KSIDol documentation > KSIDol modules > Garage service

Module guide: Garage service

Non-technical user guide: what the module is for, how to use it and how it fits together with Dolibarr.

Central fileThe repair order (RO)

Customer history viewThe RAN, a single file per customer

Customer signatureQR code, T&Cs and logs

Built on DolibarrThird parties, quotations, invoices, interventions

1. Module overview

Garage service is the workshop module for Dolibarr. It lets you track a customer's vehicles, equipment or machines through a central file called the RO (repair order). Around the RO, the module brings together the customer, the vehicle or equipment, the symptoms, the diagnosis, the parts and labour lines, the photos, the schedule, the technicians, the signatures and the associated sales documents. It is designed for the front desk, reception, technicians, the workshop manager and administration. The module organises the workshop's work, but Dolibarr remains the reference for the official objects: third parties, products, quotations, orders, invoices, interventions and documents. An RO is not an invoice: it tracks the workshop work, while invoicing and payment are still created, checked and validated in Dolibarr. The screens shown vary according to each user's permissions and the Dolibarr modules that are enabled.

A dedicated "Repair & Garage" menu bringing together the workshop, the schedule, the technicians, the RAN, the equipment fleet, and vehicle test drives and loans.
Clear tracking from reception through to handover, with file statuses.
Shortcuts to create an RO from a customer or from a Dolibarr sales document.
Useful evidence: photos, attached documents, signatures, dates and comments.
A per-customer history view (the RAN) and equipment fleet tracking.

2. The repair order (RO): the workshop file

The RO is the module's central file. It brings together all the information about a workshop visit so that another person can pick up the file without losing the context.

Create an RO from the "New RO" menu, from a customer record, or from a quotation, an order, an invoice, an intervention or an item in the equipment fleet.
Track the file by status (draft, in progress, completed); the diagnosis, the repair and the planned handover are sections and information within the file, not statuses.
Generate the RO PDF for the customer or the workshop.
Create several ROs at once using bulk RO creation.
Find an RO through Dolibarr's global search (reference, registration plate, serial number, make, model).

3. Reception: customer, vehicle or equipment

Reception is the snapshot of the file on arrival. It must be accurate, because it protects both the customer and the workshop.

Search for the customer before creating a new one, to avoid duplicates.
Select or enter the vehicle / equipment: make, model, version, type.
Fill in the registration plate, the VIN or the serial number, as well as the mileage or meter reading.
Record the symptoms in the customer's own words and list the requested work.
Note the accessories handed over (keys, registration certificate, charger, etc.).
Distinguish public notes (visible to the customer) from private notes (internal use).

4. Costing: lines, quotations, orders and invoices

The RO lines are used to prepare a cost estimate and to avoid re-keying when creating a sales document.

Add lines from the Dolibarr product / service catalogue, or as free entry (quantity, price, VAT, discount, rank).
Separate parts and labour if the customer needs to see them distinctly.
Create a quotation, an order, an invoice or an intervention from the RO, with automatic carry-over of the relevant lines.
Review and validate each document in its original Dolibarr module before final validation.
Automatically synchronise the RO status with the state of the linked document (quotation accepted, order or invoice validated) when this option is enabled.

5. Diagnosis, repair, photos and voice dictation

The diagnosis turns the customer's request into a workshop assessment; the repair describes what was actually done.

Write the workshop assessment, the checks carried out and the recommendations.
Document the work actually performed and the outgoing observations.
Take photos from a mobile or tablet and transfer them directly into the customer file.
Use voice dictation to speed up note entry (browser recognition, Google Speech or OpenAI depending on the configuration), always re-reading the text before saving.

6. Workshop schedule, technicians and availability

The schedule helps organise the ROs, the technicians and unavailable periods, so you can visualise the workload and avoid conflicts.

Manage the list of technicians (workshop resources).
Assign a technician and a time slot to an RO.
Visualise the workshop's workload and filter by technician.
Declare unavailability: leave, training, blocked slot.
Hide the availability screen if the establishment does not use it.

7. Customer signature, T&Cs and signature proof

The signature is used to record an acceptance: taking charge of the work, conditions or handover, depending on the workshop's procedure.

