Estimates & Authorization
Send the current estimate revision, collect customer decisions, record staff authorization, and understand supersession.
Authorization applies to a specific commercial revision. “The customer approved earlier” is not enough when material price or scope changed.
Review before sending
Open the repair order and confirm customer/vehicle identity, the current service lines, quantities, prices, taxes/fees, customer-facing descriptions, and contact/consent state. Use the current send action only when the configured channel reports Ready.
Send the current revision
A configured transactional message can carry a secure estimate link. The customer sees the itemized current revision and available line decisions/signature controls without needing a ShopCommander login.
Provider acceptance and message delivery are distinct from the estimate itself. If messaging is unavailable, use a supported staff process and record the real decision source.
Record authorization
Use the repair order’s Record authorization control when staff receives a real customer decision through a supported channel. Record the applicable lines, decision, person/source, and required evidence. Guidance never records the authorization for you.
Supersession
A material estimate change can supersede earlier authorization. The old evidence remains visible as historical; it is not treated as authority for the new revision. Send or record a fresh decision before governed work proceeds.
Configured Voice workflow
When Voice is enabled, provider-Ready, and approved for the shop’s rollout, the bounded estimate workflow can explain exact items/prices and record explicit approve/decline decisions. It never diagnoses. The server binds decisions to the current revision and captured customer utterance. Keep a staffed handoff and manual fallback.
Next: Payments & Settlement.