Dent Shop Manager

Help center · Every day

Work a claim with the 39-step checklist

Work the 39-step checklist
Call the insurer with a script
Turn the photos into one PDF
Email the customer
Add photos and documents to a claim
The photo audit board

Every claim comes with the same 39-task checklist, grouped into four checkpoints: Intake & Approval, Ready to Proceed, Post-Repair and Financials & Delivery. Your team ticks tasks off as the work happens, logs insurance calls with a script in front of them, attaches files and photos, and prints the paperwork. Checking off a checkpoint’s submission task moves the car to its next stage automatically.

Who can do this

  • Anyone who can see the claim can complete tasks, add notes, upload files and photos, and print documents.
  • Assigning a task to someone needs the Assign crew & tasks permission (on by default for Owner, Manager, Admin and Front desk).
  • Moving a car between stages by hand on the Garage board: Owner or Manager.
  • Customer update emails: paid plans (Monthly, Annual and up).
  • The Photo audit board (and its photo PDF button): paid plans, for members who can see financials.

The claim page

Open any car from the Garage (click the card, then Open claim). The claim has tabs across the top: Tasks, Scope, Invoice, Docs, Finance, Emails and Activity. Invoice and Finance only show for people who can see financials.

The top bar shows the customer, the RO number, the current stage and a Next: button that jumps straight to the next task.

Steps

Complete tasks

  1. Open the claim’s Tasks tab. The bar at the top shows each checkpoint as submitted, current or locked.
  2. Click a checkpoint to open its task list. Each task has a button that matches its type:
    • Mark done for an ordinary task.
    • Log call for an insurance call. It opens the call script for that call and a box for the call outcome.
    • Attach for an upload task. Choosing a file uploads it and completes the task right away. Once a file is attached you can Replace file or Mark done.
    • Submit checklist for a checkpoint submission.
  3. For tasks with a text box, click Complete to finish.
  4. Made a mistake? Click Undo on a completed task to put it back to pending.

Each completed task shows who completed it and when.

Add a note to a task

  1. Click the pencil button on the task.
  2. Type the note and click Save note.

Notes are always optional. No task needs a note to be completed.

Assign a task to someone

  1. Use the dropdown on the task (it shows Unassigned until someone is picked).
  2. Confirm with Assign & notify. The person gets a notification.

Tick My tasks only to see just the tasks assigned to you.

How the stage changes

  • Completing task 12 (Checkpoint 1 submission) moves the car to Estimate Submitted.
  • Completing task 25 (Checkpoint 2 submission) moves the car to Approved.
  • Completing task 33 (Checkpoint 3 submission) moves the car to Delivered.
  • The other stages (Supplement Submitted, In Repair, At Body Shop, Ready, Total Loss) are set by dragging the car to that column on the Garage board. Moving a car to Total Loss asks you to confirm with Mark Total Loss.

A submission only moves a car forward, never back.

Use the call scripts

  1. On the Tasks tab, scroll to Call Scripts under the task list.
  2. If the claim’s insurer is recognized, its claims phone number shows at the top as a tap-to-call link. If not, open “browse all insurance numbers”.
  3. Open the script for the stage you’re at. Each script shows which task numbers it’s for.

The scripts fill in the claim and shop details for you, which is why your shop profile matters.

Add files and photos

  1. Open the Docs tab and scroll to Docs & photos.
  2. Click Add photos to upload pictures (you can pick several), or Upload document for anything else.
  3. Each file shows a progress bar while it uploads, then appears in the list with its size and who uploaded it.
  4. Click a photo or a PDF’s preview to open it full screen; close it with ✕. Next to each document are buttons to open it in a new tab, download it or delete it.
  5. Click Select to pick several items, then Download or Delete them together. Click Download all to download every document.

Review photos on the Photo audit board

  1. In the left menu, click Photos. Every claim’s photos show on one screen with its stage, storm and gross amount. Claims with no photos are flagged.
  2. Use the buttons at the top to narrow the list: All, Needs audit (delivered but not yet cleared for payroll), In shop and Cleared. The dropdown on the right shows one storm only.
  3. Click a photo to open it full screen and use ‹ and › to step through the claim’s photos. The caption shows the file name and who uploaded it.
  4. Use + Add photos to upload missing pictures straight to that claim, or Make PDF for the damage-photo PDF.

Make a PDF of the damage photos

  • On the web, go to Photos in the left menu (the Photo audit board) and click Make PDF on the claim.
  • On the phone app, open the claim’s Files and tap Make PDF.
  1. Open the Docs tab. The Documents card builds each PDF from the claim and your shop profile.
  2. Click the one you need: Repair authorization (PDF), Prior damage inspection (PDF), Rental agreement (PDF), Vehicle release (PDF), Hail scope sheet (PDF), PDR invoice (PDF) and Invoice (PDF). A car marked Total Loss also gets Total loss notice (PDF).
  3. Under Claim packets: Customer claims packet (PDF) for the customer to keep, Customer’s letter to adjuster (PDF) for them to send their adjuster (or Copy letter as email text to paste into an email), and Insurance adjuster packet (PDF) for the insurance company.

Send a customer update email

  1. Open the Emails tab. The card is called Send Customer Updates.
  2. Pick an email from the dropdown. The one that fits the car’s current stage is marked “suggested for this stage”. The choices are Initial Estimate Sent, Follow-up: Estimate Sent, Supplement Sent, Follow-up: Supplement, Approved, In Repair, Ready for Pickup, Ask for Review and Total Loss.
  3. Click Preview & send, read the email, and click Send email.

The card lists everything already sent on the claim, with who sent it and when.

Good to know

  • Customer emails are never sent automatically. Moving a car to a new stage never emails the customer; you send each update yourself from the Emails tab.
  • An email can’t be sent if the claim has no customer email on file. The card warns you.
  • Documents need your shop’s phone, email, address and Tax ID / EIN in Settings. If something is missing, the card tells you what to fill in.
  • On plans below Annual, PDFs carry the Dent Shop Manager watermark and are locked so the text can’t be copied or edited. Annual and up get clean paperwork with only your logo.
  • Invoice, PDR invoice and adjuster packet buttons only show for people who can see financials.
  • The Activity tab shows everything that happened on the claim: who did what, and when.
  • The phone app has the same checklist, notes, assignments, call scripts, files and documents (tap a document to share the PDF).