A useful garage job card follows one repair from booking to handover. It records what the customer reported, what you found, what they authorised and what you actually completed. It is an internal work record; the quote explains proposed work and price, while the invoice records the amount billed.
Free job card template
Use the headings below on paper or in your existing system. The downloadable text file can be edited in a document editor and printed. No account or email address is needed.
Download the editable job card
Job card · blank worksheet
- Job reference and appointment
- Reference · date · arrival time · technician · agreed contact method
- Customer and vehicle
- Customer contact · registration · make/model · mileage · relevant vehicle details
- Reported concern
- Customer's words · when it happens · requested work · initial limits
- Findings and proposed work
- Checks performed · findings · supporting photos/readings · proposed labour and parts
- Customer decision
- Quote reference/version · approved scope and price · who approved · date/time · method · declined or deferred work
- Work completed
- Actual labour · parts fitted · checks after repair · unresolved concerns
- Handover and paperwork
- Customer update · advice given · quote/invoice reference · payment record reference
What should a garage job card include?
Keep the complaint separate from the diagnosis. “Rattle on cold start” is an observation; naming a failed component is a conclusion that needs supporting checks. Keeping both makes the repair history more useful when a vehicle returns.
- Use one job reference across notes, photos, parts requests, quotes and the final invoice.
- Record enough vehicle detail to identify the correct job and parts. Verify specification rather than relying only on a familiar model name.
- Write down the agreed investigation or repair scope, including any diagnostic charge or spending limit you have agreed.
- Record what was tested and found, rather than writing only “checked” or “fixed”.
- Record declined work separately from completed work so a recommendation cannot be mistaken for a repair.
Worked example: a booking that needs additional work
Fictional example · job HH-1042
Vehicle: Ford Focus. Reported concern: customer requests a service and reports a vibration when braking.
Initial agreement: carry out the quoted service and investigate the reported vibration within the agreed diagnostic scope.
Finding: technician records inspection results and measurements separately. Additional repair work is proposed in quote Q-1042, version 2.
Decision: record the customer's decision on that exact quote, including the approved scope, total, time and contact method. Keep any deferred recommendation visible.
Completion: record the work actually performed, parts fitted, relevant post-repair checks and handover notes. Link the final invoice to the approved work.
The example deliberately does not prescribe a repair from a symptom. The job card should show the evidence behind the proposed repair.
Keep approvals and handover attached to the job
If a booking changes, update the quote and record the new decision before carrying out the additional work. A general note saying “customer happy” does not explain which work or price was agreed. A written summary also helps the next member of the team understand the decision.
At handover, distinguish work completed, checks performed and further recommendations. Record invoice and payment references without storing card details in a job card. Use your existing privacy and record-retention process for customer information.
When does a digital job card help?
Paper can work for a small workload. The friction comes when notes, photographs, approvals and invoices live in different places or when more than one person needs the latest status.
HoodHero's job and vehicle records keep that context connected. Its proof-of-work tools support repair evidence, and quotes and invoices keep the paperwork alongside the work.
For callouts, see the mobile mechanic admin workflow. For a wider software comparison checklist, read our garage management checklist.
Put it into practice
See the workflow in Mechanic Desk.
Look through real HoodHero screens with fictional example jobs before deciding whether it fits your workshop.
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