BODY SHOPS
Two weeks in the shop should not mean two weeks of silence.
A body shop job has more parties and more waiting than any other repair: the owner, the adjuster, the parts supplier, the paint booth. We connect estimate intake, photos, insurance paperwork, parts status, milestones, and pickup so the customer hears from you before they ask.
A day that will sound familiar
A Wednesday with fourteen cars in process
A customer walks in with a crumpled quarter panel and a claim number written on a receipt. The estimator is already on the phone with an adjuster about a supplement on a different car, and there are two estimate requests in the inbox with photos too dark to use. The car in the paint booth is waiting on a blend panel that was supposed to arrive Monday, and the customer of that car has called twice today because the rental runs out Friday.
The whiteboard in the back says which cars are in teardown, body, paint, and reassembly, but it was last updated yesterday afternoon. Three cars are ready and their owners have not been told. A stack of photos for a supplement request is sitting on the estimator’s desk waiting to be uploaded. The shop is doing good work and the front office is losing the customer anyway.
Five workflows
What changes for body shops.
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01Estimate intake and photos
TodayCustomers show up unannounced or email photos that cannot be used. The estimator asks for better ones by phone.
ConnectedThe customer answers a short set of questions and is guided to take the photos you need, from the angles you need. The request lands as a record with the vehicle, the damage, the claim number if there is one, and usable photos. Drop-off or in-person estimate is booked from it.
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02Insurance communication
TodayClaim numbers, adjuster contacts, approvals, and supplement documents live in email threads and on paper across the desk.
ConnectedEvery document, photo, and message tied to the claim is stored on the job. Supplement packets are assembled from what is already there. The estimator sends them from the record and sees what is still waiting on a reply. This is administrative organization only; how you negotiate is yours.
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03Parts status
TodayParts are ordered and then someone checks on them when a car stalls.
ConnectedEach part is listed on the job with ordered, expected, and received. When a part is late, the job is flagged before the car reaches the stage that needs it, and the promised date is checked.
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04Repair milestones and customer updates
TodayThe customer calls to ask where the car is. The office walks to the whiteboard or the shop floor.
ConnectedWhen a car moves from teardown to body to paint to reassembly, the customer gets a short message with a photo if you want. The office answers the calls that still come with the record open, not with a walk.
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05Pickup scheduling
TodayThe car is finished and the office calls when it gets a minute. Rental returns and deductibles get sorted at the counter.
ConnectedWhen the job is marked complete, the customer is told, picks a pickup time, and sees the deductible or balance ahead of time. The bay is clear before the next drop-off.
Where it breaks
Four places the process usually fails.
- THE PHOTOS YOU CANNOT USEDark, blurry, or from the wrong angle. Every bad set is another call, another day before the estimate, and another day before the claim moves.
- THE SUPPLEMENT ON THE DESKA supplement that waits to be sent is a repair that waits to be paid. The estimator is the only one who knows it is sitting there.
- THE BLEND PANEL THAT WAS DUE MONDAYA late part is only a problem if nobody sees it coming. By the time the painter asks, the customer has already called twice.
- THE RENTAL THAT RUNS OUT FRIDAYYour customer is counting days. If they hear nothing from you, they assume the worst and call the adjuster, and now the adjuster calls you.
One handoff, before and after
A rear-end hit, claim already filed, customer needs the car back before a trip
- The customer emails four photos and a claim number. Two of the photos are unusable.
- The estimator calls the next day for better photos and to book a drop-off.
- The car arrives Monday. Teardown finds hidden damage Wednesday. Supplement photos are taken and sit on the desk.
- The supplement is uploaded Friday. The customer calls Monday to ask why nothing has happened.
- The car is finished the following Thursday. The customer finds out Friday when they call.
- The customer uses a guided photo request from their phone. The record is created with usable photos and the claim number attached.
- A drop-off is booked from the record and the customer gets the checklist of what to bring.
- Teardown findings and photos go straight onto the job. The supplement packet is assembled the same day and sent from the record.
- The customer gets a message when the car moves to body, to paint, and to reassembly. The late part is flagged before paint needs it.
- On completion, the customer is told, books pickup, and sees the deductible ahead of time.
What to track
The numbers that tell you whether it is working.
We do not promise a percentage. We show you which numbers to watch, and we measure them before and after.
- Days from first contact to written estimateEverything in the claim waits on this. Bad photos and missed calls are most of the delay.
- Supplements written versus supplements sent the same dayThe gap is money sitting on the estimator’s desk.
- Cars stalled waiting on a part, and for how longA stalled car holds a stall. The number of days matters more than the number of cars.
- Customer status calls per carEach call is a customer who did not hear from you first.
- Days from completion to pickupA finished car in the lot is space you need and money you have not collected.
- Repairs delivered on or before the promised dateThis is the number the customer remembers and the number the adjuster tracks.
Questions body shops ask us
01How does this fit a collision shop that already works with insurance estimating software?
It handles what the estimating tools do not: getting usable photos from the customer, keeping claim documents together, tracking parts against milestones, and telling the customer what is happening. Your estimating platform and your DRP relationships stay as they are.
02Do you handle insurance claims for us?
No. We organize the paperwork: claim numbers, adjuster contacts, photos, supplement packets, and approvals live on one record and get sent from it. What to ask for, what to accept, and how to negotiate is your call. We do not give claims advice.
03Our customers are stressed. Will messages feel cold?
The messages are short, in your words, and sent at the moments that matter: estimate ready, parts in, car in paint, car done. Most customers prefer knowing over calling. The ones who want a person still get one, and the office has the time to be that person.
04Can the tech or painter update the milestone without a computer?
Yes. A stage change can be a tap on a phone or a tablet at the stall. The customer message and the office view update from that. If your shop runs on the whiteboard today, that is where the first version starts.
05What about rental car coordination?
The promised date and any change to it are on the record, so the customer and, if you choose, the rental contact see when the car is expected. When the date moves because of a part, the message goes out before the customer discovers it at the rental counter.
START WITH ONE PROCESS
Bring us the claim folder that lives on the estimator’s desk.
We will map how it works today, find where it waits or gets repeated, and tell you whether fixing it is worth the effort.
- The mapOne process in your business, drawn end to end on a single page
- The waitEvery place it stalls or gets repeated, and who is carrying it today
- The answerWhat fixing it would take, or a straight answer that it is not worth fixing