About This Guide

This guide covers the Billing Workbench in RoadBays — finding workbenches, building an estimate, running the work order, and producing the invoice. It is written for the people who do this work day to day: service writers, shop managers, technicians, and the people who send the bills.

You do not need to read it end to end. Use the table of contents to jump to the screen you are on.

How to read the instructions

What the Billing Workbench is

A workbench is three documents that belong to one repair, held together as a group:

The three are linked. You build the estimate, sync it forward into the work order when the customer approves, then sync the work order forward into the invoice when the job is finished. Nothing is retyped, and nothing quietly falls out along the way.

The shape of a document

All three documents are built the same way, so once you learn one you know all three.

Document statuses

Each of the three documents carries its own status, so you can have an estimate that is closed, a work order that is open, and an invoice not started yet.

Finding a Workbench

The Billing Workbench list is the front door. It shows every workbench in your account, filtered to the last 30 days, with the newest activity first.

Opening the list

1. From the main navigation, choose Billing.
2. The list opens showing workbenches modified in the last 30 days, newest first.
3. Click any document number to open that workbench.

Reading the list

Filtering the list

The Filters panel sits on the right. Every filter applies as soon as you change it — there is no Apply button.

Changing layouts

The Layout button in the top right switches how results are drawn. Both layouts respect the filters you have set.

Saved Views

A saved view remembers a set of filters under a name you choose, so you do not have to set them again every morning. Views are personal to your login.

Creating a view

1. Set the filters the way you want them.
2. Click Save View.
3. Type a name that says what the view is for — for example Open work orders or Unbilled jobs.
4. Click OK.

Using, defaulting, and deleting views

• Click Saved Views and pick a view to load it. The filters change and the list reloads.
• With a view loaded, click Set Default View to have it load automatically every time you open the Billing Workbench list. A Default badge appears next to it.
• Click the trash icon beside a view in the dropdown to delete it, then confirm.

Deleting a workbench

1. Click the trash button at the end of the row.
2. Read the confirmation — it lists the document numbers that will be removed.
3. Click Delete to confirm.

Creating a Workbench

There are two ways to start, and which you use depends on whether the repair already has a case.

From the Billing Workbench list

1. Click New Workbench in the top right of the list.
2. The workbench opens on the Estimate tab with all three documents created and empty.
3. In Customer Information, start typing into Unit and pick the unit from the list.
4. Enter the Odometer reading.

Attaching the unit pulls in the customer name, the year, make, and model, and the customer's phone and email automatically. Those fields are read-only here — they come from the unit and customer master records.

From a case

When the repair already has a case, start the workbench from there so the two stay connected.

1. Open the case and go to the Invoices tab.
2. Click Create Workbench.
3. The workbench opens in a new tab, already carrying the case's unit.

Moving Around a Workbench

An open workbench has four tabs across the top.

Switching tabs does not lose anything — each document saves as you work on it.

The status bar

The status bar lets you set the status of all three documents at once, and record the dates those changes happened on. It is hidden by default.

1. Click the sliders button to the right of the tabs to show the status bar.
2. The three badges on the left show where EST, WO, and INV currently stand.
3. Choose a status in Set All To.
4. Fill in the date field that appears — Opened, Completed, or Closed, depending on the status you picked.
5. Click Apply Status.

The Estimate Tab

The estimate is what you quote the customer. Build it out of sections and lines, get the lines approved or denied, then send it forward to the work order.

Customer Information

The panel at the top holds the unit and the customer. Click the header to expand or collapse it.

Working with sections

Sections are the jobs on the repair. The panel on the left of the lines area is where you manage them.

Adding a section

1. Click Add Section.
2. Optionally enter a Code — a number you use to order or reference the job.
3. Enter a Title. This is what the customer reads, so write it plainly: "Replace front brake pads", not "job 2".
4. Set Billable to Yes or No.
5. Add Notes if there is anything the customer or the technician should know.
6. Optionally fill in Complaint, Cause, and Correction.
7. Click Save.

