How to write a job card

Last updated 20 August 2026

Knowing how to write a job card matters because the argument, when it comes, is almost never about the work. It is about the condition the item was in when it arrived.

Fill it in at handover

Not at the end of the day, and not from memory. The job card is written while the customer is standing there, because that is the only moment both of you agree on the facts.

What it records

• Your details and the customer’s, including a phone number that works.
• A job number from its own sequence.
• The item: make, model, serial or registration number.
• The reported fault, in the customer’s words.
• The condition of the item on arrival, in detail.
• What you agreed to do, and the authorisation limit.
• Both signatures, at booking in.

Condition, in detail

This is the section that pays for itself. Record scratches, cracks, missing parts, fuel level, mileage, anything already broken.

Item        Toyota Hilux, KDG 442X
Mileage     186,420        Fuel: half
Condition   Scratch on nearside rear door, 20cm
            Cracked wing mirror glass, offside
            Spare wheel absent
            Windscreen chip, passenger side

Undocumented pre-existing damage becomes your problem the moment the customer collects. Photograph it as well, and note on the card that photographs were taken.

The fault, in their words

Write what the customer said, not your diagnosis. “Makes a grinding noise when braking from speed” is more useful three weeks later than “brakes”.

Their description is also what you are agreeing to investigate. Your diagnosis comes after, and if it differs, that is a conversation with a record behind it.

Parts and labour

List them separately. Add an Hours column from the column bar for labour and keep Rate for the hourly charge, or use Qty and Rate for parts.

Description                          Qty    Rate      Amount
Front brake discs, pair                1    8,400      8,400
Brake pads, front set                  1    3,200      3,200
Labour, 2.5 hours                    2.5    2,000      5,000

A customer who can see the split queries the total less often.

Authorisation

Write the limit on the card and get it signed. Something like: “Authorised to spend up to 15,000 without further approval.”

Above that, you phone. This is covered in more detail in approving extra work.

Two signatures

At booking in, and again at collection. The first records the condition and the authorisation. The second records that the item went back and the customer accepted the work.

Switch the signature block on in the sidebar and both columns appear at the foot of the sheet.

Turning it into a bill

The job card is not an invoice. When the work is approved and finished, raise an invoice for the agreed lines and keep the job card as the record of what was found and authorised.

Reference the job number on the invoice so the two match.

Numbering

Its own sequence, JOB-0001 upward. See numbering your documents.

Next

For a reusable layout, see a job card template. For handling work beyond the estimate, see approving extra work. Or open the job card generator.