CANNED JOBS &
SERVICE TEMPLATES

Your service writer does an oil change write-up 15 times a week. Every time, they type the same description, look up the same parts, enter the same labor time, and calculate the same price. Maybe they copy from the last RO. Maybe they type it from memory. Maybe they get it slightly different every time.

Multiply that by every common service your shop does — brake jobs, tune-ups, fluid flushes, timing belts, wheel alignments, tire rotations — and you're looking at hours of repetitive data entry every single week. Hours your service writer could spend talking to customers, upselling maintenance, or getting vehicles checked in faster.

Inconsistency is the other problem. When every service writer builds ROs differently, your pricing fluctuates, your descriptions vary, and your estimates look unprofessional. One writer quotes a brake job at 1.5 hours. Another quotes the same job at 2.0 hours. Same pads, same rotors, different price. That's a credibility problem.

Canned jobs solve both problems. Build the template once with the correct labor, parts, pricing, warranty terms, and description. From that point forward, any service writer can apply it to any RO with one click. Consistent pricing. Professional descriptions. No wasted time. Every RO looks like your best writer wrote it — because the template did the work.

Build Your Job Library

Start by creating canned jobs for your most common services. For each job, you define:

• Service description — the customer-facing description that appears on estimates and invoices
• Labor hours — default labor time for the job
• Labor rate reference — which of your shop's named rates to use (Standard, Premium, etc.)
• Parts — linked from inventory with quantities, costs, and retail pricing
• Warranty terms — months and/or kilometers of coverage
• Vehicle type filter — limit to car, truck, SUV, diesel, etc.
• Linked inspection template — associate with a DVI template for auto-suggestions
• Category — organize into searchable groups

Apply to Any RO

When your service writer is building a repair order, they search for the canned job by name or category. One click and the entire job is added to the RO — labor, parts, description, warranty terms, everything. The service writer can still modify anything after it's applied. Adjust the labor time for a difficult vehicle. Swap a part for a different brand. Change the description. The template is a starting point, not a straitjacket.

Stay Consistent Across Your Team

This is the real power of canned jobs. It doesn't matter if it's your A-player service writer or the new hire who started last week — the RO comes out the same. Same labor time. Same parts. Same pricing. Same professional description. Your customers see consistent, accurate estimates every time, regardless of who's at the counter.

And when you need to update pricing? Change it in the canned job and every future RO uses the new price automatically. Update your Standard labor rate from $140 to $150? Every canned job that references "Standard" updates instantly. No spreadsheet, no mass edit, no missed templates.

Canned jobs handle the full service template. Parts kits handle the parts bundles. They're complementary tools that stack together for maximum speed.

A parts kit is a pre-defined set of parts that commonly go together. Front brake kit: pads, rotors, hardware, lubricant. Oil change kit: filter, oil (5 quarts), drain plug washer. Timing belt kit: belt, tensioner, water pump, idler pulley, coolant.

Parts kits can be applied to any line item on any RO with one click. All the parts are added with correct quantities, costs, and pricing from your current inventory. If you use parts kits inside your canned jobs, the combination is powerful — one click adds the complete service with all labor and all parts, fully priced and ready to estimate.

You can also use parts kits independently of canned jobs. Building a custom RO and need to add a brake hardware kit? Search for the kit, apply it, done. All parts added in seconds instead of entering them one by one.

Here's where canned jobs become a revenue engine, not just a time saver.

Shop Commander's digital vehicle inspections use a three-color condition rating: green (good), yellow (needs attention), red (requires immediate action). When your tech flags an item as yellow or red, the system can automatically suggest a linked canned job.

Example: your tech inspects the front brakes and rates them yellow — pads at 4mm. The inspection template has "Front Brake Service" linked as the suggested canned job. When the service writer builds the estimate from the inspection findings, they see the canned job suggestion. One click and the front brake service is on the RO — labor, pads, rotors, hardware, warranty, everything. Pre-filled, pre-priced, ready to send to the customer for authorization.

This flow eliminates the manual translation step that kills most shops. The tech finds the issue. The system connects it to the right service template. The service writer applies it in one click. The customer sees a professional estimate with photos from the inspection. The whole process — from finding to estimate — takes minutes instead of the back-and-forth that usually eats up an hour.

And because the canned job includes warranty terms, the warranty is set automatically when the work is completed. No extra step. No forgetting to add warranty terms. It's all connected.

Shop Commander includes AI-powered job suggestions that work alongside your canned job library. When a service writer starts a new repair order and enters the customer's concern, the AI analyzes the input and suggests relevant canned jobs.

The AI is smart about the difference between symptoms and explicit requests. If the customer says "there's a grinding noise when I brake," the AI suggests a diagnostic first — because you don't know what's wrong yet. If the customer says "I need new brake pads," the AI suggests the front brake service template directly — because the customer already knows what they want.

This distinction matters. Suggesting a $400 brake job when the customer described a noise (that might be a loose heat shield) is how you lose trust. Suggesting a diagnostic first, then recommending the right service based on findings, is how you build trust. The AI understands this workflow.

Combined with the AI tech note cleanup (which converts technician shorthand into professional customer-facing language) and the inspection-to-canned-job link, the entire flow from customer complaint to professional estimate is faster and more consistent than any manual process.

Create 10 canned jobs or 500. It doesn't matter. Shop Commander includes unlimited canned jobs, unlimited parts kits, unlimited categories, and unlimited team members — all for $0/mo. No per-user charges. No feature tiers. No "upgrade to Pro for canned jobs."

Shop Commander was built by a shop owner who got tired of paying $400+ per month for software. We make a small commission from our integrated payment processor when shops run credit card transactions. You pay standard processing rates — we get a small referral cut from the processor. The software itself, including canned jobs, is free forever.

That includes everything else too: VIN decoding, warranty management, digital inspections, two-way SMS, Google review management, AI features, marketing campaigns, tire storage, and 82,650+ lines of code. One platform. Every feature. No monthly bill.