The three Cs

Each section can carry the standard three Cs of a repair record. They are optional, but filling them in consistently is what makes your repair history worth reporting on later.

Editing, deleting, and filtering by section

• Pick a section in the dropdown to show only that section's lines. Choose View All Sections to see everything again.
• With a section selected, click Edit to change its title, billable flag, notes, or three Cs.
• Click Delete to remove the section.

Adding lines

Lines are the actual charges. The form above the lines table adds them.

1. Make sure the right section is selected.
2. Type into Description. This searches your VMRS codes and your custom line items as you type — pick a suggestion, or just type free text.
3. Choose a Line Type — labor, part, fee, and so on, from your configured list.
4. For a part: choose the Inventory Location, then search Part Number and pick the part. The charge amount fills in from your pricing.
5. Enter the Quantity.
6. Check or adjust the Charge Amount.
7. Click Save Estimate Line.

Quick Add Maintenance Service

For routine work you do constantly, the Quick Add Maintenance Service dropdown adds a preconfigured service in one click instead of building its lines by hand.

1. Choose the service from Quick Add Maintenance Service.
2. Click Add Maintenance Service.

The lines table

Approving and denying lines

Estimate lines carry an approval state, so you can record exactly what the customer agreed to pay for. The buttons on each row change depending on where that line stands.

Editing a line

1. Click Edit on the line.
2. Change the Description, Line Type, Quantity, or Charge Amount.
3. Click Save Changes.

Totals and tax

The totals box under the lines adds everything up: Labor, Parts, Other, then Subtotal, Tax, and Total.

1. Type your tax rate as a percentage into the box beside Tax. It accepts three decimal places, so 8.375 works.
2. Click Apply.
3. The tax and the grand total recalculate.

Printing the estimate

Click Print to produce the estimate for the customer.

The Work Order Tab

The work order is what your shop actually performs. It starts as a copy of the approved estimate and then reflects reality — the extra part nobody expected, the hour that ran long.

Bringing the estimate across

1. Finish approving and denying lines on the Estimate tab.
2. Go to the Work Order tab.
3. Click Sync → WO.

The work order is brought in line with the estimate. Lines added on the estimate appear, and lines that no longer belong are removed.

Repair information

The Repair Information panel holds the working detail for the job.

Click Save Repair Info when you are done.

Mechanic time punches

The Mechanic Time Punches panel shows the labor your technicians have clocked against this work order. Click the header to expand it.

Three counters sit at the top:

The punch list

Click Refresh to pull the latest punches without reloading the page — useful when a technician is clocking off while you are looking at the screen.

Posting time to the work order

Posting turns recorded time into a billable labor line.

1. Find the pending punch in the list.
2. Click the post button in its Actions column.
3. The punch becomes a labor line on the work order and its Posted Hrs count goes up.

Correcting a punch

Punches sometimes need fixing — a technician forgot to clock off, or clocked time to the wrong job.

1. Click the edit button on the punch.
2. Set the Entry Type: Job for time worked on a repair, Unapplied for time that is not chargeable to a job.
3. Correct the Start and End times. These are in your local time.
4. For job time, confirm the Work Order and the Section the time belongs to. Use Lookup to search for a different work order by number.
5. Optionally set a Labor Rate Override. Leave it blank to use your default rate.
6. For unapplied time, choose the reason from the dropdown.
7. Add Notes if useful.
8. Enter an Audit Change Note explaining why the record is being changed. This is required.
9. Click Save Changes, or Post to WO to save and post in one step.

Sections and lines

Sections and lines work exactly as they do on the estimate — same Add Section, same line form with VMRS and part lookup, same Edit and Delete. Two things are different.

The work order PDF

Click PDF to open a printable work order in a new tab — the copy that goes on the clipboard or in the truck.

The Invoice Tab

The invoice is the bill. It starts as a copy of the billable work on the work order.

