Write your first repair order

The job sheet is the heart of a repair shop day. It records who brought the car in, what is wrong with it, what the technician found, which parts went on and where the job stands. This guide walks through one job from the moment the customer arrives to the point it is ready to invoice.

Before you start

• Add your labour services and parts.
• Add technicians as service staff in add staff and roles.
• Set up job sheet statuses in the repair settings, for example “Checked in”, “Diagnosing”, “Waiting approval”, “Waiting parts”, “In progress”, “Ready”, “Collected”. Your account may already have a sensible default list.
• Set up the pre-repair checklist items you want technicians to tick, such as warning lights, fuel level, existing body damage and personal items in the car.

Steps

1. Open the repair section. Go to Repair → Add job sheet. The menu may be labelled slightly differently on your account.
2. Choose the customer. Search by name or mobile number. If they are new, add them from the same screen with name and mobile number at least.
3. Record the vehicle. Enter the VIN, year, make, model, engine, plate number and current odometer reading. On Shop and Fleet plans, enter the VIN and use the decode option to fill the vehicle fields; check the result against the car. See VIN lookup.
4. Write the complaint. Describe the problem in the customer’s words, for example “Grinding noise from front left when braking”. Add any notes for the technician.
5. Run the pre-repair checklist. Tick each item as you walk round the car with the customer. This protects you if a dent or warning light is questioned later.
6. Fill custom fields. Complete any custom fields your shop uses, such as key tag number or promised time.
7. Assign the technician and status. Pick the technician from the service staff list and set the status to “Checked in” or your first status.
8. Save and print. Save the job sheet. Print it for the technician or the customer from the print option; the job-sheet print shows the vehicle, complaint and checklist.
9. Record parts used. As the technician fits parts, add them to the job sheet’s parts section so every part is recorded against the job and nothing is forgotten at billing.
10. Move the status along. Update the status as work progresses. If you have set up notification templates, the customer can be sent an SMS or email at the statuses you chose, such as “Ready”.
11. Prepare the invoice. When the work is done, raise the invoice with the labour hours and parts on it. If the customer approved a quotation first, convert that quotation; see send an estimate and convert it. If you do not see an option to invoice straight from the job sheet, ask support how your account is set up.

Check it worked

• The job sheet appears in the job sheet list with the right status and technician.
• The vehicle’s VIN and odometer show on the printed job sheet.
• When the status changes to one with a notification template, the customer receives the message.
• After invoicing, the parts used leave stock and the job appears in the sales report.

The work orders page shows how this replaces a paper job card.

Common problems

• The technician is missing from the list. They are not marked as service staff or not allowed at this location. Fix it in User management.
• VIN decode does nothing. Your plan may not include VIN lookup, or the VIN was mistyped. A VIN is 17 characters and never contains the letters I, O or Q. Ask support if a valid VIN on Shop or Fleet will not decode.
• No message reached the customer. The status has no notification template, or SMS or email sending is not configured. Check the notification templates and ask support about sending settings.