Three points of agreement
- Intake — the inspection act: in what condition the machine was taken in.
- Before work starts — the work order: what we do and what it costs.
- After the repair — the completion act: what was done and accepted.
Skipping any of them leaves a place where "that is not what we agreed" appears later.
What to show the customer
The customer has not seen the stripped unit. To agree the amount they need to see what the mechanic saw:
- photographs of the defects — close up, with a clear caption;
- the defect report — what is broken and what to do about it;
- the calculation — work in labour hours separately from parts, so it is clear what they pay for.
One figure "repair — 40 000 ₽" almost always starts a haggle. The same figure broken into operations and parts with photographs usually does not.
How to record the agreement
A signature on the order, a reply by email, a confirmation in the system by link — any method works if it later shows who agreed, when and to what amount. A spoken "go ahead" on the phone is the weakest option: a month later nobody remembers it.
If the amount grows
Stripping often reveals more. The rule is simple: agree first, then do. Show the customer the new defect with a photo, recalculate the order and wait for an answer. Work done "while we were in there" without agreement is the main source of unpaid invoices.
If the customer goes quiet
Record what you sent and when, and remind them. A machine standing idle while waiting for an answer is also a subject for conversation, and better discussed in advance — for example, by fixing a response deadline in the contract.
How it works in DefAct
The document goes to the customer as a link: they open the report or the order with photographs and approve it or send it back with a remark — no account needed. The answer, date and time are kept in the document history, and the question "was it agreed" is settled at a glance.