Tickets

Tickets are the heart of the R.O. Writer system for managing customer intake and service in your shop day to day. There are several ticket types to accommodate the way your shop works. The two main types of tickets are estimates and repair orders.

Estimates provide a means of building a complete list of parts and labor operations required to completely repair the customer’s vehicle. Estimates are for phone quotes or for work that has not been approved yet.

Repair orders are for work that has been approved. It is a record of the parts and labor operations that were actually used to repair the customer’s vehicle. They include the parts, labor, taxes, and fees you sold and become the customer's receipt for services rendered. The parts and labor on a repair order always belong to that repair order. To maintain accurate history and reporting, repair orders cannot be deleted. If a repair order could be deleted, that part of your shop’s sales history would be lost.

Differences Between Estimates and Repair Orders

Estimates and repair orders are often referred to as "tickets" because they are most often tracking services and parts for the same customer's vehicle.

More often than not, whatever you can do with an estimate, you can do with a repair order. However, there are some key differences you need to know:

• Estimates are listed on the Estimates in Progress Window.
• Repair orders are listed on the Work in Progress (WIP) Window.
• Estimates use a different numbering system than repair orders.
  • When an estimate is converted to a repair order, the original estimate number is retained as part of the repair order record, but the ticket is assigned a new number based on the numbering system for repair orders.
  • The repair order number is the final invoice number.
• You can delete estimates but not repair orders. Repair orders can only be voided; there is no Delete status for repair orders.
• Work orders can be printed from both estimates and repair orders, but you would typically print a work order from a repair order because the work has been approved.
• You can process payments for repair orders but not estimates. You cannot process a payment of any kind for an estimate. Repair orders allow you to make advanced payments, which can be made prior to finalizing.
• You finalize repair orders to close them out. Estimates cannot be finalized and are saved in the system for 90 days.
• When you add parts to repair orders, those parts are committed and the on-hand quantity is reduced in your local inventory (stock parts). Those parts are no longer available for sale. Parts added to estimates are not committed.
• AP transactions for outside purchased parts (non-stock parts) can be posted only to repair orders.

Recommended Estimate and Repair Order Process

There are many ways to manage the customer intake and output in R.O. Writer. The system is highly configurable so that you can design it to work best for your shop and your customers. However, this is the recommended workflow for estimates and repair orders:

1. Create an estimate of the work that needs to be done.
2. Discuss the work with the customer.
3. Reach a mutual agreement about the work to be done.
4. Convert the estimate to a repair order. During conversion:
   • Choose only the parts and labor the customer wants.
   • Save the parts and labor that won't be done to a list of Service Recommendations. (These appear in a popup window the next time you create an estimate or repair order for the customer.)
5. Complete the work:
   • Schedule the work,
   • Assign technicians,
   • Order any necessary parts (if not in stock),
   • Log time to the job,
   • etc.
6. When the work is complete to everyone's satisfaction, finalize the repair order.
7. As part of finalize, process the final payment.
8. Obtain the necessary signatures on the customer invoice, either
   • Electronically, through a signature capture machine (which appears on the printed invoice) or
   • Manually, with a pen on the printed invoice.
9. Print the final invoice and hand it to the customer.

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