Checking In a Repair at the Counter | ReturnMate Help Centre

Counter intake is how an item becomes a repair job. It is built for the moment the customer is standing in front of you: short steps, their words kept exactly, and a checklist that tells you when it is safe to let them go.

You need a repair module enabled first. See Setting Up a Repair Module.

Open the intake

Go to Repairs and choose New intake. You can also choose Open repair intake on the module card in Settings → Industry modules.

The intake has three steps:

Customer & device: who they are, what they left, and whether they bought it from you.
The fault: what they told you, how much you may spend, what work you expect to do, and the condition it arrived in.
Authority & print: what the customer agrees to, then the receipt.

The step names and wording follow your module. A music store sees "Customer & instrument", a jeweller sees "Customer & piece". An Intake time counter at the top shows how long the check-in is taking.

Step 1: Customer & device

Find or add the customer

Start typing in Find a returning customer. Search by email, phone or name, using at least two characters. Pick a result to fill in their details.

If they have been in before, Previous devices lists what they brought last time. Click one to link it to the item you are checking in. This keeps the item's full repair history together.

For a new customer, fill in Name (required), Email and Phone. Also set:

Preferred contact: Email, Phone call or SMS.
Authorised collector: someone else who may pick the item up, if the customer tells you.

Get an email address if you can

The intake receipt can only be emailed when you have an email address. Their Shopify orders can only be listed once you have an email or phone number.

Receiving

Receiving location: where the item is checked in. It only appears when more than one location takes part in the module.
Shelf / bin: where the item will sit while it waits.
Visit reference: optional. Leave it blank and ReturnMate uses the first job number.

The device

For each item, record:

Serial number. If there is none, choose a reason under Why is the serial unavailable?, such as "Label worn / unreadable" or "Not accessible without disassembly". You cannot continue without one or the other.
Service tag, or IMEI / serial on the phones preset.
Device type, Make and Model.

When you leave the serial or service tag field, ReturnMate checks for an existing record of that item. An exact match is linked automatically. A close match shows as a button to link it. Linking matters: it is how a repeat repair gets noticed.

Bought from us?

Tick Bought from us if the item came from your store. Coverage then defaults to Warranty.

Link the sale in one of two ways:

Type the Order number and press Enter or choose Find order. If no Shopify order matches, the number is still saved as an external sale.
Choose Customer's orders to list the orders for the email or phone you entered, then pick the right one.

Once an order is linked, choose the Item on the order if there is more than one, and set Proof of purchase.

Leave Bought from us unticked for items bought elsewhere.

Accessories

Tap each accessory the customer is leaving: Charger, Bag, Cable, Dock, SIM, Storage media or Other. Add a short description and its condition for each one.

Anything recorded here prints on the receipt, gets its own tag in the print pack, and is checked off again at collection.

More than one item in a visit

Choose Add another device to check in up to 10 items in one visit. Each item gets its own card on this step, and its own tab on steps 2 and 3.

Every item becomes its own repair job with its own job number. The jobs share one visit reference, so you can find them together later.

When step 1 is complete, choose Continue to the fault.

Step 2: The fault

In the customer's words

Type what the customer actually said. Do not tidy it up or translate it into shop language. The diagnosis comes later, and the job page shows these words exactly as you typed them.

Photos are added on the job after check-in.

Service, priority and date

Requested service: pick a service preset, or leave it on Diagnose and advise.
Priority: Low, Normal, High or Urgent.
Promised by: pre-filled from your default turnaround. Change it if you promise something different.

How much may we spend without asking again?

This is the number the technician works against. Above it, work stops and you go back to the customer with an estimate.

Approved spend limit: type an amount, or use the quick buttons. There are also Diagnostic only (the limit equals the diagnostic fee) and No limit.
Diagnostic fee: what the customer pays for the assessment.
Coverage: Paid, Warranty, Goodwill, Insurance or Mixed. Warranty and goodwill work is not charged to the customer, so the limit only applies to paid extras.
Declared value: the owner's valuation. It prints on the receipt and decides whether a manager needs to sign the item off.

Planned work, and why consents come first

The next card lists the work you expect to do that needs the customer's explicit agreement. On Computer Repairs it is Data work we expect to do, with options like Backup by the shop, Data transfer, OS reinstall, Data erasure and Send to a specialist. Music and jewellery presets show Work that can't be undone instead.

Tick only what you plan to do. Each tick adds a consent the customer must agree to on the next step.