Bringing the work order across

1. Finish the work order — post all time, add every part used, set the non-billable flags.
2. Go to the Invoice tab.
3. Click Sync → Invoice.

Two rules govern what comes across, and they are worth knowing:

Invoice information

The Invoice Information panel carries the same fields as the work order — Date Created, Date Completed, Date Closed, Expected Finish, PO Number, Date Rolling, Repair Reason, and Status. Check the PO Number before you send: it is the single most common reason an invoice comes back unpaid.

Checking the invoice before it goes out

• Every section that should be billed is present, and nothing that should not be billed came across.
• The tax rate on this document is right — it is set per document, so the invoice does not inherit the estimate's rate.
• The PO Number matches what the customer gave you.
• The odometer is recorded.
• The total is what you expect. If it is not, compare it against the work order before you go looking for a bug.

Printing and sending

Click Print to produce the invoice for printing, saving, or emailing.

Taking payment with Stripe

If your account has Stripe connected, you can generate a payment link the customer can pay from directly.

1. Click Stripe Invoice.
2. Wait for the link to be generated in the box.
3. Click Copy Link.
4. Paste it into an email or a text message to the customer.

Parts and Inventory

Lines that come from your parts inventory behave differently from free-text lines, because they move stock.

Adding a part to a document

1. Choose the Inventory Location the part will come from.
2. Start typing into Part Number and pick the part from the results.
3. The charge amount fills in from your pricing rules.
4. Enter the Quantity.
5. Adjust the Charge Amount if this job warrants it.
6. Save the line.

Changing a part line

The description, the line type, and the charge amount can all be edited normally.

Free-text and VMRS lines

A line that is not tied to a part has no such restriction — edit anything on it. Typing into Description searches both your VMRS codes and your custom line items, so use those where you can: consistent descriptions are what make your repair cost reporting usable.

Files

The Files tab holds photos and documents for the whole workbench — the failed part, the customer's written approval, a supplier invoice, a video of the fault.

Uploading a file

1. Go to the Files tab.
2. Click Choose file and pick the file. On a phone this lets you take a photo directly.
3. Click Upload File.

What you can upload

Each file shows as a card. Images show a thumbnail; other files show a type label such as PDF, DOC, XLS, AUD, or VID. Every card has Open, Download, and Delete.

Common Workflows

Putting the pieces together — the sequences you will run most often.

Quote, approve, work, bill

The full run, for work a customer has to authorize first.

1. Create the workbench from the case, or with New Workbench.
2. On the Estimate tab, attach the unit and enter the odometer.
3. Add a section per job, with a clear title and the three Cs where you know them.
4. Add the lines — labor, parts, fees.
5. Set the tax rate and click Apply.
6. Click Print and send the estimate to the customer.
7. When they respond, Approve and Deny lines to match exactly what they agreed to.
8. Go to the Work Order tab and click Sync → WO.
9. Set Expected Finish and the PO Number, tick any Maintenance Schedules, and click Save Repair Info.
10. As the job runs, post technician time punches and add anything extra you found.
11. When the work is done, go to the Invoice tab and click Sync → Invoice.
12. Check the tax rate, the PO number, and the total, then Print or send the Stripe link.
13. Set the documents to Complete, then Closed once you are paid.

A walk-in repair with no estimate

For small work that does not need quoting first.

1. Create the workbench and attach the unit.
2. Go straight to the Work Order tab.
3. Add the sections and lines there as the work happens.
4. Post the technician time.
5. Sync → Invoice, check it, and bill.

Internal fleet work you do not bill

1. Create the workbench and attach the unit.
2. Build the work order as usual so the repair history, the parts usage, and the technician time are all recorded.
3. Mark the sections Billable: No, or use the Non-billable toggle on individual lines.
4. Post the time punches so labor cost is captured.
5. Skip the invoice, or sync it and leave it at zero.

Troubleshooting

Glossary

Need More Help?

If something in Billing Workbench is not working the way this page describes, email support@roadbays.com or submit a question from the Help page.