Estimate, approval and work
Tasks per mechanic with Start, Pause and Done timers
Each approved service becomes a task for a technician, planned from its standard hours. Technicians press Start, Pause and Done on the web or their phone, one timer at a time. You see each person's tasks, the workload and the hours worked against the hours planned.
PlansEvery plan
The problem it solves
- Nobody knows who is working on which car, or who is free for the next job.
- Hours on a job are guessed at the end of the day, so labour cost and efficiency are guesses too.
- A technician starts on work the customer has not approved.
- A job card is marked ready while one of its jobs is still half done.
How it works
- 01
When the customer approves a service, a task is made for it. It goes to the job card's lead technician and bay, with the planned hours from the service.
- 02
Add tasks by hand on the Tasks tab when needed, such as "Road test" or "Wash". Set Assigned To, Helpers, Bay and Planned hours.
- 03
The technician opens My Tasks and presses Start. Starting the first task moves the job card to In Progress.
- 04
Pause stops the timer; Start again resumes it. Starting another task pauses the first, so one timer runs per person.
- 05
Done stops the timer. When every task of a line is done, the line is done; when every task is done, the job card can move to Ready.
Everything it does
A task
- Name, job card, the estimate line it comes from, vehicle and plate
- Assigned To, Helpers, Bay
- Status: To Do, In Progress, Paused, Done, Cancelled
- Planned hours (standard hours of the service times the quantity) and Actual hours from the timers
- Started and Finished times, Notes, Photos
- Time entries per person: start, stop, hours
Timer rules
- One running timer per person; starting another pauses the first
- A task cannot start before check-in, after delivery, or while its line is not approved
- An advisor can start, pause and finish the task of a technician who has no login
- Done stops the timer; Reopen brings a task back to To Do
- A declined line cancels its open tasks
- Each user must be linked to an employee of the branch to run a timer
Views and reports
- My Tasks: your open tasks
- Workload: all tasks by technician, with filters Unassigned, Open and Running
- Technician Hours: planned against actual hours of finished tasks, per technician
- With Growth: Bay Utilisation counts hours worked on each bay; job cost and margin price the hours
In the app
- My Tasks with Start, Pause, Done and Reopen; advisors switch between Mine and Whole floor
- Each task shows "Planned ... ยท worked ..."; time counts from the moment of the tap, also without signal
- Task sheet: lead, helpers, planned hours and notes ("What was found, what was done")
Who uses it
Where you use it
- Web: Garage > Workshop > Tasks and Inspections > My Tasks and Workload; the Tasks tab of the job card; Garage > Reports > Time and Bays > Technician Hours
- The SmartMy Garage app: My Tasks, the first screen for technicians. Timers and notes kept on the phone without signal and sent in order. Built and in testing, not in the app stores yet.
- Customer page: how many tasks of the work are done
- Not an attendance clock: timers count time on tasks, not the working day
What you control
Settings
- Standard hours on each service (Garage > Configuration > Services and Vehicles > Services and Parts)
- Each technician is an employee linked to their user (or works without a login through an advisor)
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Do technicians need their own login?
No. An advisor can press Start, Pause and Done on the task of a technician without a login. With their own login, technicians use My Tasks on a phone.
Can two technicians work on one task?
Yes. Add helpers to the task. Each person runs their own timer, and the hours add up on the task.
What happens if a technician forgets to pause?
The timer runs until they pause, finish or start another task. Starting another task pauses the first by itself.
Does it work without signal?
Yes, in the app. Start, Pause and Done are kept on the phone with the time of the tap and sent in order when the signal is back.
Which plan has it?
Every plan, from Starter. Labour cost per job and bay utilisation come with Growth.
Related
Related features.
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.
Stage checks before in progress, ready and deliveredEvery plan
A job card moves on only when the work allows it. The car is checked in before work, work is approved before In Progress, tasks are done before Ready, and the invoice is confirmed before Delivered. When there is a good reason, a workshop manager moves it anyway and writes why.
Job cost and margin per job cardFrom Growth
See what each job really cost and earned. Labour comes from the task timers at each employee's hourly cost, parts and supplies at their cost when issued, and revenue from the billable lines. Margin shows on the job card for workshop managers, with reports by job card, service, technician and branch.
Workshop reports: inspections, appointments, no-shows and bay useFrom Growth
See which inspection items fail most, how many appointments turn up, and how busy each bay is against your open hours. Read them by day, week or month, as a pivot, chart or list.
Send back from quality check, and more work on the same job cardEvery plan
When quality check finds a fault, send the job card back with the task to redo and what is wrong. The task reopens for its technician and the send-back is counted. When more work comes up, it goes on the same job card and the car goes back to work.
The staff app for phones and tabletsEvery plan
The SmartMy Garage app puts the job card in your team's hands at the car. Check in with the camera, mark damage on a car outline, scan the VIN, run tasks with timers, invoice and deliver. It runs on Android and iPhone, phones and tablets.
Want to see it on your own job cards? Book a demo and we walk you through it with your workshop's work.