A van on the ramp and a garage on hold
A garage calls: a client's van is in for a service and needs front brake discs and pads, a wiper blade and a new rear tyre. They email the estimate as a PDF. Your authorisation desk has twelve other estimates waiting. When they reach this one, they check the labour time looks right, check the tyre against the client's approved brands, ring the garage to query the discs, and finally authorise, by which point the garage has moved on to another job and the van will not be ready until tomorrow.
The driver, who was told it would be done by lunchtime, calls to ask where his van is.
Why authorisation is slow
Authorisation is where you protect your clients' money, so it cannot be waved through. But most estimates are routine, and treating them all the same way means the routine ones wait behind the complicated ones.
- Estimates arrive as PDFs, phone calls and emails, in each garage's own format.
- Labour times, labour rates and parts discounts are checked by hand against your supplier agreements.
- Each client has its own rules: tyre brands, spending limits, work that needs their own approval.
- Vehicle history is in the fleet system, so checking whether the same part was replaced recently means another screen.
- Queries go back to the garage by phone, and the answers are not recorded.
What slow authorisation costs
Vehicle downtime, which is what drivers and clients feel most. Garages in your network who find you slow to work with. And the opposite risk: when the desk is under pressure, estimates get approved without proper checks, and your clients pay more than they should.
The authorisation queue we build
- Garages submit estimates through a web form or a link, choosing the vehicle by registration and entering each line as labour, parts or tyres. Garages that keep sending PDFs have their estimates read automatically for a person to confirm.
- Each line is checked against your agreement with that garage: labour rate, labour time against a standard where you use one, parts discount and tyre pricing.
- The client's rules are applied: approved tyre brands, spending limits per job, types of work that need the client's own sign-off.
- The vehicle's recent history is checked for repeat work, such as the same part replaced a short while ago.
- Estimates that pass every check within limits you set can be approved straight away. Others go to the queue with the reasons highlighted for a technical controller.
- Approvals, queries and changes are sent back to the garage through the same link, and the authorised amount is recorded against the job for invoice checking later.
| Estimate situation | What the queue does |
|---|---|
| Routine work within rates and limits | Approves, or presents for one-click approval |
| Labour time above standard | Flags the line for a controller |
| Part replaced recently | Shows the previous job for comparison |
| Over the client's limit | Asks the client's contact to approve |
Technical judgement stays with people
We do not decide whether a vehicle needs brake discs. Your technical controllers do, and garages often know best what they can see on the ramp. The queue takes away the arithmetic and the lookups so the controller's time goes on the judgement calls, with the vehicle history and the garage's photos, where supplied, in front of them.
Faster approvals, better checked
Routine estimates are dealt with while the vehicle is still on the ramp. Controllers spend their time on the estimates that deserve scrutiny. Garages get a consistent process and fewer phone calls. Every authorisation is recorded line by line, which makes checking the final invoice straightforward.
Is this your authorisation desk?
- Estimates arrive as PDFs and phone calls in many formats.
- Labour rates and parts discounts are checked by hand.
- Vehicles wait in garages for authorisation.
- Each client's rules are applied from memory.
- You have approved work that was done recently on the same vehicle.