Process an arrival

Arrival is the drop-off moment. The customer is usually standing at the counter, so it is the lowest-friction time to confirm the work and capture the starting agreement.

Pressing Arrived always opens the guided review before the vehicle is marked arrived. When intake authorisation is enabled, the review continues through finalise and authorisation. When authorisation is switched off, Arrived still opens the guided review in Review only mode. Confirm Arrival marks the vehicle arrived without creating an authorisation packet.

  1. On the Arrivals board, press Arrived on the expected card.
  2. Confirm the booking details: customer, vehicle, services, and slots.
  3. Add anything new the customer mentions, such as an extra concern or upsell work.
  4. If authorisation is enabled, review the generated packet and issue it by text message or QR code, record an override, or defer it.
  5. If authorisation is off, choose Confirm Arrival after reviewing the booking. The flow closes without an authorisation or key-fob stage.
The arrival review an advisor works through at drop-off

Capturing new concerns

If the customer raises something new at drop-off, add it now. New service rows and parts are saved as part of the reviewed scope before the authorisation packet is created, so the packet matches exactly what you and the customer just went over.

Issuing the authorisation

The authorisation packet is the starting agreement. You have a few ways to complete it:

  • Text message. Sends a secure signing link to the customer's phone. If the message fails to send, the packet is still issued and you can fall back to QR.
  • QR code. Show the code on screen for a customer standing at the counter, or when text message is not available.
  • Override. If authorisation was already captured outside Openhood, record an authenticated override with a reason.

Customers sign by link, never by login

Customers never log into Openhood. The authorisation link is a one-time secure page on their phone. A short code may be sent to confirm it is them before they sign.

You do not have to wait for the customer to finish signing. Once the packet is issued, the vehicle moves to arrived and you can carry on with the day.

Defer it for later

If you cannot finish authorisation right now, choose defer. The vehicle is marked arrived with authorisation left unresolved. The arrived card shows the authorisation as still needed, and you can complete it later from the card or the repair order overlay.

Deferring is not authorisation

A deferred arrival does not send a text message, show a QR code, or record any override. It is not customer authority. The arrival stays flagged until you issue, the customer signs, or you record an override.

When a technician takes the keys

Sometimes the vehicle arrives before the front counter is free and a technician takes the keys. The technician can confirm the arrival from their job, which marks the vehicle present with authorisation deferred and notifies the assigned advisor. You then resolve authorisation from the arrived card as normal.

Next step
The repair order overlayRecord findings with evidence