Saturday morning collections and an empty card machine
Saturday morning, four cars are being collected. The person on the desk is covering for the usual receptionist. A customer comes in, the keys are handed over, the car goes. On Monday someone notices the job still shows the excess as outstanding. The customer says they thought the insurer paid it, or that they will pay next week, or that nobody asked.
Excess amounts vary by policy and by work provider, and some jobs have betterment or other customer contributions as well. Keeping track of what each customer owes, at the moment they are standing in front of you, is harder than it sounds.
The excess is recorded, but handover does not check it
The excess figure is usually on the job, from the work provider's instruction. The trouble is that nothing at handover forces a look at it. Keys are released from a key cabinet, paperwork is printed, and the payment step depends on the person remembering.
- Excess amounts come from the provider and can change during the claim.
- Some customers pay on drop-off, some on collection, some by phone.
- Card payments are taken on a terminal that is not linked to the job.
- A few providers collect the excess themselves, which confuses the habit.
What uncollected excesses cost
Once the car has gone, collecting the excess is slower and harder. Some customers pay after a reminder, some after several, some never. The time spent chasing is time the office does not spend on anything else, and anything that is written off comes straight off the job's margin.
Customers do not like it either. Being chased for money days after a repair sours what might have been a good experience.
Mixed jobs make it harder still. A customer might owe the policy excess, a betterment contribution on new tyres, and a private add-on such as a stone chip repair they asked for while the car was in. If those three amounts sit in different places, the person on the desk collects one and misses the others, and the customer rightly asks why they were not told the full amount at the start.
How we build excess collection into handover
- The excess and any other customer contribution for each job are held on the job, taken from the work provider instruction and updated if it changes.
- When the car is marked ready, the customer's message includes the amount due and a payment link through a provider such as Stripe or your existing card processor, if it offers links.
- Payments through the link, or on the card terminal, are matched to the job and shown on the handover screen.
- The handover screen shows payment status in large, plain terms. It will not mark the job as handed over until payment is recorded, or a manager enters an override with a reason.
- Jobs where the provider collects the excess are marked, so staff are not confused into asking the customer.
- Any overrides and unpaid amounts appear on a short list for the office each morning.
| Situation | Before | With the build |
|---|---|---|
| Customer pays at collection | Depends on who is on the desk | Handover screen shows amount and status |
| Customer wants to pay in advance | Card over the phone | Payment link with the ready message |
| Excess changed during the claim | Old figure on the paperwork | Updated from provider instruction |
| Provider collects it | Staff unsure | Job clearly marked |
Your policy on releasing cars before payment stays yours. The system makes the policy visible at the moment it matters.
A calmer handover desk
Anyone covering the desk sees the same information and the same rule. Most customers pay before they arrive, using the link. The morning list is short, and when an override was used, you know who used it and why.
Chasing after the event becomes the exception, not a weekly job.
Signs you are missing excesses
- Cars have been released without the excess being paid.
- Chasing excesses after collection is a regular task.
- Card payments are not linked to jobs.
- Staff are not sure which providers collect the excess themselves.
- Some unpaid amounts have been written off.