Vehicle maintenance work order form and template

Now more than ever, customers have high expectations for quality and speedy service when it comes to vehicle maintenance work.

You need a solid vehicle maintenance work order form to raise customer satisfaction. This document will save you hours in your work week and boost customer satisfaction.

This guide will break down the importance of an effective work order format and provide a free vehicle maintenance work order template.

What’s more, you’ll get insight into how to optimize your vehicle maintenance work order form with solutions like Method:Field Services.

Why use a vehicle maintenance work order form?

Every business owner wants success in the competitive auto repair market, and this starts with the quality of the services you perform.

An automotive work order form helps you structure your jobs and maintain better and consistent communication between you, your team,  suppliers, and customers.

Here are some of the benefits of having a vehicle maintenance work order form:

• Scheduling becomes easier as you know every job detail and how long each job will take.
• Customers are more likely to commit to jobs as they are given a thorough breakdown and know what to expect.
• Cuts the amount of admin work you need to do to retrieve customer history or job details.
• Gets you paid on time as you remove the risk of forgetting jobs with outstanding payments.

Do these benefits align with your business goals? Keep reading for a free vehicle maintenance work order template that will save you time, energy, and effort.

How is repair work authorized?

A good vehicle maintenance work order form has a section for you to collect your customer’s signature for repair authorization.

By using a detailed vehicle maintenance work order template, you can be confident that your customer knows exactly the work they are approving.

This saves you from customer confusion and errors during repair work. What’s more, you build your relationship with your customer as you give them more choice and clarity.

Pro-tip: You can take signature collection to the next level by using a software solution like Method:Field Services that captures and stores e-signatures. More on this later on.

Can work beyond what’s listed on the written work order be done?

Every business is different, so it’s essential to understand what works for your specific auto shop business.

When it comes to completing work beyond what’s listed on the vehicle maintenance work order form, some businesses allow the cost of the job to exceed around $10 but not to exceed $50 when there is no written or oral communication done with the customer first.

The best way to go about this is by including it in the invoice your customers sign. That way, you won’t have to waste time waiting for your customer’s reply for a simple $10-50 change in the work order.

When exceeding around $50, it is best to contact your customer to keep that relationship positive and let them know they control how they spend their money.

The benefits of a vehicle maintenance work order template

Now that you know the benefits of having a work order, it is vital to have a suitable vehicle maintenance work order template. Here’s why.

Simple, powerful project management

A maintenance work order template allows you to manage your jobs easier with a consistent system.

With a solid vehicle maintenance work order form you can avoid:

• Unnecessarily reaching out to your customer to confirm job details.
• Ordering too much or too little materials and tools.
• Making an irreversible mistake during the vehicle repair service.

Faster vehicle maintenance job completion

Running out of materials and tools is a big problem for repair shops. This can cause severe delays in job completion resulting in unhappy customers.

Work orders are a blueprint accounting for every detail needed to complete the job. So using a vehicle maintenance work order form minimizes the risk of not having the parts or tools you need to complete the job.

What’s more, with the repairs clearly stated in your work order, your mechanics can get straight to work — no questions asked!

Better operations with less admin

Spending a lot of your work hours doing manual admin is not only a waste of your time, but it is more likely that mistakes and missteps will happen.

With a vehicle work order form, you have one template for every job and this can cut out unnecessary admin work. Beyond that, no information will be missing when it is time to start repair work.

Should I use my vehicle maintenance work order form as an invoice?

The answer to if you should use your vehicle maintenance work form as an invoice is no. Here’s why.

Your vehicle maintenance work order form is usually used internally to get the job done. An invoice is a different form used to bill your customer.

Using your work order template, you can change the title of the work order to an invoice and add any additional charges or discounts discussed after the job is completed.

More so, with the right software solution, you can quickly transform your work order form into an invoice instantly.

When do I invoice my customer?

You should invoice your customer when a vehicle maintenance work order is completed or, in any case, when the customer cancels the work order when some work has already been done.

To get your customers to pay their invoices faster, Method:Field Services offers online invoices to be sent to your customers with a few mouse clicks. Not only that, but your customer can also pay the invoice through Method’s online payment portal.

Take a look at what the Method portal can do for you below.

Method:Field Services also tracks outstanding payments for you and can remind your customers to pay their invoices.

What must be on the invoice?

The invoice is different from the vehicle maintenance work order form in a few ways. Here are some of the form fields that must be on the invoice:

• The current date and odometer reading on the vehicle.
• The job details of what was actually done to the vehicle.
• Itemized list of all the parts, labor, and tools used to complete the job.
• Any discounts or additional costs.

How long do I have to keep records of my business?

You should retain job records for at least 1-3 years after the date of completion. The records include work orders, invoices, receipts, copies of contracts or agreements, photographs, and other documents that are relevant to the job and transaction.

It’s also important to keep records to analyze and predict future changes that can benefit your business in the long term.

Work order management: The value of a vehicle maintenance work order template

After reading this guide, you can see how a vehicle maintenance work order form transforms how you operate your repair shop. To recap, here are a few reasons why a mechanic work order template is valuable:

• Organizes jobs to get them completed on time.
• Reduces the risk of missing materials, parts, and tools.
• Creates a database of easily searchable jobs to analyze previous work.
• Keeps customers satisfied by giving them a thorough breakdown of job details.

See how you can take your vehicle maintenance work orders to the next level with Method:Field Services.

Image credit: Dusko on Adobe Stock