Mechanic job card template

A job card is the one piece of paper (or screen) that travels with the car from drop-off to invoice. Get it right and the invoice writes itself. Below is a copyable job card template, the same card filled in for a 100,000 km logbook service, and why each field earns its spot.

Job card template

Print it on A4 and keep a pad in the van, or open “Copy job card as plain text” under it for a version that pastes into a doc or a notes app on your phone.

JOB CARD                                  Job no: [0001]

Date in: [DD/MM/YYYY]   Promised: [day / time]   Tech: [name]

CUSTOMER
Name: [ ]                 Mobile: [ ]
Job address (mobile work): [ ]
Who's approving work, if not the owner: [ ]

VEHICLE
[Year Make Model]         Rego: [ ]        VIN (last 6): [ ]
Odometer in: [ ] km       Odometer out: [ ] km
Existing damage noted: [ ]

CUSTOMER CONCERN (their words, not yours)
"[ ]"

WORK REQUESTED
[ ] Logbook service at [ ] km   [ ] Diagnose: [ ]   [ ] Other: [ ]
Inspection / diagnosis fee told to customer: $[ ]
AUTHORISED LIMIT: $[ ] inc GST. Call before going over.

PARTS USED
Part / part no                    Qty     Price (ex GST)
[ ]                               [ ]     [ ]
[ ]                               [ ]     [ ]

LABOUR
Task                              Hours   Tech
[ ]                               [ ]     [ ]

TECH NOTES (findings, measurements, torque, codes)
[ ]

EXTRA WORK APPROVED
What: [ ]   $[ ] inc GST   Who: [ ]   When: [ ]   How: [call/text]

ADVISORY (found, not done, not authorised)
[ ]

Customer signature at drop-off: __________   Date: ______

What each field is for on the day

Rego and VIN

Rego is how the customer and you will refer to the car. It is also how you find its history when it comes back in a year. The last six of the VIN settle which parts fit when a model changed mid-year. Write both before you start, not when you’re ordering parts with greasy hands.

Odometer in and out

Odometer in is the number that goes in the logbook and on the invoice. Odometer out shows the road test you did, and it answers the customer who says “you put 40 km on my car”. In the example, 100,221 minus 100,214 is a 7 km road test. Odometer in also tells you which service interval the car is actually at.

Customer concern, in their words

Write “shudder when braking downhill”, not “replace rotors”. The NSW government tells car owners to describe symptoms rather than ask for a specific repair, because a flat battery might be a loose connection, not a new battery (nsw.gov.au). Their words are also the test of whether the job is fixed. If the customer insists on a specific repair anyway, write that down as their request. Queensland and WA both tell owners that a repairer isn’t liable when a repair the owner asked for doesn’t fix the problem.

Work requested and the authorised limit

This is the job the customer agreed to. Consumer Affairs Victoria tells owners who sign a job card to check that it specifies the work to be done (CAV, Car services and repairs). The authorised limit is a dollar figure, including GST, that you can spend without calling. In the example it’s $850 against a service that came to $785.40, so Dan had room for a forgotten consumable but not for a set of rotors. Anything over the limit is a phone call, and the quote guide has the script.

Parts used

Write each part as you fit it, with quantity. This is the field that leaks money. Eight litres of oil written as “oil” becomes one line at one litre’s price, and a fuel filter nobody wrote down never gets billed. On a car still under new-car warranty, Consumer Affairs Victoria tells owners an independent mechanic can service it without affecting the warranty as long as repairs and parts are consistent with manufacturer standards (see CAV). Note part numbers or brands on those jobs so you can show it.

Tech notes

Measurements beat adjectives. “Front pads 4 mm” tells the next tech, and the customer, far more than “pads OK”. Note fault codes, torque figures you had to look up, and anything you found but didn’t touch. Take a photo of anything you’ll later have to explain.

Extra work approved, and advisory

Keep these apart. Extra work approved is a job the customer said yes to: what, how much, who, when and how they said it. Advisory is everything you found but didn’t do. NSW says the repairer must only conduct work the owner has authorised (nsw.gov.au), so an item sits in advisory until there’s a recorded yes. Advisory items are also your next booking.

Existing damage and the signature

A 10-second walk around the car at drop-off, written down, ends arguments about the scrape on the bumper. The signature confirms the concern and the authorised limit. On a mobile job, a “yes, go ahead up to $850” text saved against the job does the same work.

Filled-in example: 100,000 km service with a brake shudder

Invented business and prices, chosen so the job card lines match the invoice template’s worked example.

JOB CARD                                  Job no: 0417

Date in: 14/10/2026   Promised: today, 3 pm   Tech: Dan

CUSTOMER
Name: Sam Taylor          Mobile: 0411 111 111
Job address: 22 Example St, Lismore (driveway)
Who's approving work: Sam

VEHICLE
2019 Toyota HiLux SR5     Rego: XYZ12A      VIN (last 6): 123456
Odometer in: 100,214 km   Odometer out: 100,221 km (road test)
Existing damage noted: scrape on rear bumper, left side

CUSTOMER CONCERN
"It's due for the 100k service. Slight shudder when braking
downhill."

WORK REQUESTED
[x] Logbook service at 100,000 km   [x] Check brake shudder
Inspection / diagnosis fee told to customer: included in service
AUTHORISED LIMIT: $850 inc GST. Call before going over.

PARTS USED
Part / part no                    Qty     Price (ex GST)
Engine oil 5W-30                  8 L     $14.00/L
Oil filter                        1       $28.00
Fuel filter                       1       $62.00
Air filter                        1       $48.00
Cabin filter                      1       $35.00
Brake fluid DOT 4                 1 L     $24.00
Workshop consumables              1       $15.00

LABOUR
Task                              Hours   Tech
100,000 km logbook service        3.0     Dan

TECH NOTES
Front pads 4 mm both sides. Front rotors 0.1 mm runout, likely
cause of shudder. Rear shoes 3 mm. No fault codes. Logbook stamped.

EXTRA WORK APPROVED
None.

ADVISORY
Front pads and rotors: quote to follow. Rear shoes at next service.

Customer signature at drop-off: S. Taylor   Date: 14/10/2026

Note what Dan didn’t do. The rotor runout explains the shudder, but rotors weren’t in the authorised work and would have pushed the job past $850. They went to advisory with a quote to follow, and the customer leaves knowing why the car still shudders.

How the job card becomes the invoice

Every invoice line should trace back to a line on the card. If it doesn’t, either the card is missing something or the invoice is padded.

Adding the example’s parts and labour gives $714.00 ex GST, $71.40 GST and $785.40 in total, which is the invoice in the worked example. If your total and the card disagree, recount the parts before you send anything.

Paper or phone

• Paper works if someone types it up the same day. A card in the ute’s door pocket for a week is an invoice you’ll undercharge.
• On a phone, keep the same fields in the same order, so every tech fills it in the same way.
• Whichever you use, keep the card with the invoice. The ATO expects most business records kept for 5 years.

In GoFolio, the booking detail screen works as the job card: customer, vehicle, rego and odometer, work-completed and advisory notes, photos, and a parts list that syncs onto the job’s draft invoice as you add each part.