Track reconditioning with work orders
Open a work order on a car, list its recon jobs and who does each, send them to vendors, and book what they cost. See how long the car has been in recon and whether it is heading over budget.
A work order is the reconditioning of one car: the jobs it needs, who does each, what each should cost and what it did cost. It lives on the car's page, above Costs.
Open a work order
- Go to Inventory and open the car.
- In Work orders, click Open work order.
- Optionally set a Budget (what you mean to spend on the car), a Ready by date, and notes.
- Click Open work order.
A car has one open work order at a time: add every job to it. A sold, wholesaled or disposed car gets none.
Add the jobs
- Pick the Job: Detail, Mechanical, Brakes, Tires and wheels, Paint and body, Glass, Interior, Inspection, Parts, Transport or Other.
- Say what needs doing, for example "Four tires, alignment".
- Choose who does it: one of your vendors, or In-house with the tech's name if you like.
- Add an Estimate, and for a vendor job the date it was promised back.
- Click Add job.
Track the work
- Each job has a status: Open, In progress, Done or Cancelled. Moving a job to In progress starts the order.
- Click Mark sent when a job goes out to its vendor. The job then shows when it was sent and when it was promised back.
- The top line shows the day count since the order opened, the ready-by date, and what is estimated, booked and budgeted. When the booked costs plus the estimates of the jobs not booked yet run over the budget, it says by how much.
Book what a job cost
- Click Book on a vendor's job (or on bought parts).
- Enter the Amount (it starts at the estimate), an invoice number if you have one, and tick Paid today if it is already paid.
- Click Book.
The cost lands on the Costs card and in your books like any vehicle cost: unpaid, it waits as a bill (accounts payable); paid, it comes out of cash. When the car sells, it counts as reconditioning in the cost of the car.
In-house labor is not booked as a cost. Your team is paid through payroll, and booking the same work again as a car cost would count it twice. To correct a booked cost, edit or delete it on the Costs card; a job whose cost you deleted can be booked again.
Close the order
- Click Close once every job is done or cancelled.
- Cancel order when the work will not happen. Costs already booked stay on the Costs card.
- Closed orders stay listed under "earlier work orders" with their dates, days and what was booked.
FAQ
Does a work order change the car's status?
No. Move the car to In recon or Available as you always do. The work order keeps the jobs and the days; the status stays yours.
Can a car have two work orders?
One open at a time. Once it is closed or cancelled, you can open a new one, for example when a car comes back for more work.
Why is there no Book button on a job?
The job is in-house labor, which is not posted as a car cost (see above). A vendor's job or bought parts can be booked.
Where do I see what a vendor charged over time?
On the vendor's page under Vendors: every booked job is a cost with that vendor on it.