Check-in
Check-in with odometer, fuel or battery, photos, belongings, consent and signature
Record how each car arrived before anyone touches it. Take the odometer, the fuel or battery level, a dashboard photo and the walk-around photos your branch asks for. Note what was left inside, test drive consent and what to do about work found, and get the customer's signature.
PlansEvery plan
The problem it solves
- A customer says the car came in with a full tank and 200 km less on the clock, and you have nothing to show.
- A phone charger or the second key goes missing and nobody wrote down what was in the car.
- A car is test driven without the owner agreeing, and the owner finds out from the odometer.
- Each advisor checks cars in differently, so the record depends on who was at the desk.
How it works
- 01
Open the job card and click Check In. In the app the check-in goes step by step: Reading, Photos, Damage, Details, Signature.
- 02
Type the odometer and choose the fuel level from E to F in eighths, or type the battery percentage for an electric vehicle. The last reading is shown; a lower one needs a note.
- 03
Take the photos your branch asks for at check-in: the dashboard and the walk-around views of its photo set.
- 04
Tick what is left in the vehicle and confirm what the customer says and the promised time. Set test drives allowed with the limit, and what to do about work found.
- 05
The customer signs and you type their name. Click Confirm: the job card moves to Checked In and the customer gets the link to their job page.
Everything it does
The reading
- Odometer in the vehicle's unit (km or miles)
- Fuel: E, 1/8, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, 7/8, F; electric vehicles: battery 0 to 100%
- Dashboard photo on the reading
- Lower than the last reading: a note is required and the reading is flagged
- Saved readings and photos cannot be edited (see the readings page)
Photo sets (per branch, per step)
- No Photos; Dashboard Only; Quick Set: dashboard, front, rear and two sides (the default); Full Set: the quick set, four corners, roof and interior
- Set separately for check-in, vehicle out and back, and delivery
- Photos are kept until you set a retention; 0 days, the default, keeps them for ever
Belongings
- A ticked list: Spare Wheel, Jack and Tools, Vehicle Documents, Service Book, Floor Mats and Music System. It also has Phone Charger, Umbrella, First Aid Kit, Wheel Lock Key, Parcel Shelf and Second Key
- Other Belongings as free text
- Shown again at delivery so they are handed back
What the customer agrees to
- Test Drives Allowed, with the Test Drive Limit (10 km or miles to start with)
- Work Found: Ask for Each Item (the default), Approved Up To an Amount, or Fix Everything
- For a storage job card: the agreed end date
- Signature drawn on screen with the name typed; the check-in is refused without it
After check-in
- The job card moves from New to Checked In; a job card cannot be checked in twice
- Everything is on the Check-in and Photos tabs, and on the customer's job page
- Work, inspections and tasks cannot start before check-in
Who uses it
Where you use it
- Web: Check In on the job card; the Check-in and Photos tabs
- The SmartMy Garage app: the step-by-step check-in with camera and finger signature, also without signal (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- With Growth: Arrived on an appointment opens the job card ready for check-in
- Customer page: check-in photos, readings and damage on the job page, and the belongings returned at delivery
What you control
Settings
- Photos at Check-in: Quick Set to start with (Garage > Configuration > General > Settings > Photos)
- Test Drives Need the Customer's Consent: on to start with
- Test Drive Limit: 10 (km or miles)
- Keep Photos of Delivered Job Cards: 0 days, keep for ever
- Belongings list: Garage > Configuration > Workshop > Belongings (twelve to start with)
Messages and alerts
- Vehicle Checked In: to the customer with the link to the job page, at once. It goes by WhatsApp, else SMS, else email, and in the app for customers who sign in
- The customer can switch off a channel, not the message; each branch can switch the message off in Garage Messages
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Do we have to take photos every time?
You choose per branch and per step: no photos, dashboard only, a quick set of five or a full set of eleven. The quick set is the default.
Can the signature be skipped when the customer is in a hurry?
No. The check-in is not saved without the customer's signature. Have them sign on the tablet or phone before they leave.
What about electric vehicles?
For a vehicle whose fuel type is electric, the reading asks for the battery percentage instead of the fuel level.
Can we check a car in without signal?
Yes, in the app. The check-in with its photos is kept on the phone and sent in order when the signal is back.
Which plan has it?
Every plan, from Starter.
Related
Related features.
Damage already on the car, marked by panel with a photoEvery plan
Mark every scratch, dent and chip the car arrives with, by panel and kind, with a note and a photo. Do it before the customer signs the check-in. Damage found later is kept apart, so there is no argument at delivery.
Readings that cannot be edited, and the car's timeline of km and fuelEvery plan
At check-in, vehicle out, vehicle back and delivery, the odometer, fuel or battery level and a dashboard photo are recorded with who and when. Once saved, nobody on your staff can change them. A lower odometer needs a note and is flagged, and the job card adds up the km driven while the car was with you.
Standing approval for work found: ask each time, up to an amount, or fix everythingEvery plan
At check-in, ask the customer what to do when your technicians find more work. Ask each time, go ahead up to an amount, or fix everything. Work found then waits for them or is approved at once, and each line says how.
Vehicle out and back: test drives, outside work, pickup and dropEvery plan
Every time a customer's car leaves your premises, it goes out with a reading and photos and comes back with another. That covers test drives, outside work, pickups and drops. You see who took it, how far it went and how much fuel it used, and you are told when something is off.
Job cards per visit: service, repair, body and paint, detailing, inspectionEvery plan
Each visit gets one job card with the vehicle, the customer and the kind of work. It also holds the service advisor, the lead technician, the bay and the promised time. Check-in, estimate, tasks, holds, invoice and delivery all hang off it, and every step is noted on it.
Delivery with reading, photos, belongings returned and signatureEvery plan
Hand every car back the same way. Take the odometer and fuel at the gate and the photos your branch asks for. Return the belongings noted at check-in, add remarks and take the customer's signature. It all stays on the job card.
Want to see it on your own job cards? Book a demo and we walk you through it with your workshop's work.