Identify the item well enough to prove it is theirs
The asset line does more work on a repair order than on any other version of this document, because you are holding somebody else’s property. Make, model, serial or VIN, hours or mileage at intake, and the visible condition of the thing when it arrived. Hours and mileage are what date the work for a warranty question later. Condition notes are what stop a scratch that was already there from becoming an argument at pickup, and they cost twenty seconds to write.
Record the complaint in the customer’s words rather than your translation of it. A customer who says “it shakes when I cut tall grass” has given you a real clue about load; a ticket that says “deck vibration” has thrown it away. Your diagnosis goes on a separate line, and keeping the two apart is what lets you show, later, that you fixed the thing that was reported.
The estimate, the authorization, and the gap between them
Every repair order is written backwards from the way the money works. The customer authorizes a number before the work that determines the number has been done. Shops handle that in three ways and the good ones do all three: charge a stated diagnostic fee so the first hour is not free guessing, quote a not-to-exceed ceiling rather than a point estimate, and set a re-authorization threshold in writing — a dollar figure or a percentage above the estimate at which you stop and call.
In vehicle repair this is not shop policy but consumer-protection law in many states, with rules about written estimates, authorization before work, re-authorization above a threshold, itemized final invoices, and the customer’s right to their old parts back. The thresholds and the required disclosure wording differ by state, so treat this template as the structure and your state’s rule as the content. The auto repair work order template covers the vehicle-specific version of this form, including VIN and odometer.
Write down what the customer declined, too. “Hydro filter service due, customer declined” on today’s ticket is the line that protects you when the same unit comes back in six months, and it gives the next visit a starting point instead of a blank sheet.
Repair order, work order, invoice — the same job three times
The repair order is the middle document. Before it there is an estimate or a request; after it there is an invoice. The repair order is the only one of the three that is open while the work happens, which is why it is where the parts, the hours, and the findings actually get written, and why the finished copy is the right thing to staple to the invoice when the customer asks what they paid for. All 20 fields and both cost tables are documented field by field on the work order form page, and worked examples shows completed ones across every trade on this site.
Names vary by trade and mean the same thing: auto shops say RO, appliance and electronics shops say service ticket, marine and small-engine shops usually just say ticket or job. If your shop takes in property, opens it up, and hands it back for money, the document is a repair order whatever the sign says. What is a work order covers the wider family of names, and the printable pack has blank Word, Excel and PDF versions for a counter that still runs on carbon copies.
Repair order FAQ
What is a repair order?
A repair order is the numbered ticket a shop opens when it takes in someone else's property to fix: the customer and their item, the complaint, the authorized amount, then the diagnosis, parts, labor and sign-off added as the work happens. It differs from an ordinary work order in one way that changes everything about the form — the customer signs at the start, when 16 of the document's 20 fields exist and neither cost table has a single line in it yet.
What is the difference between a repair order and a work order?
Possession and consent. A work order authorizes work you have already been engaged to do, often on your own or your employer's assets. A repair order covers work on property the customer hands over and leaves with you, so it doubles as a receipt for the item, an authorization to spend their money, and — in many trades — the document that makes a mechanic's lien enforceable.
Does a repair order need a customer signature?
Get one at intake and one at release. The intake signature authorizes the estimated amount and records the complaint as the customer described it; the release signature says they received the item back. Several states make the pre-work authorization mandatory for vehicle repair specifically, with a fresh authorization required once the price grows past a stated amount or percentage — check your own state's rule and put the threshold on the form.
What is a not-to-exceed amount on a repair order?
A ceiling the customer authorizes in advance: work up to this figure without calling me. It exists because the estimate is written before the work that produces the price, so the shop needs room to proceed and the customer needs a limit. Write the figure, initial it, and record the time and method of any re-authorization above it.
How long should a shop keep repair orders?
Longer than feels necessary. The repair order is the evidence for a comeback argument, a warranty claim on a part you installed, and — where it applies — a lien. Many states set a minimum retention period for vehicle repair records specifically. Keep the signed copy, not just the invoice: the invoice shows the amount, the repair order shows the authorization.
Can I use this repair order template for equipment other than vehicles?
Yes. The form is trade-neutral — the sample loaded below is a mower brought into a small-engine shop. Appliance, marine, small engine, electronics, tool and machine repair all take in customer property and all need the same three things on the ticket: what came in, what was authorized, and what was done.
General information about a business document, not legal advice. Repair authorization, disclosure and record-retention rules vary by state and by trade — check yours.