Workshop job cards signed electronically

How the Automotive pack checks a vehicle in, has the job card authorisation signed electronically, records parts and labour and invoices the work.

By Achekam · 11 October 2026 · 4 min read · For Automotive businesses in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya

Launching soon. The Industry CRM add-on described in this article is launching soon. This article describes it as it will work at launch.

"Nobody told me you were going to replace the brake discs." Every service manager has heard it. The customer dropped the car off for a service, the technician found worn discs, someone phoned, someone thought the customer said yes, and now the bill is twice what the customer expected. Without a signed authorisation, the workshop is arguing about a phone call.

Most workshop disputes come down to the same question: what did the customer agree to, and can you show it? The Automotive pack in Achekam's Industry CRM answers it with a signed job card authorisation, collected electronically before the work starts. This article walks through the service job from check-in to invoice.

The service job as a record

The Automotive pack keeps workshop Service jobs alongside vehicle sales and test drives, each with its parts and labour. A service job is the workshop's single record of a visit: what came in, what the customer authorised, what was done and how it was paid for.

The workflow has four steps:

1. check the vehicle in;
2. have the customer sign the job card authorisation electronically;
3. record the parts and labour; and
4. invoice the job card, or claim from the warranty or plan provider.

Checking the vehicle in

Check-in is the workshop's chance to agree the starting point before anyone picks up a spanner. A good check-in records:

• the customer's name and a phone number that will be answered during the day;
• the vehicle's registration, identifying number and odometer reading;
• the fuel level;
• existing damage, with photographs of each panel;
• valuables left in the vehicle, or a note that there were none;
• the customer's complaint in their own words, not the adviser's diagnosis.

That last point matters more than it looks. "Knocking noise from the front left over bumps" is something a technician can test. "Suspension problem" is a conclusion that may be wrong.

The customer signs the job card authorisation

Once the work is described, the customer signs the job card authorisation electronically. If they are standing at the service desk, they can sign there and then; if they dropped the car off early, the authorisation can reach them by e-mail.

Achekam's document signing places signature and initials fields on the document, lets signers sign in order or all at once, carries an expiry and reminders, and files the signed PDF and a completion certificate back into Documents. In the pack's workflow, it is the customer's signature that moves the job on to its next step.

The authorisation is marked as starter wording that your business must review before use. Have it adapted to say clearly what the customer is authorising, how extra work will be handled, and what happens to replaced parts. If you decide the authorisation must be signed in ink, the pack never offers it for electronic signing and simply tracks the paper copy.

When the technician finds more work

The brake disc problem from the opening is the case to plan for. When a technician finds work beyond the signed authorisation, stop and get a fresh authorisation before doing it. Achekam can send any document for electronic signature, so a short additional authorisation, listing the extra parts and labour and the revised estimate, can reach the customer by e-mail while the car is still on the lift. A signed "yes" takes a little longer than a phone call and saves an argument at collection. For South African workshops, section 15 of the Consumer Protection Act sets the rule that a workshop must give a repair estimate and get the customer's authorisation before doing work or charging for it.

Recording parts and labour

As the job progresses, the parts fitted and the labour performed are recorded on the service job. Record them as you go, not from memory at the end of the day. Each part should be the part actually fitted; each labour line should describe what was done in words the customer will understand when they read the invoice.

Invoicing the job card, or claiming from the provider

When the work is done, one of two things happens:

For a customer invoice, Achekam creates the invoice as a draft, and issuing it gives it the next number in your sequence and posts it to the ledger as debtors, sales and output VAT. Where a visit mixes covered and uncovered work, agree with the provider and the customer which work belongs to whom before the invoice and the claim are raised, so the two do not overlap.

Disputes a signed authorisation prevents

A signed authorisation does not stop every complaint, but it changes the conversation in the workshop's favour:

• "I never asked for that." The signed authorisation shows what was asked for, and an additional authorisation shows what was added.
• "That scratch wasn't there." The check-in photographs show whether it was.
• "The bill is more than you said." If your wording includes the estimate, and it should, the customer signed it.
• "I wanted the old parts back." The authorisation says what happens to them.

Before the next service booking

Have your attorney review the starter authorisation, agree the check-in checklist with your service advisers, and make it a rule that no extra work starts without a signed additional authorisation. Once that discipline is in place, collection day becomes a hand-over rather than a negotiation. Customers who bought their vehicle from you will already know the signing process from their signed offer to purchase, and the vehicle sale pipeline shows where the relationship started.

General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.