Closing a job card, invoicing and handing the car back

What happens when the work is finished?

Someone checks the card, then closes it. The technicians mark their lines done, and a supervisor or reception looks the job over.

One maker's help page, checked 9 November 2026, puts it this way. Technicians mark all items as completed. Staff verify the job and change the card to Completed, which "will lock in all your items and generate an invoice"¹. So in that product, marking the card Completed locks its items.

Why check the card before closing?

Because the invoice is built from it. A missing part or an unfinished labour line becomes a missing charge, or a wrong one. Check that:

• every line that was done is on the card, and every line not done is removed or marked declined;
• any approval for extra work is recorded (see approvals and extra work);
• running time clocks are stopped;
• an inspection result, if there is one, is complete.

On that last point, one maker's inspection product warns that an inspection is pending if you invoice a job while a recheck is still in progress². Other software may not warn you.

What does the invoice contain?

The final price for the parts and labour, at a minimum. California's repair regulator says repair businesses there must hand over an invoice, on paper or electronic, showing the final charge for parts and labour³. That's one US state's rule. Other states and countries set their own, including what must be itemised and how long records are kept. Ask the local regulator, an accountant or a lawyer.

The same regulator also lists "maintaining records of all repairs performed and parts supplied" among a repair business's duties³. A closed job card is a natural place for that record to sit.

How does the invoice reach the customer?

In one product, by email, SMS or other channels, straight from the completed card¹. Other products print it, or hand over a copy at the counter. Payment handling and tax lines vary by product and country, and the pages here don't cover them. Tax on an invoice is a matter for your accountant.

What about collection?

The last status is Collected. One maker's workboard says you move a job there "when the customer has collected the vehicle"⁴. On that board an invoiced job "can only be moved to the status of Collected" and can't move backward⁴.

If a customer returns with a problem, the workshop has to decide whether to open a new card. How your software links cards is a question for the maker's documentation.

What should happen at the counter?

• Confirm the customer's name and the vehicle.
• Go through what was done, using the card.
• Show any parts or findings the customer asked about.
• Take payment as your own process requires.
• Mark the car collected in the software.

The signature field on a printed card, where one exists, can be used to record that the car was handed back. Whether a signature is needed is a business choice, or a legal one where you are, so check locally.

After that, the card is a finished record. It's what answers the first question when the same car returns: what was done last time? The first page, on what goes on a card, lists what that record holds.