How Fortune Lucky Auto Sends Professional Invoices in Under 2 Minutes
A real walkthrough from our Brooklyn auto shop — exactly how we create, review, and send a polished invoice the moment a job is done.
One thing customers always comment on when they come to Fortune Lucky Auto: “You’re the most organized shop I’ve ever been to.”
That didn’t happen by accident. And it didn’t come from hiring extra office staff. It came from having the right tool. Here’s exactly how we create and send invoices using Repair Receipts — from the moment a job finishes to the moment the customer has it in their hands.
The Old Way vs. The New Way
Old way: Job finishes → write up a paper receipt → hand them one copy → file the other → pray you can read your handwriting later.
New way: Job finishes → open Repair Receipts → 90 seconds → customer has a digital invoice on their phone.
That’s the whole story. But let me break down the steps so you can see how simple it actually is.
Step 1: Pull Up the Customer and Vehicle
Every vehicle that comes through our shop is already in the system. We enter it once — the first visit — and it’s there forever. Customer name, phone, email, the car’s VIN, make, model, year, mileage.
On return visits, we just search their name or plate number. The vehicle history populates automatically. We can see what we did last time, when their oil was changed, what we flagged for future attention.
This alone saves us 5–10 minutes per visit compared to flipping through folders.
Step 2: Add the Line Items
This is where Repair Receipts earns its keep. We add parts and labor as line items:
- Parts: name, part number, quantity, price
- Labor: description, hours, rate
The system calculates the total automatically. No math errors. No “wait, I thought it was $X” moments at pickup.
For standard services we do all the time — oil changes, tire rotations, brake pad replacements — we’ve saved templates. One click and the line items are pre-filled. All we do is adjust anything specific to that vehicle.
Step 3: Review and Add Notes
Before sending, I or one of my techs will add a quick note if we spotted something else during the job. “Front tires are at 3/32” — recommend replacement at next visit.“ That note goes on the invoice. It shows the customer we’re looking out for them, and it plants a seed for the next service.
We can also attach photos — before and after shots of a repair, a photo of a worn part we replaced. Customers love this. It builds massive trust.
Step 4: Send It
One tap. The customer gets a text or email with a link to their professional digital invoice. It shows:
- Shop name, logo, contact info
- Customer and vehicle details
- Line items with parts and labor broken out
- Total
- Notes
- A place to pay if you have payments set up
The whole process — from opening the app to the customer receiving their invoice — takes under 2 minutes. Often closer to 90 seconds.
What This Looks Like for Customers
We’ve had customers forward our invoices to their insurance companies for reimbursement. We’ve had customers show our invoices to dealerships to document maintenance history when selling their car. We’ve had customers come back specifically because they still have the digital record and trusted us with a bigger job.
A professional invoice isn’t just paperwork. It’s a marketing asset.
Try It at Your Shop
If your current process takes longer than 2 minutes, or if “find the customer’s last invoice” is a task that makes you wince, Repair Receipts was built for exactly that.
Start free at Repair Receipts →
It takes about 5 minutes to set up your shop profile and send your first invoice.
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