This is deliberate. Erasing data, reinstalling an operating system or resizing a ring cannot be reversed. ReturnMate will not let you finish the intake until each planned item has its consent ticked. On the job, work cannot start until every planned operation has a recorded consent.

If you tick work that removes or alters original material, such as a refret or a resize, choose what happens to the removed parts: Return to the owner, Shop retains or Dispose. Decide it now, not at handback. It prints on the receipt.

On modules with data work switched on, tick Need to log in to the device if the technician will need the password. The access fields then appear on step 3.

Condition on arrival

Assume the item arrived intact and only record what is wrong. Choose Record an exception to open the fields:

Powers on
Liquid indicators
Cosmetic grade (A to D)
Battery health (%)
Physical damage, such as cracks, dents or missing keys

Recorded exceptions show as badges so everyone can see them at a glance.

Phones: activation lock

On the phones preset, the condition card starts with Activation lock / Find My turned off by the customer. Have the customer turn it off in front of you, then tick it. A device with activation lock on can be unusable after a board or screen swap.

If you check the phone in without this ticked, the job page warns the technician before they start. You can also record the Carrier lock.

When step 2 is done, choose Continue to authority & print.

Step 3: Authority & print

Backup and device access

This card appears when data work is switched on for your module.

Backup status: what the customer tells you about their backup, or that the shop will back it up.
Access arrangement, when you ticked that a login is needed. Choose whether the customer unlocks it in person, removed the lock before leaving, or provided the login details.

If the customer provides login details, enter them in Device credentials. They are stored encrypted and wiped automatically. See Device Passwords and Access.

High-value items

If the declared value is at or above your module's threshold, a sign-off card appears. A store owner or admin ticks it to confirm the item was photographed and stored per shop policy.

If you are not a manager, you see a note instead. A manager can sign it off on the job page afterwards.

Consents

Tick each consent the customer agreed to in person. Every consent shows its version number, and Show text opens the full wording so you can read it to them.

The list depends on the job. It usually includes the repair service terms, the diagnostic fee and the approved scope and spending limit. It adds one consent for each piece of planned work, and data-work consents when your module uses them.

Each ticked consent prints on the intake receipt with its wording version.

Print & send

Print the intake pack (receipt, work order, device tags): sends the intake receipt, the internal work order, a device tag and one tag per accessory to your printer.
Email the intake receipt to the customer: sends one receipt per item. It needs an email address on step 1.

Both are ticked by default. Printing needs a print client set up. See Print Clients & Labels.

Choose Check in to finish. The button shows how many items you are checking in.

Before the customer leaves

The right-hand side of steps 2 and 3 shows a live preview of the intake receipt and a Before the customer leaves checklist for the current item. Work through it while the customer is still at the counter.

Device identified (type plus serial, or a reason there is none)
Fault in their words
Approved spend limit (not needed for warranty or goodwill)
Backup declaration (modules with data work)
Consents agreed
Device login captured (when a login is needed)
Declared value (music and jewellery, or whenever a value is entered)
Manager sign-off (high-value items)
Removed parts disposition (work that removes original parts)
Activation lock confirmed off (phones)

Only the lines that apply to the item appear. An unticked line is your prompt to ask one more question before they walk out.

After check-in

The Checked in screen shows the visit reference and one card per job. From each card you can:

Open the job with Open job.
Reprint with Print pack again, for example if the printer jammed.
See whether each document and tag printed.

Choose New intake for the next customer.

Repeat repairs

If the same item had a job completed within your workmanship window, the job card shows Possible repeat repair. Choose Link as with a reason: Same fault, Failed part or New issue.

Linking lets you assess the workmanship on the job page. It only works when the item was linked to its existing record on step 1.

Never type passwords in notes

Passwords, PINs and unlock codes do not belong in the fault description, the damage notes or the access note. If you type something like "PIN: 1234", the field warns you, and the check-in is refused until you remove it.

Plain descriptions are fine. "PIN pad is broken" is accepted.

Put the password in Device credentials instead, or arrange for the customer to unlock the device in person. The same check applies to notes elsewhere in ReturnMate.

Checking in an online booking

When a customer booked online, open Repairs → Online bookings and choose Check in. The intake opens with the customer, items, fault description and spend limit already filled in.

Terms the customer accepted online show as ticked and locked, with the date and wording version. Check the item, record its serial and condition, and finish the intake as usual.

See Online Repair Booking for the full booking flow.