6. Holds and outside work
When work stops, say why with a hold. When part of the job goes to an outside contractor, track it as an external service from booking to collection.
Settings for this
- Settings → Workshop → Board labels — Rename or add hold reasons
Who this is for: service advisers, workshop managers and technicians.
Holds
Putting a job on hold
Only an In progress job can be held.
- At the top of the job, press Hold….
- Under "Why has work stopped?", pick the reason:
| Reason | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Waiting on parts | A part isn't here yet |
| Awaiting approval | You've asked the customer to approve extra work |
| Waiting on customer | You need something from them: a decision, a key, a part they're bringing |
| On hold | Anything else |
| In QC | The work is done and waiting to be checked |
The button now reads On hold, the reason shows next to the status, and the board card wears it. A note goes on the job's activity: "On hold: Waiting on parts".
Changing or clearing it
- Press On hold and pick another reason to change it.
- When work starts again, press On hold, then Clear hold — work resumed.
- Moving the job on (Mark ready) or back (Back to booked) clears the hold by itself, so "Waiting on parts" never follows a job to Ready.
Seeing every held job
On Jobs, the All labels filter lists each hold as "Hold: …". The Waiting on Parts count at the top turns red when anything is waiting.
Managers can rename and recolour the reasons in Settings › Workshop › Board labels. The five hold reasons can be renamed but not removed.
Outside work: external services
Some work goes to someone else: a wheel alignment, a paint match, a tune. BuildTrack tracks it as an external service on the job.
Where to find it
On the job's left panel, under Schedule, the External services section.
Step by step
- Bring it in. Sell an External service product on the job's sales order, then press ⚡ From SO here. Each one becomes a line.
- Choose the contractor in the Contractor box.
- Set the dates: Drop-off and Pick-up. Untick Vehicle leaves the shop if only a part goes, not the car.
- Book it. Press Raise PO. It makes a purchase order to the contractor (or adds to one already open for them on this job). Approve and send the PO as usual; once it's sent, the line shows Booked.
- The car goes. Press Dropped off. The line shows At contractor, and the job wears the Sublet out label (unless it's already on a hold, such as Waiting on parts, which stays).
- It comes back. Press Collected. The PO is closed (nothing to receive into stock), the line shows Collected and the Sublet out label comes off.
Open PO on the line takes you to its purchase order.
| You'll see | It means |
|---|---|
| Not booked | No PO sent yet. "Not booked with contractor yet" shows once the dates are in. |
| Booked | The PO has gone to the contractor |
| At contractor | The car or part is with them |
| Collected | It's back |
On the calendar
External services sit in the Offsite lane, not in a bay. Until the PO is sent, their dates follow what you set here. After that, the calendar warns you if the two drift apart.
Where it ends
The hold is cleared and the outside work is Collected. The job carries on to QC.
Lesson 6 of 10 in Workshop jobs, start to finish. Previous: 5. Parts on a job. Next: 7. QC and handover checks.