Open a signature page on screen, or present it via a QR code to scan on the customer's phone.
Display general terms and conditions of sale (T&Cs) to be accepted before signing, from a configurable T&Cs file.
Make the signature mandatory at a stage of the file and define the signatory's role.
Keep a log of each signature: signatory, date, IP address, device and image of the signature.
Track the signature status of the ROs from the "Signature tracking" screen.

8. RAN: a single workshop file per customer

The RAN centralises a customer's workshop information. It serves as an entry point to quickly find the ROs, documents, statistics and equipment.

Centralise the history, statistics, links and fleet of a single customer.
Find previous ROs, quotations, invoices, orders and interventions.
Review useful indicators before a new diagnosis.
Create a new RO from the right customer context.

9. Equipment fleet: equipment, users and material

The equipment fleet is used to track the vehicles, machines, devices or equipment attached to a customer.

Track a customer's actual equipment: serial number, warranty, location, history of related ROs.
Manage a reference list of "material" (model or family) and attach the equipment to it.
Associate fleet users (driver, department, site, manager).
Create an RO directly from an item of equipment, with automatic carry-over of the information.

10. Customer vehicles, registration and VIN lookup

A customer's vehicles can be recorded to avoid re-entering the same information at every visit.

Record the make, model, version, registration plate, VIN, mileage and date of first registration.
Search for a vehicle by registration plate or by VIN.
Decode a VIN via one of the configurable providers: NHTSA / vPIC (free), CarVertical or Autorigin.
Always visually check the data returned before validating it: it helps, but does not replace checking the plate or serial number.

11. Vehicle test drives and loans

The module manages two separate files for making a vehicle available, kept apart from the RO: the vehicle test drive and the vehicle loan.

Create a test drive agreement: customer / driver, vehicle tested, option, deposit, departure condition and departure signature, then return condition and return signature.
Prepare the vehicles available for test drives in a dedicated dictionary ("test drive vehicles").
Show the test drive insurance information (company, policy, text) when it is configured.
Manage vehicle loans separately through their own list and their own creation.
Attach the relevant customer documents: driving licence, identity document, proof of deposit, insurance.

12. Technical documents and user guide

The module provides documentary resources that can be consulted directly from the workshop screens.

Access a base of technical documents that can be consulted from the module.
Open the user guide built into the module.

13. Configuration, dictionaries and categories

The configuration adapts the module without touching the core of Dolibarr. Users do not need to touch it day to day, but it is useful to understand its effect.

Setup tabs: General, VIN lookup, Categories, Technical documents, T&Cs, Test drive insurance, Google, Voice dictation, Signature and Additional fields.
Synchronisation of workshop appointments with Google Calendar (the "Google" tab of the configuration).
Automatic reminder before the expiry of the vehicle's roadworthiness test (MOT) validity, via a daily scheduled task to be enabled in Dolibarr's jobs (cron).
Signature: activation, requirement at a stage, signatory's role and T&Cs file.
RO PDF rendering: reception title, display of the customer's phone number, optional hiding of line amounts.
Dictionaries: makes, models, versions, types, categories and test drive vehicles (import possible).
Best practices: search for a value before creating a new one, harmonise the labels, deactivate rather than delete an obsolete value.

14. Links with Dolibarr

The module does not work in isolation: it integrates with the native building blocks of Dolibarr.

Third parties (customers) : Each RO, RAN, item of equipment, test drive or loan is attached to a Dolibarr customer; the workshop history remains accessible from the third-party record.
Products and services : The RO lines draw on the Dolibarr catalogue (references, prices, VAT) to stay consistent with the sales documents.
Quotations (commercial proposals) : A quotation can be created from the RO with the lines carried over; the customer approves an official cost estimate in Dolibarr.
Customer orders : A workshop file can be linked to an order, and an RO can be created from an existing customer order.
Customer invoices : An invoice can be created or linked from the RO; payment, banking and accounting remain managed natively by Dolibarr.
Interventions (intervention sheets) : An intervention can supplement the on-site tracking or the time spent; a "time" product can be configured for these lines.
Shipments : A shipment can be viewed or linked depending on your organisation, when the corresponding Dolibarr module is enabled.
Documents and attached files : Photos, supporting documents and PDFs remain attached to the file via Dolibarr's file management, reusable in the sales documents.