Red Seal Exam Preparation Guide says a calculator is provided if one is needed.
The Red Seal Occupational Standard names this block “Applies business practices”. It carries 13.3% of the exam, about 16 of the 120 questions, split across three tasks. The share column is each task's weight within the block, as the standard publishes it.
| Task and its sub-tasks | Share of block |
|---|---|
| Promotes products and services Displays products and literature; Uses digital marketing; Recommends parts and products to customer; Recommends services to customer | 26% |
| Implements pricing formula Calculates additional costs; Overrides price | 29% |
| Processes financial transactions Generates invoices; Accepts payments; Processes customer returns; Processes day-end reports | 45% |
04What the questions turn on
Markup on cost, margin on price
Markup is measured on cost and margin on the selling price, so the same dollar gap gives a bigger markup than margin. A 28 % margin needs a markup of 0.28 divided by 0.72, or 38.9 %.
Landed cost is the cost to the shelf
Landed cost adds inbound freight and, where they apply, duty and brokerage to the purchase cost, then spreads the total over the units. It is the cost a selling price is built on.
Money counts when it arrives
A screenshot shows that a transfer was sent, not that the store has it. Parts paid by transfer are released once the deposit shows in the store's account.
Balance the drawer to expected cash
Expected cash is the float plus cash sales and cash received on account, less refunds paid out. Any overage or shortage is recorded on the day-end report, not absorbed.
05The other blocks
The 240P exam has five blocks. Each has its own page of free questions:
The 240P Parts Technician practice exam page describes the full question bank. How these questions are written and checked: how our questions are made. Found a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.