3. Check-in: the car arrives

Who this is for: service advisers and technicians who take cars in.

Why it matters

The check-in is your record of how the car arrived. If a customer says a scratch is new, the dated photos settle it. It takes two minutes with a phone.

Where to find it

On the job, the Inspection tab. Install and build jobs have two parts, Check-in and Ride heights; pick Check-in. Other jobs open straight onto it.

Step by step

1. Walk around the car. Under Vehicle Walk-Around, take or drop in photos of every side: front, rear, driver side, passenger side, interior and under the bonnet. Type a label under each photo in Add caption.
2. Photograph any damage. Under Damage Documentation, take close-ups of scratches, dents and chips that were already there.
3. Record the vitals. Under Vehicle Vitals, type the Odometer Reading (km) and choose the Fuel Level (Empty, ¼ Tank, ½ Tank, ¾ Tank or Full). The odometer also updates the vehicle's own reading, which works out when its next service is due.
4. Work through the checklist. Under Inspection Checklist, answer each line. Depending on the line, that's a tick, Pass, Fail or N/A, a measurement or a short answer. Use Add photo and Add note where a line needs them; a line marked "required" must have one.
5. Ticked "Body damage noted"? The line reminds you with Add damage photos ↑ until there's at least one photo under Damage Documentation.
6. Signatures, if your checklist asks for them: the Technician sign-off and the Customer signature, signed on the screen.
7. Condition notes. Under Condition Notes, write anything else: customer concerns, special instructions, items left in the car.
8. Press Save Check-In.

You can save with lines still open ("you can save now and finish later"). Come back, finish them and press Update Check-In. Once saved, the tab shows a green Completed pill with the date.

Keys: the job's left panel has a Key Tag field under Details. Put the number of the hook the keys are on, so anyone can find them.

Changing the checklist (managers)

The check-in, QC and delivery checklists are edited in Settings › Workshop › Checklists, and you can keep a different one for each job type.

Where it ends

The car is documented and the job is ready for work (lesson 4).