Start in Activity#
Open Activity at the start of the day. The Auto Repair setup template turns the shared Activity board into shop lanes for intake, dispatch, approvals, parts, closeout, fleet accounts, and deferred work.
Use Activity to answer four questions:
- Which Work Orders need the next call, assignment, or promise update?
- Which customers are waiting on an approval, signature, or answer?
- Which jobs are blocked by parts, technician time, quality, payment, or pickup?
- Which fleet or account customers need batch review?
Create the Work Order#
Create the Work Order from intake. Capture the customer, vehicle, symptom, promise window, advisor, technician or bay, and first diagnostic step as early as possible.
The Work Order should become the center record. It can connect to:
- the customer or fleet account
- the vehicle asset
- the estimate or sales document
- the approval packet
- recommendations and deferred work
- parts and material lines
- customer messages
- documents, signatures, payments, and timeline events
Build and send the packet#
Use the Work Order packet when the shop needs a customer decision. The packet should show the estimate, option groups, inspection evidence, recommendations, signatures, and payment or pickup requirements.
Customer actions should write back to shared records:
- approvals, declines, deferrals, and signatures update authorization history
- recommendation refs show approved, declined, or deferred work
- questions and replies use the existing conversation rails
- packet actions create Work Order timeline events and Activity signals
Manage parts without a separate model#
Use the shared catalog and material lines for parts, tires, fees, supplies, and sublet work. Keep purchasing tied to the Work Order, supplier, document, and payable bill.
Useful states for a material line:
- requested
- quoted
- ordered
- received
- backordered
- installed
- returned or core due
- billed
Close payment and pickup#
Before pickup, check Accounting and Activity for ready but unpaid, paid but not picked up, missing signature, missing invoice, quality hold, fleet balance, and deferred-work follow-up.
The closeout path should still use shared Zelio primitives: Work Orders, sales documents, payments, authorizations, documents, assignments, resources, conversations, and timeline events.
Good signs#
- The Work Order shows a customer and vehicle, not a generic label.
- The packet button says which customer and vehicle it opens.
- The customer can approve, decline, defer, ask a question, and sign from the same packet.
- Parts waits and pickup blockers appear in Activity without manual double entry.
- Customers, vehicles, service history, and fleet account views update from the same shared records.