Work Orders
A Work Order is the top-level container for all activity related to a single customer vehicle engagement. It groups every Job Card, financial document, communication, and workshop record that belongs together — from the first phone call to the final receipt — under one reference number.
Think of it as the physical file folder at the service desk. When a vehicle comes in for an engine overhaul, everything that happens during that engagement lives in one Work Order folder, regardless of how many phases the repair involves.
Work Order vs. Job Card
| Work Order | Job Card | |
|---|---|---|
| Reference | WO-2026-0042 | JC-2026-0101 |
| Purpose | Container for all engagement records | Unit of trackable, billable work |
| Customer & Vehicle | Defined once per engagement | Inherited from Work Order |
| Status | Derived from its Job Cards | Controlled via status workflow |
| Financial documents | Statement (aggregate view) | Invoices, estimates, deposits, payments |
| Can have multiples | One per engagement | One or more per Work Order |
Creating a Work Order
- Click Work Orders in the left navigation
- Click New Work Order
- Select the Customer — create on the fly if new
- Select the Vehicle — filtered by customer; create on the fly if needed
- Choose the Job Type: Service Only, Service & Parts, or Parts Only
- Enter a Brief Complaint — what the customer described (not required for parts-only)
- Confirm the Opened by and Date & Time
- Click Create
SparkShop automatically creates the first Job Card and takes you directly to the Job Card edit page. You don't need to navigate separately.
Work Order Status
The Work Order status is derived automatically from the financial state of its Job Cards. You cannot set it manually.
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Open | At least one Job Card is not yet invoiced |
| Invoiced | All Job Cards have been invoiced, awaiting payment |
| Partially Paid | At least one Job Card has a partial payment outstanding |
| Settled | All Job Cards are fully paid or voided |
| Voided | All Job Cards have been voided |
The Work Order View Page
Click any Work Order number to open its view page. This page shows:
- Header — WO number, customer, vehicle, opened date, status badge
- Job Cards panel — all Job Cards in this engagement with their status, financial status, and balance due. Includes an Open New Job Card button for follow-on work
- Documents — every document associated with this engagement (Estimates, Revised Estimates, Deposit Invoices, Invoices, Credit Notes) grouped by Job Card, each clickable to download the PDF
- Payment History — a chronological log of all payments received across all Job Cards
- Work Order Statement — a live-calculated financial summary showing total charged, total credited, total received, and balance outstanding
Multi-Phase Repairs
Some repairs span multiple Job Cards — for example, when a vehicle is released while waiting on a delayed part, or when additional work is identified after invoicing.
All Job Cards created within the same engagement share the same Work Order. The Work Order view page shows all of them together, and the Statement aggregates their charges and payments.
To add follow-on work after invoicing:
Open the Job Card edit page and use the Additional Work button in the header. A new Job Card is created inside the same Work Order automatically.
Work Order Statement
The Work Order Statement is a live-calculated summary document — not a stored record. It shows:
- Charges — all Tax Invoices issued across all Job Cards
- Credits & Adjustments — any Credit Notes issued
- Payments Received — all deposits and final payments
- Balance Outstanding — what the customer still owes
Download it as a PDF at any time from the Download Statement button on the Work Order view page, or directly from the Work Orders list. The statement is for reference — individual Tax Invoices remain the legally binding documents for each transaction.
Notes
Use the Add Note button on the Work Order view page to record internal notes about the engagement — supplier delays, customer preferences, special handling instructions. Notes appear on the printed Statement PDF but are not visible on Tax Invoices or Estimates.