The four photos
Every job gets these, and it takes ninety seconds.
- Odometer on arrival — the reading you will put on the invoice.
- The fault: the worn pad, the leaking hose, the cracked belt, in place, before removal.
- Old part next to new part — the single most persuasive photo in the trade.
- The finished work — fitted, clean, done.
Take them at the car, not at the desk
Photos taken on a phone in the bay and attached straight to the car's job or invoice are findable in a year. Photos taken 'for the record' and left in a camera roll are gone by Friday. If the pit has no reception, they should queue and upload when you walk back out.
Show the customer the right ones
Not every photo belongs on the invoice. Tick the fault and the old-versus-new shot; leave the compliance and receipt shots for your own file. Grouped before and after on the invoice page, they answer the question before it is asked.
For inspections, photograph every fail
An inspection item marked fail with a photo is evidence. Marked fail without one is an opinion. Buyers, sellers and occasionally tribunals treat the two very differently.